Speaking of Reading - Reading For The Love Of It

Speaking of Reading
SPRING 2016
WELLNESS IN OUR SCHOOLS
PRESIDENT ’S MESSAGE
Self-Regulation:
A Classroom Journey
Spring, 2016
M
y family often fondly recalls my Grandma’s sayings and one in
particular has resonated with me lately; “You can’t give what
you don’t have”. There is new research surfacing about all of
the benefits of teaching students how to monitor and regulate
themselves and how to be in a state to be calm, alert and ready to learn. If I’m
not self-regulated how can I teach my students to be? I thought what better
way to learn how to be calm than to co-learn with my class.
We decided to explore
this as a classroom inquiry.
As a group, we discussed
what ‘frustrated’ feels like
and what were some
strategies we could do to
calm down when we felt
frustrated or stressed out.
The children came up with
drawing a picture, sit by
yourself and play with toys,
relax in your bed, have a
nap, snuggle and listen to
music. Once we discussed Students learn about their emotions from story books (In My
what stress was and what it Heart written by Jo Witek)
feels like, I wanted them to
know what it felt like to be
calm.
We started with the book
“What Does it Mean to be
Present,” written by Rana
DiOrio. Then we talked
about how our muscles feel
when we are relaxed, what
our mind feels like when
we are calm and what accontinued on page 2...
5 Domains of Self-Regulation
Self-Regulation is the ability to manage stress and refers
to the neural processes that control the energy expended
to deal with a stressor and the recover.
Dr. Stuart Shanker, The MEHRIT Centre, July 2015
On behalf of the East
York-Scarborough
Reading Association,
thank you for attending the 40th Anniversary Reading for the
Love of It conference.
It was a resounding
success with teachers attending nationwide.
Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons and the
Wexford ‘Gleeks’ kicked off the conference with a rousing ‘dance in our
seats’ and ‘stand on the chairs’ kind
of opening; Joseph Boyden entertained and engaged us with stories
of his work as an artist and author;
and the stellar line-up of speakers
provided a phenomenal array of topics
and workshop sessions from which
to choose.
Attendees were eager to share their
learning experiences, writing: “Great
strategies, ready to use;”“Amazing
blend of practical and theoretical
ideas;”“Interesting, entertaining, funny — loved the format;” “Inspiracontinued on page 2...
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
3 Inside Out: Helping Children
Understand Their Emotions
3 Add a Little SALT
4 2016 Conference Reflections
6 Play Therapy: Helping Children
and Families
6 Remembering Judy Sarick
7 Outreach
8 Amazing Teacher of Literacy
8 Great Summer Reading
... Self-Regulation cont. from page 1
tivities we could do that help us
achieve these feelings.
The literature on self-regulation
states that the environment that a
person spends time in could be a biological stressor. My teaching partner
and I looked at ways we could create
a more calming environment. We
lowered the lighting, and supplied a
basket of headphones to cut down on
noise for those students that needed
it. We removed extra furniture and
items in the room that contributed to
clutter, as well as brightly coloured
room décor. We covered open shelving with neutral materials.
We quickly learned that students in
our class, like all individuals, are created differently and that we all have
different triggers that cause stress. The
trick is to identify what is causing the
stress and reduce it. We need to become Stress Detectives! Examples of
Students calm themselves with a ‘Balance
Dragonfly’
stressors include our physical environment, lack of sleep, poor diet, emotional state and problems with friends.
As teachers, we need to not only teach
our students to identify stressors but
also to recognize what stress is because
some children are coping with constant stress and don’t even realize it.
My goal now is to continue to integrate learn calming activities with
my student learning. Books such as
“I am Yoga,” written by Susan Verde;
or “The Listening Walk,” written by
Paul Showers have given us opportunities to slow down, collect our
thoughts and focus on calm together.
We practice deep breathing daily,
yoga and mindful listening. Self-regulation is not a new fad or a program
to teach. It is a state of mind that allows children and adults to focus on
their well-being. Early learning lays
the foundation for this. We are building a future of happy, healthy children… and educators too!
By Julie Mills, FDK Teacher and
Jennifer Wright, Early Learning
Consultant,
The Peterborough Victoria
Northumberland and Clarington
Catholic District School Board
...President’s Message continued from page 1
Congratulations to our 2016 Reading Award Winners
Left to right: Mike Gallagher,
T.D.S.B. Superintendent and
Kate Tuff
Left to right: Douglas Yack,
T.C.D.S.B. Superintendent, Emily
Tanya Leary (left) with EYSRA
executive Anthony Petitti (right) Moretti, EYSRA past president
Kathy Lazarovits
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tional, awesome, funny, best at the
conference.”
As president of the EYSRA, I have
an amazing position which allows
me to share
two days of
incredible
professional
development
with so many
educators. Although our executive team is small
in numbers, we think BIG and are
already planning for conference
number 41!!! We are always thrilled
to read your tweets and messages
posted on our Instagram and Facebook accounts. Your feedback is important to us so please keep in touch
and let us know who you would
most like to see in 2017.
Until then, keep Reading for the Love
of It!
Marguerite Campbell
President, EYSRA
Inside Out:
Helping Children Understand
Their Emotions
DISNEY.COM
I
nside Out provides wonderful
viewing, discussion, drawing
and writing opportunities. The
ingenious plot presents two interacting stories. Eleven-year-old
Riley is the hero in a new-kid-atschool story while her personified
emotion, Joy, takes a hero’s journey
to save her from experiencing other
emotions. Each character’s actions
affect the other, providing insights
into our emotional lives.
Joy, Riley’s dominant emotion, learns
that her suppression of Sadness prevents Riley from adjusting to her
new life. The vital roles that Sadness
plays in our lives is an important acknowledgment, especially for children who might feel obligated to
always be cheerful.
Riley’s emotions are characterized
using gender, colour, body language
and voice. Students might reflect on
the effectiveness and appropriateness of these characterizations and
create additional conversations or
their personal versions of these emotions. They might explore how Riley’s
personality islands, including friendship, hockey, honesty, family and
goofball, define her. They might also
create their own personality islands.
To help children explore their inner
lives, the movie invites compelling
questions: How might we balance our
emotions when one has become dominant? How might each emotion help
us understand and manage our lives?
Or, to consider a broader context, how
might a boy’s story be different?
Students might also reflect on the
clothing and games sold on the Disney
website. Why might they wear — or
not wear — a particular T-shirt? Which
games best reflect the movie’s spirit?
Can they imagine a better game?
Inside Out is a rich experience that
can support fun and learning in a
variety of useful ways.
Neil Andersen,
President, Association for Media
Literacy; Editorial Board, Journal
of Media Literacy; Education
Committee, MediaSmart; and
speaker at Reading for the Love of It
You can read his blog at
www.aml.ca
Add a Little SALT
W
e have all been jarred
by recent events in
Attawapiskat and the
conditions which give
rise to similar events in northern
communities across the nation.
While there is no single solution for
the challenges of any isolated First
Nations community, having things to
do and places to go for everyone,
would probably help. A public library
might be a part of the puzzle. That is
why GoodMinds.com is doing what
they can to help get public libraries in
First Nations communities.
Most Canadians likely take for
granted that all citizens have access to
a public library. However, over 85% of
Canada’s First Nations communities
do not share that opportunity and in
most cases are most vulnerable to social issues. A library, reading, and literacy improvements, are hopefully a
step in a positive direction.
GoodMinds.com recently made a
commitment from the SALT fund
(Supporting Aboriginal Libraries
Today), to the Write to Read Project
(http://writetoreadproject.org/) to
assist with getting new libraries into
First Nations communities in British
Columbia. Ideally this initiative will
spread to other provinces.
The main goal of the SALT fund is
to get the Federal Government to
provide funding for public libraries
in First Nations communities and
just imagine if GoodMinds.com contributed $25,000 a year matched by
10 other generous organizations.
Consider adding a little SALT to
help build healthier communities.
Visit GoodMinds.com for more information.
Jeff Burnham, GoodMinds.com
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If you would like to learn more
about Attawapiskat, here are two
recent books that focus on this
community:
Children of the Broken Treaty by
Charlie Angus (2015)
Shannen and the Dream for a
School by Janet Wilson (2011)
Some information about both
books can be found on the
GoodMinds.com web site
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1. The Wexford Gleeks perform a rousing selection of songs as part
of the Opening Presentation of the 40th Anniversary conference
2. Engaging luncheon speaker and famed local Toronto Catholic
District School Board author Anthony De Sa
3. Packed keynote meal functions
4. So many books and literacy resources and so little time…
5. Participants were able to trace the history of the conference
on a special 40th Anniversary timeline banner
6. Michael “Pinball” Clemons stops to chat with EYSRA staff
Jessica Dolmer, Erica Townson and association president,
Marguerite Campbell
7. Joseph Boyden pictured with EYSRA executive Brenda Stewart
during his post-keynote book signing
8. Clifford the Dog visits the trade show
9. Kenneth Oppel graciously signs books during his session
10. A good pirate and a bad pirate (pictured here), entertain
delegates visiting the trade show
11. Book signing sessions with participating authors
12 - 16. A sampling of the Paper Book Sculpture Art centerpieces
supplied by Christopher Berwick & Aurora Pagano and the students
from Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts, Toronto Catholic District
School Board
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Play Therapy:
Helping Children and Families
I
n the past several years, play
therapy with children and families has been accepted and
acknowledged as an evidencebased approach for working with
children who have emotional or behavioural difficulties.
Play therapy is beneficial to a child
who is experiencing difficulties in
the home, school or community. It is
a therapeutic approach for human
service professionals and as stated
by Virginia Axline, “provides an opportunity for the child to ‘play out’
his or her feelings and problems just
as, in certain adult therapy, an individual ‘talks out’ his or her difficulties.” The advancement of a child’s
self-understanding is one of the
goals in this approach. Play therapy
can be used either as a primary or
adjunct therapy in settings such as
Young girl playing with Young boy with
a puzzle
building blocks
children’s services, community agencies, psychiatric centres, children’s
hospitals, schools and women’s shelters. Play therapy is also used in
international crisis centres where
children and families experience
trauma through world events. Play
therapists work with children individually, with their families and in
group settings.
Each year the Canadian Association for Child and Play Therapy welcomes students into Play Therapy
certificate programs across Canada.
These six-week programs, offered in
two week levels, provide courses
addressing play therapy theory and
approaches, techniques and play
therapy with special populations.
CACPT instructors are the most
highly regarded of their profession
in Canada and consist of psychologists, psychotherapists and educators who practice and teach play
therapy. For more information on
the Association or about play therapy go to: www.cacpt.com
Elizabeth A. Sharpe CAE
Executive Director
Canadian Association for Child
and Play Therapy (CACPT)
Remembering Judy Sarick
J
udy Sarick was a teacher, librarian, bookseller, knitter, dancer,
singer, mother, but she was
most important to me as my
boss, owner of The Children’s
Book Store (CBS), mentor and friend.
She was one of the most influential
people in my life. Judy passed away
on February 15, 2016, and many
people in the world of children’s
books felt the loss of this amazing
woman who was a force and a leader
in our community.
In 1974, Judy and her husband Hy
Sarick opened the CBS in Toronto
and sold quality children’s books to
parents, schools and libraries. The
Canadian children’s book industry
was just starting, and Judy and Hy’s
store played a major role in promoting literacy and children’s culture in
Canada, as well as internationally.
Judy believed every child should
have access to the very best books.
Her store was known for hosting
frequent author events
and workshops for teachers. Maurice Sendak,
Jean Little, Barbara Reid,
Gordon Korman, Frieda
Wishinsky, Brian Wildsmith, Judy Blume, Ian
Wallace and many others
were part of the wonderful events at the CBS.
Larry Swartz (a young
teacher then) would regularly bring his students
for book talks. David
Booth and Bob Barton
were also regular customers, and their visits
with Judy would often
lead to connecting books
in ways that I was only
beginning to understand.
Drama, big ideas, storyJudy Sarick pictured with her
husband Hy, outside The
Children’s Book Store in Toronto
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telling, art — I started looking at
books in a very new way. This is
what Judy brought to so many of us.
She made us look beyond what was
obvious. She provided a space for
those conversations. Now I know
that is what we all must do in our
own environment.
The CBS was a magical place where
parents and children spent countless
hours reading or participating in
story time. Judy believed in children
choosing for themselves but she also
believed that schools needed teachers and librarians who were passionate about good literature. If
educators didn’t have the best books,
those books wouldn’t find their way
to the students. She was so focused
and determined to create a strong
environment for literacy. Everyone
who came to the store trusted her
selection and recommendations without question.
Judy was a regular on the CBC
Morningside panel, where she promoted her favourite books, and she
had many followers. This was before
social media, of course. No one was
tweeting then, but they were certainly listening and writing down all
of her suggestions.
Judy dedicated most of her life to
educating parents, teachers, stu-
dents, staff, publishers, authors and
anyone who would listen to her about
the importance of literacy. She was
also a frequent speaker at Reading for
the Love of It. She believed in the
power of good children’s books and
passionate teachers, and she helped
to fuel that passion for 26 years. She
was a ground-breaker, and for all of
us who were in her orbit, she will be
sorely missed.
Maria Martella, Tinlids
A smile is a powerful tool! Most people think that we
smile because we feel happy, but it can go the other way
as well: we feel happy because we smile.
So go ahead… smile!
Alex Korb, Psychology Today
Outreach
and Family Caring Society of Canada. In doing so, we
have helped to provide reading materials to learners of all
ages throughout Canada. In addition, we are proud to
have sponsored a group of First Nation educators so they
could attend our 2016 conference and engage in literacy
learning with colleagues from near and far.
Each year, the Outreach Committee of The East YorkScarborough Reading Association supports individuals
and organizations involved in valuable literacy endeavours.
It is through the generous support of our Reading for the
Love of It conference delegates that we are able to contribute
to organizations close to home, throughout Canada and
abroad. This year, we are honoured to provide assistance
to a variety of organizations that focus on fostering a love
of reading. Whether
it is providing much
needed learning
materials, getting
good books to readers
of all ages, or simply
sharing a great read,
each of these groups
give the gift of literacy and help to
EYSRA Executive Doris Wukasch with Outreach
improve the lives of Chair Liz Blake, raising funds for Outreach at
others. We applaud the 2016 conference
their efforts and thank you for supporting these wonderful
champions of literacy.
Internationally, we have touched the lives of students living
in Ghana and Cambodia through our support of Banyan
Learning Tree (c/o A Mine Free World) and CODE Ghana,
where our donations were used to purchase much needed
school supplies, library books, and educational materials.
Through the dedicated efforts of one of our own executive
members, Vangie Kalanderopoulos, educational materials
are being provided to child refugees currently residing in
Greece who have been displaced from their homeland.
Finally, to commemorate our 40th Reading for the Love
of It conference, we donated boxes of bright and colourful
pencils to 40 organizations around
the world to celebrate our love
of reading and commitment to
literacy. These pencils made their
way into the homes and classrooms
of children in Canada, and many
other countries such as Laos,
Dominican Republic and Kenya.
All of this would not be possible
Colourful pencils that are
without the generous support of
being donated to literacy
organizations worldwide
our conference delegates. On
behalf of the EYSRA, thank you
for making a difference!
Locally, we support the programs and services offered by
Homeward Bound, Native Child and Family Services of
Toronto and The Children’s Book Bank. We know that all
of these wonderful organizations work hard to ensure
engaging stories and learning materials make their way
into the hands of young readers throughout Toronto.
Nationally, we contribute to Book Clubs for Inmates,
Friends of Six Nations Public Library Foundation (SALT
Program), Moose Cree First Nation (Camp Onakawana),
National Reading Campaign, and the First Nations Child
For more information please visit our website and check
out our Outreach section.
Liz Blake, Outreach Chair
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Amazing Teacher of Literacy
Who is this teacher? This teacher
stands out. You have admired this
teacher and have noted his/her exceptional contributions in the area
of teaching literacy. The East YorkScarborough Reading Association is
now accepting nominations for the
2017 Reading Awards. Three awards
will be presented. A teacher from
each of our Association’s founding
school Boards, T.D.S.B. and T.C.D.S.B.,
will be honoured, and a third award
will be given to an educator from
any other school or school board in
Ontario.
Reading Awards will be presented
at the annual Reading for the Love of
It conference Awards Banquet dinner on the evening of Thursday, February 23rd, 2017. Each award winner
will receive a complimentary full
conference registration package to
the 2017 Reading for the Love of It
conference, two tickets to the Awards
Banquet, and a $100 gift certificate
to purchase books.
Take this opportunity to nominate
“this teacher”by Monday, November
14th, 2016. Recipients of our award
have:
• demonstrated a lasting influence
on student learning through
innovative teaching
• shared literacy expertise with
colleagues (mentoring, presenting
workshops)
• contributed to literacy newsletters/
professional journals
• been nominated by two colleagues
(minimum)
Visit our website at www.reading
fortheloveofit.com for an easy to
complete form. With thanks,
East York-Scarborough Reading Association
1315 Lawrence Ave. East, Unit 309
Toronto, Ontario M3A 3R3
Tel: 416-444-7473
Fax: 416-444-9282
E-mail: eys@readingfortheloveofit.com
Web: www.readingfortheloveofit.com
We are committed to improving the
quality of literacy instruction and
encouraging the development of a
lifelong interest in reading.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2015-2016
Toronto Catholic District School Board
Michael Francone, Marisa Liscio,
Teresa Paoli, Tony Petitti,
Brenda Stewart
Toronto District School Board
Liz Blake, Marguerite Campbell,
Lise Hawkins, Vangie Kalanderopoulos,
Kathy Lazarovits
Kathy Lazarovits, Awards Committee
Chair and Past President
Great Summer Reading
2016
Executive (2015-2016): Front row (left to right):
Margaret Talbot, Jill Eason, Natasha Serba,
Jane Milligan, Mike Francone, Marisa Liscio,
Marguerite Campbell, Liz Blake, Kathy Lazarovits;
Middle row (left to right): Teresa Paoli, Kelly
Manning, Stephanie Shore, Rebecca Toombs,
Lise Hawkins, Jose Molina, Brenda Stewart, Tony
Petitti, Joan Barrett, Joyce Dolmer; Top row (left
to right): Judith Laskin, Nora Lovgren, Brian
Svenningsen, Erica Townson, Denise Canning,
Val Collins, Vangie Kalanderopoulos, Doris
Wukasch, Tanya Reilly-Primaylon.
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
Birdie by Tracey Lindberg
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel
A Little Life by Hanya Yanaihara
Great Summer Reading list compiled by Jose Molina, EYSRA
Plan to Attend
We look forward to seeing you on Thurs., Feb. 23rd
and Fri., Feb. 24th, 2017 at the Sheraton Centre Hotel,
downtown Toronto. Registration opens September 1, Visit us online and see what people are
2016 at www.readingfortheloveofit.com
saying about Reading for the Love of It.
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