by Alycia Ambroziak

• When celebritychef Anthony Bourdain vis-itedMontreal for his televisionshow, The Layover, it was theJoeBeefRestaurantheprofiled.

•New York Chef David Chang,founder of theMomofuku res-taurant empire in Manhattanand listed on the 2010 list ofTimeMagazine’sMost Influen-tial People, says JoeBeef ishisfavouriteRestaurant.

•JoeBeefwasvotedCanada’sbestrestaurantinthe2013Vacay.caTop50RestaurantGuide.

Director General’sReport to Council

by R. T. Mills

Budget For 2014-2015Thisisthetimeofyearatwhich

weareawaitingwithsomesenseofexcitementtheBudgetparam-eters for the coming year fromMELS. There is certainly someanxietythisyearwiththeincreas-ing evidence of austerity mea-surescombinedwithourreducedenrollment. Our initial staffingallocations in both teaching andsupport serviceshave taken intoaccount the expected reductionsbutthesenumbersandresourceswillbemodifiedoncetheparam-etershavebeenreceived.

Retirement Banquet: May 15, 2014Our annual Retirement Ban-

quetinhonorofthoseemployeeswhohavegivensomuchserviceovertheyearstookplaceonMay15. The event is certainly oneof mixed emotion in that thereis great pleasure in recognizingthosewhocontributedsostrong-ly to public education for somanyyears,butalsoinvolvingadegreeofsadnessatthelossofsomuchtalentandcommitment.Iwishallofourretireesthebestofhealthandhappinessastheyem-bark on this new phase of theircareers. I wish also to extendmost sincere thanks to our Hu-manResourcesDepartmentthat,onceagain,organizedandcarriedoutamostremarkableevening.

Visit To Grade 3: Clearpoint Elementary SchoolI suggest that there are many

more people than the Grade 3class at Clearpoint ElementarySchool who wonder what theDirector General really does. Itwasawonderfulinvitationissuedby the studentsofMrs.Randle’sclasstovisitwiththemandtotellthemwhatIdoonadailybasis.IassureyouthatGrade3studentscankeepyouonyour toeswithsome really insightful questionsand comments! Thank you forgivingmeawonderfulexperienceinyourclass!

AAESQ/QESBA WorkshopIhadthepleasureofattending

theAAESQ/QESBAAnnualCon-ferencelastweekandwanttoex-tendmy thanks and congratula-tionstotheNewFrontiersSchoolBoardpersonnelandtheQESBAmembersoftheorganizingcom-mittee forpresenting a stimulat-ingthreedaysofeventsandpro-fessional development sessions.KeynotepresentationsweremadebyDr.LauraLipton,BruceWell-man andGordonElhard, all in-ternationally-recognized writersandeducationalresearchers.Dr.Lipman and Mr. Wellman con-centrated on learning-focused

Chairman’s Report

to Council

by Suanne Stein Day

Finally, spring hassprung!AndMayistraditionallythe timewhenour students startcollecting their year’s works fordisplayandadmirationby familyand community. I will tell youaboutafewofthem,butfirstwantto again thank all the incrediblydedicated teachers and staffwhosupport these students all yearlong. I hope the pride on theirfacesastheypresenttheirprojectsisasrewardingforyouasitisforme.I told you about the Battle of

Bookslastmonth.Abigshout-outtothePierrefondsComprehensiveHighSchool team,who took thetrophy at the Ultimate Battle oftheBooksagainstSelwynHouse.Both teams were SO impressivewith their thorough knowledgeof the books on the reading list.EducationalServicesplantogrowthis eventnext yearwith the ex-pectedparticipationfromtheEng-lishMontrealSchoolBoard.TwoofourButchery students,

Katelyn Greene and Susan AnnHuntington,werewinnersoftheregionalChapeauLesFillescom-petition forwomenwhoare fol-lowingcareerpathsthataretradi-tionallymale-dominated. Thesetwo exceptional ladies have alsowonaplaceattheprovinciallevelandtheresultswillbeknowninearlyJune.And hearty congratulations

must go to the cast andcrewofTOPS2014. This show is trulyoutstanding and keeps on get-ter better. The incredible talentdisplayed in TOPS 2014, show-casingstudentsfromallourhighschools and produced by ourcommittedalumni,madetheeve-ninggobyinaflash.Itcertainlyleftmewantingmore.I followed up TOPS with the

Central Students’ Committee’sWelcome to our World. Ourhighschoolleadersaretrulygen-erouswiththetimetheyputintothis event that aims to reducesome of the fears that Grade 6studentsmayhaveaboutstartinghigh school. This year’s work-shopwaswebcastandisavailableinourarchivesforthosewhomayhavemissedit.EarlierthismonthIhadtheop-

portunity to visit Westwood Jr.andwatchpresentationsbyGrade8 students demonstrating thecross-curricularstudiesofgeogra-phy,scienceandmath,allassistedby the technology of the Matrixprogramthere.Theprofessional-ism shown during the presenta-tions, en deux langues,was out-standing. Itwas hard to believewewerewatching14yearolds.The next day brought the Sci-

techfairattheboardagainhigh-lightingstudentsfromallourhighschoolsshowingamazingcreativi-tyanddedicationtotheirprojects.IranfromtheretoLindsayPlaceHighSchoolwherestudentswereshowingofftheresultandbenefitsof the Quantum project. Tech-nologyisenhancingeverysubjectand the studentswere incrediblyproudoftheirwork.Itoo,amsoproudtobeassoci-

See MILLS page A2 See STEIN DAY page A2

The Pearson NewsFROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL & CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Mai/May2014 GRATUIT/FREEVolumeXVINo.10

FINALDU DIRECTEUR GÉNÉRAL ET DE LA PRÉSIDENTE DU CONSEIL

PACC Announces Partnership with Famous Joe Beef Restaurant

by Alycia Ambroziak

Itwasamatchwellfoughtbutintheend,thefirst-everUltimateBattleoftheBooksattheLesterB.PearsonSchoolBoardendedina108to80victoryforPierrefondsComprehensiveHighSchooloverSelwynHouse.“I’m relieved, excited andvery

proud,” PCHS studentMercedesNucciaroni said moments afterthefinaltallyinthebattlebetweenthepublicandprivateschoolwasannounced.JesseCaruso, amemberof the

team from Selwyn House, tookthelossinstride.“Itwasalotoffun,”hesaidnot-

ingthathisteamwasleadinguntilthefinallightningroundatwhichtheteamfromPCHSexcelled.Battle of the Books, better

known as BoB, is a competitionat which teams from differenthigh schools compete againsteach other to see who knowstheir books best. Students replytoquestions inbothregularandlightning rounds from14booksselectedearlierthisyear.SuzanneNesbitt,boardlibraryconsultant,explained that BoB was created

attheLBPSBbyschoollibrariansinorder topromote literacyandwasmeant as an inclusive eventasreflectedinthechoiceofbooksthatcoveredallgenresandread-inglevels.“School librarianswere instru-

mentalinthesuccessofthepro-gram by coaching and coaxing

the many students who partici-pated,”shesaid.On April 10, the team from

PierrefondsComprehensiveHighSchool successfully defended itstitleagainst threeotherLesterb.Pearsonschoolteams.Andsoonafter,SelwynHouse,

the all-boys private school inWestmount, won its own divi-sionbattleagainstTrafalgar,MissEdgarandMissCramps,allpartoftheQuebecAssociationofIn-dependentSchools(QAIS).The final showdown between

the two champion teams tookplace Tuesday (April 29) at the

LesterB.PearsonSchoolBoard’sheadoffice.Theteamsofgrades7,8and9

studentswere introduced to thesoundtrackofRocky–AlexanderAmuridis,JesseCaruso,MatthewBehr, Adam Corning-Racette,Hamza Fefens and Victor Ciu

for SelwynHouse andMercedesNucciaroni, Shanna King, JaedaKhallfar,ErinOldford,AugustusWilsonandFaithRiddellforPier-refondsComprehensive.Each team had 30 seconds to

deliberate each questions andfirstanswerswerefinal.Both teams showedpoisedur-

ing the hour-long event but asenseofnervoustensioncouldbefelt throughout the roomwhichincluded an audience of mostlyfamilyandfriendsofthecompet-ingstudents.“I’montheteambecauseIlike

readingbooksandIlikecompe-tition,” SelwynHouse’sMatthewBehr said during a five-minutehalf-timebreakatwhichhisteamappearedtobeleading.When asked if nerves were a

factor, PCHS’s Erin Oldford re-plied: “Not at all, this is a greatcompetition.”Thebattlecontinuedwithboth

teams about equal until the fi-nallightningroundatwhichtheteam from Selwyn House stum-bledwith five incorrect answersandthreepasses.In contrast, the team from

PCHS zipped through the light-ningroundwithonlytwoincor-rect replies and twopasses.Vic-torywastheirs.

PCHS Shines in LBPSB-Hosted Battle of the Books

The winning Battle of the Books team from PCHS

It’snowonderthenthatstudentsandstaffatthePearsonAdultandCareerCentre,which houses thePearson School of Culinary Arts,werethrilledwhentheylearnedofaone-yearinternpartnershipwiththefamousJoeBeefrestaurant.“We’re very happy about this

partnership with Joe Beef,” Vero-niqueMarin,DirectorofAdultEd-ucationandVocationalTrainingattheLesterB.PearsonSchoolBoard,said of the latest program whichwill begin in the fall of this year.“Partofwhatwedoiscreatelinkswithindustrypartnersinallofourprograms, including accounting,interiordecoratingandcommercialdrafting,tonameafew.“These industry links ensure

that our programs are relevantandup-to-date.”Underthepartnership,JoeBeef

-whichwasnamedafterCharles“Joe Beef” McKiernan, a 19thcenturyMontreal innkeeper andworking-classhero-willprovideonsitetrainingtoLBPSBstudentsenrolledintheLesterB.PearsonSchool Board’s server/sommelierprogram. The partnership is de-signedtogiveinternsachancetoputtousewhattheyarelearningand to understand the reality oftheindustry.The students will intern at the

JoeBeef restaurantaswell as theLittle Burgundy neighbourhoodrestaurants,LiverpoolHouse andthe McKiernan Luncheonette.

PACC and the Lester B. PearsonSchool Board will provide theclassroom space as well as thepedagogicaltheoryportionoftheprogramandinterviewcandidatesfortheJoeBeefstagiereprogram.DavidMcMillan and co-owner

FredericMorinpublishedabest-selling cookbook in 2012 calledThe Art of Living According toJoe Beef: a Cookbook of Sorts.The book was shortlisted for aJames Beard prize and won therenownedPigletAward.Foodandwineafficionadosin-

terestedinregisteringforthepro-gram should call Pierre Auclair,pegadogical consultant at thePearsonAdultandCareerCentre,atpauclair@lbpsb.qc.ca

by Alycia Ambroziak

G r e e nT e a mstudents

atJohnRennieHighSchoolwerein for a happy surprise Tuesday(May 6)when they learned theirschool hadwon a $25,000 com-puterlabintheRe-cycleforEducationprogramsponsoredbyBureauenGros.More than a fewgasps and cheersrangoutintheLou-ise Chalmers The-atre at the PointeClaireschoolwhenCarmineBarba,re-gional director forBureau en Gros,let the studentsknow they hadplaced first - andnot second - ashehad originally an-nouncedasajoke.“I take it back…,”Barba said with abig smile. “JohnRenniedidwinfirstprize.”“It’sgreat,”Grade7studentMat-thewDraiersaidfollowingthean-nouncement.Draier said thesur-priseforhimwentbeyondBarba’sjoke.

“I didn’t know what the otherschools are doing and I didn’tknowhowweweredoingincom-parison,” he added. ”So winningwasreallyasurprise.”JohnRennieisdoingquitewell,asitturnsout.Among many other things, stu-

dents at the PointeClaire schoolhavenotonlyadoptedano-styro-foampolicy,theyalsotendtotheirown herb and vegetable garden,have a pond, a raspberry patch,compostingbins,asolarpanelto

rechargedevicessuchasphones–whichwonat the local level andisnowattheregionallevelintheQuebecEntrepreneurshipContestfor schools - andwent from re-cycling610kilogramsin2008to5,500kilogramsin2013.Oh yes, students last year built

their own skating rink to enjoyduringlunchperiod.And later this year, they will begettingtheirownbeehives.The school is part of the EcoleVert Brundtland organization

based on a 1987UnitedNationsreport called Our Common Fu-turepresidedoverbythenNorwe-gian Prime Minister Gro HarlemBruntdland. The report sparkedan international movement thatpromotesthedevelopmentoffourcore values within schools: ecol-

ogy,peace,socialjustice/soli-darityanddemocracy.Jean-FrancoisPepin,aFrenchhistoryandgeographyteach-erattheschoolandleaderofthe JuniorGreenTeam,saidhe was very proud of thehis Green team students aswellasallthestudentsattheschool.“Everyonehastomakeacon-tributiontomakeitwork,”hesaid.John Rennie Principal AlanaQuinn-Leroux, said she toowas veryproudof theworkdone by students at theschool–andsheaddedthatthe prize for the $25,000computer lab – one of tengivenoutbyBureauEnGrosacrossCanada –will be puttogooduse.“We look forward to plan-

ningwiththestudentsanddeter-miningwhichkindoflabwewilldevelop; upgrading a current laborcreateamobile,”shesaid.“Thisisveryexciting–andallthankstoourstudentsandstaff.”

John Rennie High School’s Green Team Wins a Computer Lab

by Alycia Ambroziak

A groupof Grade5 and 6s tudent s

from Westpark and RiverviewElementary schools sat silentlyin theWestpark gymnasium lastWednesday(May7)whenThom-asO.Hechttoldthemthestoryofhisyouth.“Iwasabouttenyearsoldwhen

theGermans,underAdolphHit-ler, occupied Czechoslovakia,”saidHecht,ashiswifeRivalookedon.Now85,Hechttoldhisaudi-ence thathewas justabout theirage when he was kicked out ofschoolandbeateninthestreets.Hiscrime?BeingaJew.Hechtisachildsurvivorofthe

Holocaust.TheHechtsare foundersof the

RivaandThomasO.HechtSchol-arship,TeachingoftheHolocaustfor Educators (THE) program,nowinitsninthyear.“Ourscholarshipwasestablished

to provide professional develop-mentopportunitiesforteachersintheQuebecpublicschoolsystem:specifically, togive teachers toolsand resources to teach their stu-dents about the Holocaust,” saidRivaHecht.This year’s scholarshipwinners

include Jeff Pinsky, a Lester B.Pearson School Board teacher atBeaconsfieldHighSchool.Pinsky, who teaches drama at

theBeaconsfieldhighschool,saidheislookingforwardtotakingpartinTHEProgram,fromJuly13to31.The scholarship funds returnairfaretoJerusalem,tuitionatthethree-weekSeminarforEducatorsfrom Abroad at Yad Vashem, aswellasroomandboard.“Iamthefirstartsteachertore-

ceivethescholarship,”saidPinsky,who did teachHolocaust studieswhenhewasanEnglish teacher.Pinskysaidheplans toputwhathe learns in Israel to good useuponhisreturn.“I find it appalling that educa-

tioninQuebecbarelytouchesontheHolocaust,”hesaidnotingthatwhen studentsdo learn about it,it’susuallythroughthewrittenororalmedium–butneverasaper-formancemedium.“My drama class students will

beable tousewhatI teachthemabout the Holocaust and blendthosestoriesofsurviving-ornotsurviving-intotheirownperfor-

A2Pearson News Mai/May 2014

Mills, from page A1 Stein Day, from page A1

For More Information Visit:http://juniorvoyageurs.lbpsb.qc.ca/

The Lester B. Pearson School Board is happy to announce the return of JUNIOR VOYAGEURS, an arts, science and technology summer enrichment day camp for students in our board.JUNIOR VOYAGEURS offers students currently in grades 4, 5, 6 and 7 a unique opportunity to experience exciting hands-on courses given by certified, experienced teachers. The camp runs for 2 weeks, July 7-18 morning and one in the afternoon. In order to maximize learning, classes will be kept small, around 12 students.

instruction,literacypracticesandsupport of beginning teachers.Mr. Elhard relies of decades ofexperience in public education,reminding us of the critical im-portanceofourrole.Heempha-sized also that education is notonlyamatterofthemindbutalsoamatteroftheheart.Workshop sessions were on

threethemes:21stCenturySkills;Managing the Change ProcessandSafeandHealthyCommuni-ties.Workshoptopicswereverydiverse along these themeswiththefollowingasasample:a.HowAssistiveTechnologySup-portsStudentLearning

b.Critical Thinking for the 21stCentury

c.HelpingBoysLearn:SixSecretsforSuccessinSchool

d.GotData?NowWhat?CreatingandLeadingCulturesofInquiry

e.Where Does ENVIRONMEN-TAL Stewardship Fit intoOurSchools?

atedwiththisboard.Whenover100grade5and6studentsfromRiverviewandWestpark schoolsgathered to hear Mr. ThomasHecht’s story of escaping war-tornEuropeduringtheHolocaustyears,youcouldhearapindropintheroom. Thechildrenweresocapturedbyhispersonalstoryand asked such insightful andthoughtfulquestions;itwasclearthechildrenwantedtotrulyun-derstandwhatlifewaslifeduringthishistoricalperiod.Thesechil-drenwillNOTforgetthisexperi-ence. Many thanks,onceagain,toMr.&MrsHecht forall theydoforourteachersandstudents.OntheArtsside,Iattendedthe

MacHighArt andDance Show.Thisschoolcommunitydidsuchanoutstanding jobofdisplayingtheir programs. Cooking stu-dents prepared and served de-licious treats, students were ingreatattendanceshowingofftheirworkssofartanddisplayinghowcertainpieceswerecreated,and,ofcourse,thedancingwassimplybeautiful.Theywerewonderful.One of my favorite events is

watching our kindergarten stu-dents show off their Roboticsprojects. This year I joined theWilderPenfieldstudentsatBeech-woodElementary.Thestudentshadtocomeupwith“inventions”and build prototypes with LegoRobotics. They then explainedthe projects, en francais, to the“judges”fromESD.Bienfait,lesélèves!Onemoreart showthatneeds

to be mentioned is the annualshow at Thorndale Elementary.Again, this is an amazing exam-pleof crosscurriculareducationatwork. The students learnedabout Terry Fox and expressedtheirlearninginthestyleofMon-drian. They studied about theOlympics throughworkingwithclayandmakinggoaliemasksinthe styleofPicasso. TheGroupof Sevenwasdepicted inpastel,pencils andcrayonswith a trainof cars representing each prov-ince.IdoubtanyThorndalestu-dent will forget that the Groupof Seven travelled by rail acrossthecountryfortheir inspiration.My favoritepart thoughwas the“Chihuly exhibit” created in thegarageofthegym.

IdroppedinatMacHighasec-ond time this month to witnesstheBringYourOwnDevicepilotproject in action. I was awed.NoneoftheteachersweretoldIwascoming–thiswasjustanor-dinaryday atMac. What I sawblewmeaway.Studentsweresoengaged in their exam prepara-tion,lessonsandprojects.Somestudentswereusingtheirdevices,someborrowedsomeofthetab-lets from the school, somewereusing pencils and dictionaries.Teachers young and old wereenthusiastic participants, despiteinitial apprehensions. Studentswere well behaved, working inteams, and learning! This proj-ectisclearlyahugesuccessandIlookforwardtoMacsharingthatsuccesswithotherschools.And all this happened in the

firsthalfofthemonth.Nextweekstartsthefirstofthe

convocationceremonies.It’strulyatimeofcelebrationforourSec-ondary5 students. I amalwayshonoredtobeinvitedtoaddressthe students and give them thebestwishesof theboardas theymoveon tonewadventuresandopportunities.Ourhighsuccessrate is trulymotivating, keepinguscomingbacktoensurethebestpossible education for our com-munities.

mancestories,”headded.Riva Hecht explained that she

andherhusbandfeltteachingtheHolocaustinQuebecschoolswasimportant.“Myhusbandisachildsurvivor

of theHolocaust and inmypro-fessionallifeItaughtatConcordiaUniversity,” she said. “So it wasnatural tomergeHolocaustEdu-cation with teacher and studenteducation.”Maria De Wolfe, principal at

Westpark Elementary, said thatfour people connected to theschool are past Hecht Scholar-ship winners: teacher CaroleTouchette, now retired, SteveSantella, a grade 6 teacher atWestpark,MaryRutherford,com-

munity and spiritual animator atWestparkandRiverviewElemen-tary and Freda Solman, grade 6andresourceteacheratWestpark.Aswell,DebiDixon,nowprinci-pal of Riverview elementary, is aHecht Scholarship recipient. Inall, 13of the29 teachers award-edHechtScholarshipshavebeenfromtheLesterB.PearsonSchoolBoard.Solman,whowasthefirstHecht

Scholarshiprecipient,saidattend-ing the Seminar for Educators

fromAbroadatYadVashemwasaturningpointinherteachinglife.“Theexperiencereallygavemea

voice,”saidSolman,thedaughterofHolocaustsurvivorsherself.“Ithasgivenme thepower to teachthenextgeneration.”Students were rapt as Hecht

talked about how his family –himself,hisparentsandhissister–fledfirsttoHungaryandthentoFrance. They left Paris only onedaybeforetheJune14,1940Ger-manoccupationofthatcity.“Wewere always just one step

ahead…,”hesaid.“Weknewthatif theGermans caughtus, itwastheend.”Hecht described how he was

separated from his family at a

train station in France – some-thingwhichmarkedhimforlife–andwasonlyreunitedbecausethetraintrackshadbeenbombardedand were impassible. The HechtfamilymanagedtomakeitSpainand thenPortugal andfinally onanovercrowdedrefugeeship.Theship,whichwasstoppedby

aGerman submarine and then aBritishdestroyermadequiteafewportsofcall–LisbontoMorocco,the Azores, the Dominican Re-public,Havana,Cuba,VeraCruz,

MexicoandfinallyNewYork.The timing however delayed

thingsjustalittlemore.TheshiplandedjustafterPearl

HarbourhadbeenbombedbytheJapanese and because security intheU.S.wastight,theHechtfam-ily,alongwith theotherrefugees– and even some German spieswhohadbeencaughtintheU.S.– spent 12 days in cells on EllisIsland.Hecht’sfamilyfinallymadeitto

CanadabytrainonDec.31,1941.Hewastwelve-years-old.Seven-

tymembersofhisextendedfamilyhaddiedintheHolocaust.AfterHechtspoke,thestudents

- some of whom took part in acandle-lighting ceremony whileeveryone recited a pledge: “Wepledge to do our part to ensurethatnothinglikethiseverhappensagain”-wereabletoaskhimques-tions.Howdid it feel tobe travelling

allthetime?”askedonestudent.“The alternative was being

caught … and that was guaran-teeddeath,”repliedHecht,asuc-cessfulbusinessman,alongstand-ingleaderintheCanadianJewishcommunityandaproudgrandfa-therandgreatgrandfather.“Whydidn’tyoucometoCan-

ada before the Holocaust hap-pened?”askedanotherstudent.“Canada, in the days of Prime

Minister MacKenzie King, had apolicy best described as ‘none istoomany’whenreferringtoJew-ishrefugees,”Hechtreplied.“Whatgaveyoutheideatosend

teacherstoIsrael?”astudentasked.“The idea is that genocide in

general,andtheHolocaustinpar-ticular, should be studied so itneverhappensagain.”LesterB.PearsonSchoolBoard

ChairmanSuanneSteinDay saidshewasmovedbyMr.Hecht’slifestory and by students’ comport-mentatthepresentation.“My family also lived through

the horrors of escaping Hungaryand Poland or being assured ofdeath,”shesaid.“Mr.Hecht’ssto-ryisverymoving.“Thisisanamazingopportunity

forthechildrentobeabletoaskquestionsdirectlytosomeonewhowasthere,”sheadded.“Itmakesitrealforthem,notjustwordsinatextbook.“Iwas touched to see the chil-

drencomeuptoshakeMr.Hecht’shandafterhispresentation.”

Science Showcase Displays Power of Public Education, Ingenuity of LBPSB Studentsby Alycia Ambroziak

Have you ever eventhought that a moving vehiclecould bemade by using the en-ergy created by the spring of amousetrap?How about

making a home-made electricalconductivity tes-teroraprototypewind turbine?Perhaps you’dprefer makinghomemade head-phones or testing the power ofwindmills?Buildarobot.Usesta-tionaryexercisebicyclestocreateelectrical power , create a sluicegate,testhumanperceptionversusreality,studypossiblefreshwaterconservation, build a mechani-cal arm, create a mi-croscope using a cellphone, show us howlungsworkorbuildamodelsolarsystem.Ifthat’snotenough,

why not build a 13-foot longRubeGold-bergrocketlauncher.Thosearejustsome

of the things high

school students from across theLester B. Pearson School BoardpresentedTuesday(May7)attheLBPSBScienceShowcase.“Anyone that tries todeny that

public education is workingwasn’tinthisroomtonight,”LB-PSBChairman Suanne SteinDaysaidnotingthatthePearsonEdu-

cational Foun-dation fundedmany of the stu-dentprojects.“We’rekeeping

studentsinschoolby offering themaneducation thatis engaging,” she

saidincongratulatingthestudentsfortheirworkandtheteachersfortheirintegrityandinspiration.TheMouseTrapvehicle,made

with cd and records for wheels,was created by students at Bea-consfield High School. “It was a

lot of fun and a lotof work,” said GraceWildenmann, one ofthegrade10BHSstu-dentsthattookpartintheproject.Nathanial Goodwin

and Silas Latchem,16, were among theWestwood Sr. stu-dents who created ahomemade electrical

conductivity tester and VictoriaDe Braga and Quincy Ross cre-ated a prototype wind turbine.The headphones came from St.Thomas high School, while thePower of Windmills project andRobots were from Lindsay PlaceHighSchool.JasmineChartierandAshleyRo-

mack, students at LaSalle Com-munity Comprehensive HighSchool, came up with an eco-friendlygizmo thatharnesses thepowercreatedwhenstationaryex-ercisebikesareinuse.The projects from Pierrefonds

ComprehensiveHighSchoolwereasluicegateandperceptionvs.real-ity–atleastwhenitcomestotaste.“Wetastewithoureyesaswell

as our taste buds,” said ShenicaWickhamwho, alongwith class-mateAlessiaKapsch,askedpass-ers-by to taste a jelly bean withtheir eyes closed and guess theflavour. Almost no one guessedright.“It’smuchhardertodistinguish

tastewithoutsight,”saidAlessia.JohnRennieHighSchool’sproj-

ects were a working model of alung and freshwater conservation.Riverdale High School studentscreatedamechanicalarmandstu-dents from Beurling High SchoolcreatedaDYIi-Phonemicroscopeaswellasamodelofthesolarsys-

tem.One of the more eye-catching

displays came from MacdonaldHighSchool.MacHighstudentscreateda13-

foot long Rube Goldberg rocketlauncher. “It works most of thetime but sometimes we have tonudge it along,” said ShannonHayes, a mem-ber of one of the13 student teamseach assigned tobuild a one-footsection of thelauncher.Pulleys, tubes,

wires and stringsheld it all together for a creativeandfuninvention.“”It was a big technical chal-

lenge,” said teacher ArianeBrazeau who along with fellowteacher Heather McDowell andLabTechnicianAlDorman,over-saw the project. “Buteveryone had fun,eventhestudentswhothink they don’t likescience.”Ashley Zwireck, a

former Lindsay PlaceHigh School studentwhoisabouttograd-uate from Concordiaasamechanicalengi-neer and is interning

atBombardier,talkedtostudentsabout her passion for science -and how it started with an en-counterwith Canadian astronautChrisHadfieldwhenshewasnineyearsold.“Hetalkedtomeabouthispassionforspaceandsparkedthishugefireinme,”shesaid.Itwasafirethatdidnotdie.

In school, anyproject Zwireckdidwas space-re-lated,shewasoneof two Canadianstudents chosento attend Inter-national SpaceCamp in Hunts-

ville,Alabama,andwhenshewentontoUniversity,shewaspartoftheWomeninEngineeringpanel.“Mypassionforspacegrewwith

everystepItook,”shesaid.“Me-chanical engineering is no easyfeat…butI’mprettymuchonmy

way to realizing mydream.Hermessagetostu-

dents was to nevergiveup.“The science you

are doing now isnot faroff fromwhatwe’re doing in thereal world,” she said.“Takeyourdreamandholdontoit.”

Thomas and Riva Hecht Talk to Westpark and Riverview Students About the Holocaust

By Stacey Nesbitt

T h i syear forW e s t -w o o d ’ s

IDPgrad trip,wewentonahu-manitariantriptoPeru.Westayedin the village ofPomac III for 11days and builtthem a preschool.Thisofcoursebe-ing the main fo-cus toour20daytrip. 11 days inthevillage,6daysof touring/sight-seeing and therest were travel-ling days. Beforearriving in thevillage, the localbuilders plannedascheduleforhowfast they thoughtwe would finisheverything; theydidn’t thinkwewouldbeabletofinishtheschoolin10days.Iamextremely proud to say we fin-isheditin8daysandthelasttwowerespentdoinglittletouchups,finishing the painting, cleaninguptheschoolyardandputtinginfurnitureweboughtwiththeextramoneywehadraised.All inall Ithinkwedidareallygreatjob.

Pearson NewsA3Mai/May 2014

Lakeside Academy’s Mohawk Club Westwood and KSS Team Up?LakesideA c a d -e m y ' sMohawk

Clubassemblytookplaceon6thMay2014.Itwasanopportunityfor our school's native studentsto showcase their culture and

put their talents ondisplay. Onthe agenda were traditional Iro-quoissonganddancesaswellasamoderntwistintheformofHoopDancing, popularized amongsouth-westernFirstNations.Special guest Barbara Diaboworkedcloselywithourstudents

to introduce them to the basicsofhoopdancing,withPashaPar-tidgeandAinsleyMacDonaldput-tingonaroutineofwhattheyhadlearned.Theassemblyallowedallstudents a chance to familiarizethemselves with traditional Iro-quoismelodiesanddancesteps.

By Stacey Nesbitt

OnApril17thagroupof

32ofusWestwoodseniorstookareallygreatfieldtripuptotheKahnawake Survival School thisbeing the second time our twoschoolsaremeetingup.ThefirstbeinglastNovemberwhenWest-wood invitedKSS to joinusinattendingthememo-rial service for Remem-branceDayinOttawa.Onthis trip it was KSS thatinvited us to come learnmore about their schooland their reserve. Itwas a group ofmixedgrades, mainly grade10s,whowent on thetrip. Whenwe arrivedattheschoolwewereallbroughtinto one of the free class roomsandweregivenaofahistoryclasson theschool itselfand theMo-hawktribe.ThefirsthighschooltheKSShadbuiltwasmore likeauniversitycampus,withalltheseparate buildings on the oneschool ground. They explainedtous thatwhen thegovernmenthadmadethechangesinBill101which established a school sys-temwhere Natives had to get acertificate of eligibility to go toEnglish schools, the people ofKahnawake did not want their

kids to follow thatprogram.Be-ing in Quebec their childrenwouldhavebeenforcedtogotothe French or English schools.Notwantingthis,theKahnawakepeople started their own schoolcalled the Kahnawake SurvivalSchool. But because of the lackof funds, the different subjectsweretaughtfromdifferentbuild-ings andhomes from across the

town and taught by dif-ferentvolunteers.Thisiswhythecommunityorigi-nally built the school asa campus style school, toremember and representthatpartoftheirhistory.Wewerethensplitinto two groups andtaken to two differentclassrooms to learnmoreaboutthehistoryof their culture. Being

an aboriginal culture, weWest-wood students wanted to knowmoreabouttheirtruecultureandtheywantedtoclearupwhatwasfact and what are myths. Onething I found out, thatmust beveryhardonthestudents,isthattheyarelearningnotjustFrenchand English but also their Mo-hawk,Iroquoianlanguage.Threelanguages and I thought learn-ingtwowashard.Unfortunately,thesestudentsarelearningady-inglanguageandwiththatcomea lot of abbreviations and shortcutstotheirwords.It’salsoalotofpressureforthembecausethey

are theones thatwilldecide thefateofnotonlythelanguagebutalsotheculture.Whenweaskedthemabout it theysaid they feltscared knowing how importantand serious thematter really is.I can’t even imaginehaving thatkind of pressure on my shoul-ders,butnooneevershould.Afterhearingeverythingtheyhad time to tell us, because Iknow I could have sat there fordayslisteningtotheirstoriesandexplanations,afewofuswereleftwiththesamethought;thishastochange.Itisn’trightforpeopletobe discriminated against. It isn’tfair to have your history takenand changed by others. It isn’trightthataperson’sonlywaytoget help is to secretly get to theUN to tell theworldwhat theircountryhasbeenlyingaboutandcovering up. Families, homes,villages have already been takenawayandtornapartandnowasaresulttheseteenshavetheenor-mous responsibility to try andsavesomeofwhat’sleft. I know this left a fewofusangry and confused. Westwoodhasshownwehavethepowertomake a difference before. Now,thankstoMr.Luthi,wehavethechancetohelpourowncountry.LiketheysaidintheKahnawakeSurvivalSchool;wearebrothers,equals. This is one of the firsteventsourschoolshavedoneto-getherandIcanconfidentlysayitwon’tbethelast.

by Alycia Ambroziak

T h eFree theChildren

travellingroadshowknownastheWeCreateChangeTourstoppedin at St Anthony Elementary inPierrefonds lastweek(April23),muchtothedelightofstudents.Thedecibellevelsintheschool

auditorium rivaled those at aMontreal Canadiens hockeygameasmembersofNeverest, atrioof threeyoungsingers,firedup the crowd,which includedstudents fromSt. Anthony inaddition to stu-dentsfromTerryFox,St.Charles,Margaret Man-son, Greendale,Thorndale andMaple GroveE l e m e n t a r yschools.And things

really got roll-ing when Han-nah Alper, an11-year-oldTorontonianwhobe-ganbloggingatageninetoshareherconcernfortheenvironment,tooktothestage.ThreeSt.Anthonystudents,Elle

Guerin,AmandaGeorgeandEmilyKamHum,werecitedforthecom-munityworkstheyhavedone.Aswell, AmandaDavis, a former St.Anthonystudent,nowatJohnRen-nieHighSchool,spoketostudentsaboutherworkinthecommunityandwithFreetheChildren.St.Anthony’stieswithFreethe

Childrengoback to2009whenthe school decided to take on athree-yearprojecttohelpthevil-lage of Makeni in Sierra Leone,

Africa,saidSt.AnthonyPrincipalJoanneMalowany.“In the first year, students

raised enough money to buildnot one but three schools,” shesaid. “Then they succeeded incompleting three water wells,three alternate income projectsandfourhealthprojects.“In three years, St. Anthony

studentshadcompletedthreevil-lages instead of just one school,”sheadded.“TheywereveryproudoftheirachievementsandsowasCraig Kielburger (founder of the

FreetheChildreno rgan i z a t i on )whocametovisitourschool…”Last year, the

Free the Chil-dren Youthcommittee atthe school de-cided to focuson building oneschool per yearin each of theeight countrieswhere Free theChildren oper-ates.They chose

tobuildaschoolinHaiti.“This year, students voted

to build a school in Ecuadorand thiswill be achieved in thenext fewweeks,” said PrincipalMalowany, adding that in justfive years, St. Anthony raisedmorethan$100,000forFreetheChildrenandlocalcharitiessuchastheTinyTimFundoftheMon-trealChildren’sHospitalandtheWestIslandMissionFoodBank.Malowanypointedtothewords

writtenon the “WeWall” at theschoolwhichstates:“Individuallyweareonedrop.Togetherweareanocean.”Thespecialguestspeakeratlast

week’s eventwas SpencerWest,

the31-year-oldTorontonianwhoclimbed Mount Kilimanjaro inTanzaniain2012onhishands.When he was was five years

old,West’s legswere amputatedbelowthepelvisduetoageneticdisorder.NowWest is a public speaker

with Free the Children – and ifanyonehasamessageaboutdo-ingwhatseemstobetheimpos-sible,itishe.Whenhisparentsweretoldthat

hewouldneverbeafunctioningmemberofsociety,hisfamilyre-fusedtobelieveit,Westtoldthecrowdofnowmuchquieterstu-dents.Armedwithsuchfirmbeliefin

himself,Westwentontobecomeasuccessinprettywelleverythinghe tried, includingbeingpartofan award-winning cheerleadingteam.But West added, he was so

wrappedupinhislife,hedidn’trealizewhatwasgoingonaroundhimuntillaterinlife–andthat’swhen he embarked on a mis-sionofmakingtheworldabetterplace throughtheFree theChil-drennetwork.Westinteractedwiththeyoung

audience to show how 57 mil-lionchildreninotherpartsoftheworld get to go to school at all,howmanymake it past grade3andhowgirlsareoftennotevenallowedtogotoschool.Healsosaidhowstudentshere

canhelpmakechange.“No one should ever tell you

that you are too young tomakea difference,” West told his au-dience. “A community that ex-cludesevenoneofitsmembersisnocommunityatall.”To read more about the 90-

stop,ten-weekWeCreatechangeTour,gotowww.freethechildren.com/wecreatechangetour

IreallylovedgoingontheIDPtripandamgladIchoseitasmygradtrip.Whenwesignedupweknew information on past tripsbut we weren’t told anythingaboutthetripwewouldbegoingon.Iremembernotknowingwhat

toexpectwhenIwalkedintothefirstmeetingaswellaswhenwesteppedoff thebusand into thevillageforthefirsttime.Buildingtheschool, livingwithourfami-liesinthewaytheylivetheirev-eryday liveswas incredible. Thesight-seeingwasnicebutbeinginthevillagebyfarwasthebestpartofthetrip.Ilearntalotaboutthe

waytheydothingsPomacIIIanditalsomademe lookat thewaywe do things here, some thingsthatneedtobechanged.Myfavoritethingaboutthetrip

wasbeingabletomakeachangeandhelp people.Wedidn’t just

make a differ-ence in the lifeofthe people cur-rently in the vil-lage or attendingthe school. Wemadeadifferencefor future kids tocome. I didn’t doit because of self-ish reasons, I diditbecause IknewI could make adifference andbeing able to fi-nally make whatwe promote soprominently atWestwood, about

makingadifferenceandbeingaleader, a reality instead of justwordswasahugeaccomplishingfeelingforme.IwanttothanktheLester B. Pearson school boardfor approving the trip this yearandIthinkitisatripthatteachesalotmorethanwe’deverlearninschool.

Create Change Tour at St. Anthony’s

Final touch to the project

Westwood Students Build School in Peru

A4Pearson News Mai/May 2014

Below is a list of Commissioners along with their home telephone numbers and school board locals.

Home 422-3000 Ward Communities Commissioner Phone # Local 1 Verdun/Nuns’Island DouglasFlook 514-293-2417 30141 2 LaSalleSouth SergioBorja 514-366-1611 30142 3 LaSalleNortheast RubenFazio 514-365-1638 30143 4 LaSalleWest/VilleSt-Pierre FrankdiBello 514-951-5834 30144 5 Lachine PatrickWhitham 514-800-9240 30145 6 Dorval BarbaraFreeston 514-636-9315 30146 7 Dollard-des-OrmeauxEast NanBeaton 514-683-0491 30147 8 Roxboro/PierrefondsEast CraigBerger 514-421-6570 30148 9 Pointe-ClaireEast LintonGarner 514-696-7892 30149 10 Pointe-ClaireWest MarcLalonde 514-426-7124 30150 11 Dollard-des-OrmeauxCenter RuthDangoorGdalevitch 514-906-7320 30151 12 Pierrefonds/ÎleBizard DomenicoPavone 514-613-2684 30152 13 Dollard-des-OrmeauxCenter/West MartinSherman 514-684-2742 30153 14 Dollard-des-OrmeauxW./KirklandE. JoeZemanovich 514-624-2376 30154 15 BeaconsfieldNorth DonRae 514-697-9878 30155 16 KirklandWest SuanneSteinDay 514-798-8797 30156 17 PierrefondsWest LuisaBulgarelli-Vero 514-694-0475 30157 18 Ste-Anne/Baied’Urfé/BeaconsfldS./Senneville JudyKelley 514-697-7619 30158 19 ÎlePerrot SusanBartlett-Lewis 514-453-6650 30159 20 LesCèdres/Vaudreuil-Dorion AngelaNolet 514-453-5462 30160 21 Hudson/St-Lazare DanielOlivenstein 450-458-1413 30161 CPC SecondaryRepresentative LauraDerry 514-696-6836 30171 CPC ElementaryRepresentative AlexanderPerelmiter 514-675-4567 30172

ExecutiveCommittee June16,20145:30p.m. BoardRoom CouncilofCommissioners June23,20147:30p.m. BoardRoom

In the News...April26– StudentsCelebrateEarthDay.–MountPleasant.PremierEdition.

April30– Publictoelectschoolboardchairforthefirsttime.Gazette,WestIsland.

April30– TOPSliveonGlobalTV.

April30– PearsonstudentsreadytoshineduringTOPSshow.L’Etoile

April30– LBPSBbootsparent,commissionerandoppositioncandidate.TheSuburban

May3– DonationsneededforWestwoodgrils’empowermentworkshop.PremierEdition.

May7– JohnRennie’sGreenTeamwinsa$25,000computerlabfortheschool.GlobalTVwebsite.

May8– BeurlingStudentAmandaGhandiawardedLt.Governor’sYouthMedal.TheSuburban.

May8– ParentsincensedJune23madearegularschoolday.TheSuburban

May7– RiverdaleHighSchoolstudentsconfrontbullyinginveryspecialworkshop.YourLocalJournal

May7– WestwoodSr.’sInternaldevelopmentproject2014.YourLocalJournal

May8– CreatingChangeinLocalStudents–FreetheChildrenambassadorsSpencerWest,HannahAlperstopbySt.Anthony’s.TheChronicle.

May8– Westpark&RiverviewElementarySchoolshearThomasOHecht’sstory.MontrealTimes

May8– JohnRennieHighSchoolwins$25,000computerlabintheRecycleforEducationprogram.MontrealTimes.

May10– PearsonStudentsShineduringscienceshowcase.PremierEdition.

May13– NoloserintheBattleoftheBooks.WestmountExaminer.

May14– FamilyontheMove–PearsonFoundationFamilyFunRun.Gazette,WestIsland.T

May14– JohnRennierewardedforgreeninitiatives.TheChronicle

May14– LBPSBSteinDaytorunvs.Eustace,Nolet.Hudson,Vaudreuil-SoulangesGazette.

May15– NolosersintheBattleoftheBooksfinale.TheChronicle

May16– Students,seniorssharelifethroughartatPierrefondsComprehensiveHighSchool.TheChronicle

May16– LBPSBandJoeBeef.MontrealTimes

May18– LBPSBFunRunraisesalmost$1,000.MontrealTimes

May21– FamilyFunDayatRiverdale.GlobalTV

May21– FiredepartmentcreatestiestoBaied’urfecommunity–FireHall52raisesmoneyfortwolocalschools,DorsetandJosephHenrico.TheChronicle

May21– ContactfootballreturnstoMacHigh.TheSuburban

May21– CulinaryschoolstudentsgetchancetointernatfamousMontrealrestaurant.L’etoile.

by Judy Kenworthy-Grant, Regional Coordinator, PSI

T h eM a y1 6 t h

Symposium “Peace It Together”was sponsored by the Safe andCaringSchoolCommittee.Itwasalso the 5th anniversary of LB-PSBreceivingaPeacefulSchoolsInternational membership, asa Board. Our Safe and CaringSchools Committee provided aninformativeandthought-provok-ingexperienceforthosewhopar-ticipated.The title – “Peace ItTogether”

– used the symbol of a puzzle

piece.Itwasavisualreminderthatallthechoiceswemakeconcern-ing programs, policies, activities,budget…..everythingfitstogethertocreateaportraitofeachschool’s

culture. Themission of PSI is to“establish andmaintain a cultureofpeace”.InaPeacefulSchoolthewhole is greater than the sumofitsparts.The title can also be phrased

“Peace It……Together”. No one

person,noonechoicewillchangetheethosofaschool.CreatingSafeand Caring Schools takes every-one–staff,students,parentsandtheschoolcommunity–workingtogetherinmanydifferentareasofschoollife.As the year comes to an end

andweholdourclosingevents–Volunteer Parties, Family BBQs,Graduations,Year-endAssemblies– take time to reflect, recognizeandcelebrate thepeople and thechoices that contributed to thecultureofpeaceinyourschool.We have many to thank and

much to be thankful for in ourSafe and Caring LBPSB PeacefulSchools!

Peaceful Schools International – May Fun Run Raises Funds, Earns Smiles

by Helen Glenn, St. Thomas High School

Therunningofthe118thBos-ton Marathon is over, but thememories from this experiencewillstayinmyheartforever.Forme,runningtheBostonMarathonwasthefulfillmentofadream.Long distance running is my

passionandtheBostonMarathonis the pinnacle of achievementto amateur runners worldwide.

Ten years ago, I thought that IwouldneverbeabletoqualifyforBoston. But I kept on running.Goals thatwere at one timeun-attainable became possible. TheBoston qualifying time becameimaginable, and thatwas all themotivationIneeded.Iftherewasachance;thenIwasgoingto“goforit”andIdidit.Keep chasing your dreams,

neverquit, andenjoyevery stepoftheway.

by Alycia Ambroziak

S t u -dents andteachers,

LesterB.Pearsonadministrators,familyandfriendsbravedtherainto takepart in thePearsonEdu-cational Foundation Family FunRun.Theevent,whichwasheldMay4atCentennialParkinDol-larddesOrmeaux,raisedalmost$1,000forthefoundationwhichprovides funding for LBPSBschoolinitiativesbeyondgovern-ment funding. The foundation

also supplieswinter clothing forstudents in need, assists in theboard’sHungryKidprogramandsuppliesequipmentand ingredi-entsforcookingclassesinseveralalternateandlife-skillsprograms.As well, the foundation fundscosts related to science and ro-botictournamentsandalsofundssummercampsforstudentswithacademicoraffectivedifficulties.The foundation also manages anumber of in-memoriam bursa-ries.FormoreinformationaboutthePearsonEducationalFounda-tion,gotohttp://pef.lbpsb.qc.ca

SNAC Annual General Meet-ing:Wednesday, September 17,

2014(7pm)Atthismeeting,parentsofstu-

dentswith special needswill beelected to hold positions on thecommittee for one or two yearmandates. New positions arefilledbymajorityvote.Weencourageallparentsofstudents with specialneedstoattendandgetinvolved!Lo c a t i on :

Lester B.P e a r s o nS c h o o lBoard Of-fice, 1925B r o o k -dale, Dor-val–BoardRoom

Please send us your feedback –IEP Re-source Kits:Allparentsofstudentswithspe-

cialneedsweresentaprintedIEPResourceKitduringFall/2013tohelp prepare for IEP meetings.Wewouldlovetohearyourfeed-back.WasthekithelpfulduringyourIEPmeetingsthisyear?Pleasesendyourcommentsto:

snac@lbpearson.qc.caIf you did not receive a kit,

please visit: http://snac.lbpsb.qc.ca/eng/IEP-Documents/page.asp

What is SNAC?Didyouknowthatyourschool

boardhasanadvisorycommitteecalledSNAC?TheSpecialNeedsAdvisory Committee (SNAC) isa multi-disciplinary team com-

posedofelectedparents,acom-munityrepresentative,andSchoolBoard representatives includinga Special Needs Consultant, Re-sourceTeacher,IntegrationAide,Principal,SchoolBoardCommis-sioner, Student Services person-nel, and a representative of theDirector General. Our role is toadvisetheschoolboardregardingschoolboardpolicies,theorgani-zationofeducationalservicesandthe allocation of funds for stu-

dents with special needs. SNACalsostrivestosupportourparentcommunity through special pre-sentations, workshops, links tocommunity events andbycreat-ing supporting documentation.We listen toyour feedback, andtrytorespondtoyourquestions.SNACmeetingsareheldmonth-

lyattheLBPSBSchoolBoard,andallarewelcometoattend.Reportssummarizingtheissues

discussed duringour meet-ings areposted onour web-site. Formore in-formationabout whowe are andwhat wedo, please

visit the SNACwebsiteathttp://snac.lbpsb.qc.ca.Shouldyou have any comments, ques-tions or suggestions, please feelfree to contact us via email atsnac@lbpearson.qc.ca.PleaseJOINourMailingList!Learn about upcoming parent

workshops, seminars and otheritems of interest to the SpecialNeeds Community. To join theSNAC mailing list, email us:snac@lbpearson.qc.ca

Special Needs Advisory Commitee

One day, one race, one Boston!

Pearson NewsA5Mai/May 2014

Giraffes at LBPSB Head OfficeThorndale Holds 3rd Annual Art Exhibit

Beacon Hill’s Art Gala in Photos

by Jacqueline Wall, English teacher,

Dawson Alternative School

Gripping,e m p ow -e r i n g ,

relevant, important.The grade 9 ELA program hasbeenmeaningfulandexcitingforstudents at Dawson AlternativeSchoolthisyear, inpartbecauseof the unique contributions oftwofabulousguests.In class students read and anal-ysedthegrittynovel“LullabiesforLittleCriminals”,thelyricalstoryofa12-yearoldgirlgrowingupinMontrealfacingthechallengesof living in a group and fosterhome amid all the temptationsof life on the streets. Dawson’s

students,Batshawclientsall,wholiveinresidentialcareoftenwithharrowing street stories of theirown, devoured the novel. Forseveral students, it was the firstbooktheyhadeverreadandtheirsenseofwonderandselfachieve-ment was remarkable . ImaginetheirdelightwhenprizewinningauthorHeatherO’NeillvisitedtheclassinApriltoleadadiscussiononthenovel’sliteraryelementsaswell as her fascinating personalvoyagetowriting.Thegrade9’shavealsobeenpro-ducingreamsofpoetrythisyear.ThankstoagrantfromtheQue-becWritersFederation,withad-ditionalfundingsupportfromthePEF, Batshaw Foundation andother sources, published authorJuliannaKozmahas ledDawson

students through the creationoftwoliteraryzines.Whileguidingthe students to explore spokenword, collage making, writingand editing, theweekly sessionshave also helped empower thegirlstodealwithimportantissuesintheirlivesinapositiveandcre-ativemanner.Most importantly, Dawson Alt’sELA program has helped makeschoolfunandaplacewherestu-dents who have been given fewchoicesintheirliveswanttobe.Reading,writing,discussingwithpeers,interactingwithpublishedauthors:allhavebeennewexpe-rienceswhichhelpthesevulner-ableteenstoabetterunderstand-ing of self and dealing with thechallenges the world throws atus.Writingrocks!

by Alycia Ambroziak

E v e r ychildisanartist.The

problemishowtoremainanart-istoncewegrowup.” -PabloPicasso

There’s something about chil-dren’sartthatgoesdirectlytotheheart.Andwithmorethan2,500pieces of artworkby students atThorndale Elementary on dis-play,itwaseasytoseewhy.The gymnasium at the Pier-

refonds school was transformedinto a colourful art gallery onMay14and15 forThorndales’s3rdannualartexhibit.

“Each section is based on oneknown artist, so that studentswereabletolearnaboutthatartistandhisandher lifeandworks,”explained part-time art teacherGiulia Carosielli, as she stoodamid the thousands of drawingsandcreationsondisplay.WithartistsectionsfromPicas-

so,toWarhol,toCezannetotheGroupofSeven,completewithatrainandtracksmadebystudentstoshowhowtheartiststravelledacrossCanada,EmilyCarr–andevenDisneyandOlympicartsec-tions – there was something topleaseeveryone.QuintonReid,agrade6student,

was proud to show his mother

thescarecrowhedrewfromTheWizardofOz.“It’sgood,Ididn’t’realizeitatfirst,”hesaid.Grade 3 student James Tyler

Argyrakis Roberts was excitedlyshowinghisparentshisartwork,oneofwhichwas inTheGroupof Seven section. “They’re verynice–helikestodraw,hetakeshis time about it,” said James’sdad,PeterRoberts.DressedinaCanadienssweater,

RachelNeelin,agrade1 teacherattheschool,tookintheexhibi-tionwithdelight.“The students love art in class

– they love art out of class,” shesaid.“I’msoproudofthem–whatthey’vedonehereisamazing.”

by Alycia Ambroziak

There are a couple of giraffeshangingoutattheLesterB.Pear-sonSchoolBoardheadoffice,of-feringacheeryreminderofwhatstudentscandowithalittlebitofpaint,alargecanvasandalotofinspiration.Studentsinthedaycareprogramat St. Edmund Elementary inBeaconsfield worked diligentlyto create a beautiful African-in-spired mural for a Suitcases forAfrica fundraising evening heldearlierthisyear.Forthethirdconsecutiveyear,St.Edmund Elementary welcomed

theSuitcases forAfricagroup touse the school gymnasium for afundraising evening; this year, acomedy night held on April 11which raised $6,500. Suitcasesfor Africa supports orphans andvulnerable children in Kenyathrougheducation,nutritionandhealthcare.“ThepaintingofgiraffesstartedasoneofourFridayafternoonday-careactivities,”saidLouiseCava-liere, daycare technician at St.Edmund..“Elevenstudents,withhelpfromMetaBadger,ourday-careeducatorknowntostudentsas Miss Meta, committed their

Friday daycare time to workingonthepaintingforsixweeks.”Progresscouldbeseenwitheachpassingweek.“A little more color each weekmade the drawing come alive,”said Miss Meta. “The childrencouldseehowlayeringthecolorscouldchangethelookofthede-sign–atfirst itstartedwithsoftand light colour but by the fin-ish,itwasexplodingwithbright-ness.”“Wehadalotoffunandittookdedicationandconcentrationonthepartofthestudents,”saidMissMeta.“Ajobverywelldone.”

Stories Like No Other: Writing Rocks at Dawson Alternative School!

To learn more about the Lester B. Pearson School Board’s Autism Spectrum Disorder Centre of Excellence, visit: http://www.lbpsb.qc.ca/eng/asdn/index.asp

A6Pearson News

by Ms. Moulton, Grade 4 Teacher,

Beechwood Elementary

O v e rthe pasts e v e r a l

months, the grade 4 students atBeechwoodElementaryhavebeenavidlylearningabouttheenviron-ment.Ourgrade4“envirogroups”have been working diligently onprojects related to this topic in-cludingabattery recycling initia-tive and a litter-free lunch day.All 38 studentswill be leading a

school-wide assembly related toenvironmental responsibility attheendofthemonthofMaywithaguestspeakerfromClimateReal-ityCanada.Our Community and SpiritualCare Animator, Rosalie Shew-chuk, has been an essential partof this learning process. ThankstoMs.Rosalie,Beechwood’sgrade4shadthepleasureofvisitingtheMorgan Arboretum and learn-inghands-onjusthowimportantthe environment truly is. Theyspent themorning observing the

habitatsoflocalanimals,examin-ing living creatures and learningaboutthevariousecosystemsthatexistontheislandofMontreal.In line with our eco-friendly at-titudes, our visit to the MorganArboretuminbeautifulSte.Annede Bellevue was chauffeured bynoneotherthantheSTM.Thecitybus picked us up at school anddroppedusoffrightattheArbore-tumgates.Thiswasthefirsttimeonpublictransportationformanyof our students and made for afieldtriptheywon’tsoonforget!

by Renee Zwirz

Iamwritingthislettertorecog-nize theoutstandinggiftof timeand talent that a special groupofamazingteachershasgiventothecommunityofChristmasParkElementary School. Two weeksago our community witnessedanamazingproductionfromourspirited, little, school nestled inthe heart of Beaconsfield. Fourshowsovertwodayswerestaged.More than 40 students fromgrades 3-6, seven teachers andseveralgraduatesworkedtogeth-erformonthstomountandpro-ducethemarvellousshow“Honkjr.”.Toourknowledge, thiswasthefirsttimethisshow,fromtheBroadway Junior Collection, hasbeenproducedhereinQuebec.As parentswewere awed and

amazedbythecapabilitiesofourchildren.Thesechildren,whoaredoled out little responsibilitiesathome,weregivenroleswhichwouldintimidatemanyofuspar-ents.Theysanganddancedandrecitedlinesinfrontof‘fullhouse’audiences. They performed un-derlightswithmicrophonesandincostumesandmake-up.Manyperformed their solos totallyalone on stage and appeared asnatural and confident as if theyhavebeendoingthisforyears.Firstofall,wehavetothankthe

‘powersthatbe’thatwecontinuetohavesuchastrongMusicandDramaprogramatChristmasParkElementarySchool.Itcertainlyisthe‘nursery’forthetalentwhichexistsatthisschool.Ihaveneverdoubted that my children haveexperiencednothingbutthebestwhen it comes to instruction in

thisarea.EachyearMs.Martinezhas challenged them with newandexcitingaspectsofthemusiccurriculumshehastoteach.Dur-ingthefiveyearsinwhichIhavehadthreeboysinherprogramsIhavewitnessedmanyshowsandconcerts.Iamconstantlyamazedatwhatsheiscapableofaccom-plishingwithanentireschoolofelementary aged students. I re-allyfeelspecialrecognitionisduetosuchatalentedteacherinourschool.However, I cannot stop here.

Shows such as “Honk Jr.” andlast year’s “The little Mermaid”and“BeautyandtheBeast” fromthepreviousyear…theseshowscannot be produced without awealth of talent and time. Ourlittleschoolofbarely20teachershad7fulltimeteacherswhogaveupmanyhoursoftheirprecioustimetoworkwiththesechildren/students each week since Octo-ber. Each teacher shared theirspecialtalents,allowingourchil-dren an experience which willremainwiththemfortherestoftheirlives.IonlywishIhadsuchgenerousteacherswhenIwasgo-ingtoschool!The teachers specifically in-

volved in this year’s productioninclude:•KimDyer–DirectorandDramaTeacher

•MariaMartinez–MusicalDirec-torandMusicTeacher

•Barbara Viola - ChoreographerandGrade6EnglishTeacher

•SusanVertolli–AssistantDirec-torandGrade3FrenchTeacher

•KathrynByrne–AssistantDirec-torandGrade3EnglishTeacher

•EvelynGibb –AssistantDirec-torandGrade2EnglishTeacher

•Kerstin Brand – Set DesignandConstruction andGrade 1Teacher

All of these ladies are full timeteachers with heavy workloads,family commitments and rolesoutsideoftheirprofessionallives.They all gave generously of theirtime and talents to create some-thing beautiful and magical.For all who saw the show, andwatchedtheirchildrenshine,theyhaveetchedanindeliblememory.The greater gift remains the

experience these students hadto be actors and stagehands.They made and wore costumesandmake-up, and worked withprofessional grade lights andsound boards. They constructedbackdrops andmade props andlearned that a play/musical ismorethanjustlearninglinesandsongsandhostinganevent.Manyparents saw their children growin confidence and maturity andmakenewfriendsoutsideoftheirgrade level.Even the interactionwithteachersoutsideoftheregu-larclassroomisa specialoppor-tunitytoseeateacherinanotherdimension.Thisisimmeasurablein our new digital world wheresomanysocialinteractions,espe-ciallyforthisgeneration,involveasmallscreen.Thank-youtotheseteachersof

Christmas Park! Their time andtalent is worth sharing. I fullyacknowledge the sacrifices thatmustbemade to create suchanexperienceforourchildren.TheyhavehelpedmychildbethechildIamproudtosayismine.

by Stephanie Brunet and Joanna Michaels

O nTuesday,May13th,

the kindergarten children fromBeechwood School and the 1/2split fromNathalieDubois’ classatWilderPenfieldSchoolenjoyedpresentingourLegoWedoproj-

ectstoeachother.Thechildrenweregiven the taskof inventingthings thatmade their lives bet-ter and more fun. The inven-tions were so creative! Therewere candy makers, make upmachines,flying cars, andmanymore innovativeprojects. Whatwonderful imaginations! Weevenhad a special visitor…Mr.

Legocameandtookpictureswitheachteam.Itwasatremendousmorningfilledwithfunandtonsof learning. Thankyou toMar-tineDelsemme,Marie-PierreCar-bonneau,andJoanZachariouforcoming to “judge” our projects.WewouldalsoliketothankSo-phieLussierfororganizingsuchagreatevent.

Open Letter from Christmas Park Parent Recognizes Chistmas Park’s Strong Music and Drama Program

Beechwood “Goes Green” at the Morgan Arboretum

Robotic Adventure at Beechwood

by Barbara Freeston, President, PEF

Two greatevents forP e a r s o n

Educational Foundation to crowabout.OnApril25th,JohnRennieHighSchoolhosted theE.A.S.T.Junior Robocup Competition.

Amere 2 years ago, LBPSB hadone team from one high schoolinthecompetition.ThisyearPEFsponsored12teamsfrom2highschoolsand5elementaryschoolsin4categories,withJRHSbring-inghome a bronze and a silver.What a pleasure walking into aschool on a Saturday morningandseeingthesmilesonthefacesof hoards of students, teachers,andparents.JRHSwillagainhostnextyear,andPEFwillagaincov-erallLBPteamentrancefees,andcontinuetofurnishthekitstotheschoolsthatmakeinvolvementin

roboticsareality throughout theschool board. One week later,onMay 4th, Centennial Park inDollard was packedwith cheer-ful walkers and runners of allages from2 to70, totally ignor-ing the briskness in the air andthe rain, as thewalked and ran,and stayed to chat, dance andsnackatthefirstannualPEFFunRun. Huge thanks to supermar-kets in our community for allthedonatedfruit,bagelsandwa-ter,totheRunningRoomfortheregistration,tothecadetsof690LakeshoreSquadronforstandingguardateveryforkintheroadtokeepusonthestraightandtrue,andtoallthevolunteers.DonPur-cellandHaroldRossfromEquip-ment Serviceswere amazing;the organiz-ing committeeof Maria DeWolfe, JoanneMalowany, Ra-chel Wilson,Nancy Battet,Lily Sacco,Chris Fuzessy,Kathryn ActonandMarioBar-rettecreatedtheeventwithoutaroadmap; MC Mark Massarelli,AshleyFootandAndrewRobertshadusupandat ’emwithgreatmusicandgreatmoves,StephenWilson was photographer sans-pareilandthankyoutoJuliePhe-nixforthegraphicsontheposter

atdeadlinespeed.Wearesignedupagainin2015forthefirstSun-dayinMay:the3rd!Let’sseeev-eryschoolwithateamattheFunRuninCentennialPark!PEF is proud to announce newmemberstoourFoundationandBoardofDirectors.IanOlechno-wicztenderedhisresignationduetodistanceandworkobligationsand we welcome Ashley DanielFoot,whowasdirectorofChrist-masCarol, and assisted at all ofoureventsthisyear,asamemberoftheBofD.MariaDeWolfe is retiringas anLBP principal but we retain thestrength of Maria’s vitality, fo-cusanddriveasshecontinuesasamemberof theBofD. Joanne

Malowany and Rachel Wilsonhave volunteered to serve asmembers of PEF and act as liai-sons with the in-school admin-istrators, absolutely vital to ful-filling the mandate of the PEF:enriching the classrooms andlivesofthestudentsoftheLBPSB.

Pearson Educational Foundation Report – May

Strategic Direction 4: Promoting Wellness in a Safe and Caring Community

Strategic Direction 3: Enhancing School Collaboration and Community Partnerships

The Strategic Directions

Strategic Direction 2: Fostering and Supporting a Commitment to Professional Growth for All

Strategic Direction 1: Maximizing Student Success in a Culture for Learning

Mai/May 2014