Final http://www.lbpsb.qc.ca/eng/asdn/index.asp

The Pearson News
Final
Volume XVIII No. 6
Février/February 2016
GRATUIT/FREE
Director
General’s
Report to
Council
Pink Shirt Day
DU DIRECTEUR
FROM THE
Pink Shirt Day takes place this
year on Wednesday, February
24. It all started a couple of years
ago when some teenaged boys
at a high school in Nova Scotia
noticed a younger student was
being bullied for wearing a pink
shirt. That week, the boys staged
a pink protest and started handing out pink shirts to everyone
in the school. Pink Shirt Day was
born, and in the years since its
by Michael Chechile
conception, it has grown to be
one of the most celebrated days
in schools across the country.
This year, a couple of our schools
are hosting special activities to
celebrate Pink Shirt Day.
We are getting deeper into the
Sterling Downey, a commissionschool year now and, as always,
I continue to have the great opportunity to visit and celebrate
our many amazing schools and
centres. This month I was fortunate enough to visit some of our
continuing education centres
and witness firsthand their dedication and commitment to our
students.
At Sources Adult Career Centre I was shown around their
campus and met with devoted
staff and students. You could
just sense the helpfulness of the
teachers and their willingness
to guide students through the
ever-changing climate of realworld industries. They were in
the midst of getting ready for a
Chinese New Year celebration
and had designed a dragon’s
head to use for the event. I was
able to go back a couple of days
later to celebrate the beginning
of the year of the monkey with
staff and students.
GÉNÉRAL ET DE LA PRÉSIDENTE
DIRECTOR GENERAL & CHAIRMAN
er for the city of Verdun, visited
St. Paul elementary earlier this
month and spoke to kids about
the effects that bullying has had
on his life. Throughout the week
he plans on visiting Riverview
to speak with their students as
well.
At Dorset Elementary, SPVM officer Constable Dilegge was invited to speak to the children
about what actions to take
when you are being bullied. He
explained the WITS program to
them and had them participate
in a little activity. WITS stands for
the four things you need to do
when dealing with a bully – walk
away, ignore, talk it out, seek
help. Cst. Dilegge had two students play tug of war with a long
rope. The student who lost was
allowed to ask others for help
and when they played the second time, it was much easier to
win! The game was a metaphor
for not being afraid to ask others for help in order to overcome
being bullied.
At Beechwood Elementary,
grade six students have been
planning for Pink Shirt Day since
November. They have been visiting the younger grades during
lunchtime and after-school daycare to help the students decorate their pink shirts. On February 24, the entire school will be
At Mount Pleasant I was fascinated by the winter-themed art
of the students. I was able to sit
in on a class and watch as the
teacher used audio tools to promote communication and engagement within the classroom.
It was surely a sight to see!
At Riverdale, I toured the library
of the 21st C, an inspiring and
collaborative space for learning.
A school with a vision and a vibrant librarian! I visited the Cfer
program where I met passionate
teachers and engaged students
in meaningful learning. I highly
recommend anyone to visit.
Virtually, I was invited by Westpark school in joining their Twitter Tuesday and to tweet out to
‘How do we show people that
we care about them?’ I read all
their tweets with great interest.
See CHECHILE page A2
by Christine Beaton
Jason De Biasi loves to cook.
In fact, he loves to cook so much
that his dream is to become a
professional caterer. He said
that, most recently, his favourite thing to make – and eat –
was chicken pot pie. He learned
the recipe in his Life Skills class,
taught by Maryte Gurekas at
Riverdale High School.
“Life Skills is a class about
learning how to be autonomous,” said Jason. “We learn a lot
about cooking, how to do laundry, work skills, stuff like that.”
For a class about learning how
to be autonomous, it was anything but for Jason. Being in a
wheelchair, he couldn’t reach
the counters or sinks to perform simple tasks like washing
his hands, cleaning veggies or
chopping foods.
“We used to move the computer out of the way whenever
Jason had to do any chopping
or mixing, there wasn’t a sense
of ownership,” said Maryte.
“When I would have to wash
my hands I would have to ask if I
could go to the bathroom across
the hall, leave the class to wash
my hands and then come back,”
said Jason.
“By the time he came back,
we would already have moved
on to something else,” Maryte
added. “So it cut down on a lot
of time for him to be able to actually do stuff in the classroom.”
All of that changed during the
winter break. Maryte submitted a request to get a lower sink
installed in the Life Skills classroom that would make it easier
for Jason to do everything he
needed to do – autonomously.
“Literally a couple of weeks
[before the break] the maintenance team came in to assess
the situation. It was done very
quickly. We were really happy,”
she said “Someone did the engineering, figuring out how to attach it, then the plumber came,
the electrician was here; everyone came together to figure out
how to make this happen.”
“It feels amazing to be able
to do things on my own,” Jason
said. “It’s one of those things
where I’m like ‘I want this at my
house’!”
For Jason, his skills extend beyond just cooking.
“Miss [Gurekas] puts me to
work,” he laughs. He helps to do
laundry for the CFER program’s
uniforms and is also the editor
of the Life Skills class newsletter,
the Sunshine News.
In the most recent edition,
he tested out Maryte’s French
toast recipe for his parents. He
included the recipe along with
some helpful tips, like when you
should make French toast – Ja-
Chairman’s
Report
to Council
invited to an assembly organized
by the grade six classes that will
explain tolerance through skits,
dance, songs and guest speakers. The students will also be
selling pink bracelets for three
dollars, the proceeds of which
will be donated to the Kids Help
Line. When discussing the impact this project organized by
the students will have, daycare
by Suanne Stein Day
technician Donna Pinchuk said
it will “send the message to the
school population that everyone is unique and special and
we need to appreciate each
other’s strengths and be more
February is always a very busy
accepting of each other’s weak- month in LBPSB schools. A lot
nesses.”
of activities are planned as children are well settled into their
post-holiday classrooms and
teachers and students are all
aware of the goals they need to
accomplish before the end of
the year.
We celebrated our staff this
month during Staff Appreciation Week. Whether on the
front lines of our classroom, or
here in this building, I truly believe that every employee of
this school board believes that
they contribute to the success
of our students. We thank them
all sincerely.
February also marks School
Perseverance Month in Quebec
and our board works closely
with other island boards to
develop programs that will engage those students at risk of
dropping out, and encourage
them to complete their education and continue on a path
that is right for them. I’m proud
that this board considers each
student and is constantly looking for different ways to meet
their needs, be it work-oriented
pathways, CFER programs, alternative study programs, adult
education and many, many vocational options. We demonstrate that students have a lot
of choices to succeed.
February is also a month to
remind students about the
risks and dangers of bullying
in schools. I can’t help but reson’s suggestion is Mother’s Day member four years ago when
– and how to test if the pan is I was approached by 10 year
hot enough.
old Mackenzie Legault, then of
It’s no question whether or Forest Hill Sr. He wanted everynot Jason is going to achieve one to Think Pink. Upset when
his dream of becoming a cater- he heard about the tragic loss
er. His ambition is unparalleled
of Marjorie Raymond, a bullied
and you can see the drive in his
student in a Quebec school,
eyes. His newfound autonomy
Mackenzie approached his parin the classroom is allowing him
ents and friends to try to figure
to grow and reach his ultimate
out what can be done about
potential. It also helps that he
bullying. They went online and
is kind, caring, and willing to do
found out about Pink Shirt
a little something extra for his
Day. Mackenzie approached
classmates.
“What’s one of the most fun his teachers and principal and
things you get to do?” Maryte managed to convince them of
turned to Jason. “You make the value of this idea. He and
his friends started out ordering
something for the class.”
“I make juice,” said Jason with pink shirts for themselves but
a huge smile on his face. “I’m the word got out and before they
knew it, over 140 shirts were
juice boy!”
Maryte used the “I’m Proud Of” sold. The press heard about it
feature found on the Lester B. and several papers published
Pearson SSO to tell Jason’s story. stories about it.
Pink Shirt Day has now spread
If you’re proud of your school,
to many of our schools across
tell us why!
the territory. Education and
talking about bullying must be
part of everyone’s plan. And
reaching out. If I can send one
message to our students it’s
to reach out to that shy, quiet,
See STEIN-DAY page A2
Jason’s new sink: a lesson in autonomy
Next, I visited St. Patrick Elementary where we celebrated
Literacy Week with the cycle two
students. It was great to see how
excited and enthusiastic the students were about reading. They
especially enjoyed the story
I read to them, “The Subway
Mouse”.
I had a wonderful tour of the
Lester B. Pearson Vocational College and was given an inside
look on many of their classes.
They are truly committed to the
excellence that their students
need to succeed and are taking
a very unique approach on very
innovative subjects.
DU CONSEIL
OF THE BOARD
To learn more about the Lester B. Pearson School Board’s
Autism Spectrum Disorders Centre of Excellence, visit:
http://www.lbpsb.qc.ca/eng/asdn/index.asp
A2Pearson News
Chechile,
from page A1
The wonders of reading at St. Patrick Elementary
By Mme Agulnik, Mme C.
McRae, Mme Melissa, Miss Bhola,
You can find a summary of
Ms. Fisher, Ms. K. McRae
The St. Patrick Elementary Cyall of my school visits at storify.
cle 2 teachers
com/lbpsb/schoolvisitsfebruary.
This month, the registration
for our Junior Voyageurs summer camp has opened once
again. This two-week day camp,
offered in July, features a large
selection of morning and afternoon activities hosted by our
incredibly talented and creative
Lester B. Pearson educators.
The workshops cover a range
of subjects including science,
technology, cooking, theatre,
art, fashion design, local culture
and much, much more. Classes
are already filling up! For more
information, visit www.juniorvoyageurs.lbpsb.qc.ca.
Février/February 2016
The Cycle 2 teachers organized
an interactive and engaging ‘Literacy Week’ at St. Patrick Elementary School that included guest
readers, shared reading and the
opportunity for students to wear
pyjamas and curl up with their
favourite books. Our weeklong
event took place the week of
January 25th-29th and our guest
readers dazzled our students
with literary works in both English and French.
The week was kicked off with
our St. Pat’s principal reading two
of his favourite books, “Something Good” and “You’re Mean,
Lily Jean”. Other guest readers
included beloved administrator’s assistant, Ms. Pompeo and
Ms. Lisa Damiano, an integration
aide who actually attended St.
Patrick as a student. Our resource
teacher, Mme Nathalie, engaged
the students in choral reading
with her favourite French book,
“De la Petite Taupe Qui Voulait
Savoir Qui Lui Avait Fait Sur La
Tête.” Ms. Mary, our daycare technician, made a personal connection about her love of all things
organized when she read the
book, “Too Much Stuff.” to the
grades 3 and 4 students.
A few of our colleagues from
Head Office, including Ms. Marin,
our Regional Director, and Mr.
Chechile, our very own Director
General, dropped in to read a
story. Our students were eager
listeners – what a great way to
celebrate literacy.
The Cycle 2 teachers, along
with the students, made their
way to school on Friday – the
last day of our ‘Literacy Week’ – in
their PJ’s, what a fun way to end
our week cozily reading, reading,
reading!
Pearson
Educational
Foundation
I want to wish Lindsay Place
HS great success with the annual Model United Nations Simulation and Clearpoint for the IB
Projects Exhibition.
This month we received tons of
amazing artwork from students
across the school board. It is
great to see that so many of our
students are indulging in their
creativity and producing great
works of art. Displayed here is
just a sample of the 30 framed
pictures that will be hung on the
walls around the Board Room
over the next couple of weeks.
We would, eventually, like to fill
the halls of the Head Office with
the students’ creations!
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a fun
and safe March break. Take this
time to relax and prepare for
spring!
nervous girl or boy who never
seems to talk to anyone, who
eats lunch alone or doesn’t play
with anyone. Or to the new
kid that just moved into your
neighbourhood and school and
doesn’t have any friends. The
power of friendship is HUGE! To
teachers and administrators, listen to that student who is silent.
And to the bullies out there, put
yourself in your victim’s shoes.
Imagine just for a moment
what it’s like to be helpless.
This is not a simple problem
and there isn’t a simple solution. Sometimes it’s the bullies
who need our support and who
need to be listened to. But we
all have the power within us to
help. Each one of us can make a
difference.
Find out what’s
happening at the
February 24 marks Pink Shirt
Day, a day devoted to putting
a stop to bullying and promoting kindness and acceptance in
our schools. Many of our schools
continue to participate in this
wonderful day and plan amazing activities that get the entire student body involved. This
month, grade six students at
Beechwood have been visiting
the younger students during
their lunch hour to give them
helpful tips on how to promote
respect and tolerance within
their school.
Once again, in celebration
of this month’s Staff Appreciation Week, I want to take this
by Christine Beaton
moment to wholeheartedly thank our staff for their contin- “How will this help me in the
ued exceptional work. You are real world?” is a question teachan outstanding and dedicated ers hear all too often. Students
team and I am truly honoured are often convinced that they
and privileged to work along- will never need to know how to
side each and every one of you. use the Pythagorean Theorem,
Thank you for all that you do to how to identify a literary device
provide the best services to our or know the minute differences
between verb tenses out in the
students, our parents and our
real world.
schools.
One thing they will need, how
ever, is financial literacy.
The consultation on the Stra- Financial literacy is a basic
tegic Plan will be launched to- building block that answers a
night. It is a public consultation range of questions young stuand opened to anyone wishing dents might have, starting from
to provide feedback. In addition, “How do I open a bank account?”
we shall solicit feedback from and stretching all the way to
our regular consultative part- “How does a mortgage work?”
ners, particularly from your Gov- Brian Smith, who works for the
Canadian Foundation for Ecoerning Boards.
nomic Education, has started
The Future Ready Summit will visiting Lester B. Pearson grade
take place at Lakeside Academy on April 30 and May 1. The
workshop is designed to help all
educators and educational leaders harness the skills needed to
teach 21st century students. I
encourage everyone to attend.
Stein Day,
from page A1
Visit the PEF website
at:
Financial Literacy
9, 10 and 11 classes to spread
awareness about financial issues
and to answer any questions
students may have. With help
from the Pearson Partnership
Program, Smith is able to drop
into classes like Hanna Engel’s
Explorations class at Pierrefonds
Comprehensive, which focuses
on the work world.
“We have looked at the Vocational jobs that are out there,
skills students already have, how
to deal with interviews, how to
deal with income [as well as] entrepreneurship,” said Engel.
She added that students in her
class have a hard time with academics and are trying to overcome their difficulties by hosting a cumulative event called
‘Learning how to be entrepreneurs: Coming up with an idea
and making it happen’.
Smith used his time with Engel’s students to make them
comfortable with financial terms
and phrases.
“They did give each student
a workbook, planner and pen,”
said Engel. “They are scheduled
to return [soon].”
Paul Genge, a teacher at St.
Thomas, teaches a class that focuses solely on financial literacy.
“It’s something the kids need,
you know?” he said. “A lot of
them are going to be getting
their first job this summer and
they should have the tools and
skills they need to open a bank
account, start saving, know how
credit cards work, know how direct deposit works. These are all
real-life skills that they will need
to have.”
The financial literacy program
was something that teachers
pef.lbpsb.qc.ca
felt they needed to have in their
classrooms, especially at the
high school level.
Nancy Battet, who coordinates
the Pearson Partnership Program, met with teachers in late
October and together they
came up with a four-part workshop series. The first workshop
focuses on a broad introduction to financial literacy, the second focuses on spending habits
and the importance of saving
money, the third gives a brief
overview of banks and how they
function and the fourth aims to
teach students about the culture of money and financial etiquette.
“It’s nice to see that students are
engaged in financial literacy,”
said Battet. “That they’re learning from it and can apply it to
their real lives!”
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Pearson NewsA3
Février/February 2016
Dorset Elementary: Full STEAM ahead
by Christine Beaton
“It’s always like this right after
recess” said Natalie Maurice
when she finally took a seat in
her office. Outside, a couple
of young boys talk about who
pushed who, the administrative assistant is interrupted from
her lunch by a phone call and a
gaggle of young girls walk down
the hallway talking loudly with
art supplies overflowing in their
arms. Natalie closes the door
and all of the sounds dissipate.
“We decided last year as a staff
that we wanted to put some
more hands-on experiences
for the students in the classrooms, [we wanted] them to be
in charge of their own learning,”
Natalie said when asked about
how they decided to bring the
STEAM program to Dorset. “We
were granted release time so
that the teachers could discuss
various ideas, various projects that we want to put in our
school. It’s little steps because,
honestly, it’s a huge project. We
want to make it as fun as possible for both the students and
the teachers.”
Implementing STEAM is a
slow process but one that Natalie thinks will be fruitful in years
to come. The little steps all come
together to create something
bigger at the end of the school
year and she says that is what
they’re focusing on for now.
“Each cycle got together and
decided what they wanted to
do,” said Natalie, “so cycle one
has decided to focus on their
community – their houses, their
neighbourhood, things like that.
Cycle two – they’ve decided to
do architecture and bridges.
Then the grade five and sixes are
focusing on energy.”
“The grade two and three
classes are doing a unit on architecture. So the first step was
teaching them about columns,
archways, different structures.
Then they went on a walk with
their iPads and took pictures of
buildings along the way. They
came back to the classroom
and they were able to look at
their pictures and say, ‘That’s a
column, that’s an archway,’ so
you see the interactive learning in action,” said Natalie. “It
really prepared them for their
next project, which was building
their dream homes.”
Set up in the library are the
grade two and threes’ dream
homes, complete with tissue
paper canopies over miniature
beds made out of old Kraft Dinner boxes, little plastic snowcovered trees arranged in lines
leading to front doors made out
of recycled juice boxes and tiny
bathrooms equipped with bathtubs made out of reused yogurt
cups.
“They made little blueprints
and then brought in recycled
materials to make [their dream
homes] and when they explain
it to you they really see it, you
know? They don’t see a cereal
box and a yogurt container, they
see elevators and swimming
pools; they really see it as a big
picture […] The kids really enjoy
doing the hands-on activities. I
mean, you walk into the classroom and it’s just such a good
vibe.”
The hallways of Dorset are
full to the brim with snowsuits,
lunch boxes, art projects needing to be brought home and
scrap pieces of paper spilling
CPR Star of Life
by Christine Beaton
“The students learned basic
CPR, how to use the defibrillator
and how to do the Heimlich maneuver,” said Beechwood principal Nicholas Hayter. “They had a
lot of fun and they learned a lot;
it was very interactive!”
After acquiring training defibrillators and dummies at the
end of last year, Pierrefonds
mayor Dimitrios (Jim) Beis asked
local schools if they wanted to
participate in the Star of Life
program.
Star of Life is given by Pierrefonds’ Public Security Agents
and aims to give basic cardiopulmonary training to schoolage children through learning
and demonstration.
“The students split up into
groups of 10 or 12,” said Hayter. “They were given about 30 to
40 minutes of basic CPR training
using the dummies and training
defibrillators.”
The students were told that
defibrillators are readily available in most buildings and are
now aware of how to act in situations where they would need
to use one.
Children had the chance to
ask the Public Security Agents
questions about CPR and emergency situations. When they
were done, they all received a
certificate of completion.
Antonietta Rampone, principal at Terry Fox Elementary,
said that her students found the
demonstration life-changing,
fun and educational.
When she asked the students
what they learned, they had
no shortage of answers. “We
learned for the first time [how] to
use a defibrillator, learned about
the electricity and that you can’t
touch the body and that’s why
you say ‘CLEAR’,” they said. “We
learned when you should call
911 – first you call, then you care
for the person – we learned if a
person is choking and coughing
you encourage them to continue but it they can’t breathe you
do the [Heimlich maneuver].
What we learned can help us
save someone’s life.”
Rampone believes that other
schools in the board could definitely profit from offering the
demonstration to their grade six
students, but that the program
is limited right now to the borough of Pierrefonds.
“It would be great if the next
time we do it the session could
be a bit longer, so we could have
a bit more time to learn and
ask questions,” said Hayter. “We
would also love to do it with our
grade five classes.”
Rampone said that, “those
giving the session did a great
job explaining things to our
students who were totally engaged.”
out of backpacks; but inside the
classrooms, students are quietly
learning. The hustle and bustle
of recess is over and you would
never guess that there were
children armed with ice packs
or giggly girls roaming the hallways just minutes before.
In every classroom, students
are quietly engaged with their
work, all hovering over iPads or
filling in question and answer
sheets as a group. Each room
has its own unique setup – no
two classes look the same. In
some rooms, desks are clumped
together in groups of four and in
others there are alternatives, like
bean bag chairs and stools.
Dorset also has after-school
programs that fill up in a matter of hours, gym classes that
involve snowshoeing and crosscountry skiing and kindergarten
classes equipped with robots
that teach children as young as
four how to program.
In Natalie’s eyes, there is nothing the school can’t do. Walking
in and out of the classrooms at
Dorset, it is plainly clear: they’re
full STEAM ahead!
A4Pearson News
Février/February 2016
The Lester B. Pearson School Board
Digital
Citizenship
Digital
Citizenship
Program
Program
The Lester B. Pearson School Board
Below is a list of Commissioners along with their school board locals.
Ward Communities Commissioner
(514) 422-3000
Local
Chairman
All
Suanne Stein Day
30101
1
Lasalle/Verdun
Mary Ann Davis
30121
2
Lasalle/Lachine
Frank Di Bello
30122
3
Lachine/Dorval
Joshua Arless
30123
4
Pointe-Claire
Noel Burke
30102
5
Pierrefonds-Roxboro
Nan Beaton
30125
6
Dollard-des-Ormeaux
Craig Berger
30126
7
Kirkland/Dollard
Laura Derry
30127
8
Beaconsfield
Martin Sherman
30128
9 Pointe-Claire/Beaconsfield/Baie d’Urfé/Ste. Anne Eric Bender
30129
10
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue/Île-Perrot
Domenic Pavone
30130
11
Off-Island North
Daniel Olivenstein
30131
12
Off Island South
Wayne Clifford
30132
Parent
Sharad Bhargava
30164
Parent
Sandra Buckingham
30163
Parent
Frank Clarke
30161
Parent
Michael Nalecz
30162
Student
Student
Executive Committee
Council of Commissioners
Monday, March 21
Tuesday, March 29
Cierra Leitman
Tyler Nacke
5:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m. Board Room
Board Room