The Parent Voice

Although Anne Hathaway Public School already had a great snack program in place, Vice-Principal JoAnne Knechtel knew there was room for improvement. Along with another teaching staff member, the school nurse, nine students, and the Perth District Health Unit, the Health Busters are working together to educate the school body and at the same time provide healthy snacks options the whole school can enjoy.

To help get the group started, team members went on field trip to the grocery store and participated in a Supermarket Tour, lead by a PDHU dietitian. The tour lasted a little over one hour, and gave students time to learn how to read a food label, how to compare similar products for nutritional content, and where to find healthy options in the grocery store.

Since then, the Health Busters have been meeting regularly to brainstorm snack ideas and ‘bust’ common snack myths. For example, the group promotes eating fresh fruits instead of gummy fruit-flavoured snacks, as gummy snack products do not typically contain any real fruit, and therefore provide little, if any, nutritional value. And the team is sure to stick to the rules – snacks must contain foods from at least two food groups, while meals must include a minimum of three. Congratulations to Anne Hathaway for busting their way to healthier eating!

Watch these health-fighting students in action at the grocery store:

In the rural township of Ashfield, Ontario, near Lake Huron, lies Brookside Public School. Brookside’s greater community includes families from Lucknow, Dungannon, Auburn, Port Albert, Kingsbridge and Goderich. These West Coast communities are rich with unique ecosystems and environmental gems, such as the Nine Mile & Maitland rivers, beautiful Lake Huron, Wawanosh Nature & Conservation Centres, several Provincial Parks, Hullett Marsh, Saratoga Swamp, Greenock Swamp & Wetland Complex and much more. It’s the perfect environment for students to expand their learning outside the classroom by applying their knowledge and understanding to the real world.

Brookside Public School has recently entered the Majesta Trees of Knowledge contest where one lucky Canadian school will be awarded a $20,000 Outdoor Classroom, and they are now one of the ten finalists! Congratulations Brookside! But we need your votes to help Brookside’s Outdoor Classroom become a reality. You can vote once a day, everyday, until May 17th, 2012. So please vote now and help us spread the word! For more information, please watch this video or you can go straight to the voting booth here! Thank you!

Jeremy Brock, a teacher at South Perth Centennial Public School, is interested in the technology that makes teaching and learning fun again. And what better way is there to explore technology than by incorporating it and using it daily in the classroom. Welcome to Mr. Brock’s Grade 7 Bobcat’s Blog! This week, Mr. Brock (on twitter @jerbrock) asked his students, “Why use electronics and technology in school?” Too often, this question is debated among educators, teachers, parents…aka: adults. So why not hear it from the students themselves? Here are just a few reasons why these Bobcat’s like to use technology in the classroom. To read the full blog click here.

“The reason i think technology is more fun is that you get to try new things and experiment instead of doing the same thing all the time.”

“The technology helps me focus on my work and I think that I pay more attention and I feel that I can do work quickly and more efficiently.”

“…it makes school allot better in my opinion that’s really the only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning…”

“Another reason why we should be allowed to use technology is we develop new skills that may be helpful in the future.”

“I would much rather use and iPad than a text book. What would you rather do? You can probably get an app for a text book on an iPad. Could you imagine the the space in your desk if you didn’t have a text book?”

“For the reasons of making it easier to work on things, helping with school work, getting kids used to the different electronics company’s are now producing, and prevention to global warming I think it is good for school to have electronics in there classrooms.”

Over the past few years teachers have been embracing technology in the classroom to engage today’s tech savvy students. Two teachers, worlds apart, have taken it to the next level bringing students together for creative group collaboration via the internet.

The “Idea Hive”, created by teachers Heather Durnin of Turnberry Central Public School and Clarence Fisher of Joseph H. Kerr School in Snow Lake, Manitoba, brought two class rooms together from very different parts of the country.

United in cyberspace via skype and chat sessions, these grade 7/8 classes worked together creatively over the past year as part of an educational partnership that eventually resulted in the professional publication of their own book, “A Field Guide to Molching”. The book describes the Idea Hive, “As a classroom like no other where students from two provinces work together every day. This project is one of things that can happen when people re-imagine what school might be like.”

I say, no need to re-imagine…it’s here! Kudos to these innovative educators and students for taking their shared learning to a new, global level! View the full story on the makings of, “A Field Guide to Molching” here:

Maurice Wilson returned to a hero’s welcome at Grey Central Public School earlier this month, along with the gold medal he won as Coach of the Wilfrid Laurier Women’s curling team.

The team won the Karuizawa International Curling Championship in Japan last week. Last year Maurice was named Coach of the Year for Women’s University Curling.

He has taught for Avon Maitland for 23 years at Listowel Eastdale, Listowel Central, Wallace and now Grey Central School. Maurice will be teaching curling to Grey Central students in grades 5-8 at the Listowel Curling Club in the next couple of weeks. Upon his return, Mr. Wilson’s class greeted him with cookies and a special cake. Congratulations Mr. Wilson!  And to all grade 5-8 students at Grey Central…hurry, hard!

In December 2011, Avon Public School in Stratford, Ontario presented the live theatrical production of Scrooge. There is much more to this story than just an elementary school play. Living in the Shakespeare Festival City definitely has its benefits, but the model developed by Music Teacher Mark McIntosh is one that all schools could take advantage of in the creation of a realistic theatrical experience for their students.

Avon Public School is a K – 6 school and over 80 students from their Junior program (grades 4-6) were involved in the production. This included the actors, lights, set creation, sound, stage management and all aspects of a live performance. During the process they were mentored by community volunteers and graduates of the school who also had an expertise in theatre.

The following video isn’t a focus on the play itself.. but the making of the play… and how to maximize student involvement in a school production. Congratulations to Avon Public School!

Each week I try to highlight and brag about one of our many fabulous schools. This week, I get to brag about all our wonderful schools in the Stratford region as they work together and help the City of Stratford in its quest to be named the Intelligent Community of the Year! Now that’s intelligent!

Avon Maitland Schools in Stratford are playing a significant role in the City’s bid to be named the Smartest City in the World at the ICF’s annual Summit in New York City in June. City Councillor and Stratford Central Teacher Kerry McManus joined Mayor Dan Mathieson at the Pacific Telecommunications Conference. Kerry was wearing two hats while there, one as a representative of the City of Stratford as well as her Avon Maitland Hat. She took the opportunity to network with educators from across the world and shared information on the Board’s new International Studies Program. The program is in development and is designed to make Avon Maitland Schools a destination of choice for international students looking to study in Canada.

iAM Education sat down with Kerry and Mayor Mathieson to talk about what the Top 7 designation means for Stratford, for our schools and how our schools play a big roll in the process.

What is it like to be a young student in a full day kindergarten program? It is the question most asked by parents of students just entering school in a full day setting. The response to date has been nothing but positive, as parents are extremely happy about the program being offered, and students are having a great time while learning.

Avon Maitland’s Primary Coordinator Jodi Regier got together with iAM Education Productions to bring you the following video on “A Day in the Life”. And for more information on full day kindergarten, before and after school programs and contact information, please click here