French for the Future

I spent some time this week in George Waters Middle School next door chatting with the grade 8 students who will be registering for high school next month. Enrollment in French: Communication and Culture is declining in Manitoba and I'm really trying to encourage more students to stay in French. I made this flyer to share with the students and share it during our Open House on February 9. I hope to see lots of the grade 8's out with their parents and guardians and we can talk about the benefits of learning French.

Choose French! Your future will thank you!

Winter...love it or leave it?

We've been having a roller coaster this winter in regards to our weather. It's been a huge improvement over last year so I'm definitely not complaining. It's been nice being able to get out this year and enjoy what winter has to offer. I am truly grateful to live in an area where we get to have four distinct seasons and all the beauty and adventure each season brings. In case you don't feel the same way I do, here's another blog post from David Suzuki, this time inviting us to celebrate winter.

Winnipeg for Wasichana

Yesterday, our Social Justice group visited Golden Gate Middle School (a partner UNESCO school with St. James Collegiate). Groups of students presented "Give Girls a Chance: Barriers to Education" to all grade 7 classes. Our students spent several weeks preparing for these presentations which featured the videos below. These presentations were meant as an introduction to some of the barriers to education that young girls face in rural Africa - for example, Kenyan girls will miss up to 20% of their classes because of menstruation. We will be presenting to all the classes in George Waters Middle School tomorrow. We are promoting the "Winnipeg for Wasichana" bake sale that is taking place at both St. James Collegiate and Golden Gate (as well as a number of other schools in Winnipeg) in support of the Wasichana Fund. All money raised will go to #padsforchange. Check out this website and video here for more information.

Happy New Year!

Here's hoping that 2015 is off to a good start for everyone! Only three weeks until exams - where has the semester gone?!?

There's a really good blog post from the David Suzuki Foundation that I read over the break I'd like to share. Many people begin a new year with some goals or resolutions for the coming year. I'm usually not one who does, but I'm hoping to generally just be more mindful and in the moment instead of worrying about what lies ahead. David Suzuki reminds us to slow down, not only for ourselves but for the sake of our fragile environment too.

"Let's slow down, breathe, listen, look and feel. Only then will we understand our place in the world and what we must do to live well on this small blue dot spinning in an enormous universe. " 

- David Suzuki, October 9, 2014

Here's to a happy, healthy and mindful 2015 - for you and Planet Earth!