Touching BASE - Summer 2014 - English Montreal School Board

B.A.S.E. Daycare Launches Destination Imagination Program
On Tuesday, May 13, 2014, Before
and After School Enriched (B.A.S.E.)
Daycare held its first ever Destination Imagination Showcase at General
Vanier Elementary School.
It was the main event in its sixth
annual Daycare Week Festival: EMSB
B.A.S.E. Has Talent To Surprise You!
Destination Imagination is a challenge program that gets teams of
young people from around the world
to compete in creative, imaginative
and constructive timed challenges.
B.A.S.E. Daycare launched the Destination Imagination program this past
January under the guidance of Robin
Kelley, the B.A.S.E. Daycare Extracurricular Activities Advisor.
Robin worked with four teams of
students from General Vanier, John
Caboto Academy and Michelangelo
International challenging them each
week with challenges that focused on
either building or performing.
Team challenge
All four teams were involved in the
Destination Imagination Showcase.
The students first participated in a
Team Challenge where they had to
perform a movie trailer skit that shows
characters from at least two different
nations interacting. Their movie trailers
were required to be between two and
four minutes in length and had to include sound effects and props. Finally,
the trailer had to be entirely their own
creation, with no help from other students, adults, parents or teachers. The
students worked hard on their movie
trailer skits for two months.
The performances began with Michelangelo International’s Team Golden Athletes. Their movie, “Friendship
Between Two Nations,” was a historical science-fiction adventure. The
audience watched as a group of children playing soccer were caught in a
thunderstorm and end up hiding in a
time machine that brings them back
to Montreal, 1649. The children meet
and make friends with the Mohawk
children living in the same location that
their soccer field would eventually be,
See IMAGINATION, page 12
The first Destination Imagination Showcase took place at
Elementary School on Tuesday, May 13, 2014. Pictured
General Vanier team accepting their awards for the Team
Instant Challenge with B.A.S.E. Manager, Rosa Fuoco, and
curricular Activities Advisor, Robin Kelley.
Mental Health Awareness Week: B.A.S.E. Art
Daycare students from Bancroft, Dunrae Gardens and John Caboto Academy
created a four-panel art installation depicitng the four seasons and representing
the activities that make them feel good for Mental Health Awareness Week.
In an effort to promote good mental health habits and sharpen students’
awareness of positive coping strategies for dealing with stress, the Before
and After School Enriched (B.A.S.E.)
Daycare Program and the Mental
Health Resource Center (MHRC) of
the English Montreal School Board’s
Student Services Department held an
exciting event for elementary school
students: A Mental Health Awareness
Week Exhibit from May 5 to 9, 2014.
Leading up to Mental Health Awareness Week, students from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 6 were encouraged
to think about ways in which they can
build their self-esteem and coping
skills. They discussed how they can
help themselves and others to feel
better whenever they feel stressed,
unhappy or frustrated. Students were
asked to express their thoughts and
feelings on this topic through creative
written texts—poems or storybooks—
or visual texts—artwork or short
videos. The submissions came flooding in from various daycares including
Carlyle International, Cedarcrest, Gerald McShane, Honoré Mercier, John
Caboto Academy, Sinclair Laird and
St. Dorothy.
The students’ work included poems,
quotes, storybooks and drawings.
John Caboto Academy’s B.A.S.E. Photography Club students produced a
video where they did on-camera interviews answering questions about what
makes them feel good. John Caboto
Academy students also made large
sport figurines out of recycled bottle
caps. This art project represents how
participating in sports makes children
feel good.
Gerald McShane B.A.S.E. Daycare
students collaborated on a very large
smiley face. A picture of every child
was assembled to make the eyes of
the smiley face. The students then researched and wrote words of affirmation on the smiley face.
All of the submissions were displayed in the Atrium and infront of
the regional offices of the Administration Building. A streaming video of all
of the work was playing during lunch
hour in the cafeteria and on the MHRC
website.
THE FOUR SEASONS
Artist Sylvia Garland guided students
from Bancroft, Dunrae Gardens and
John Caboto Academy B.A.S.E. Daycares to create a four-panel art instalSee MENTAL HEALTH, page 12
General Vanier
above is the
Challenge and
B.A.S.E. Extra-
La semaine des
services de garde
Le programme des services de garde
B.A.S.E. de la Commission scolaire
English-Montréal a célébré la Semaine
des services de garde du 12 au 16
mai 2014 avec son sixième festival annuel d’arts créatifs. Le titre du festival a
représenté le thème de la Semaine des
services de garde de cette année: On
«atout» pour surprendre, qui est déterminé par l’Association des services de
garde en milieu scolaire du Québec.
Le programme des services de
garde B.A.S.E. a adopté une approche
différente au festival de cette année. Au
lieu de réunir les spectateurs en un soir
dans un endroit pour admirer le travail
des élèves, les parents et le personnel de la Commission ont été invités
aux services de garde tout au long de
la semaine pour découvrir les différents
talents des élèves.
Voici quelques points saillants du
sixième festival annuel du programme
des services de garde B.A.S.E.
Voir LA SEMAINE, page 6
Inside
Horse Therapy Kid Facts
Green Initiative
Daycare Week
Activities
Ped Days Life Learning
Page 2
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 8
Page 10
Page 12
2
Touching Base, Summer 2014
horse therapy program
A Final Visit With Their Therapeutic Equine Friends
The Wonderful world of horse therapy
On a chilly February day, the Hampstead Daycare
students in the therapeutic horseback riding program piled into the bus for their final trip to the Goldie
Equestrian Project in St-Benoît de Mirabel. This time,
their family members joined them.
After eight weeks of spending most of their Thursdays learning to care for and riding horses, the six
students with special needs were proud to show their
parents, sisters and guardians all they had learned.
First, during snack, the children and project founder Carol Nantel informed their guests about safety
rules, such as never walk behind a horse. Then, in
twos and threes, the group walked up and down
the barn and peered into the stalls as the students
introduced family members to their favourite horse
or pony. Some horses munched on their breakfast,
one threw its head in the air and showed its teeth in
a funny horse laugh and some presented only their
rumps, not feeling very social that morning.
After a quick warm up jog around the arena to get
their energy out, two at a time, the children demonstrated their first new-learned skill by grooming one
of the calm ponies using various brushes and stroking techniques. Happily covered in horse hair, the
first two students, 5th Graders Christina Phan and
Aidan Côté, donned their harnesses and helmets
and headed to the arena. Normally divided into two
groups–one riding, the other cleaning stalls or pitching hay–that day all the students stuck together for
the chance to see everyone ride.
Watching the under 12 year olds carefully climb
onto enormous but gentle animals and calmly ride
with an instructor on the lead and an educator by
their side was an impressive sight. The students
transformed from fidgety, sometimes difficult children to calm and focused for an entire 30 minutes of
equestrian skills.
“The contact with and movements of the horse
calm the nervous system,” says Nantel, a specialized equine therapist certified by the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CanTRA) who has been
bringing horses and children with special needs together for the past 15 years. Nantel loves to see the
improvement in the children and watch them “grow
up in the presence of the horse.”
As Christina and Aidan are led around the arena,
they perform stretching exercises from atop their
horses, reaching towards the various animals and
figures on the barn walls or rhythmically punching the
air as the animal placidly walks beneath them.
“Their posture has greatly improved,” says Hampstead Educator Adrienne, who walks beside the students, sometimes holding their harnesses to steady
them. “They learn if they don’t sit straight in the
saddle, the horse will take over.”
Practicing stopping their horses with a “whoa” or
starting them by making kissing sounds, Christina
and Aidan are then handed the reins to control their
own horse, though they remain on the instructor’s
lead. Performing large, square figure eights, practicing turns, stops and starts, the two students’ attentions rarely stray from their task.
“I feel big,” says Christina about riding her horse
and declares brightly at the end of the day: “I’m going
to work here.”
At the end of the lesson, Aidan enjoys feeding his
horse carrots, even if they often slobber as they inhale their treat. “We did it on our own,” he says about
all the skills he’s learned in the eight-week program.
“It feels good, like completing a challenge.”
“The biggest thing they learn is to work by themselves, to be more independent,” says Nantel. “There
is a light in their eyes when they accomplish something;” whether it’s cleaning tack, mucking stalls or
riding, the confidence and independence they gain
opens other doors in the rest of their lives.
“For the last three weeks, I’ve noticed he’s less
anxious,” says Nessia, mother of Grade 2 student
Ethan Zbily. One of the last to take his turn that day,
Ethan had to exercise a lot of patience before he
finally got to ride his favourite pony. Once warmed
up and with the reins in his hands, however, a few
smiles were caught on camera.
“I feel stretched out...relaxed” says Grade 4 student Netanel Vakin about riding the horses. “Some of
Clockwise from top: Grade 5 students Christina Phan and Aidan Cote practice their skills with the reins, leading their
horses while always keeping their backs straight; Aidan feeds his horse some well deserved carrots; Ethan Zbily,
Grade 2, and Anastasia Demacheva, Grade 3, along with program founder Carol Nantel (in pink) and fellow instructor
Celine, groom a calm pony; Carol Nantel gives 4th grader Netanel Vakin some tips while educator Adrienne walks
beside him; Anastasia enjoys a game while happily sitting atop her pony.
them are funny and sometimes I get kisses!”
“They truly have a rapport with the horses,” says
Daycare Educator Martine who even herself experiences a powerful peacefulness as she walks beside
the horses supporting the students.
Grade 3 student Anastasia Demacheva says she
feels happy when riding and loves to play games
while sitting up on her pony. Her sister, Irina, adds
that Ana has grown up since she began the program
in the way she talks and behaves.
All the students love to talk about their horses at
school and at home and, no matter what the benefits
of the Goldie Project, they will never forget such a
unique experience.
It was a very exciting day and the obvious joy on
their faces when they each received their certificate
for completing the program tempered the sadness
they felt at saying goodbye to their equine friends.
Johanna Donovan
Contributing Editor
The Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program was
offered to two daycares during the 2013-2014 school
year: Hampstead and Elizabeth Ballantyne. For more
information about the Goldie Equestrian Project, visit
www.projectgoldie.com.
d’équitation thérapeutique
Elizabeth Ballantyne
En haut: Les élèves brossent un cheval avec plaisir. En bas: L’élève de maternelle Eryx
Yotis monte son cheval nommé Portos.
Les élèves nouent des amitiés avec
des chevaux
Quelques élèves du service de garde
d’Elizabeth Ballantyne prétendent être
des cow-boys chaque jeudi. Ils se rencontrent tous les matins à l’école et
sont transportés par autobus à l’écurie
du Projet équestre Goldie à SaintBenoît de Mirabel où leurs chevaux
les attendent. Tous les cinq élèves, qui
sont de la maternelle et de la première
année, participent à un programme de
huit semaines d’équitation thérapeutique, tout au long des mois d’avril et
de mai. L’autobus quitte l’école vers
9 h 15 et retourne aux environs de 14
h. Les élèves mangent leurs repas de
midi et leurs collations au ranch.
« L’équitation me rend heureux »
déclare Matteo Hains de la maternelle.
« Moi aussi, parce que j’aime les chevaux et les autres animaux » ajoute
Eryx Yotis, un autre élève de maternelle.
Les élèves sont appariés à un cheval selon leur hauteur et leur poids.
Chaque élève monte son cheval pour
près d’une demi-heure. Les éducateurs des services de garde tiennent
une ceinture de harnais attachée à la
taille des enfants pour s’assurer qu’ils
restent sur le cheval. Les chevaux
marchent autour de l’aréna en grands
cercles, tandis que les élèves font des
exercices pour améliorer leur équilibre
et leur coordination.
Le cheval d’Eryx se nomme Portos.
« Lorsque je descends de sur Portos,
je lui donne une grande accolade »
déclare Eryx. « Ensuite, je m’assieds
sur une chaise pour le nourrir. Je brise
une carotte en trois morceaux pour
qu’il puisse la manger plus facilement.
Ce que j’aime le plus est le nourrir.
Une fois, j’ai été surpris lorsqu’il a laissé tomber son bol de carottes dans la
boue » ajoute Eryx.
Les élèves aiment interagir avec les
chevaux. « Ma jument se nomme Gigi
et elle a une crinière brune et blanche
qui est vraiment douce à toucher »
déclare Matteo. « Je me sens mieux
quand je caresse les chevaux » poursuit Matteo.
Les élèves apprécient aussi les personnalités des chevaux ! « Portos a
éternué et ce fut drôle ! » déclare Eryx
en riant.
Les enfants brossent aussi les chevaux avec les conseils des adultes qui
les accompagnent. « Nous brossons
les chevaux parce qu’ils sont sales »
expliquent Eryx. « J’ai été très content
parce que j’ai aidé à les nettoyer. »
L’équitation est une excellente expérience et les enfants apprécient
cette merveilleuse occasion.
Matteo Hains, Maternelle
Eryx Yotis, Maternelle
Service de garde Elizabeth Ballantyne
Touching Base, Summer 2014
3
The EMSB BASE Daycares
BANCROFT
Principal: Dorothy Ostrowicz
Technician: Monique Gaudreault
MACKAY
Principal: Patrizia Ciccarelli
Technician: Maria Revuelta
CARLYLE
Principal: Anna-Maria Borsellino
Technician: Angela Crescenzi
MICHELANGELO
Principal: Anna Della Rocca
Technician: Teresa Federico
CEDARCREST
Principal: Nadia Sammarco
Technician: Georgia Stamatopoulos
NESBITT
Principal: Eleni Zervas
Technician: Pina Santino
CORONATION
Principal: Joanna Genevezos
Technician: Nancy Mancuso
OUR LADY OF POMPEI
Principal: Steven Rebelo
Technician: Nancy Salituri
DALKEITH
Principal: John Wright
Technician: Cynthia Racicot
PARKDALE
Principal: Maryène Perron
Technician: Filanthi Stavrianeas
DANTE
Principal: Ida Pisano
Technician: Angela Crispino
PHILIP E. LAYTON
Principal: Patrizia Ciccarelli
Technician: Maria Revuelta
DUNRAE GARDENS
Principal: Darlene Kehyayan
Technician: Tina Lanni
PIERRE DE COUBERTIN
Principal: Nicholas Katalifos
Technician: Mary Simeone
EAST HILL:
Principal: Myrianne Lusignan
Technician: Connie Parry
PIERRE ELLIOTT TRUDEAU
Principal: Michelle Stein
Technician: Mara Filippone
EDWARD MURPHY
Principal: Franca Cristiano
Technician: Giovanna Giuliana
SINCLAIR LAIRD
Principal: Marco Gagliardi
Technician: Pina Portaro
ELIZABETH BALLANTYNE
Principal: Otis Delaney
Technician: Chantal Riendeau
ST. DOROTHY
Principal: Rosetta Ortona-Perri
Technician: Sandra Prioletta
GENERAL VANIER
Principal: Sylvia Serchuk
Technician: Maria Iacono
ST. GABRIEL
Principal: Jim Daskalakis
Technician: Pamela Faustini
GERALD McSHANE
Principal: Nancy Richer
Technician: Clementina Fraga
ST. MONICA
Principal: Irini Margetis
Technician: Paquita Nanton
HAMPSTEAD
Principal: Hilda Hacikyaner
Technician: Cathy Agnello
WESTMOUNT PARK
Principal: Daniela Lattanzio
Technician: Deborah Mete
HONORE MERCIER
Principal: Donna Manos
Technician: Daniela Buttino
Deputy Director General:
Paola Miniaci
JOHN CABOTO
Principal: Lucy Buscemi
Technician: Tina Nardolillo
LEONARDO DA VINCI ACADEMY
Principal: Michael Talevi
Technician: Francesca Muro
Assistant Director:
Luc Harvey
Daycare Manager:
Rosa Fuoco
Daycare Assistant:
Emily Meo
Produced by: B.A.S.E. Daycare Services
English Montreal School Board
6000 Fielding Avenue, Montreal (Quebec) H3X 1T4
Website: www.emsbbase.com (under construction)
Editor: Jennifer De Freitas
Project Development Officer
jdefreitas@emsb.qc.ca
Contributing Editors: Johanna Donovan
Jodi Schwartz
4
kid facts
Touching Base, Summer 2014
Bring Learning to Life in the Great Outdoors
Canadian Environment week
Did you know that June 1 to 7 is Canadian Environment Week and “Strengthening Our Environment
Today for Tomorrow” is this year’s theme?
The idea for Environment Week emerged in 1970,
when former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker noted
the “tremendous energy, enthusiasm and initiative”
of young people concerned about pollution. Diefenbaker approached the House of Commons with the
concept of setting aside one week a year to focus on
all aspects of a healthy environment.
This year, Environment Week also includes Clean
Air Day (June 4), World Environment Day (June 5),
and World Oceans Day (June 8).
ENGAGING THE SENSES
In the article “Outdoor learning: Education’s next
revolution?” author Laura Smith cites several studies
discussing the effects of nature-based education on
children. She quotes environmentalist Richard Louv
as arguing that adults and children in today’s world
suffer from “nature deficit disorder.” In many of the
studies, the motivation, attendance and test scores
of students all improved after participating in naturebased learning programs.
Louv argues that outdoor learning works because
it “demands better use of the senses.” With so much
time focused on a screen and stuck indoors in traditional classrooms, students “lack the ability to detect
nuances in their environment” and do not regularly
engage all their senses. Learning in a natural environment, rich with sounds, sights and smells, promotes “involuntary attention” or fascination in one’s
surroundings, encouraging students to become more
alert and interested in what they’re learning.
BENEFITS OF TIME OUTDOORS
According to Evergreen, a non-profit that aims to
engage people in solving urban environmental issues, “Engaging in nature-based activities increases
the metabolism, boosts the immune system, increases resiliency and reduces stress” in children.
The physical and mental health benefits of spending time outdoors in nature are difficult to refute and
are well documented. To boot, more and more studies are pointing to even further benefits of time spent
engaging with the outside world.
With nature’s ability to boost children’s attention
and alertness, time spent ourdoors in learning and
play can “relieve symptoms of attention deficit disorder.” In another study in Smith’s article, teachers
in one elementary school sent students to the principal’s office more than 500 times in one year; that
number dropped to 50 after an environment-based
program was implemented. The principal and teachers credited the drop in behavioural problems to “the
students’ increased engagement in learning.”
ENVIRONMENT FACTS
Environment activities
1. Household Products: When household cleaners
containing phosphates get into rivers and lakes,
they cause algae blooms on the surface, robbing
the water of oxygen and ultimately killing aquatic
life.
1. Create a Seed Bomb: Seed Bombs are balls of
2. Lawn Mowing: Running your gas powered lawnmower for one hour is equal to driving a new car
between 320 and 480 kilometres.
2. Recycled Art: Items that would normally end up in
3. Mothballs: There are chemicals in mothballs that
can harm animals, our environment and us if used
incorrectly. Use cedar chips instead. They give off
a more pleasing scent, are natural and are better
for the environment.
4. Water: Eighty per cent of ocean pollution is
caused by human activity on land. One gram of
2,4-D (a common household herbicide) can pollute
10 million litres of water.
5. Clothing: There is an average of 7 kilograms
of textile waste (clothes, bedding, curtains, etc.)
per person in landfills throughout Canada. Textile
waste accounts for more than 4% of materials in
Canada’s landfills.
6. Greenhouse Gas Effect: Greenhouse gases trap
clay, dry organic compost or worm castings, small
native perennial seeds and water used to improve
areas you’re unable to reach. For more information
visit mossymossy.com/the-seed-bomb/.
a landfill are great for art projects, such as making
sculptures or a birdhouse out of egg and milk cartons, pizza boxes, tin cans and more! Host a kids’
arts and crafts contest using only recycled items.
3. Toy Swap: Instead of tossing old toys, help your
kids organize a toy swap. Each child brings an unwanted toy that is clean and in good condition to
swap with their friends. Children go home with a
new toy and nothing ends up in the landfill!
4. Trash-Free BBQ: Disposable dishes and utensils
create a lot of garbage. Next time you have a bbq,
invite guests to bring utensils, or use a Frisbee as
a plate. It’s good for the environment and good for
your health to run and catch a Frisbee afterwards.
5. Nature Walks: Work with local educational facili-
ties to sponsor nature walks or talks. Do not forget
to pick up litter on your walk.
heat in the atmosphere and keep the Earth warm.
Without these gases the Earth would be too cold
but too much greenhouse gas upsets the Earth’s
natural balance and warms the planet too much.
6. Tree Planting Party: Have a tree-planting party in
your community! Planting a tree is one of the best
things you can do for the environment.
7. Endangered Species: The Committee on the
post instead, this will reduce your garbage by one
third. Learn more at www.compost.org.
Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada has listed 585 species in Canada to be at some level of
risk—extinct, extirpated, endangered, threatened
or of special concern.
8. Floods: Research shows the global sea level
rose about 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) in the last
century, and the rate in the last decade is nearly
double that leading to flooding and other problems.
9. Trees: Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air.
This means the air will be fresher and also help
regulate climate by reducing greenhouse gases.
10. Food Waste: It is estimated the average American produces about 4.5 pounds of trash daily and
that 40% of food in the U.S.A. goes uneaten.
7. Compost: Throw out kitchen scraps into the com-
8. At-Risk Species: Learn about which speciess are
in trouble and what’s being done to help them. Is
there any way you can participate in helping?
9. Candle Light: Encourage kids to schedule their
own voluntary power outage during Canadian Environment Week or during the summer to reduce
energy usage. Kids can avoid using the computer
or video games between certain times, for example, and instead read, cook or go outside.
10. DIY: Make kid-friendly cleaning products. Instead of using chemicals and paper towels to wash
your windows, try 1/2 cup vinegar and 4 cups water and a squeegee or reusable cloths and rags.
Though stimulating their senses outdoors greatly
helps with student behaviour and engagment, handson-nature-based education also teaches students
“real-world implications,” giving them a sense of the
relevancy of what they’re learning; that it has a relationship to the everyday world they live in.
Take advantage of all the activities happening in
Montreal during Canadian Environment Week and
indulge in a little outdoor, hands-on, nature-based
learning with your children this summer. For more
information, tools and resources about the environment and related activities, visit www.ec.gc.ca, www.
evergreen.ca, www.focusonforests.ca, and www.
greenwave.cbd.int/en,
to thank Mr. Pacheco for donating gloves, garbage
bags and cleaning rags. Each child put the supplies
to good use. Our Earth Day could not have been
more successful. Let’s keep up the good work!
Pierre Elliott Trudeau Daycare students cleaned up their
junior and senior schoolyards on April 22, 2014, which
was Earth Day. Parents came out to help with the clean
up! A total of 50 garbage bags were filled.
Johanna Donovan
Touching B.A.S.E. Contributing Editor
Pierre Elliott Trudeau
Earth Day CLEAN UP
On Earth Day, Pierre Elliott Trudeau Daycare students and some parents cleaned their dirty school
yard. The students from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade
6 took up this challenge. After the snow melted, the
yard was left very dirty.
Once our grand clean-up was done, we counted
about 50 bags of garbage between both the senior
and junior schoolyards. This was a great experience
to finally tidy our schoolyard and now we wish to
keep it that way.
Datio Mancini, Grade 5,
Sabriel Langelier, Grade 4
Pierre Eilliott Trudeau Daycare
Earth Day donations
A special thanks goes to Mr. Danny Pacheco for
donating supplies for our clean up on Earth Day, April
22, 2014. Daycare Technician, Ms. Mara, would like
Angie Angelicchio, Daycare Educator
green initiative
Touching Base, Summer 2014
5
New Gardens at Hampstead, General Vanier and Our Lady of Pompei
HAMPSTEAD BUILDS FRONT LAWN GARDEN
The Hampstead B.A.S.E. Daycare Green Club has
been busy this Spring. Green Advisor, Marcus Lobb,
along with Concordia City Farm School interns Ev
and Charlotta have designed and built a brand new
educational garden on the front lawn of the school.
The garden is over 1,500 square feet in size, and will
be growing herbs, fruit trees, vegetables and more!
We recently asked the kids what were some of
their favorite memories of this past Spring.
“My favorite part was making the three sisters garden,” Mia noted, while Aidan was excited about using
ingredients from the garden to make a “non factorymade pizza.” Another student yelled, “Kale, kale,
kale.”
A special thanks goes out to the Green Plan
Committee for the funding they offered this project.
GENERAL VANIER GARDEN
In late May we sat down with a group of daycare
students at General Vanier who have been participating in the Daycare Green Club over the past year.
Since they have been so busy building their new
garden, we have barely had any time to reflect. We
asked them a number of questions about their experiences. Isabella and Elisabeth both enjoyed planting
tomatoes, while Tugce commented on the importance
of being careful when planting the seedlings.
We were also very pleased to learn how much the
students were enjoying the labor associated with the
garden building. A surprise around every corner!
The students chose to name their garden The Garden of Myths, likely culled from the inspiration of Mateo
who was heard saying, ‘’Since I was small I always believed in myths in nature—that’s why I like gardening.’’
OUR LADY OF POMPEI OUTDOOR CLASSROOM
No grass to have a garden? No problem!
Our Lady of Pompei’s Green Club, which is led
by Green Tutor Julia Gellman are in the midst of
celebrating their first ever schoolyard garden and
seating area. The new garden area, which will grow
herbs, veggies and flowers, has the capacity to seat
an entire classroom, and will be growing more than
Green Grants:
B.A.S.E. Wins Eight
Clockwise from top left: Hampstead students shovel
soil to fill their planter boxes, General Vanier students
plant vegetables in their garden and Our Lady of Pompei students and Daycare Educator Ms. Rita shovel soil
to fill their raised planter boxes.
25 different species of plants this Spring. The project was co-funded by B.A.S.E. Daycare Services and
the Green Plan Committee who awarded the school
$1,500 to start the project. A special thanks also goes
out to Principal, Mr. Steven Rebelo, Daycare Technician, Ms. Nancy Salituri, and all of the daycare
educators who have helped out!
Touching B.A.S.E. Editorial Staff
Dalkeith
Green Projects Awarded
The English Montreal School Board’s Green Plan Committee presented Green
Awards, Prizes and Grants to its recipients at the Council of Commissioners
meeting on Wednesday, May 28, 2014.
The Before and After School Enriched (B.A.S.E.) Daycare Program plays a
very important role in the schools’ green initiatives and projects.
Thanks to the guidance and dedication of the B.A.S.E Green Initiative Advisor,
Marcus Lobb, and his team of Green Initiative tutors, they have helped school
principals and daycare technicians accomplish their green objectives. Due to
this strong partnership, B.A.S.E Daycare Program claimed eight grants. All three
grants that Marcus Lobb applied for this year were awarded.
Green Awards and Recognition Prizes are given for projects that were tied to
the school’s Green Action Plan and completed during the school year. The grants
program aims to help schools, centers and the Administration Building implement
and fund future environmental initiatives ensuing from their action plans and that
are linked to the following four pillars of the EMSB Green Policy: Education, Green
and Healthy Space, Sustainable Resource Use and Strive to be Toxic Free.
The Winners
Green Award recipients included Edward Murphy School and John Caboto
Academy. Each school received $1,000. Parkdale School was a recipient of a
Green Recognition prize of $500.
Eight schools with the B.A.S.E Daycare Program—were recipients of this
year’s Green Grants, under three categories: Willow Grants ($1,000 or less), Maple Grants ($1,001 to $2,999) and Oak Grants ($3,000 to $5,000).
Three of the schools that won Maple Grants were: Hampstead ($2,000) for their
school garden, Our Lady of Pompei ($1,500) for their schoolyard garden and outdoor classroom project, and General Vanier ($2,750) for their schoolyard garden
and outdoor learning classroom. Other Maple Grant winners included Bancroft for
their Educational Terrarium, Honore Mercier for their Friendship corner, and St.
Gabriel for their Senior Park.
The Willow Grant recipient was Gerald McShane ($1,000) for their Community Teaching garden. The Oak Grant beneficiary was Parkdale ($3,250) for their
Learning in the Sun! Our Space-Our Time project.
The EMSB handed out $30,000 worth of Green awards and grants to elementary schools and high schools. Congratulations to all of the 2013-2014 Green
grants and awards winners!
Touching B.A.S.E. Editorial Staff
DALKIETH: Students Build Multiple Gardens
Dalkeith Before and After School Enriched (B.A.S.E.) Daycare Grade 5 and 6
students have been hard at work preparing three gardens: two flower gardens
in the front of the school and one vegetable garden in the backyard.
Cynthia Racicot, Daycare Technician
6
daycare week
Touching Base, Summer 2014
La semaine des services de garde: On <<atout>> pour surprendre
SUITE DE LA PAGE 1
Gerald McShane
Le club de théâtre de Gerald McShane a présenté une comédie aux parents et élèves du service de
garde le lundi 12 mai 2014. La pièce Banana Split
a été entièrement écrite et réalisée par les élèves.
La pièce a été suivie d’une représentation spéciale
de chansons interprétées par les élèves du service de garde et dédiée aux mères de l’auditoire.
Elizabeth Ballantyne
Les élèves du service de garde Elizabeth Ballantyne ont travaillé d’arrache-pied tout au long
de l’année pour produire des films et des animations qui ont été visionnées le lundi 12 mai 2014.
Parkdale
Les élèves du service de garde Parkdale se
sont aussi distingués au festival de cette année, le lundi 12 mai 2014 par deux représentations de danse qui ont complètement enchanté leurs parents. Les enfants avaient pratiqué
leurs chorégraphies depuis le mois d’octobre.
Our Lady of Pompei
Le mercredi 14 mai 2014, Les élèves du service de garde Our Lady of Pompei ont présenté
un spectacle de danse, de comédie, de théâtre et
de chansons, une cérémonie de remise de prix et
une projection de diapositives de photos du service
de garde, prises au cours des années. Les parents, frères et sœurs et amis se sont retrouvés au
gymnase pour le spectacle. Ce fut définitivement
une démonstration impressionnante de talents au
même endroit.
Carlyle International
Les élèves du service de garde Carlyle International avaient pris des cours d’espagnol depuis septembre et ont démontré à leurs parents et à d’autres
invités leur maîtrise de la langue en interprétant des
chansons le mercredi 14 mai 2014.
Nesbitt
Le service de garde Nesbitt a présenté un concours de jeunes talents le jeudi 15 mai 2014 qui
a mis en vedette une liste complète de chanteurs
En haut: Les percussionnistes de Sinclair Laird ont clôturé le spectacle par une remarquable exécution de
tambours. En bas: Les élèves de Parkdale se sont aussi
distingués au festival par deux représentations de danse.
et de danseurs en herbe ainsi qu’un spectacle de
magie. Quelques élèves de 4e et de 5e année ont
dédié une merveilleuse représentation de danse à
l’éducatrice du service de garde, Mme Soula.
Sinclair Laird
Les élèves du service de garde Sinclair Laird ont
diverti les parents et les employés de la Commission dans la soirée du jeudi 15 mai 2014 par leurs
voix, leurs mouvements de danse et leurs habiletés de percussion. Les élèves de la prématernelle
ont commencé le spectacle en chantant quelques
chansons en français. La troupe de danse de la
prématernelle et de la maternelle ont enthousiasmé
les invités avec l’interprétation de deux danses. Les
percussionnistes de Sinclair Laird ont clôturé le
spectacle par une remarquable exécution de tambours. Les travaux d’art des élèves ont aussi été
exposés.
Jennifer De Freitas
Rédacteur en chef
Dante
Dante students enjoy dancing in the schoolyard, playing with balloons, eating ice cream and cotton candy.
Our pictures may reflect what our festivities were
during Daycare Appreciation Week, but we really appreciate the children year round. Just some of the
Hampstead
things we offered to them on pedagogical days this
year varied from indoor activities such as Gumboots,
curling, camping with the Paquette’s, Dante Olympics
with our very own medals and much more. All this
was carefully organized by the super daycare staff at
Dante so that the children would be exposed to many
different cultures and experiences.
Daycare Week is the time when we really show
the children just how much we appreciate them. We
go out of our way to prepare fun activities for them
throughout the entire week.
The fun filled week began with singing and dancing
in the schoolyard as a D.J. busted out the latest tunes.
It was really nice to see the children practice their
different dance moves.
The schoolyard was also transformed into a sea of
blue and green balloons, while the students sang and
danced to the B.A.S.E. theme song.
The daycare staff also hosted a musical talent
show, which brought out the students’ hard work,
practice and dedication as each group sang their
favorite song. Angels could not have sang better!
From adults to children, everyone went home with
huge pink smiles on their faces after eating fluffy
and delicious cotton candy! The week was a great
success!
Dante Daycare Staff
Hampstead students try their luck at a skill test game.
Hampstead Daycare students enjoyed themselves
outdoors on a beautiful and sunny Tuesday. The daycare staff prepared an afternoon filled with fun! The
students bounced in two giant inflatables and played
with skill testing games. They were also treated to kosher
hotdogs, juice boxes and popcorn. What a great time!
Hampstead Daycare Staff
daycare week
Touching Base, Summer 2014
7
Daycare Week: We Have Talent to Surprise You!
Fun Festivities across the daycares
It was a time of celebration for all daycare staff
and children. The daycare students participated in
special activities during Daycare Week. Here are
some snapshots of the Daycare Week festivities.
St. Dorothy
St. Dorothy Daycare students were treated to a
variety of activities and treats during Daycare Week.
Highlights from the week include an ice cream and
candy bar, art activities, Daycare Technician, Ms. Sandra Petrillo’s homemade lasagna for lunch, a movie
and popcorn, and planting outdoors with the school
prinicipal, Ms. Perri.
St. Dorothy Daycare Staff
Leonard Da Vinci Academy
Leonardo Da Vinci Academy Daycare students
were very busy having fun during Daycare Week.
They were treated to a special activity every day. The
festivities included cotton candy, temporary glitter
tattoos, mural painting, a sketch photo booth and a
variety show that showcased the different talents of
the students.
Leonardo Da Vinci Academy Daycare Staff
Pierre Elliott Trudeau
Pierre Elliott Trudeau Daycare students were engaged in many different activities throughout Daycare
Week. They participated in a T-shirt making activity
where they did a great job at decorating their T-shirts
with lots of colour. The students also got to experiment
with shaving cream and paint during a Mad Science
class and they got to touch a turtle and a snake during
a reptile show. The students also participated in some
soccer drills in the park before playing a soccer game.
Pierre Elliott Trudeau Daycare Staff
Clockwise from top left: Leonardo Da Vinci Academy
students get their portraits sketched in a photo booth,
Pierre Elliott Trudeau students decorate their own
T-shirts, Leonardo Da Vinci Academy students paint a
mural and St. Dorothy Daycare Technician sets up an
ice cream and candy bar for all students to enjoy.
Michelangelo International
Parkdale
PARKDALE STUDENTS AND PARENTS APPRECIATE DAYCARE STAFF
Parkdale Daycare students and parents wrote letters of appreciation for the
daycare staff during Daycare Week.
Here is what some of the parents and students had to say:
Dear Daycare Staff,
Thank you for your kindness and patience with Rafaël. You are
the best. Happy National Daycare Week.
Sincerely,
Némie Noël, mother of
Rafaël Noël-Lefebvre, Kindergarten
Dear Daycare Staff,
Thank you everyone for everything you do.
Love,
Bradley Madyson, Kindergarten
A Michelangelo International student puts his hand print on a large B.A.S.E. cloth mural.
B.A.S.E. CLOTH MURAL
Michelangelo International B.A.S.E.
Daycare kicked off their Daycare
Appreciation Week celebration with
making a B.A.S.E. cloth mural. The
art activity was held outdoors in the
schoolyard on a beautiful and sunny Monday afternoon. The daycare
educators helped all of the children
paint their hand with either blue,
pink, green or orange paint. They
then assisted the children to press
their hand hard on the cloth.
The B.A.S.E. cloth mural is now displayed in the daycare hallway. It represents the unity of all the children in
B.A.S.E. Daycare.
Michelangelo Daycare Staff
Dear Mrs. Filanthi and the beautiful ladies of the daycare staff,
Thank you so very much for the free lunches that you provided
the children with during Daycare Week. Thank you for the hard work that you do each day for our child. You ladies are so super
lovely, nice and patient.
Love you lots.
Sia Tsaltas, mother of
Maria Babalis, Pre-Kindergarten
8
Touching Base, Summer 2014
extracurricular activities
St. Gabriel
John Caboto Academy
CREATING ART OUT OF RECYCLED MATERIALS
Want to turn something old into something new?
Start collecting beer bottle caps instead of throwing them away. The John Caboto Academy Grade
4, 5, and 6 daycare students began a project using
recycled beer bottle caps to build large pieces of art.
It all began in December 2013 when we started
collecting as many bottle caps as we could get our
hands on. The father of Brianna Dasilveira Pereira,
a Grade 6 student, knows someone named Christine
Doyle who works at the Bell Center. She collected
a whole bunch of bottle caps for the students after
the hockey games. Also, Grade 5 student, Angelina
Franco, had a connection too: Her parents own and
work at a restaurant bar and so her mother came up
with the idea of asking everyone to put bottle caps
math books as weights on top and allowed them
to dry overnight. One by one, the sport figures were
completed and we put them on display in the hallway
over our lockers.
Our school is big on reusing and recycling so it
was great to find another use for beer bottle caps
preventing them going to landfills.
“Seeing the final product felt awesome because
we all worked so hard on it,” said Brianna.
“Choosing the bottle caps, each with different colors to form the figures was the easy part. The hard
part was sorting them,” said Angelina.
We asked Ms. Louisa how she came up with the
idea for the project. “It began from seeing pictures of
silhouettes of children walking and also from looking
at artwork in a magazine. This all snowballed into a
Cooking Club
Fifteen St. Gabriel Daycare students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 cook up a storm on Friday afternoons in the lunchroom with Ms. Janet Weddell. The
group is split into two. One week the first group cooks
and the next week the second group takes over.
William Weekes, a Kindergarten student said, “I
like getting to eat whatever we cooked that day.”
Emilio Brogno, also a Kindergarten student said,
“I liked cutting the apples [with Ms. Janet’s help] and
mixing them with the vanilla yogurt, granola, chocolate chips, brown sugar, and honey. too!”
Everyone in daycare on Friday gets to help bake
and cook delicious things. We all have fun, learn new
recipes, and eat the food we made as a team.
Ms. Janet takes care of most of the cutting and
anything to do with the oven. The older kids read us
the recipes and we get to measure out the ingredients and mix them together. We wait while it cooks
or bakes and when it is ready we get to eat it! Once
everything is eaten, the older kids wash the dishes.
We made: meatball soup, yogurt parfaits, cupcakes, pasta salad and toasted grilled cheese with
pesto and sliced tomatoes, just to name a few. They
all tasted great!
Now when we are older we will be able to read
the recipes ourselves, use the oven, and cook our
families yummy food. We can’t wait!
Clockwise: Students carefully placing the bottle caps
onto the football silhouette; Two finished pieces hanging
in the hallway; Students delicately gluing down bottle
inside a big glass jar. Between all of those efforts, the
John Caboto Academy Daycare students ended up
with a lot of bottle caps. We were lucky to have these
connections; it would have taken much longer to
collect all of the needed resources.
After collecting the caps, we rinsed them because
they smelled like beer. Then we sorted them out by
brand and colour. We decided to make sport figures
out of the bottle caps. For our canvases, we painted
insulation boards with black paint.
We split into groups of four or five students, and
each group worked on a different sport—the Olympics were the inspiration for this project. Daycare Edducator Ms. Louisa drew the different sport figures
onto the boards using white chalk and we placed the
bottle caps around to experiment with which colours
and designs looked best.
Once the caps were set up, we glued them down
using a wooden tool made by Daycare Educator Ms.
Rose’s husband. The tool helped us press the caps
down into the insulation boards. Then we placed
larger project to inspire kids not to use conventional
art forms and to get them to think outside the box,”
she told us excitedly.
Daycare Technician, Ms.Tina Nardolillo, told us
she thought the project was a brilliant idea! “It is a
long term project to get the children involved with recycling, which is a main goal at our school,” she said
proudly.
When we asked Ms. Rose if the project was different from what she originally thought it was going to
be, she told us, “It went beyond my expectations and
ended up becoming even better than we all imagined.”
In the future, we hope to get these works of art displayed in the Bell Center during a hockey game. This
project took a lot of hard work. It was a true team effort!
William Weekes and
Emilio Brogno, Kindergarten
St. Gabriel Daycare
Gerald McShane
Angelina Franco, Grade 5
Brianna Dasilveira Pereira, Grade 6
John Caboto Academy Daycare
Michelangelo
Concordia Arts
Education Program
At the beginning of the year my
daycare class began working on a
mural with two wonderful Concordia
University Art Education students.
Lauren and Jennifer were doing a
stage at our school. They collected
a lot of different-coloured bottle and
container caps for the mural project. Some students brought in bottle
caps, too!
We all put our ideas into the project. We worked very hard. We wanted the mural to show how wonderful
our school can be. We made a rainbow and included words on the mural. The words we
chose were recycling, friendship, respect, culture,
sharing and community.
This piece of art inspires me and maybe even
Kindergarten student Zoe Richardson Young mixes while
her classmate Yasmeen Miguel Page measures milk.
Teamwork is shown throughout the soccer game.
other students. It did take pretty long to make, but at
least we did something good.
Olivia Vitalei-D’Ermes, Grade 3
Michelangelo International Daycare
Soccer Program
Are you tired of sitting on the couch eating chips?
Get moving and join the Gerald McShane soccer program. The Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 daycare students
participate in this activity on Tuesday afternoons in
the gym, mostly with Mr. Alex.
First we warm up so that we don’t pull a muscle.
Then we play a fun soccer game together. The rules
are: no hands, and if the ball touches the roof a free
kick is given. There are two teams and you have to
get the ball into the other team’s net to score a point.
The team with the most points wins.
“I find soccer is a good sport for me. I get a lot of
exercise and it is a good way to make the time pass,”
said Giuliano Battiston, a Grade 6 student. “My
favorite thing about soccer is scoring goals,” he
added.
Giuliano Battiston, Grade 6
Gerald McShane Daycare
extracurricular activities
Our Lady of Pompei
Beading Club
Two awesome Our Lady of Pompei Daycare educators, Ms. Rosa Lemme and Ms. Enza De Lisi put together a Beading Club for the Grade 2 and 3 daycare
students. All of the kids love it! It ran from mid January
2014 to end of March 2014 on Friday mornings.
Magic happened inside of the art room once we
began our activity. We made: a beading buddy (a little
bead person to put onto a keychain), a magic wand
for Valentine’s Day, a snake, bracelets, and even a
wind chime.
We did one project per class, but sometimes we
had enough time to do two. Ms. Rosa showed us an
example and explained how to create whatever we
were doing that day. Then, if needed, she’d help us.
She brought all the materials we needed to make the
art projects. We used beads, pipe cleaners, string,
sticks, googley eyes, sparkles, and even flower pots!
“I liked making the snake the best because I like
snakes and building one out of beads was really fun
to do,” said Yuri Costa, a Grade 3 student.
“Making things with beads is great because it is art.
I love it all so much that it makes my mind pop!” said
Grade 2 student Maya Santella.
Ms. Rosa told us that Google is her best friend! “I
look up ideas for projects and add to them. Beading
is one of my favorite hobbies,” she said. “I even do
it at home, so when Daycare Technician, Ms. Nancy
Salituri, asked us to start a club, I thought that it might
be fun for the Grade 2 and 3 kids because they are
able to do harder, hands-on activities.”
Ms. Enza told us that she teamed up with Ms. Rosa
“because we get along so great!”
We participated in this wonderful club to have fun,
make and learn new things, and do something interesting before school on Fridays.
You should try Beading in your schools, too!
9
Edward Murphy
Top: Grade 2 and 3 daycare students stringing beads;
Above: The completed artworks.
The Beading Club was so successful that the club
continued for another session!
Yuri Costa, Grade 3,
Maya Santella, Grade 2
Our Lady of Pompei Daycare
Coronation
Historic Black Inventors Project
In February, the Grade 3, 4, and 5 daycare students from Ms. Jacintha’s class put together a wonderful set of projects in honor of Black History Month.
We separated into groups we picked ourselves: six
groups of two and one group of three. The inventions
we built were: a bicycle, ironing board, prism mailbox,
safe box, elevator, super computer and traffic light.
After choosing groups, we researched different
black inventors and decided which one we wanted
to work on. Then came choosing which invention of
theirs we wanted to build.
First we sketched our chosen inventions onto a
piece of paper so we could follow a plan. We used a
lot of cardboard boxes and other materials like scissors, paint, a hot glue gun, number stickers, and even
plastic jewels to decorate with. Recycled materials
were used as much as possible. Our inventions took
about two weeks to build with Ms. Jacintha’s help.
“We went on Google and looked up historic black
inventors and we found the prism mailbox,” said Aaliyah Pursue-Rodney, a Grade 3 student. “We saw a
picture of how it worked and the gloves that you had
to put your hands through seemed really cool. We
liked making the invention come to life by using our
hands,” added Simone White, Aaliyah’s project buddy
and also a Grade 3 student.
Deborshi Kar, a Grade 5 student, described the
difficulties with his bicycle project. “It was so hard to
cut the cardboard into shapes because it was really
thick. But, it had to be thick for the bike to be able to
stand upright.”
Gabriel Vieira, a Grade 4 student, told us, “Making
the computer was difficult because the keyboard had
so many pieces to deal with. I sketched the pattern of
a keyboard onto the recycled cardboard base. Then
I drew the letters onto each little wooden block and
glued them on.”
Ella Vachon, a Grade 4 student, told us about
bringing the elevator to life. “I originally wanted to
make it big enough for people to be able to walk into
but I couldn’t find a big enough box. The arrows that
point to the different floors actually turn. I used a metal
paper fastener to hold the arrow onto the elevator. It’s
the coolest part because you get to interact with it,
Touching Base, Summer 2014
Radio Journalism CLUB
Edward Murphy Elementary School B.A.S.E. Daycare started a Radio Journalism Club in April. On
Thursday afternoons, six students in Grades 3 to 5
meet with B.A.S.E. daycare tutor, Jessica Grosman,
to learn radio skills. The students have mastered
how to use digital audio recorders and participated
in a sound scavenger hunt, collecting different type of
sounds. Camille Galaise Mathieu, a Grade 4 student,
said it was the first time she had paid that much attention to sound.
The students enjoyed the interviewing process.
“We record interviews with partners and learn about
close-ended questions, open-ended questions and
follow-up questions,” Dalia Salerno, a Grade 5 student, explained. The students interviewed Ms.
Joanne Giulianna, the daycare technician at Edward
Murphy because “We don’t know everything about
her, and we want to know more,” Michael Girgis, a
Grade 4 said.
The students conduct interviews, write short reports and learn how to edit audio with a computer program. By the end of the session, they will produce a
radio play. Also, they will write jingles, provide weather checks and write a little rap song. Stay tuned to see
the final products!
Jessica Grosman
B.A.S.E. Tutor
Carlyle International
Jason Ada Tumenta, a Grade 4 student, poses proudly
with his project partner and their traffic light.
which makes it feel real,” she told us excitedly.
Jason Ada Tumenta, a Grade 4 student, said, “The
inventor I chose, Garrett Morgan, came up with two
inventions. Since we could only choose one, I picked
the traffic light. I liked painting the best because I enjoyed mixing the colors to get different effects.”
Once the construction was finished, we wrote
down the most important information about our inventors to present to the daycare class, our parents,
friends, staff, and our principal too! All the guests were
impressed and proud of the hard work we’d done.
When the presentations ended, we celebrated with
snacks and dancing. We showed everyone how our
projects worked and explained our building process.
We did this project to remember the importance of
black inventors and their hard work. We learned a lot
of new factS. This project was incredible!
Simone White and Aaliyah Pursue-Rodney, Grade 3,
Jason Ada Tumenta, Gabriel Vieira, and Ella Vachon
Grade 4 and Deborshi Kar, Grade 5
Coronation Daycare
Sportball
Coach Matt and Coach Nick teach Grade 1 to 6
Carlyle Daycare students how to play sports every
Friday afternoon. Sports are important for healthy living. They help you lose weight and live longer.
Elise Canuel-Aubry, a Grade 2/3 split student, said,
“My favorite sport was golf because I already knew
how to play it and it is fun to try and figure out how
hard to hit the ball so that it will land in the hole.”
Jack Baranoff, a Grade 4 student, said he likes
sports because they “make your heart beat faster and
more often. This makes you live longer.”
Quinn Costa, a Grade 4 student, expressed her
enthusiasm saying, “You should try Sportball out because not only does it make you healthy, but it keeps
you moving too!” Hope to see you on our team soon!
Jack Baranoff and Quinn Costa, Grade 4,
Elise Canuel-Aubry Grade 2/3 split
Carlyle International Daycare
10
Touching Base, Summer 2014
pedagogical days
Elizabeth Ballantyne
Mackay Center
Adapted Tennis Program
The Proset Autism Adapted Tennis Program came to the Mackay
Center School for two Pedagogical
Days on Monday, February 17, and
Friday, February 28. The hour-long
activities began at 10:30 am and
were played inside the gym.
First, the teacher, Philippe Manning, and his assistant Stephanie,
explained everything really well.
There were around 10 kids from
Kindergarten to Grade 4 who took
part in these fun games.
In all, there were five different
activities to play, and each were set
up at a different station within the
gym. Everyone played one activity together and then
we all switched to the second activity, and so on until
we had completed all five.
“My favorite station was where we had to guide the
ball through the course using the racquet,” said Esther Wang, a Grade 4 student. “It was fun to learn how
to do something new,” she added.
“I want the teacher to come back and do all of the
activities with us again because they were so much
fun!” said Mitchell Paul, a Kindergarten student.
We played a game called “Pass the Balloon” where
you had to hit the balloon back and forth between you
and your friend. “I liked this game the best because
you kept getting more turns when the balloon got
passed back to you,” said Mitchell. “It was interesting
for us to play different games,” he concluded.
Miriam Yazer, a Kindergarten student, said she
“liked the “Princess and the Dragon” game best because you got to throw the balls.” There was a princess who stood behind the net and the knights stood
in front to protect her. The knights held blockers and
Carlyle International
Buggy ride time while sugaring off.
Above: From left:
Mitchell, Trevor,
Elias and Alexis
ready to catch
with Velcro discs.
Right: Student
smiles after
catching a ball.
the dragons had to
throw the balls underhand to try and
touch the princess
with the balls.
You should ask
them to come to your school! You will have so much
fun if they do!
Esther Wang, Grade 4,
Mitchell Paul and Miriam Yazer, Kindergarten
Mackay Center School Daycare
St. Monica
Students having fun being chess pieces.
Students work together in the “Slingshot” game.
Life Size Chess PedAGOGICAL Day
On Friday, March 21, 2014 B.A.S.E. Tutor Ms.
Jodi Schwartz came to Carlyle International School
to facilitate a pedagogical day activity inside the
Kindergarten room.
The Grade 2 to 6 daycare students got to play
a game of Life Size Chess. It ran just like a regular
chess game would with two teams: one white and
the other black. The only difference was that instead
of moving little pieces around on a small board, the
pieces were people. We wore sandwich boards with
pictures and names of the pieces printed onto them.
The team decided together who on their team
should move next, and where. The people had to
walk around on the really big board made out of a
tablecloth, in the same way that the pieces would
move in the original game. Nurakin Cobran, a Grade
6 student, said it was “one of the most intense games
of chess [he’s] ever played.”
Grade 4 student Jack Baranoff said, “I play chess
a lot because it involves strategy. I get to exercise my
brain, which helps me learn even more.”
Ms. Jodi must have known that kids would enjoy
being the pieces! It was nice to play a different kind of
chess still using the same rules.
Dynamix PedAGOGICAL Day
In the afternoon of Monday, May 12, 2014, a Dynamix Carnival came to St. Monica Elementary School
for a couple of hours. Along with eight St. Monica
staff members, three Dynamix facilitators taught the
50 daycare students of all grades different games in
the schoolyard.
The children walked around and chose which
games to play. There were: stack the cups, bounce
the ball, hockey in a box, catch the chickens, slingshot and marble maze.
Catch the chickens was a fun game. A few kids
had to hold a sheet and flap it with the chickens on
top of it. While the chickens bounced around, we had
to try and catch as many as possible.
Slingshot was cool, too! A few kids had to hold
the slingshot and fling a ball into a tower of stacked
blocks in order to knock them down.
These activities allowed everyone to have fun outside and get some fresh air. To end the hot day, the
daycare staff gave out yummy freezies to eat. What
fun!
Nurakin Cobran, Grade 6 and Jack Baranoff, Grade 4
Carlyle International Daycare
Alexandra Dacres Grade 5,
Alyssa Gianforte-Nicholas Grade 3
St. Monica Daycare
Cabane à Sucre Ped Day Adventure
Elizabeth Ballantyne School Daycare students
and International students went on a pedagogical
day group outing to the Cabane à Sucre on Thursday,
March 27, 2014. We learned a lot about the maple
syrup process.
All of the students met at Elizabeth Ballantyne
school and got on a school bus together. We arrived
at Erablière La Goudrelle in Mont St. Grégoire by
11:00 am.
Once we arrived, we took a group picture outside
to remember our time there. Next, we went inside and
a man taught us, in French, how to make syrup.
After that, we went to put our things down in a big
colourful room and they took us to the dining room to
eat lunch. We ate sausages, ham with maple syrup,
scrambled eggs, potatoes, maple donoughts, and
sugar pie, too. What a meal!
Once we were finished, they took us outside to
mmake taffy on the snow. We got to turn the taffy
onto the popsicle sticks ourselves. Then we got to eat
it and it tasted really sticky and nice!
After that yummy snack we danced off all of the
food on the dance floor with our friends and teachers.
The large group enjoys their delicious meal.
The music was energetic, fun, and happy and we had
a great time. When the time for dancing was over, we
went back outside to take a buggy ride through the
forest of maple trees. We rode in two groups. While
one group of students were on the buggy ride, the
other group waited at the petting zoo. There were all
kinds of animals like sheep, and even a lama who
spit.
To end our adventure, we played in a park that had
a zip line and it was awesome!
We participated in this great pedagogical day outing to have fun with the International students as one
big group, to learn about the process of making syrup
and to eat a lot of sugar. While we waited for our parents to pick us up, we watched the movie “Frozen”
and had raisins as a healthy snack. If you get the
chance, you should visit the Cabane à Sucre. We
loved it!
Mika Rabinovich, Grade 6,
Elay Rabinovich, Grade 3,
Kimonie Thompson-Fong, Grade 3
Ellizabeth Ballantyne Daycare
pedagogical days
Touching Base, Summer 2014
11
St. Dorothy
Multifaceted PedAGOGICAL Day
Are you bored? Come on over to St. Dorothy Elementary School for our next pedagogical day. We
had one on Friday, February 28, 2014 and it was a
blast!
PLAY IT FAIR! GAMES
Every daycare student in Grades 1 through 6 who
signed up for the pedagogical day joined Mr. Marcus, Ms. Robin and Ms. Jodi inside the gym at 9:00
am. They played the following “Play It Fair!” games:
“Inclusion, Exclusion,” “Crocodile,” “Robots,” “Autograph Bingo,” “Saturn to Jupiter” and “What Time Is
It?”
One of our favorite games was called “Inclusion,
Exclusion.” We stood in a circle facing outwards and
closed our eyes. Mr. Marcus, Ms. Robin and Ms. Jodi
walked around and stuck different coloured stickers
onto our foreheads. Once we opened our eyes, we
had to figure out what color was stuck onto us and
get into groups of the same sticker colour. This was
difficult because we had to do it all without talking.
They had put red stickers on half the group, blue
stickers on the other half, and a yellow sticker on only
one person who was left all alone. We felt bad when
we were excluded from a group and we talked about
how we could include people if we realized they are
being excluded from something.
Another cool game we played was called “Saturn
to Jupiter.” Ms. Robin asked us questions, for example “Who speaks Spanish?” Whoever does went
to one side of the gym “Saturn,” and whoever didn’t
went to the other side of the gym “Jupiter.” We had
to go back and forth between the planets depending
on our answers to her questions. We learned new
and interesting things about our friends, and realized
we have a lot more in common than we had thought.
LIFE SIZE CHESS
The Grade 4, 5, and 6 daycare students got to play
Life Size Chess after lunch. First Ms. Jodi helped us
put on the pieces printed on laminated papers to
make us become the chess pieces. Then she helped
us by telling us where to stand on the giant board.
Briana Rendinella, a Grade 3 student, “liked when
the king got captured.” “It was exciting!”
Vantida To, a Grade 4 student, said, “I liked when
the piece I was playing got eaten because there were
more pieces to choose from for me to get back into
the game and do it all again. It was a fun activity.”
GIANT TIC TAC TOE
Ms. Jodi later took the Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten daycare students into the gym to play Giant Tic Tac Toe. There were two teams: the ‘X’ team
Bancroft
Westmount Park
A Bancroft Daycare student inspects his catch.
Fishing Pedagogical Day
Bancroft Elementary School had a pedagogical
day on Friday, May 16, 2014. The daycare students
went on a fishing trip at Les Étangs Garand Mont
Saint–Grégoire. Here is what some of the students
had to say about their fishing experience.
I liked when I was in the playground playing with
Antonin and the small cars. It was fun. I also liked
when we were cleaning the fish, but I didn’t like the
smell or the mosquitoes.
Finn Sussman Grade 2
Bancroft Daycare
The best part was getting the fish from the water. I
also liked the part where the fish was dancing. I loved
the playground because they have swings. I loved
when we saw the fish’s heart. I cooked the fish on
our barbeque.
Alice Galzin, Grade 1
Bancroft Daycare
The Giant Tic Tac Toe players at St. Dorothy Daycare introduce the game.
and the ‘O’ team. Each team got to put one piece
down on the board at a time while taking turns so
everyone got to play. Because it was a life size version, the board was made out of a table cloth, the ‘X’
pieces out of wooden dowels tied together with pipe
cleaners, and the ‘O’ pieces were originally ring toss
pieces. A team won if they got three ‘X’ pieces or
three ‘O’ pieces in a row. You had to walk around the
board to put a piece down. Leonardo Sorgiacomo,
a Pre-Kindergarten student, said his “favorite move
was to put an ‘X’ or an ‘O’ in the middle square.”
Having fun, learning new things about our friends,
and discovering what makes each of us unique is
what pedagogical days are all about. We are glad
that we got to be a part of this one!
Vantida To, Grade 4,
Briana Rendinella, Grade 3
St. Dorothy Daycare
Camping PedAGOGICAL Day
Everyone likes marshmallows! Lucky
Westmount Park Daycare students who
signed up for the Camping ped day activity
got to eat some.
Because it was camping week and still
cold outside, on Thursday, March 27, 2014
the students went to the gym at Westmount
Park School from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and
pretended that they were camping with the
help of a company called Animagerie. Two
guys guided us in first setting up our “tents”
by hanging sheets with clothespins onto
clotheslines hanging around the gym and
putting blankets inside on the floor to sit on.
Next came an art contest. In teams of
around six to eight kids, we competed to
see which team could make the most paper
lanterns out of paper and lots of tape in a
certain amount of time. Evelyne Crevier, a
Grade 4 student’s team won by constructing
seven lanterns. Once the contest was over,
we hung up all of the lanterns around our
“tents” as decorations.
We came up with team names and built
paper mailboxes with the names on them to
put on our tents so that we could send and
receive mail from our friends. Some people
wrote letters and some people were the
mailpeople.
Then we ate our lunches that we brought
from home and the adults set up the volleyball net. After lunch, we played volleyball using a giant blow up beach ball.
Top: The decorated tents with homemade paper mailboxes stand
The adults running the activities then asproud. Above: Animagerie staff demonstrating how to make paper
signed us parts in a play about Christmas.
lanterns for all to see.
James Baggs, a Grade 4 student, played
Santa Claus.
was a contest and they played music while we raced.”
Once the play ended, they roasted marshmallows
We learned how to: make paper lanterns, set up
on sticks for us to eat. We each got one. Yum! While camp and roast marshmallows. We also realized
they roasted the marshmallows, they told us a story what teamwork is really about. It is better and faster
about a beaver, a fox and a hawk that saved a town to work as a team than it is to work alone.
by bringing back the fire that an evil witch had stolen.
It was the best pedagogical day ever! We recomThe moral of the story is “you can do anything, no mend this activity and give it 8 stars out of 10.
matter how small you are”.
James Baggs, Evelyne Crevier, Grade 4,
Ellington Condon, a Pre-Kindergarten student,
said that he “liked building the tents the best and goEllington Condon, Pre-Kindergarten
ing back and forth getting the materials because it
Westmount Park Daycare
12
Touching Base, Summer 2014
life learning
Imagination: Amazing Skits and Skills
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
sharing their games of soccer and lacrosse with each
other.
The second performance was by Michelangelo
International’s Team Elite. In this performance, we
saw characters from Italy and England on vacation in
Florida. The characters had a difficult time communicating with each other, and a fight ensues because
of a mishap involving an ice cream truck and a cone
of chocolate gelato! As they keep running into each
other, the characters continue to argue, and they
eventually fall in a construction hole because they
are so distracted by their argument. The voice-over
at the end of the trailer left the audience wondering,
“How will they communicate? How will they survive?”
The third performance was by General Vanier’s
Team The GV Puppies. The GV Puppies took a creative interpretation of “characters from two nations”,
deciding to show the interactions between the “nation
of the living” and the “nation of the undead”. In this
comedy-thriller, a group of children are invited to their
friend’s new house for a sleepover. They find the
house very creepy and eventually discover that their
friend has been possessed! Although quite a chilling
tale, there were moments of comedic relief, including
Matteo taking a “selfie,” while the possessed friend,
Massey, chases the children around the house.
John Caboto Academy’s Team Frozen Skittle Wiggles was the last to perform. A comedic adventure
about a shipwreck, this skit featured a British man
and an Indian man who become stranded on a desert
island and are forced to try to get along…with little
success! Watching this performance really felt like
you were watching a filmed movie trailer, as it was
complete with voice-overs and titles, in the form of
signs, over top of the scenes that were being performed. It also included sound and special effects,
with a helicopter that flew right through the set at the
beginning. We were left wondering just how these
two characters will manage to get along and survive
their situation.
instant challenge
The teams also got to show their creative minds in
action as they competed in an on-site Instant Challenge for a second opportunity to win.
The students were given eight minutes to construct three towers out of unconventional materials
and stack them as high as they could. B.A.S.E. Daycare Tutor Jodi Schwartz and Green Initiative Advisor, Marcus Lobb, were responsible for timing and
measuring the towers. Two teams had the misfortune
of their towers collapsing right before the time limit
was up!
and the winners are...
Once the Instant Challenges were measured, it
was time to award the winning teams. The judges
for the Showcase were B.A.S.E. Daycare’s very own
Clockwise from above: A Michelangelo International Daycare student works on building
a tower during the Instant Challenge; Michelangelo International Daycare’s Team Golden
Athletes stack their three towers; Team Golden Athletes in costume performing their movie trailer skit that won them the Best Movie
Trailer Script; John Caboto Academy’s Team
Frozen Skittle Wiggles concentrate on their
Instant Challenge to construct one of three
towers from unconventional materials.
Manager, Rosa Fuoco, her assistant, Emily Meo, and Green
Club Tutor Melina Trimarchi.
They had their work cut out for
themselves, as all of the performances were exceptional in
their own ways.
The GV Puppies stole the
show with the Best Movie
Trailer, winning a pizza party for their team. They also
won Best Representation of
Theme, and the award for the
Highest Triple Stacked Tower!
Prizes included movie passes
for each student and B.A.S.E.
agendas.
Team Elite took home the
prize for Most Creative Movie
Trailer, while Most Successful Movie Trailer, that gave the impression of a live
movie trailer, was won by Frozen Skittle Wiggles.
The team who won Best Movie Trailer Script was
the Golden Athletes. All three teams were awarded
movie passes. Competition and prizes aside, all the
performances were outstanding!
The first ever Destination Imagination Showcase
was a huge success. We look forward to continuing
and expanding the Destination Imagination program
next year!
Robin Kelley
Extracurricular Activities Advisor
Mental Health: Students Express Themselves Through Creative Arts
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
lation of the four seasons. Students were asked to
create drawings that represented the activities that
make them feel good during the four seasons. The
3D artwork is a permanent installation in the Atrium.
The MHRC organized other activities that included a secondary level suicide prevention contest and
Atrium Day, which took place on May 8, 2014. During
this activity, there were booths that featured physiotherapists, nutritionists, naturopaths, community officers, and the EMSB’s MHRC professionals. There
was also a raffle with proceeds being donated to the
Herzl Clinic of the Jewish General Hospital, which
has been providing services to EMSB students for
almost 30 years.
Guest speakers were also present during Mental
Health Awareness Week. Dr. Joe Flanders, Dr. Laurie Betito and Dr. Sydney Miller—all clinical psychologists—gave special presentations to head office staff
on May 7, 8 and 9.
Jennifer De Freitas
Touching B.A.S.E. Editor
From left: Artist Sylvia Garland and students from Dunrae Gardens Elementary School worked on creating the frames for
the four season panels; Students from Bancroft Elementary School drew some of the activities and sports that children
enjoy participating in during the four seasons. They then used tissue paper to colour in their drawings.