Holiday Fun at Brooklands

Our Brooklands Literacy Group was fortunate once again to receive funding from the United Way so we could share the love of reading with the students at Brooklands school. As we have done many times in the past 10 years, former Brooklands students who now attend St. James Collegiate went back to Brooklands to read. In preparation for our big pancake breakfast event that takes place annually in February, St. James students were able to spend some time with the teachers and students they will be reading to again in the new year. We chose Jan Brett books for each classroom and each group read a story (which was then gifted to each classroom teacher), facilitated a craft activity based on the story they read and provided a small snack for all students.

                                          

                                          

                                              

Happy Holidays to you all! Looking forward to 2015!

Frog's legs, s'il vous plaît!

On Monday, I took my wonderful French class to Café Ce Soir. The owner, Cam, hosted us in his restaurant and provided us with a lesson in French cooking and we were served delicious, authentic French cuisine for lunch. We learned how to make a number of French dishes including béchamel sauce and crème brûlée.

While learning about French cooking (and the vast quantity of butter used) and even some history, everyone was given the opportunity to try les cuisses de grenouilles (frogs' legs) and escargots. It was a unique and rare opportunity for most of the students. They really are an adventurous group!

After sampling the appetizers, we sat down for our lunch that included onion soup for all accompanied by a Croque-Monsieur (baked ham and cheese sandwich), a Salade Niçoise or a Sandwich Calanque (shrimp and egg sandwich). Our meal was finished with an eggnog crème brûlée. C'était délicieux!

                                               

                                                

                                               

It was a great morning! We will have to return to sample some of the fabulous desserts created by Cam!

                             

Magic in the Air

It's been a while since I have been able to post. It just got really busy and I wasn't able to spend very much time here. There's a number of exciting things happening next week that I'm planning to share here too.

Back in September, my French class started making a video. We spent a number of weeks filming a kind of promotional video for French. Then, a group of the students started editing once or twice a week, when time allowed. And now it is complete!

I had heard the song Magic in the Air by Magic System repeatedly over the summer during the World Cup. My kids loved it and we listened to it constantly. I decided that it would be a good song to introduce to my French class since the lyrics were mostly in French and it was an upbeat, catchy song. A promotional video is something I had been wanting to make for a long time and I knew that this was the class to do it with since they had made videos in class in previous years and really seemed to enjoy  making videos. I think the video turned out great and I am really proud of what they have done. Enjoy!

Just pick it up...but photograph it first

I discovered something really interesting  at the NAAEE conference in Ottawa. I am pretty excited to share Litterati with my classes. I was initially drawn to some photographs that were on display at the conference. It turned out they were all Instagram photos submitted to #litterati. There was a summary posted of what Litterati was and there was a description beside each photograph from each photographer. I was amazed at artistic view that was being applied to litter found all over the world.

               

                                

Basically, the idea behind Litterati is simple: snap a picture of litter, post it to Instagram (#litterati), and then pick up and dispose of the litter. I was also fortunate to attend a workshop with a wonderful presenter, Nate Ivy, during the conference and I was able to learn a variety of practical uses in the classroom.

                                

What is being created is a database of litter around the globe that can be organized by location and type of litter (plastic, paper and cigarette butts being the top three types of litter), as long as it is tagged on Instagram as such (#plastic, #paper, etc.). Users have started tagging by brand name after seeing common brands such as Starbucks and McDonald's frequently posted. I'm thinking that we will discover a lot of #TimHortons here in Canada.

                                 

Have a look at this video with Jeff Kirschner, the founder of Litterati.

To date (according to the stats displayed on the Litterati website), over 77 000 pieces of trash have been logged with only approximately 350 pieces in Canada. That doesn't mean Canada doesn't have a problem with litter (it's a problem everywhere...except Ottawa appeared to be exceptionally clean...it was difficult to find litter to photograph). It just means that we need more Canadians on the Litterati Team!

I'm pretty new to Twitter and Instagram and the Litterati idea has motivated me to use it more. I see so much potential in these forms of social media in their use in the classroom. I will begin with sharing this post with my classes and get the word out there. I'm looking forward to seeing where this takes us. 

My Ottawa Experience

Last Wednesday morning, I realized I hadn't taken the time to share my experience at the conference in Ottawa here on my blog. Then the tragedy started to unfold last week and I hesitated in sharing my photos while I processed what was happening in Canada's capital. It was hard to believe. When I was touring the grounds of Parliament just a few short weeks ago, I was surprised at my ability to pretty much go anywhere I wanted, outside at least. I felt grateful to be a Canadian and to be in our capital and be awarded so much freedom to roam. I am hoping what happened that day in Ottawa doesn't change that experience for anyone who visits from now on. It truly is a remarkable building and I tried to imagine celebrating Canada Day in the capital....put that on my bucket list.

I was deeply moved by the war memorial. I didn't think I would be. The statue was much bigger that I thought it would be and it was quite spectacular. I took note of the soldiers that were on guard and wondered if someone was always there representing the armed forces or if it was a special occasion. I kept forgetting to check into this and then, unfortunately I learned about their significance only after Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was fatally shot while on guard at the tomb. I am deeply saddened by this young man's death, as are many other Canadians (and beyond). 

I can't explain why, but this year, Remembrance Day is going to feel different. With tragic events involving the deaths of Cpl. Cirillo and Warrant Officer Vincent in Quebec so fresh in my mind, I am going to feel so much more pride and gratefulness when we honour the armed forces. I am truly blessed to live in Canada.   

These are a few of my favourite things...

As I expected I would, I love the Byward Market here in Ottawa. I love farmers markets. While the one at home has been winding down for the season, I was surprised at how much fresh produce was still available locally here in Southern Ontario. It has been wonderful enjoying the last few bites of Canadian grown raspberries and strawberries. Yum! 

It's not something that often comes up in conversation, but most people don't know that I like seeing and taking photos of multiples of the same things, like fruits and vegetables in farmers markets. Grocery stores don't have quite the same effect. Yarn is another of my favourite "multiples". I've been taking pictures of lots of different things at the market so I thought I'd actually share some with you. 

I've also purchased a rather large amount of produce that I will never be able to consume before I leave. I hope the apples and pears in my suitcase survive their flight home. And the cheese curds. Maple syrup. Bagels. I don't think my kids will be as impressed with my souvenirs as I am.

Greetings from Canada's Capital

I'm in Ottawa for the NAAEE (North American Association of Environmental Education) conference. I've never been here before so I'm so excited to explore our beautiful capital in between sessions. I spent some time walking along the Rideau Canal this morning and now I'm off to Parliament Hill. Stay tuned!

A Day at Fort Whyte

   

I am fortunate today to be spending some time at Fort Whyte with other teachers from the division. We have been putting our iPads to good use today while we explore the area. Walking around the buildings here I found a few reminders about our water resources, and a good one about bottled water. This is exactly what we are talking about in Geography. And guess what? No bottled water for sale in the vending machines. It is possible. 

If you're not from the prairie

On Sunday, I went out with my family to enjoy Open Farm Day at various locations around the province. On our way home, we stopped for a few moments to enjoy these views near La Barrière Park. It reminded me of the book "If you're not from the prairie" by David Bouchard. Out of curiosity, I googled the book and came across this video. I think I will share it today with my Geography classes. It is a great example of geographic identity.

Happy Autumnal Equinox  everyone!

Our Geographic Identity

This semester I have two Geography classes in the afternoon. It is the most diverse group of students I have ever taught. We always talk briefly about Canadian identity in the opening unit of the course, and I wanted everyone in the class to be able to share their personal identities. They're not a talkative bunch, and most are reluctant to share in the class (hopefully this will change...maybe it's just too early in the school year), but by having them write down their "identities" anonymously and share in this way, everyone participated. We just finished discussing human and physical Geography so there were lots of ideas surrounding the idea of Geography (it's not just maps) that we used to share our "geographic identities."  

Just a regular day in "la salle de classe"...

Stay tuned...we've been up to something and hopefully we will be able to share the final product with you soon.

Daylight Savings Time

Just last week I discussed time zones with my Geography classes. Many questions were asked about the extra half hour in Newfoundland, the lack of daylight savings time in Saskatchewan and the reasons why we move the clocks in an effort to "save daylight". This article from National Geographic is worth a read to better understand these reasons.

Anyone watching 24 Reasons for Hope today?

Hope

I came across the The Climate Reality Project today and was intrigued by a live global multi-media event that is taking place next week on September 16 and 17. It's called 24 Hours of Reality: 24 Reasons for Hope. The project is devoting 24 hours of live streaming of 24 different topics related to climate change from every region in the world. We are always bombarded with tales of doom and gloom about the state of our planet so it will be great to see some insight of what's being done and what is possible. This initiative is about hope and entertaining solutions for the climate change crisis. I'm hoping to see some of it live and then will probably use some of the archived videos in Geography class. Maybe you too will watch an episode or two.

Welcome back!

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year! It's been a good start and I have been enjoying getting to know all my new students. Once again, St. James Collegiate is welcoming many new students from all over the world. On a personal note, my son started kindergarten today. It's a very exciting day for a parent. I cannot wait to hear about his day. I'm hoping to post more frequently this year and share all the happenings of the school year. Have a good weekend!

This is what I was talking about...

This is the article I was talking about in Geography last week. It's about Walmart and it's decision to carry more organic foods. Seems like a good idea, but you really need to think about what that means.

Future of Food

I subscribe to so many newsletters and I'm on a lot of email lists for environmental news. I get all kinds of news everyday - good and bad. It's for things I'm personally interested in and topics I enjoy teaching. Almost daily in class, I'm repeating something I've read but can never remember the exact details or where exactly I read it. So I thought I should put my blog to better use and start posting what I read here so I can access it when I'm discussing it in class. Today, I was at 7-11 and the new issue of National Geographic was there at the checkout. I haven't read National Geographic lately but I was really excited to see the cover title stating "The New Food Revolution."  This is exactly what we are doing in class right now so I bought it. Once I got home with the magazine, I was happy to read that every issue until the end of 2014 will feature stories about our food system. And this website is incredible. I'm looking forward to sharing this with my class on Monday!

Oops.

It's been a long time since I've been on the blog.  It's been a busy time at school since Spring Break. The weeks are going by so quickly. There's only 6 weeks left of classes before exams. Yikes! And we are still waiting for the weather to be better. 

Brooklands Literacy Breakfast

I had a great day today spending some time at Brooklands School with an enthusiastic group of St. James Collegiate's finest. We arrived by 7 a.m. to make pancakes for all students and staff and followed it up with reading time in each class and the presentation of a book for each student. I'm so proud of our students and this tradition. I'm happy to be able to share the role of staff advisor with Ms. Frolek in this very meaningful event. Way to go Jimmies!

Dear Winter

That will be all. Thank you. We are ready for spring!

The end of February

Even though the Olympics are over, we are still finishing up some of the projects and assignments we started during the two weeks of the Olympics. We enjoyed watching the Olympics in class, especially the USA vs. Canada hockey games for both the women and the men. If you didn't catch this CBC article on the Sochi newsfeed, it is an interesting read about why it is acceptable to watch hockey at work, or in our case, school. Soon the English class will start their novel study of the Lord of the Flies. The Geography class is starting their next unit on Natural Resources. We have started looking at Canada's water resources. And in the French classes, we still have some sports related activities to finish up and then we will start some new units. On another note, we are less than a month away from the first day of Spring. It sure doesn't feel like it. We need to get outside! When will this end?? Stay warm everyone!

Go Canada Go!

In 2010 when the Olympics were in Vancouver, I was at home with my son when he was just a few months old.  It was winter, I wasn't teaching and really had no reason to leave the house.  I watched these games continuously. I loved it! I'm excited once again for the Olympics but this time I'm relying on apps and news feeds to keep me updated since I'm back at school, and with two kids at home, there's not a lot of Olympics on the television when I've got to compete with Spider-Man. I've decided to take my French, Geography and English classes on an Olympic journey with me! There will be all kinds of projects and activities the French classes will be participating in. The Geography class did a project on the geography of Sochi and a participating winter Olympic country. And in English, we've been exploring the Canadian Olympic Team's campaign #WeAreWinter. The English class will also be looking at a number of poems, articles and videos that look at the history of the Olympic Games and responding in a variety of ways. I'm looking forward to sharing my passion for the Olympics and cheering on Team Canada with all my classes!

Exam week

Good luck on exams everyone! I had a great semester with all my classes and am looking forward to seeing what second semester brings!

Welcome back!

I hope you all had a restful break and are ready for the final three weeks of the semester and exam time! I was fortunate enough to escape the frigid temperatures here in Winnipeg for a week with my family to Mexico. Being closer to the Equator was magnificent! I hope you are all staying warm. See you on Monday!