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!