Students for Literacy Ottawa

Frontier College speaks out in support of Canada’s learners, volunteers and literacy practitioners

2006-10-06T16:27:00.000-04:00

Check out the media advisory here.

Be a Labourer-Teacher!

2006-10-06T16:23:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

For more information on the Labourer-Teacher program, click here.

LABOURER-TEACHER PROGRAM
JOB POSTING: 2007

Number of Positions Available: Approximately 35

The Job: Labourer-Teachers work as paid manual labourers during the day on farms across Canada. In addition to this physical work, they volunteer their time to provide educational and recreational opportunities for their co-workers who are predominantly migrant farm workers from Mexico and the Caribbean.

Work Period: Mainly summer (May to Labour Day). Positions also available in the fall. The hours are long: in peak season often 12 hours per day, 6-7 days per week.

Pay: Generally minimum wage. The Labourer-Teacher Program assists participants with travel costs. Housing is provided.

Location: Rural workplaces, predominantly farms, in Ontario. Labourer-teachers
usually live onsite.

Suggested Qualifications:

• some post-secondary education
• experience with community development and volunteer organizations
• teaching/tutoring experience
• physical fitness
• background in physical labour/relevant physical pursuits
• ability to live and work closely with others, especially in multicultural settings
• knowledge of Spanish, French or other languages (helpful in most positions, but not mandatory)
• excellent judgement and interpersonal skills; high level of maturity
• demonstrated ability to work to high standards unsupervised and to take initiative

What You Get From This Program:

• Hard work, low pay, and the experience of a lifetime!
• intensive pre-placement training
• support during the placement
• new skills, and the chance to be a part of our second century of service

Deadline for Application: February 28, 2007. Mail, fax or email us a resume, a cover letter and names and phone numbers or three references. Interviews will be held across the country. We encourage people who have a Latino or Caribbean background to apply to our program.

Labourer-Teacher Program, Frontier College
Mail: 35 Jackes Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4T 1E2
Fax: 416-323-3522
Email: labourerteacher@frontiercollege.ca
More information is available on our Website: www.frontiercollege.ca

New Volunteer Info Session!

2006-10-02T18:49:00.000-04:00

That's right! Ladies and Gentlemen - here it is!

Our new volunteer info session will be held this coming Wednesday, October 4, 2006 at 7:00 PM in Tabaret Hall, room 329 at the University of Ottawa.

The information session will include background information on Frontier College and will give you anidea of your roles and responsibilties as a Frontier College volunteer. After the presentation, if you decide you are still interested in volunteering, you will be asked to fill out the necessary application forms and to stick around for an interview. Interviews are 20 minutes in length and will be conducted on site.

What to bring to the info session and application process:

Our application process involves: an applicatino form, an in-person interview, reference checks, and a police background check.

In order to make the application process as simple as possible, you are asked to bring along the following items:

- a pen or pencil and notepaper
- your fall/winter schedule
- the names and titles and day and evening phone numbers of 3 references. At least 2 of the references should be professional references. We cannot accept references from family or "significant others." Local phone numbers are preferred but not mandatory.
- two photocopied pieces of ID. Please photocopy front and back sides of your ID cards. Please bring along the original pieces of ID for verification. Your health card is not an acceptable piece of photo ID. ID such as your drivers lisence, passport, citizenship card etc... are acceptable.

Also, feel free to bring along any friends you think would be interested in the opportunity!

Thanks and look forward to seeing you all there! As an added "extra-special" bonus, those who show up will be able to meet our fabulous new intern Noorin! More on her in a bit :)

Louise

That's a lot of candles...

2006-09-13T10:43:00.000-04:00

This Friday (September 15), Frontier College will be celebrating 107 years of volunteer literacy work. Info on their Toronto event HERE.

Happy Roald Dahl Day!

2006-09-13T10:28:00.000-04:00

That's right. I learnt, courtesy of Read Alert, that today is Roald Dahl Day (in the UK)! And here I was thinking I'd have difficulty finding a good title for this post.

In a nutshell, if Roald Dahl was still alive, today would have been his 90th birthday. For more quick info on the Charlie and Chocolate Factory author, you can go here or here.

In celebration of this special day his b-day site, among other amusements, invites you to take the Roald Dahl Challenge. It invites you to do the following:

1. Wear something yellow – it was Roald's favourite colour!
2. Wear one or more items of clothing backwards.
3. Drop "gobblefunk"* into your conversations
(the unique language created by Roald and most commonly used by
the BFG).
4. Swap a Roald Dahl book with a friend.
5. Talk backwards.
6. Tell a silly joke – Roald loved swapping these with his kids.
7. Play an "unexpected" prank.
8. Give someone a treat – Roald was a great believer in treats, whether it was a bar of chocolate or a lovely surprise.
9. Write your own revolting rhyme.
10. Make up an Oompa Loompa dance and get all your friends to join in!

If you manage to complete the above, there is a certificate you can download to commemorate this monumental achievement.

Read Alert also had a few other amusements to share:

1. How Charlie and the Chocolate Factory should have ended.
2. How the Lord of the Rings should have ended.

In other news, Big A little a has a post listing a few new blogs of interest. Emily Reads caught my eye - she reviews books in Haiku! And The Brookshelf is worth a look too. Gotta love anyone who posts about Mo Willems (football references notwithstanding).

Finally, Gotta Book also has a fun oddaptation of Curious George here.

Frontier College in Ottawa

2006-09-12T11:53:00.000-04:00

Short note here to let you know that Frontier College in Ottawa will be starting its fall recruitment shortly. Our annual Organizational Team (OT) Retreat will be held this Saturday and more information will be forthcoming shortly afterwards regarding new volunteer info-sessions, interviews, training sessions and start dates. If you have questions in the meantime, let us know at ottawa(at)frontiercollege(dot)ca!

Last week I also had the chance to meet John Barron, the new Frontier College Community Coordinator for Ottawa/Kingston at the TD Investors Meeting at the Marriott on Kent Street in Ottawa where Frontier College had a table to accept donations. John, Matthew (one of our former Rideau Reading Circle volunteers) and myself collected a number of books, as well as some financial donations for Frontier College, both here and elsewhere in Canada.

More Ottawa info coming soon!

Literacy Updates

2006-09-12T11:25:00.000-04:00

Okay, have a couple items of note to report.

As some blogs have noticed, last Friday was International Literacy Day. While I was derelict in my blogging duties, Frontier College marked the occasion with a renewed call for a National Literacy Action Plan.

Also, you may remember a few weeks ago I posted that Students for Literacy at Memorial had been selected as a finalist for the Canada Post Literacy Awards. The final were announced August 30. While they didn't win, we would still like to congratulate them again on making it that far. Also, take a moment to look through the winners for some tutoring motivation!

In other Frontier College related news, I also wanted to link to two stories here and here from this summer about the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario's Summer Literacy Camps for Aboriginal Children. These camps were done in partnership with Frontier College who, among other things, provided the camp counsellors. We've posted previously on the LG Camps and his other literacy initiatives here.

Thursday, September 28 is Raise a Reader Day - so mark your calendar. For information on activities in Ottawa please visit here. In short, the Raise-a-Reader campaign aims to increase awareness and raise money for children's literacy programs in Ottawa. The Ottawa Citizen and Children's Hospital organize it along with CanWest.

Finally, this year two Canadadian journalists tied to both be awarded the Peter Gzowski Literacy Award of Merit. The award program was founded in 1993 in honour of the late veteran broadcaster and writer Peter Gzowski who was a passionate champion for literacy and is open to all Canadian journalists working in any medium. To read the winning pieces please click HERE.

Two amusing distractions

2006-09-12T11:19:00.000-04:00

Both of these were fun (courtesy of A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cosy).

If you have a moment, you can find out which Medieval Plague you have (in case it was keeping you up nights). After that, if you still have time to kill you can generate the title for your first blockbuster teen novel.

My best-selling young adult novel is Confessions of a Shopping Spree Hottie.
Take Your Very Own Best-Selling YA Novel today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

Odds and Ends

2006-09-12T10:44:00.000-04:00

So I'm planning on doing about three more posts today - this quick one summarizing some of the stuff that caught my eyes on the kidslit blogs, one on literacy issues and then a final one on Frontier College in Ottawa Updates. Reason for my radio silence over the last few days can be attributed to my being in Toronto for this and spending some of my (spare) time doing non-blog related Frontier stuff (more on that later).

But moving right along:

First off, a thanks to Jen Robinson for tagging us for Blog Day (August 30)! For more info on the annual event you can check out their official site HERE and the Technorati page on it HERE.

Over at Chicken Spaghetti there is a post and a link to further information on one of my favorite Children's Lit Topics: Pirates!

I include the above graphic in parial homage to my mother who knits kiddie sweaters for local craft-fairs around Ottawa. When Pirates of the Caribbean hit it big a few years back, she dutifully started knitting children's sweaters with the above - naturally in various different colours. Reviews were mixed. Many found them adorable. However, some felt it was inappropriate for her to be encouraging kids to join biker gangs :)

Chicken Spaghetti also had one of the best Poetry Friday posts I've seen to date. I mean, just last week I was like, totally wondering, what Britney's take was on William Blake.

But back for a moment to the realm of children's literature. Mother Reader has been compiling a list of the top children's books of 2006 to date. Jen Robinson has also added her pics here.

Finally, in older news, some stuff I had bookmarked to blog about last week but never got around to:

Create-a-word contest over at Mental Floss. In an odd tie-in to above commentary, one submission from a Marika, that caught my eye:

K-fed-ified: having your upcoming album be denigrated before anyone even hears it. Usually due to whom you’ve decided to marry for money.

My other favorite was a "plutonic relationship". This is a romantic relationship which has recently been downsized to "just friends."

I learnt from Critical Mass that I undercharged when I use to tutor in high school.

And in more serious news, Bart over at Bartograhy had a good post on intellectual freedom issues which linked to a group called AS IF that I was previously unaware of.

We're number one! - But not for long...

2006-09-12T09:04:00.000-04:00

Hey, new OECD study out that ranks Canada as the top OECD country for university and college grads. But we come last for enrollment growth for the last decade. Story below from today's National Post.

PUBLICATION: National Post
DATE: 2006.09.12
BYLINE: Sarah Schmidt

Canadians best educated, but slipping: Enrolment declining

'You can see some countries are catching up and overtaking Canada ... you have to be careful' -- analyst Karine Tremblay talking about post-secondary schooling

OTTAWA - Canada's young people rank as the best educated in an international study of 30 countries, but the country's stagnant post-secondary education enrolment rate means they will soon be bumped out of top spot.

Fifty-three per cent of Canadians aged 25 to 34 have either a college diploma or a university degree, well above the 31% average for member countries of the Organization for Economic Co - operation and Development ( OECD ). But Canada comes last in enrolment growth in the past decade, according to the OECD 's newly released 2006 edition of Education at a Glance.

Total enrolment is up by 4% since 1995, but 2% of that growth is attributable to a change in the population and only 1% to an increase in the enrolment rate, the report states. This is in sharp contrast to gains made in other OECD countries, where there has been an overall average increase in enrolment of 49%, all attributable to a hike in the enrolment rate rather than demographic shifts.

The trend should be a wake-up call for Canada, OECD analyst Karine Tremblay said yesterday.

"As the rest of the OECD is improving, this is not the case for Canada," Ms. Tremblay said. "You're starting from a higher position, so it's fair that the rate of growth would be smaller. But other countries are really overtaking Canada."

Korea, in particular, is making great strides in broadening the reach of its education system. Forty-nine per cent of Koreans aged 25 to 34 have a post-secondary education, trailing Canada by only 4%. But in the past decade, enrolment in post-secondary education has increased by 59% even though its school-age population has dropped.

There could be economic consequences unless the pattern is reversed, said Ms. Tremblay, a member of the team that prepared the study.

"Future economic success in the new economy will be based on broad baseline qualifications. You can see some countries are catching up and overtaking Canada. You have a very good situation now, but you have to be careful," Ms. Tremblay said.

Herb O'Heron, senior analyst at the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, has heard the message clearly.

"Many, many other countries are really increasing their enrolment numbers. That really to me is the cause for the greater concern. If we had a comparative and competitive advantage because of our post-secondary system years ago, that's certainly been eroded and many countries have surpassed us at the university level and graduate level," he said.

Mr. O'Heron said governments need to expand university opportunities as a key part of any economic strategy.

The report notes a decrease in the role of public funding in Canada's education systems. In 1995, 81.2% of the money that went to higher levels of education came from public sources. By 2003, the proportion of public money had dropped to 77.4%.

Only Japan, Australia, the United States and Korea contribute a smaller proportion of public dollars to all levels of education.

Canada also has room for improvement in the employment status of its best educated citizens.

Among those aged 25 to 64 with post-secondary education credentials, the unemployment rate was 4.7% in 2004. While this represents an improvement from a decade earlier, when the rate was 6.2%, it still remained above the 2004 OECD average of 3.9%.

The unemployment rate among this educated cohort was also lower in the United States in 2004 (3.3%) and Europe (4.2%).

"It may be a skills mismatch, or it may be connected to the broader economic situation," Ms. Tremblay said.

100th Library Book Bash - Sept. 15

2006-09-05T07:27:00.000-04:00

100th Library Book Bash
Friday, Sept. 15, 2006
on Sparks Street, near Bank
(Rain location entrance: 191 Sparks Street, CBC Ottawa Broadcast Centre)

CBC and the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library invite you to join us and browse through more than 10,000 used books to find your favourites. Meet CBC hosts. Listen to live CBC radio in the making.

Join us from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Proceeds help the Every Child Ready To Read program, one of the many initiatives of the Ottawa Public Library.

Visit the Ottawa Public Library site for full details on their 100th anniversary celebrations.

Couple other recent posts of note

2006-08-30T15:15:00.000-04:00

Read Alert pointed out recently that Banned Book Week is coming and offer THIS as a preview. I've only read four on the list - so perhaps I'll search out a few more.

Book Bans is one of a few items of interest Fuse 8 has put on notice! You can create your own Colbert "On Notice" board HERE.

There are also a few comilation lists out there now of kiddie blog sites. Check out this one and specifically this one (cause we're on it!). Thanks to Chicken Spaghetti for the links.

And some book reviews that made me smile...

- The Top Ten Ways to Ruin the First Day of School
- Eats, Shoots and Leaves for kids!

AND...

- A new Mo Willems' Book called Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know she was Extinct (reviewed here by MotherReader).

Finally - I had to include this link HERE. Gotta love an advertising campaign that gives you a free Whoopie Cushion.

Off to do a bit of tidying of the menus/lists on the site! I noticed some of my links no longer work and that Sally Apokedak has ceased to blog. And not like we did, she actually says she's leaving :(

Cheers,

August Edition of The Edge of the Forest

2006-08-30T13:34:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to let you all know that the August Edition of the Edge of the Forest is up. Check it out HERE. I particularly enjoyed the piece by Pam Coughlin from MotherReader.

The Edge of the Forest is a monthly online journal devoted to children's literature. We submitted an article for a previous issue. You can check that out HERE.

What I missed at the fair

2006-08-30T13:11:00.000-04:00

So,

Since I've been gone I have missed two carnivals of Children's Literature. For those wondering what a blog carnival is, please click HERE. We have submitted to some in the past and they are a great way to learn about other bloggers out there in the "kidlitosphere" and related fields (like literacy!)¸ To keep track of the Carnivals on Children's Literature, you can go HERE.

Anyway, the two I missed were:

The Fifth Carnival of Children's Literature over at Big A litte a and The Sixth Carnival of Children's Literature over at Castle of the Immaculate.

Some posts of interest, new blogs and things I learnt at the fairs:

1. Many cool lists were compiled this summer. Jen Robinson now has lists on her site of 200 Cool Girls and 175 Cool Boys of Children's Literature and Journey Woman has compiled a list of the Great Antagonists of Children's Literature.
2. Harry Potter might die (I've been under a rock). Liz B. at a Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy offered this post to carnival. Her post was based on one over at Chasing Ray (blog I didn't know about that I may start following) referring to a previous post there on the issue. Anyhoo, this all stems from some hints JK Rowling made WAY earlier this summer, but getting back to Liz's post, she asks about what other children's/YA books are there were the main character dies?
3. The Disco Mermaids introduced me to Blog or Dare.
4. Gotta Book asks the eternal question: Why Bother to Blog?
5. And courtesy of the Carnivals, I found THIS SITE. Which I will visit again. I like the book club set up (especially as my friend Krista and I are considering starting a book club...).

And now I've added to the collection of summer lists!

Anyway, next Carnival will be hosted by Wands and Words in September and Scholar's Blog (another Buffy fan!) will be hosting in October.

Another one joins the ranks of children's authors

2006-08-30T11:53:00.000-04:00

Mary Higgins Clark will be writing a children's book entitled Ghost Ship: A Cape Cod Story. It will be published in April 2007. More information HERE and link courtesy of Read Alert.

In related news, I greatly enjoyed this post by Gregory K over at Gotta Book about "famous authors and the children's books they'd write." Think Moby Duck, A Tale of Two Kitties and The Old Man of the ABCs. If you have any other suggestions, you can add them to his comments section for the post :)

And while I never thought she was known, as is Clark, for her writing, the Magic of Books informs us that Jamie Lee Curtis is writing another children's book. This, of course, implies there were others, which was also news to me. So I learnt something today!

Cheers,

A bit about the Students for Literacy Movement

2006-08-30T11:48:00.000-04:00

I know many of you sit at home asking the eternal question: Where did Students for Literacy come from?

Imagine my delight when, after months of tedious Internet surfing, I can provide you with the following link right HERE to answer you questions.

Cheers,

A couple literacy-related news stories

2006-08-30T11:44:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

Three news stories of interest (and one postivite one!)

PUBLICATION: Kingston Whig-Standard (ON)
DATE: 2006.08.30
PAGE: 2
BYLINE: Ian Elliot

Board slashes literacy instructors by half

Literacy instructors with the Limestone District School Board fear cuts to their program will hobble their efforts to help students who are falling behind in class.

As part of a $3-million cost-cutting exercise to strike a balanced budget, the school board cut the number of literacy instructors. The instructors provide tutoring to students in kindergarten to Grade 3 who have been identified by their teachers as having a difficulty.

Eight of the 16 instructors will be given other positions with the board, but Robin Schock, one of those reassigned workers, fears the workload for the remaining eight will be too much and that they will be able to serve only half as many students as the roughly 1,200 children they collectively helped this past year.

"We have some concerns about this and we just don't think parents are aware that the board has done this," Schock said yesterday.

Schock said the instructors will be spread more thinly, will have to travel to more schools and, instead of seeing children daily, might only see them once every two days, which she says is a much less effective way of helping them with their reading.

"This mode of instruction is highly dysfunctional, lacking in effectiveness and creates instructor burnout," she said.

"Most importantly, students make very little progress as the ideal method of delivery is repetition every day for optimal results."

Ron Sharp, the director of education for the Limestone board, said the cuts were made reluctantly and that in the area of the literacy instructors, there were other programs and initiatives in schools that would soften the blow.

"It's not something the board wanted to do, and it was not an easy cut, but there are increased resources in other areas that teachers can use, and we have a 20-to-1 cap on class sizes in the early grades."

He noted that the board's budget philosophy was to target savings where they would be most effective and least disruptive, rather than make system-side cutbacks.

He said part of that was reassigning the eight remaining instructors to schools where they were most needed and away from schools that already score quite highly in the provincial reading and writing tests.

"We're putting these eight instructors where they are most needed, and while it is a different way of doing things, these instructors will not be working harder, they'll be working smarter," he said.

"I would rather have 16 literacy instructors than have eight, and so would everyone else at the board, but given the financial pressures that we're under, we're making the best of a bad situation."

Kingston trustee Heather Dixon, who is also the board chairwoman, said the board has made good progress in its standardized literacy test results, and the administration assured trustees that the cutback would be manageable.

"I'm a big supporter of literacy programs, but as trustees, we had to find the $3 million somewhere," she said, referring to the final round of cost-cutting that was required to finish the budget, which according to law must be balanced.

She noted trustees had their hands tied and had to cut programs because there is a provincial moratorium that forbids them from closing schools, even though they could save money doing so and put the savings into programs and new instructors.

Schock said she wants parents concerned with the cuts to make their concerns known both to the board and the provincial government, which provides money to school boards.

"Our primary concern is the children and the devastating effect this will have on the next generation's literacy skills," Schock said.

--------------

PUBLICATION: The Guardian (Charlottetown)
DATE: 2006.08.30
PAGE: C4

North Bay student researches family literacy this summer

Ashleigh McBain of North Bay, Ont., said farewell to her colleagues at UPEI earlier this month after spending the summer carrying out research in family literacy.

She is one of 11 undergraduate summer research assistants who received national awards this year from the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network (CLLRNet). The network supports these awards to assist language and literacy students to acquire research skills in preparation for potential graduate work. They are presented to students in their second last year of a three-, four-, or five-year program.

McBain worked with Vianne Timmons, UPEI vice- president of academic development, on projects spanning a wide range of research topics, including knowledge translation, inclusion, and family literacy. In particular, she has been involved in a project called Families Learning Together.

From 2003 to 2006, researchers from UPEI have worked with 31 families to develop and implement a literacy program for aboriginal families in Atlantic Canada.

The project, also funded by CLLRNet, has sought to create a literacy program that embraces the significance of aboriginal culture in order to effectively promote family literacy within aboriginal communities. McBain has contributed to the final phase of this project.

"The UPEI community has made me feel very comfortable. I have been fortunate to be surrounded by many wonderful, intelligent people who have made my time at UPEI both interesting and enjoyable. This summer has been the experience of a lifetime," she says, adding that she found her experience at UPEI to be a valuable asset for her future career as an educator and a graduate student. She will be continuing her education in Nipissing University's bachelor of education program this fall.

----------
PUBLICATION: Vancouver Sun
DATE: 2006.08.30
SECTION: Editorial
PAGE: A10
SOURCE: Vancouver Sun

ESL students need help to stay the course: Immigrant and refugee families should stress the need for education, while governments kick in adequate funding

For many prospective immigrants and refugees around the world, Canada represents a beacon of freedom and opportunity, a place where they, and especially their children, can seek a better life.

Canada feels similarly about immigrants and refugees, because through their contributions to society and the economy, they can better the lives of all Canadians.

But it now seems that this dream has become something of a nightmare, as many new Canadians are leaving school early and accepting low-paying jobs.

Indeed, according to a new report by University of British Columbia language and literacy professor Lee Gunderson, fully 40 per cent of English-as-a-Second Language students attending Vancouver high schools drop out before they graduate.

Gunderson followed 5,000 immigrant students between 1991 and 2001 and found the dropout rate was highest when students left ESL classes, because even otherwise good students suffered a significant loss of marks.

This suggests that our attempts to acculturate new Canadians has been less than successful, and also suggests that we clearly have a lot more work to do. After all, there is little point in encouraging people to move to Canada, only to have them -- and their children -- handicapped by their inability to communicate adequately.

The question, of course, is exactly what we need to do to ensure immigrants and refugee children have a shot at success. To begin with, we might need to review the five-year limit on ESL funding. (In B.C., students are expected to learn English within five years, so the province routinely stops funding for ESL classes after that point.) This is in contrast to French immersion students, who receive support from kindergarten to Grade 12.

But the level of funding is not the only issue here. Many immigrant students leave ESL classes even before the five-year period is up because they -- or their parents -- believe there is a stigma associated with ESL education. And there might well be, but the consequences of kids dropping out of high school are much greater.

As with any parents, immigrant and refugee parents clearly have a role to play in ensuring their children's success. This goes beyond ensuring that they stay in ESL classes: All too many parents themselves fail to learn English because they settle in areas where they can continuing speaking their native languages.

Yet literacy experts note that family literacy programs, where parents and children work together on their literacy skills, are instrumental in improving all family members' ability to communicate. Immigrant and refugee parents therefore owe it to their children to learn English.

Of course, not all immigrants and refugees are the same, and our programs for helping them should recognize that. For example, Gunderson found that ESL students from Taiwan and Hong Kong were as likely to graduate from high school as Canadian-born students, while Spanish- and Vietnamese-speaking students had much lower graduation levels.

By way of explanation, Gunderson notes that many Chinese speakers come from wealthy families that value education. In contrast, many Spanish and Vietnamese speakers were refugees who had little education in their own countries. It stands to reason, then, that they would have very different attitudes toward education than students born in Canada.

Since the federal government decides who gets into the country, it needs to provide greater support to refugees and their families, as well as to immigrants who hail from countries that pay insufficient attention to education. And immigrants and refugees need to make the most of those supports, not just for themselves, but for the sake of their children, for whom they wish a better life.

Carleton Clubs has updated their site!

2006-08-29T17:06:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone,

Be sure to check out the new Clubs and Societies Page at Carleton. Looking Sharp! And they list our blog as one of our contacts! I couldn't get them to do that last year!

Also entertaining (while I'm on a Carleton role) is the theme for orientation this year: Carletonopoly. My first year of undergrad the theme was Carleton Cabana. (I'll let you guess the year...I was there a bit more recently for my MA).

And, getting in on this "crazy blog thing" appears to be the CUSA executive.

Sorry for the delay today - Blogger seemed to not like me today.

More to come in a bit.

Cheers,

Bee Sharp!

2006-08-28T16:22:00.000-04:00

(As opposed to the B- Flats)

In seriousness, new initiative recently announced by ABC Canada for International Literacy Day on September 8, 2006.

They have launched a new website called My Bee in a Box. Basically, they want kids - either at home or in school - to participate in non-competitive spelling bee's on September 8th in honour of International Literacy Day and to promote awareness for literacy. All the materials are available online - including a list of various word games which may be of interest to tutors.

I'm a little bummed that I'm probably too old to receive some of the "bee-lated" merchandise.

Otherwise its all quite bee-lightful.

Sorry. I'll stop this now :)

Two final and totally unrelated links of interest. To those of you (like me) who have always toyed with the idea of writing a novel someday, you may find this post quite good. I was unfamiliar with the blog, so thanks again to Jen Robinson for drawing it to my attention.

And you can go HERE to find out what celebrities you look like. Thanks to A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy for that one.

I found a literacy blog! (And a couple belated thank yous)

2006-08-28T16:12:00.000-04:00

I hope she's just on holidays like me because Adrienne's blog "The Literacy Loop" looks like it has potential.

And a thank you to her for adding us to her "Literacy Links" section. Also belated thank yous go out HERE and HERE. Was thrilled by the recognition and the book was beautiful.

Finally, I note the addition of a new blogger on FrontierVSpot. Hi Sandi! Hope you'll be actively joining us in the blogosphere soon :) I'll add the link when you guys are ready.

Students for Literacy at Memorial - finalist for the Canada Post Awards!

2006-08-28T15:44:00.000-04:00

So I've posted about the Canada Post Literacy Awards before and there is also a quick link to their site along the side of this blog in the Tutor Resources Section.

Anyhoo, the finalists have been selected and the winners will be announced at the end of August (which, given the date today is likely coming soon).

Imagine my delight when I discovered that Students for Literacy at Memorial University is one of the finalists in the Community Leadership category! According to the website:

Students for Literacy @ Memorial University, St. John's, NL
The members of this student society volunteer their time and talents year-round to help learners of all ages. In addition to tutoring adults in a variety of community settings, Students for Literacy developed the Kids on Kampus program, which brings children to the University for workshops that demonstrate how much fun learning can be.

We'll keep our fingers crossed.

As we start to gear up for another great year of volunteering, all the finalists offer great motivation and inspiration as to why it is important to get involved in literacy. Learn about the other finalists here!

Each winner in the Individual Achievement and Educator categories will receive a notebook computer and winners in the Community Leadership category receive cash awards of $2,000.

If you are looking for other motivating stories, you may also wish to check out the Council of the Federation Literacy Award Winners here. Direct link to info on the award here.

Basically, the Council of the Federation is composed of all the Premiers of Canada's provinces and territories. And I'm actually kind of stoked by this list on their site which lists their six initiatives. The literacy award is right up there with initiatives like the Advisory Panel on the Fiscal Imbalance. It's the little things like this (and this) that give a literacy tutor hope.

Cheers,

"How I Spent My Summer Vacation"

2006-08-28T14:18:00.000-04:00

Also known as my "In case you were wondering what happened to me since late April" Post.

I give you the following options:

1. Strange lady gave me an apple. I just woke up and met this really cute guy.
2. Like many others, I was simply far too upset about the new state of Pluto to blog.
3. I was paying homage to some of my favorite non-kiddie lit bloggers, and doing my best impression of Andrew Coyne.
4. Pricked my finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. See point one.
5. Was too overcome with excitement at the prospect of a Season 8 of Buffy to blog (seriously, this is very cool).
6. Fell down a rabbit hole. Adventure ensued. Just back.
7. Was suspended for failing to do my summer reading.
8. Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, That started from this tropic port (Okay, Ottawa, but suspend disbelief), aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailin' man, the Skipper brave and sure. Five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour. A three hour tour.
9. I tried to go to Trent's literacy conference again and had less success than last time.
10. Ran off with Lyndsay's "Summer Reading, Naked Blog" man. But didn't work out so I'm back.

But seriously, you ask, where was I? Finishing my MA in Political Science. And now it's done. Done. DONE!!! The paper (on electoral reform in Canada) is handed in and I'm just waiting for the result (which is far less stressful than still writing it). AND, on top of that (and related to it) I have what promises to be a wonderful part-time job on select weekends as a facilitator with the Ontario Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform. This sadly means I will be less involved with the reading circles next year (I don't think its fair to commit to volunteering if I know I can't be there regularly because the kids get attached to you). However, I hope to stay involved with some of the other Organizational Team (OT) work here with Frontier College in Ottawa. And I hope to get back into the blog swing of things and hopefully have a few of the the new OTers join in too.

That said, I'll stop breaking that cardinal rule of blogging (don't apologize for being absent because people generally don't care why you weren't there) and get on with it.

Cheers,

Just One More Book!! - KidLit Podcasts

2006-08-21T13:17:00.000-04:00

I'm sampling a podcast from the new-ish Website, www.justonemorebook.com and pleased to find that they're making reference to A Company of Fools and the Stratford Festival. (Canadian content!)

It's a neat idea! Thanks, guys.

(Now I want to read, Hamlet for Kids!)

Scrabble Night in Canada Update

2006-07-11T07:39:00.000-04:00

Excerpts from a recent e-mail:

The last tiles have been counted, and the final score has been tallied. The SCRABBLE® Night in Canada Friends and Family Challenge raised approximately $20,000 in support of Frontier Colleges Literacy outreach activities!

....

The statistics are staggering:
- 42% of adult Canadians have trouble using reading and writing to participate in everyday life!
- Perhaps more shocking, 18% of grade 10 students in Ontario failed the mandatory literacy test last year.

With sincere thanks,
Barbara Fraser
Development Coordinator

PS. Cant wait for February to have another SCRABBLE® party? Our online fundraising tool is available to you all year long, so set up a summer SCRABBLE® party and help Frontier College spread literacy across Canada one word, one tile and one person at a time.

Review of Blogging Software for Non-Profits

2006-07-10T22:03:00.000-04:00

A review of blogging software for non-profits. (A membership is required to read the full article, but membership is free.)

(The link also provides some other interesting articles on various aspects of IT, all with a non-profit org. focus.)

Also, I stumbled across another good list of ways to improve your blog.

MySpace: Using Its Powers for Good

2006-07-05T22:04:00.000-04:00

I've fiddled with Facebook, Flickr and Friendster. I'm a Blogger and a LiveJournal-ist, too.

I love the Web 2.0. (If you do too, check out the list of note-taking toys I found.)

All that to say, I'm not a MySpace Cadet...yet.... but I thought their recent announcement of a Volunteerism promotion campaign was worth a nod.

The contest requires teens to submit a 15-30 second video PSA promoting social activism. Winners will be featured in Seventeen magazine (which like, so totally rawks!).

From the article:
"We wanted to use our two mediums for greater good," said Atoosa Rubenstein, editor in chief of Seventeen, who said the magazine and its editors all started their own MySpace pages to keep in touch with their readers. With 13 million readers, Seventeen is the top-ranked magazine among teenage girls, while MySpace ranks No. 1 among teens' favorite Web sites, she said. "We're almost organizers with a powerful megaphone."

Hmm. I've got visions of Students for Literacy getting MySpaced-out and setting up a visual, virtual, hyperlinked community in cyberspace. (They're pretty visions...)

A Few Reviews

2006-06-29T19:16:00.000-04:00

Kid Lit book reviews the way they should be done: by a 6-year-old. (Disclaimer: this child reviewer is exceptionally cute and brilliant!)

Summer Reading, Naked Blog

2006-06-12T22:53:00.000-04:00

It’s summer! While it is the season for dressing down, and showing some skin, our blog is downright naked lately!

Students for Literacy Ottawa is trying to compile a list of recommended summer reading.

Here’s how you can help:

Please submit your recommendations and reviews to Ottawa@frontiercollege.ca and have your very own words published in our blog, http://studentsforliteracyottawa.blogspot.com . If you’d like to post the contribution yourself, please reply to this e-mail and request info on how to set yourself up with a Blogger profile.

Don’t stress about whether your recommendation is a cheap or trashy read. It’s summer! (Did I mention that already?) We all need a beach read or two…

Conversely, don’t fret about recommending a “geek read,” either. This is Students for Literacy, folks: you’re among friends, here. ;-)

Your submission doesn’t have to be long, but quirkiness and creativity are always appreciated. Your recommendation might include:
* Suggestions on the best place to read this book
* Suggestions on the best food/drink to accompany this book
* A story about who gave this book to you or why you bought it (or which doctor’s office waiting room you swiped it from, etc., etc.)
* A story about why there’s a grape popsicle stain on page 174

Your literary good deed will be rewarded: Lyndsay will personally mail a snazzy Frontier College Ottawa pen in an envelope coloured with her very own Crayolas to any SFLO volunteer who submits a contribution.

Questions/Comments/Insults can be posted below….

Happy Reading (and Reviewing!)

To give credit where it's due: that's Ken Kesey in the photo, reading a script, naked, from http://www.creativescreenwriting.com

Mind the Gap

2006-05-23T23:18:00.000-04:00

When it comes to caring for its poor and disadvantaged, Canada--according to the UN--isn't doing its part.

A quick quote from the CBC article (link above):

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights notes that Canada ranks at the top of the UN Human Development Index and praises it for improving equal pay for equal work, extending maternity benefits and plans to improve health care.

But it scolds Canada for failing to heed recommendations in two earlier reports aimed at improving the lives of aboriginals, youth, single mothers, African-Canadians, people with disabilities and women.

(Posts have slowed to a crawl as summer distractions have taken precedent. We're still here! And we're hoping to have some summer book reviews ready for you, shortly....

Ottawa's 100 Favourite Books

2006-05-11T21:00:00.000-04:00

Calling all OPL cardholders: you have until Saturday the 13th to vote in the 100 favourite books contest at Ottawa Public Library. The final list will be published at the link above on Monday, May 15th. There are prizes available! (Sadly, the prizes aren't books. Travel is fun, though, too.)

And of course there's also the Words at Large contest to win 100 "essential" books from McClelland and Stewart. (You could win the books on my behalf; I wouldn't complain.)

Review Round-up etc...

2006-05-09T15:22:00.000-04:00

Liz over a Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cosy was on a bit of a role over the last few days. Good couple reviews over there. Two that caught my eye:

1. Once Upon Stilettos by Shanna Swendson - I'll let you read her review - but I like the idea about a book that answers the question "What do Hogwart's Students do for a living when they grow up?"

2. This Book Is For All Kids, But Especially My Sister Libby. Libby Died. By Jack Simon, Age 5, As Told To His Mom, Usually At Bedtime. It's a book about dealing with a death in the family, told from the perspective of a five year old.

In lighter fare, Book Buds has a review HERE about a pop-up book about prehistoric sharks and other monsters. How cool is that? Official title: Sharks and Other Sea Monsters (Encyclopedia Prehistorica Series) by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart. My younger brother was a huge shark fan growing up. I still know all sorts of facts about sharks from being subjected to documentaries on them. This would have definitly been a hit with him.

Fuse 8 has had, as usual, some good links over the last few days. Bit on Beverly Cleary HERE - news on a movie and her feelings about over-comercializing kids books (it's bad - kids should borrow from libraries); light post on something called the Booklympics and Book Hurling HERE. I suggested gently releasing books into the wild as an option instead...; and for all the list-crazed movie-inclined folks post HERE on the 14 worst children's books made into movies (For the record, I liked Disney's the Jungle Book as a kid and can sing most/all of the songs still).

Big A little a has two posts of interest. Reports HERE that Whoopi Goldberg is joining the growing club of celebrities writing children's books. She will be publishing Whoopi's Big Book of Manners.

She also has a very cool post about one of my favorite Hot Men of Children's Literature - Mo Willems. As a youngster, Willems wanted to take over for Charles Shultz.

Finally, further to a previous link I had here to Mother Reader's Wierd Ass Picture Books - she has a follow-up HERE.

New Poll: Canada not Making the Grade

2006-05-09T15:05:00.000-04:00

There is a new poll out commissioned by the Canadian Council on Learning which has found that Canada is not making the grade in certain key areas related to life-long learning.

Some highlights of the poll include:

Currently approximately 40% of young adults (20- to 24-year-olds) in Canada are attending some sort of schooling, whereas Canadians think that rate should be 62%;
Approximately 58% of Canadian adults can meet most everyday reading requirements, whereas Canadians feel that 80% would be an acceptable level;
While 56% of employers provide some form of structured job training, on average, Canadians believe that 74% should do so;
Today, 57% of the working-age population has completed some form of post-secondary education, and Canadians think that figure should be 67%.

Full poll info can be located HERE courtesy of NALD Headline News.

Two other literacy-related stories of interest over the last few days - the first, immediately below from out east about how "too much testing takes the fun out of reading". As someone who volunteers for Reading Circles mainly because I believe that kids should see reading as something fun and not something only related to school and learning, I'm all for making reading fun for kids - though I'm not sure how to go about escaping testing them. How else do you know how you are doing literacy-wise as a country, province, school board etc... The second, also from out east, is about bachelor of education students from St. Thomas University who will be spending two weeks in Nicaragua and Honduras in mid-June, building fuel-efficient stoves and helping to develop subsistence farming in rural areas while also conducting literacy workshops with members of the communities. Not too shabby!

PUBLICATION: Times & Transcript (Moncton)
DATE: 2006.05.06
PAGE: A1
BYLINE: Aloma JardineTimes & Transcript Staff

Literacy tests for children 'killing love of reading'; Elementary teachers told children should enjoy education before being subjected to tests
They laughed, they cried, they got to their feet and applauded when David Bouchard came to the end of his one-hour presentation at the New Brunswick Teachers' Association Elementary Council spring conference in Sackville yesterday.

An author and former school principal from British Columbia, Bouchard was preaching the joy and necessity of literacy to a captive audience made up of hundreds of elementary school teachers from across the province.

In a week when poor Grade 9 reading and writing scores were making headlines, a dash of enthusiasm and a challenge to continue to work to get children reading was welcome.

Historically, New Brunswick literacy rates have been abysmal.

Current statistics say between 60 and 68 per cent of people in the province cannot read past a Grade 4 level.

The Grade 9 assessments found almost half of students have trouble understanding what they read and even more struggle with writing.

One of the aims of the province's Quality Learning Agenda is to have 90 per cent of children reading by the end of Grade 2. Students' reading and writing skills are currently assessed at the end of Grade 2 and in Grade 7.

The Grade 9 assessment was the first to be done at that grade level and a pilot program this year will test students' abilities at the end of Grade 4.

Bouchard is not a big fan of standardized testing for young children and says the idea of testing children in kindergarten should be scrapped.

"It's killing the love of reading. They see it as a task and a threat," he says. "So do parents. Parents don't read with love but with a sense of commitment and fear."

Meg Pryde has been a teacher for 30 years and is currently teaching a Grade 4- 5 split class at Florenceville Elementary School.

"I have argued for a long time about testing kids in kindergarten. We label kids too early," she says. "Some kids are just not ready to read. I had a boy in Grade 4 just learning to read and loving it.... He'd been labelled and put on SEPs (special education plans) and he really didn't need to be, he just needed time."

Bouchard says children should be allowed to enjoy their education before being subject to standardized tests.

His plan to get children reading is simple.

"Would we all walk and talk if we hadn't had a role model? (Children) need time, relevant books, and role models," he says. "You are somebody's hero. Let them see you reading with passion. Modelling isn't one way of influencing kids, it is the only way. You can't light a fire in someone else's heart unless you light one in your own."

Elizabeth Matson teaches a split kindergarten-Grade 1 class at Frank L. Bowser School in Riverview.

She says the books her students gravitate towards at book fairs are the ones that have inspired a response in her.

"They ran right over and said, 'Oh, this is the book that makes Mrs. Matson cry,'" she says. "If it creates an emotional response, whether you laugh or cry, the children will be drawn in."

Pryde believes in the power of modelling because she has seen it work first- hand.

"I taught in New Zealand for a while and the reason they have such good scores is because the whole population reads," she says.

Pryde says one area where schools are lacking is good male role models because so many elementary school teachers are women.

Bouchard says it is up to parents and educators to find books that children can and want to read.

Matson says when her own son was in Grade 5 she had his reading ability tested because he just wasn't reading. She found he was actually reading well above grade level.

"He told me, 'Mum, they've not yet given me anything I care to read,'" she says. "We have to meet their interest level."

With so many students still coming out of the school system unable to read, Bouchard says something's got to change.

"What we're doing now is not working," he says. "There is a whole body of belief that says we are doing it wrong and yet we are dead set on doing more of the same thing."

Pryde believes the province may now be on the right track, even if they're not quite there yet.

"I think the literacy movement has put strong emphasis on the importance of literacy and it has brought more good books into our schools and more opportunities for boys and girls to read a variety of literature," she says. "I think it will have an impact, but I'm wondering if it will have the impact (we're hoping for)... The system may not be perfect, but we're working on it."

Jane Jonah teaches Grade 5 intensive French at Frank L. Bowser and says the students coming into her classroom are more confident readers.

"They are coming up with an I-can-do-it attitude even if they aren't all at grade level," she says.

Whether the focus on literacy in the younger grades will translate into better results down the line remains to be seen, but Matson is looking on the positive side.

"You have to believe that what you are doing is going to be successful," she says. "We are doing a lot that is right and good for children."

Bouchard says in his own family his father did not pass the gift of reading to him, nor did he pass it on to his two older sons, though he says he has learned from past mistakes and is now making sure he passes a love of reading on to his young daughter.

"The greatest gift we can give our children is the gift of reading," he says, before issuing a challenge to the gathered teachers.

"Do better than I did. Let literacy be your legacy."
--------------------
PUBLICATION: The Daily Gleaner (Fredericton)
DATE: 2006.05.08
BYLINE: MARK TAYLORFor The Daily Gleaner

B.Ed students plan trip to Central America; Helping out - Education students aim to lend hand in poorer countries

A group of future teachers will get a different kind of education next month when they begin work on a humanitarian project in Central America.

The team of bachelor of education students from St. Thomas University will spend two weeks in Nicaragua and Honduras in mid-June, building fuel-efficient stoves and helping to develop subsistence farming in rural areas. As well, the group will be conducting literacy workshops with members of the communities.

The Falls Brook Centre, a sustainable development group based in Carleton County, is involved in the initiative.

"We are pretty excited about it," said David Ramsay, who took his place as one of many people at the Second Cup in Fredericton on Sunday night for a coffeehouse fundraiser.

He said he believes the people and the living conditions he will see will have an impact on him. Ramsay, a former computer consultant in Toronto, said he is looking forward to the experience.

"It's something that I've wanted to do for a while, especially after being to countries where there is work to do," he said.

Ramsay said he jumped on the opportunity to do the work with members of his class.

The native of Prince Edward Island plans to teach in high schools. Ramsay said he feels the trip will add to the quality of the teaching he can provide.

"There's that whole impact you can make with somebody," he said.

Andrew Sisk agreed.

The Chipman native, who has taken part in a similar project in Sri Lanka, was one of the people who suggested the mission to his classmates.

"Graduating classes will often plan a trip at the end," Sisk said. "It was myself and the others who said why not, because we're education students, go and give back somehow and in some way while going on a trip."

He said he remembers the trip he took to Sri Lanka just after receiving his undergraduate degree as a profound experience.

"I had all this theory and academic background," Sisk said. "To go and live in this country and not just observe it and to realize they were teaching me just as much as I would teach them was profound."

He said the trip will help him and the high school or middle school students he will later teach.

"I think anytime a teacher has real-life experiences and they're able to convey their experiences to the students, the students feel like its real," Sisk said.

He said a high school teacher he had brought lessons to life with the stories he told of his own experiences.

"That made it inspiring and real," Sisk said.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the trip and how they can help can visit the Falls Brook Centre website at www.fallsbrookcentre.ca.

A final note on plagiarism

2006-05-09T14:49:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

This link is courtesy of Jen Robinson's Book Page. It is of timely interest naturally due to the whole Opal Metha controversy which I have posted on previously HERE and HERE. Meg Cabot is a YA Author probably best known for the Princess Diaries made famous by Disney.

Anyhow, in her blog post HERE she discusses the difference between plagiarism and creating work yourself, as well as the difference between being an overnight sensation and practicing and working at your craft until you are ready. It's a good read and makes the point very well.

On two side issues related to Jen's above post, I'd like to thank her for the shout-out, but also point out that courtesy of her link to another Jen site, I have discovered there is also a Poetry Thursday! I don't have enough poetry inspiration for once a week - let alone twice a week :)

Catching up on the News

2006-05-05T16:29:00.000-04:00

Little bit of a news round up for you all. In no particular order:

1. Story HERE about a program at the Rainy River District School Board which tries to encourage boys to read. Asks the question: Is it possible, through the use of rich resources, monitored parental involvement, and the involvement of male role models, to increase boys’ interests in literacy and raise their level of reading success?

We have posted stories previously on getting boys to read HERE and HERE, for example.

2. Fun story HERE about a books for babies group in Newfoundland.

3. Story on a study HERE which shows that TV viewing lowers your literacy level. We've posted previous stories/discussion about TV and literacy rates HERE and HERE.

4. Bookshelves of Doom has a good post about The Clique series - specifically "The Pretty Committee Strikes Back" and chick lit for teens in general. Post was a follow up to Naomi Wolf's comments on the Chick lit genre last month when she referred to it as a "disturbing new genre of teen fiction" which portays female characters in a two-dimensional way, contains graphic, sexually explicit content and sends negative messages to young girls.

5. Kids Lit links to a site called the Children's Poetry Archive.

6. Fuse 8 posts on the top 21 kids books made into movies.

7. Ontario's new education Minister Sandra Pupatello made a speech in the legislature on the provinces student success strategy in High Schools.

8. And Lyndsay pointed this link on the Chapters site out to me. It is the top 100 Children`s Books. Have fun browsing for where your favorites are.

Galley Cat and Hot Writers

2006-05-05T13:31:00.000-04:00

Through all the postings on the Opal Mehta thing, I came across a new site which I think I will spend some time on called Media Bistro Galley Cat, or just Galley Cat. It's a blog about books and publishing.

Opal aside, another fun post I found was this one HERE linking back to a previous post they had regarding a Gawker post about Lucky Magazine looking for an "attractive female author that has a newly released book" to feature in their August issue. This lead naturally to a large discussion about attractive authors. Unfortunately, a quick perusal didn't lead me to any new possible Hot Men of Children's Literature to recommend to Miss Fuse. :)

Opal Mehta continued...and a thought on Sweet Valley High

2006-05-05T13:01:00.000-04:00

Seeing how I posted on this a few days ago HERE, I thought I might as well update you all on the story - which now appears to have calmed down and concluded.

As I mentioned in my Wednesday post, in addition to Kaavya Viswanathan plagarising from Megan McCafferty, it was also found that she had pulled from the works of Sophie Kinsella, Meg Cabot and Salman Rushdie. Media Bistro has a bit more on the Sophie Kinsella angle HERE showing comparisons between Kinsella's Can you Keep a Secret, which I've read, and Opal Mehta.

For what Salmon Rushdie has to say about the affair, you can visit HERE.

Media Bistro then picked up another angle May 3 reporting on Harvard Independent's Jonathan Liu digging up "striking similarities" between OPAL MEHTA and Tanuja Desai Hidier's 2002 novel BORN CONFUSED which is another book about an Indian-American girl growing up in New Jersey.

Finally, a few different sites picked up on this part of the story - about the "convoluted authorial structure of Alloy books" which is the company behind Ms Viswanathan's now cancelled book. As someone who knows little to nothing about the publishing world, it was an interesting read. And I agree with Fuse 8 - greatly enjoyed the quote from Francine Pascal of Sweet Vally High fame at the end of the article:

But for all the tangled dealings in the Alloy book-packaging world, for a few, the more depressing concern is the content of some Alloy books. “Emotionally, there’s no progress,” said Francine Pascal, the creator of the Sweet Valley High series and an Alloy author. “It doesn’t touch on the classic values that Sweet Valley did—love, loyalty, friendship.”

In the spirit of full disclosure, I guess I should now admit to having been a huge Sweet Valley High fan when I was about 10-13. I have memories of trading the books back and forth with my friend Rhiannon and both of us having very strict rules about how to treat the books - ie: don't open them to far for fear of breaking the spines, don't bend the covers or pages. This was due to the fact that we were of course saving this very important and valuable collection for our future daughters. I also have a rather embarassing memory of being in Smithbooks with her fighting over which one of us was going to get to buy the elusive #32 The New Jessica (I won!)

Other people play Scrabble for Literacy too!

2006-05-05T12:53:00.000-04:00

Given our whole Scrabble Night in Canada initiative this year, I couldn't help noticing that there are some others with the same idea!

Check out this group in New Jersey, and this initiative below in New Brunswick!

PUBLICATION: Times & Transcript (Moncton)
DATE: 2006.05.04
PAGE: B7

Scrabble tournament to raise funds for literacy;

Tournament. That's at least 12 points on a Scrabble board. If you like where this is going, you might want to consider taking in this weekend's Annual Literacy Awareness Scrabble Tournament.

"Along with the fun of playing Scrabble, it's just an opportunity to gather information and to get together and talk about literacy," says Micha Fardy, one of the event's organizers and vice president of the Greater Moncton Literacy Board. She has been involved with the annual competition for about four years now and says it's become something many look forward to each year.

"We get full-on Scrabble fans and we get people who just come to play," she explains.

The tournament, which is presented by the Greater Moncton Literacy Board, will raise funds for local literacy organizations.

"It means increased funds for projects that are happening. It can do anything from getting text books to papers and pens," she says. "The people who run these literacy programs can make a little go a long way."

The games will start this Saturday (May 6) from 9 a.m. to noon in Festival Hall of the Moncton City Market. Teams for the event should be made up of three players each, with a minimum donation of $15 per team.

Anyone interested in participating but has not oragnized a team is welcome to join up with others once the event is underway. The team that raises the most money will receive three tickets to a Capitol Theatre presentation and other prizes will be awarded for the top Scrabble teams.
------------------------------

Other Blog News

2006-05-03T13:53:00.000-04:00

Few other bits and pieces of interest over the last few days.

1. Chicken Spaghetti links to an article in The Age about censorship of kid's books being on the rise in Australia and the covert censorship of non-selection of books by librarians.

2. Big A little a reminds everyone that they welcome submissions for the Edge of the Forest. If you are interested in submitting, do get in touch with them. It is a wonderful publication. Last month I wrote the piece for the Kid Picks section. Unfortunately work and life will be preventing my participation this month :(

3. Gail Gauthier finished her read-through and study of "wealthy-girl-gone-bad books" (Gossip Girl, The A-List, The Clique). In her post HERE she asks and tries to answer the questions: "Will These Books Turn Teenage Girls Into Slutty Shopaholics?" and "Do These Books Exploit Teenagers As A Market?"

4. Two stories from the UK HERE and HERE on the decrease in reading to kids before bed and how it is important to do so. Chicken Spaghetti has a post on it HERE.

5. Mother Reader has a post HERE on "Weird-ass Picture Books." At first I just liked the title. But the post is quite good too :)

6. Finally, on a more serious note, courtesy of the UNESCO Blog, 18 million new primary teachers will be needed by 2015 to meet a U.N. goal of providing primary education to all the world's children by 2015. The full report can be found on Reuters HERE.

Cheers!

Plagarism and "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed"

2006-05-03T13:23:00.000-04:00

Okay,

Now for a round-up on the hot story on the blogs over the last week or so.

Here is the story in short:

Kaavya Viswanathan, a sophmore at Harvard, wrote a recently released YA novel called "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life." She had reportedly signed a book deal for $500,000 while still a freshman for this and one other book.

Then it was discovered that more than a half-dozen passages of her book contain passages very similar to those in a book called "Sloppy Firsts" writeen by Megan F. McCafferty and published in 2001 by a division of Random House Inc., including one 14-word sequence that appears in both books. The books also have characters and plot points in common with both this book and McCafferty's 2003 book "Second Helpings."

So Random House sent a letter raising concerns about the similarities to lawyers for Little, Brown and Co., the publishers of ''Opal Mehta". Viswanathan apologized for "inadvertantly plagarizing" portions of the book in question - admitting to having read it and having "unconsciously internalized" it.

It was announced yesterday that she lost her book deal.

The Story was first picked up by the Harvard Crimson HERE and further reported on by them HERE. Further online stories in the Boston Globe (on which I based the above synopsis) can be found HERE and HERE.

For blogger discussion, Jen Robinson has a nice round-up on who's saying what HERE, Chicken Spaghetti provides some more insight HERE and Gail Gauthier offers an author's perspective HERE, which also reports on the extension of the allegations to include plagarism of Sophie Kinsella, Meg Cabot and Salman Rushdie in addition to Megan McCafferty.

I'm not sure I can say much on this that hasn't been said already by others aside from agreeing plagarism is, well, wrong. End of story.

A Hot Man Responds

2006-05-03T11:45:00.000-04:00

So, this is a bit dated, seeing I'm playing catch-up, but wonderfully amusing and deserving of mention.

As some of you likely know, Fuse 8 Productions runs a series of posts called the Hot Men in Children's Literature. A while ago she reviewed author Mo Willems - one of my favorites - as one of kiddie lits hot men.

And then he wrote her back.

Check out his letter HERE. Quite the entertaining read. And hey, I think its just pretty exciting to get a letter from Mo Willems.

You can check out his new book HERE entitled "You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When It Monsoons - The World on One Cartoon a Day."

The quick review on the Amazon Site reads:

One June 1, 1990, less than a week after graduating from college, Mo Willems embarked on a year-long trip around the world. Traveling only with a notebook, pen and ink, and one change of clothes, he spent the next twelve months backpacking across more than thirty countries. At the end of each day, he drew the one event that stuck out in his mind the most––from the sublime to the ridiculous.Recently annotated by the illustrator and featuring a foreword from best-selling humor writer Dave Barry, The World on One Cartoon a Day is a unique snapshot of an artist’s coming-of-age as he tries to understand the world around him.

Based on his letter to "Miss Fuse" I'm not sure if I am looking forward to a Wang-Chung-ing pic or hoping it isn't there. However, I am also quite excited by the prospect of a forward by Dave Barry. I've read and enjoyed a few of his books as well.

She also had a new post in the series up yesterday on Don Tate II. He also blogs and recognizes his fellow bloggers.

Louise

Words at Large

2006-05-03T11:32:00.000-04:00

We seem to be on a bit of a run for picking up on new Websites.

Be sure to check out CBC's new Website called Words at Large.

It's a web portal from CBC where Canadians "can take a journey into the world of books, poetry, drama, literature, literacy and much more."

It provides access to "radio programming, podcasts, a blog, lists and information that will entertain and inform you on the written word in Canada and around the world."

Of additional interest, it has a specific section dedicated to literacy. There you can find links to literacy events, awards and organizations.

Info courtesy of NALD Headline News.

Also of interest on the new website front is Inside a Dog a new website by the same blogger who does Read Alert. It is a new site about books for young people. You can link to some further info and commentary about it HERE.

Finally, Jen Robinson, who does one of my favorite blogs, points out new kiddie blogger on the block, Kurtis who has a blog named Outside of a Cat.

Few more posts to follow momentarily. Life has gotten in the way of blogging for the last few days!

A new blog to drool over.

2006-05-02T19:53:00.000-04:00

Learning.now, by the fine folks at PBS is the latest blog to cross my radar. The first post is really entertaining, talking about how sites referring to a certain site that rhymes with FlyTrace.com are now blocked in schools so teachers can't access them. Read up! Enjoy. :)

Urban Babies Wear Black

2006-04-30T22:53:00.000-04:00

In the gift shop of the National Art Gallery today, I found the most hilarious board book I've seen in a while: I'm seriously considering purchasing a copy for my coffee table/permanent collection. It's called Urban Babies Wear Black; it's by Michelle Sinclair Colman with illustrations by Nathalie Dion; and it has funky illustrations of urban babies doing urban things like yoga, drinking lattés from a bottle, etc. Swing by the bookstore and take a look if you're in need of a smile and a few moments of entertainment.

Mayor's Walk for Volunteerism

2006-04-29T12:25:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, April 29, a small but energetic bunch of us headed down to Ottawa City Hall to participate in the Mayor's Walk for Volunteerism, hosted by Volunteer Ottawa, as a wrap-up to National Volunteer Week. Here's a couple of action shots from this beautiful sun-filled morning.

Here's us on the bridge with two of the folks from ALSO. Our walk was also a good chance to talk: ALSO has an exciting new program proposition for us! Isobel is standing backwards so we can get her good side--er, that is, the back of her t-shirt which reads, "The Amazing Book Race." I'm not sure on the details, but we'll find out and get back to you.

Before the walk, we were treated to some live music. Here, Jenny and Lorna sing along to "Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot" ...

...while Mayor Bob shakes his maraccas and dances along.

The final photo is Jenny and her new love: an enormous Newfoundland named Tucker who was, admittedly, very charming. And very enormous.

Even Bigger Bunny!

2006-04-26T13:50:00.000-04:00

Okay - now THAT's impressive! Thanks to Fuse 8 for the link.

Kids Lit has a fun post on how kids catch the book bug.

Also, in new blogs I found news, a lot of Children's blogs are linking to, or chatting about Mother Reader. So I went and took a gander. She has a fun, humourous blog. Especially liked her post about bees. It's nice to think you might have saved the world à la X-files.

And in entertaining pieces on non-kid lit blogs news - I enjoyed this post on Cherniak's blog. It turned out to be a spoof - the post was about a comment allegedly from Ashley MacIsaac that he was giving up fiddling until the previous Government`s child care plan was saved. This turned out to not be the case - but I enjoyed the idea of "Child care lent" and the ensuing discussion about various things one might "give up for the cause." Because, if it would help the children, I'd be more than happy to give up completing my Masters ...

Finally - few news pieces of interest from yesterday that I`d missed:

Courtesy of an Ottawa Citizen Profile on Summer Camps:
Visit the Ottawa Public Library this summer and take part in the TD Summer Reading Club 'Quest for Heroes.' Includes programs and events from super heroes to local heroes and all the stories in between. This will be a summer filled with mythical adventures, crafts and activities at all 33 branches and bookmobile stops. Check with your local branch, visit www.BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca or pick up Preview magazine at library branches or the bookmobile and community centres throughout the city after May 1 for details and registration guidelines.

Also courtesy of yesterday's Ottawa Citizen - groundbreaking news that UNIVERSITY EXAMS cause stress (although the stats are a bit worrying):

University exams bring on stressful days and nights

When her heart started pounding in the middle of an English exam last week, Angel Groulx-Croteau told herself to keep calm.

It didn't work.

Instead, the 21-year-old student felt time slow down and nausea settle in.

"I can't panic. I can't panic. I can't panic," she thought, although that was, of course, exactly what she was doing.

It took 10 stressful minutes before the University of Ottawa student was forced to abandon her papers: "When I thought I was going to be sick I had to go tell the teacher," Ms. Groulx-Croteau said.

The second-year English major indeed vomited after she left the lecture hall and admits the panic attack was "pretty crazy." But ask any sleep-deprived college student about exam stress and almost every one will share a personal tale of physical or psychological meltdown.

Thousands of Ottawa-area university students are mired in exams, and the stakes are high. Good grades can make the difference between scholarships and loans for some, graduate programs and job searches for others.

Officials statistics confirm what everyone suspects: Students often cram and they get stressed.

Stress levels in Ontario are among the highest in the country, with 47 per cent of students claiming they experience high levels of exam stress, according to a 2005 Ipsos Reid study. More women (44 per cent) than men (34 per cent) are affected by such stress and Quebec students are least likely to get stressed while studying for an exam, said the research.

When it comes to preparation, Canadian students are unlikely to start studying in advance of a big test. About 43 per cent of students say they never start studying early enough and 27 per cent admit to staying up all night studying, said the research.

"There's definitely cramming because there's so much to read and to keep up with," said Ms. Groulx-Croteau. "If you don't do every assignment when you're supposed to and you procrastinate even a little bit, you get screwed."

Ms. Groulx-Croteau had to plow through almost 30 books in order to prepare for her exams this year. When she told her professor about the panic attack, he was understanding and said that happens often.

At the University of Ottawa yesterday afternoon, students filled desks, their books open and headphones on. It was easy to suspect that some might still be there if you came back at 5 a.m.

"When you look at the scope of life, this exam is like a little spec," said 20-year-old Lauren Abbott, who was starting a study session with two friends for a political science exam that was a respectable 48 hours away.

Ms. Abbott and her friend Erik Harmsen, 20, said that younger students are more likely to experience extreme stress during the school year's final exam and final paper period. Still, she recently sat in the university's library until 3 a.m. to finish a paper. She left the library feeling -- and looking -- terrible. "It's like self-torture," she said about the all-nighter experiences.

Mr. Harmsen usually fuels himself with caffeine while studying, although there were no coffee mugs in sight yesterday -- just bags of chocolate-covered raisins and dried mangoes. His schedule is particularly gruelling this year: five exams in one week.

Still, as a second-year student, he says that he's gained perspective on the stresses of studying and how worthwhile it is to cram: "I'm pretty relaxed about it," Mr. Harmsen said.

Sharmarke Edan, 19, might be more relaxed about the exam period if he weren't juggling his schoolwork with a part-time job. "There's so much to do," said the second-year criminology student about his occasional cram sessions. "You've got to work to pay off school, there's always tuition deadlines and stuff that gets in the way." As soon as the semester's over, he'll try to find full-time work to pay for the following year's studies.

Mr. Edan's friend Ahmed Mohamed had a linear algebra textbook in front of him yesterday afternoon and made no excuses about cramming for his exams: "I just procrastinate for no reason," he said.

By the Numbers
- 43 per cent of students say they never start studying early enough for exams.
- 68 per cent of studying said they start studying for exams no more than a week in advance.
- 44 per cent of women say they experience high exam stress compared to 34 per cent of men.
- 59 per cent of students in are stressed when they prepare for exams compared to 70 per cent in all other provinces.

The poll was conducted in 2005 by Ipsos Reid for Kumon Math and Reading Centres. Almost 600 students across the country were surveyed. Results are considered accurate within four percentage points.

--------------------

Cheers for now!

What makes a good teacher?

2006-04-25T08:48:00.000-04:00

Hey all,

Good article courtesy of What's New in JK-12 about a new study from Australia regarding what makes certain teachers more effective than others.

The section that caught my eye:

the most effective teachers - those whose students made the biggest literacy gains over the year - drew on a much wider repertoire of teaching practices. They explained activities more clearly, had deeper subject knowledge, maintained a high level of intellectual challenge for their students and had more fun than did less-effective teachers.

"Good teachers are able to figure out where every child is at and set them a task that's hard for them," said Professor William Louden, dean of education at the University of Western Australia, who led the team of researchers, together with Associate Professor Mary Rohl, of Edith Cowan University.

"Good teachers had the most fun in their classrooms: the lessons were lively, fast-paced, and full of jokes and little classroom games. Good teachers put on a fabulous show and clearly they're the best thing to look at in their classroom.

"Some of the other teachers could get their kids' attention but they did not secure that deep engagement that the most effective teachers did."

So there you have it.

Also, will again be updating the side lists (you may have noticed some recent changes already) to add a section on "About Ottawa" as I came across this blog which seems to pull some of our posts. I haven`t yet figured out quite how that happened - but anyway. The other Ottawa site I use frequently which I will also add is Ottawa Start.

I will also be adding the Organizational Team Job Descriptions to our main links section.

All about Children's books has a post today on Mem Fox. We've posted previously on Mem here and here. Last year we used some of her reading theory stuff in our trainings and it worked very well.

Finally, moving off topic for a moment, I wanted to say a quick hello to my coworked Marc-Olivier Girard (who we all affectionately call MOG). We traded blog links last week - so I'm now testing if he comes back :) Mog runs a French blog about Paul Simon here. As for his comments on my blog:

"J'ai jeté un coup d'œil à ton blog. Très bien, mais j'ai pas tout compris. Quelques fois, je ne voyais pas toujours le lien avec l'alphabétisme. Liked the picture around the plate of hot nachos."

Quick translation - he liked it - but didn't always get the link everything had to literacy (like the nacho photo :) I guess my sign photos are a bit off topic too. As explained - all in good fun.

And wanted to give a shout out to Kat's Eye and Jerz's Literacy Weblog for mentioning us on their blogs. Thanks a lot!

Cheers!

Happy Belated Birthday Bill!

2006-04-24T09:50:00.001-04:00

Coutesy of Semicolon - and found through Here in the Bonny Glen, I learnt that yesterday was William Shakespeare's Birthday. So Happy Birthday to the Bard!

Also courtesy of the Bonny Glen - I discovered that the next Carnival of Children's Literature is in May and will be hosted over at the Glen again. Deadline for submissions is May 20. So lots of time to think up something good.

Fuse 8 points out another poke at Munsch's Love you Forever over at Gotta Book.

And many of the kiddie lit bloggers are blogging about THIS. Sarah Hepola shut down her blog and explains why. In short, blogged for five years and at first thought it would help her write - then discovered it prevented her from writing. Chicken Spaghetti picked up on it and Gail Gauthier at Original Content has a good post on it as well - being an author herself. The Chicken Spaghetti post also has a cool link to some other good picks for kids books from Publishers Weekly. Also be sure to check out the cool new format of her blog.

Another recent hot topic is the fact that Horn Book has been getting threats from a publisher regarding its reviews! The publisher feels that they should ask permission first before reviewing their books. Fuse 8 also chats about it here, as does A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cosy.

An third in the hot topic rankings is THIS. Parents are upset about a storybook called King & King which is a fairy tale about a gay couple. Horn Book has reviewed it HERE and chats about it on the Read Roger blog HERE.

In lighter fair Read Alert has a fun link HERE to a site where you can write your own YA novel.

Finally, Cachibachus has a link to a site called Blog Traffic Central which offers tips on how to increase traffic to your site. Felt good to know that we were already doing a lot of them :)

And on a last point - happy to report that this is our 200th post since going online last August.

Cheers for now!

STAR Volunteer and Service Awards

2006-04-22T16:10:00.000-04:00

STAR Volunteer Awards went to:

Janie Lober, West End Shelter Program
Stephen Campbell, Sawmill Creek Homework Club
Jessica Olliver, Rideau Reading Circle
Ellen Coker, Rideau Reading Circle
Kate Greavette, Centretown Reading Circle

Service Awards were issued to:

Catherine Bernier, 88 Main Street, 3 years service
Lyndsay Buehler, Sawmill Creek, 4 years service
Yvonne Clevers, Communications, 4 years service
Clare Demerse, Rideau, 3 years service
Joan Hall, Centretown, 2 years service
Louise Hayes, Rideau, 4 years service
Charles Long, 88 Main Street, 3 years service
Jennier Martin, Rideau, 3 years service
Lorna McCrea, Centretown, 3 years service
Eva Morrison, Centretown, 2 years service
Joan Ryan, Reception House, 2 years service
Jennifer Watt, 88 Main Street, 2 years service

A sincere thank you, round of applause, and platters of appetizers were offered to all of our new and faboo volunteers:

Hilla Aharaon, Rideau
Pankaj Ballal, Fundraiser/Events Coordinator
Cindy Beischer, Sawmill Creek
Cindy Bergeron, Fundraiser/Events Coordinator
Luc Andre Brunet, Reception House
Stephen Campbell, Sawmill Creek
Alex Ciappara, Rideau
Ellen Coker, Rideau
Stephanie Courtney, 88 Main Street
Kristin Cunningham, Sawmill Creek
Samantha Coulas, Centretown and Rideau
Kristin Derry, Sawmill Creek
Margaret Friesen-Stowe, Reception House
Kate Greavette, Centretown
Jennifer Haylor, Reception House
Timothy Ho, Carleton Liaison
Joshua James, 88 Main Street
Le Yen Lam, 88 Main Street and Reception House
Janie Lober, Chrysalis House
Craig Mackie, Centretown and Reception House
Lilah McMorrow, Sawmill Creek
Patrick McMullan, Rideau
Jessica Oliver, Rideau
Leslie Paterson, Rideau and Centretown
Holly Pratt, UofO Liaison
Elena Smyrniatis, Centretown
Jeanette Veter, Chrysalis House
Melanie Wade, Sawmill Creek

Shopping, anyone?

2006-04-22T15:17:00.000-04:00

Frontier College Students for Literacy Tote Bag: $10.00
Proceeds SFLO receives: 100%
Coolness factor of anyone who buys and uses one: BEYOND MEASURE!

If you're interested in getting one of these bags for your very own, send an e-mail to ottawa[at]frontiercollege[dot]ca ([at] = @ and [dot] = . , just to clarify; we're oh-so-cleverly avoiding spam here. ;)

Our model, Jess, demonstrates the spaciousness and comfort of these high-quality bags. The bags have a zippered top, a pocket on the front that's big enough for pens or a wallet, and a dark-coloured bottom so you can set it down in dirty places and not ruin it forever. Ooh. Lala.

The Real Rideau Photo ;-)

2006-04-22T14:55:00.000-04:00

What a photogenic crowd! Pictured here are almost all of our tutors from the 2005-2006 Rideau Reading Circle, plus a few of our camera-loving learners. Jess and Patrick even managed to colour coordinate! As Louise mentioned in an earlier post today, this morning was our last reading circle at Rideau library until October 2006.

Thanks to all of our tutors for giving your time, patience, creativity, and numerous other skills to our program. We couldn't have done it without you!

Par- TAY at Rideau!

2006-04-22T12:18:00.000-04:00

So we had our last Reading Circle at Rideau for the season this morning. In honour of this monumental occasion we threw a bit of a party for the kids and tutors and took some photos.

This wasn't one of them. This is from my Home Scrabble Party in February. I haven't gone digital yet and it just took that long for me to get them developped. Lyndsay had the camera and will upload some nice group shots soon.

However, in honour of the end of season - I thought I'd share some of our rather impressive stats with you:

We had:
- 21 sessions
- 10 volunteer tutors
- 16 registered learners
- 126 hours of instruction
- 108 volunteer hours
- average of 5 tutors a week
- an average of 6 learners a week

So a big THANK YOU to all our tutors and learners for making the program this year so great.

Before I sign off - here are some more Frontier College related photos courtesy of my retro camera:

This was the winning Scrabble Board at my Scrabble Party!

Lyndsay and me at the Family Conference at Immaculata High School last October.

Lyndsay in action at the Family Conference.

Happy Earth Day!

Louise

An Uncomplicated Choice

2006-04-21T23:44:00.000-04:00

It's official!
All hail the Canada Reads champ: A Complicated Kindness!

Yet another reason to put this book on your summer reading list, if you haven't aleady done so.

(Al Purdy came in 2nd, so all is right with the world.)
(There were pictures, but they aren't working right, so I took them out.)

...the things we don't know about a person are the things that make them human...
-Miriam Toews, A Complicated Kindness

Carleton Update - Wanna be famous?

2006-04-20T12:36:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of the Carleton inbox:

The Department of University Communications is looking for enthusiastic students who would be interested in participating a series of promotional photo shoots. Photographs taken at these photo shoots will be used in publications, Carleton's Web site, and other materials to promote the University.

If you are interested in participating and you will be in Ottawa for the summer, please email us at CastingCall@carleton.ca with your name, age, program/year of study, telephone number, email address, and a photo if possible. We will contact you to arrange and interview.

Famous by Association

2006-04-20T11:35:00.000-04:00

Congrats to Jen Robinson over at Jen Robinson's Book Page! Her blog got mentioned in Melissa P. McNamara's column over at CBS News.com in her weekly Blogophile Column (which is something I was unfamiliar with and may start reading).

She was mentioned in relation to the Fib fad started by Gregory K over at Gotta Book. We have posted previously on Fibs here.

McNamara's article talks about how something that began on blogs, was picked up by other blogs and then picked up by the New York Times (as we previously reported HERE - go Greg!). Jen's blog comes in to play with her comment on the Fib phenomenon HERE. Well done!

In other news (and briefly, because I am taking the day off work to do some work on my Masters' Research Paper), Fuse 8 has two fun posts - one on a contest of sorts where you are required to post about a fly on the wall and one HERE updating us on Winnie the Pooh's stardom.

The UNESCO Blog points out that April 23 is World Book and Copyright Day.

And finally, Jen Robinson has a link to another new blog with possibilities called Dear Time.

Later!

The New Edge of the Forest is out!

2006-04-20T11:04:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

Be sure to check out the new edition of The Edge of the Forest. It is an online journal devoted to children's literature. This month, Students for Literacy Ottawa - and specifically the tutors and learners at the Rideau Library Reading Circle, wrote the article of the Kid Picks section.

Given that I'm a grad student, I thought I would take a moment to show you some of the field work involved in researching for such an article.

It was actually an excellent activity to do with the kids as it got them talking not only about the story they had just read - but about other books they liked and why. It was an excellent way to take the focus off simply de-coding words and put the focus on the stories. This, of course is the main point of a reading circle - namely, making reading something fun and exciting that the kids want to do.

Thanks again to Kelly Herold over at Big A little a for putting together such a great publication. Be sure to check it out - as well as all the contributions from our fellow KidsLit Bloggers out there. Wonderful to see the growing list of contributors is growing.

Louise

Education for All Week

2006-04-19T11:23:00.000-04:00

Is next week - April 24-30. UNESCO story HERE. Also, go UK go! They recently pledged $15 Billion to Education for All for overseas aid for education in Africa and Asia over the next ten years.

Bigs Bunny - Run Away Scared Kids!

2006-04-19T11:08:00.000-04:00

Eeek - also courtesy of Here in the Bonny Glen. A little late, what with Easter being over, but still. Eek.

In other news, Fuse 8 has a good list of sure-fire storytime hits. I like the strong representation from Mo Willems. I love Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Kids Lit has a link to a new site by Steve Barancik which provides insite into choosing children's books.

Book /$?" has some commentary on the upcoming movie version of Fast Food Nation - and McDonald's offensive strike plans on the issue.

Gail Gauthier over at Original Content will be having a give-away contest on May 18 in honour of the launch of her new book Happy Kid! More details on her website HERE.

Bookshelves of Doom is also all over mocking The Giving Tree. As is Gotta Book - which I originally missed. Poor tree :(

And, courtesy of Jen Robinson's Book page, I came across another new blog called Blog from a Windowsill. Has a fun post HERE on what children's book you would like to live in if you could. I went for Narnia and The Girl who Owned a City. Explained my choices in her comments section.

Finally, I keep meaning to post a news story about the whole child care debate. I know it isn't completely related to tutoring children and literacy programs - but it is related. Anyway - there is the beginning of an interesting debate on the issue over on Jason Cherniak's blog HERE (small disclaimer: Cherniak's blog is a Liberal blog and Students for Literacy Ottawa does not endorce any one party. We are linking to it for the debate and would be happy to link to blogs representing the views of other parties as well, should we find postings of interest there).

Cheers!

And Now for a Little Grammar

2006-04-19T10:59:00.000-04:00

So, I came across a series of grammar blogs courtesy of a post on Here in the Bonny Glen. Being literacy tutors and all, we like grammar. Melissa in the Glen links to Classical Home's listing of various grammar blogs. Some of my favorites from the list:

1. Apostrophe Catastrophe Among other things links to this wonderful song, sung to the tune of the Beatle's Yesterday:

'Postrophe
It marks where a letter used to be
Like in "isn't", "ain't" or "couldn't be"
That's where to use a-
Postrophe

Indicative
Of "belonging to", that's possessive
Or a little click is fricative
That's all the uses I can give

Why it's misused so, I don't know
It should be eas-
Y not to get it wrong
Read this song
'bout Apostrophes

Apostrophe's
Do not use in case's such as the'se
So Im begging you all plea'se, oh please
Learn to use apostrophes

'm 'm 'm 'm 'm 'm-mmm

2. Literally, A Web Blog. Pays hommage to over and mis-use of the word literally.

3. Grammar Hell. General collection of examples of bad grammar. My favorite from their site:

Cheers!

What a Blog's Worth Part 2

2006-04-19T10:46:00.000-04:00

As a follow-up to the first post on this issue HERE, our value on Blogshares has risen from $2,633.73 when last reported to $3,647.45. Not too shabby! And thank you to everyone who links to us. We love you too!

Because we missed Poetry Friday last week, I feel a poem coming on to compensate and commemorate this momentous occasion. From memory, courtesy again of my mother and the fact that she would recite it over and over again when I was young:

I love me.
I think I'm grand.
I go to the movies and I hold my hand.
I put my arm,
Around my waist.
And when I get fresh,
I slap my face!

("I" here is the blog collectively). Not sure where the poem comes from - googling it didn't help much - but you'd be surprised how many people out there claim to be the author :). I just think it's a funny poem. When you are feeling down, recite it to yourself and try not to smile.

Now leaving this incredibly geeky moment.

Cheers!

Me to We Awards

2006-04-19T07:58:00.000-04:00

Caught a bit about the Me to We Awards this morning on the news.

Remember Craig Kielberger, the Canadian guy who, at 12 years old, was travelling the globe and campaigning for social justice? He's still doing it today, at the age of 22 (that's him in the photo) and is part of the brains behind this latest project.

From the site:

The Me to We Philosophy is about living our lives as socially conscious and responsible global citizens, engaging in daily acts of compassion and kindness, building meaningful relationships and community, and considering the impact on We when making decisions in our own lives. The impact is a social movement where people begin
“ Moving from a world of Me to a community of We ”.

Know somebody deserving of acknowledgement for his/her work? Nominations for this award can be submitted until early June of this year.

Cocksure bites the dust.

2006-04-18T18:29:00.000-04:00

Despite the confident title, Mordecai Richler's Cocksure is the first book put back on the shelf in this week's exciting Canada Reads competition.

(Apparently the content was as disturbing as the cover art.)

Book discovery last week

2006-04-18T14:12:00.000-04:00

I meant to post on this after circle last week - but then life happened and suddenly it's a week Monday.

Read a very good book with two of the kids at the Reading Circle last Saturday that I was previously unaware of. It's Stellaluna, by Jannell Cannon.

It's an older book - written in 1993 - but I really enjoyed it - as did the kids, so I thought I'd take a moment to tell you about it quickly.

Story in short - It's about a baby bat named Stellaluna whose life changes when an owl attacks one night separating her from her mother. Stellaluna is lucky enough to land in a bird's nest and is then raised by the mother bird along with her babies. However, she is only accepted if she acts like a bird and not like a bat (no hanging upside down!) Anyway, she learns the ropes and the story progresses until one day she bumps into bats again and learns that it is normal for bats to hang upside down. She introduces her bird siblings to this, and they find it very difficult - nice conversation about "How can we be so different and feel so much alike?" ensues. A nice message and beautiful pictures.

Congrats to Gotta Book!

2006-04-18T13:25:00.000-04:00

His Blogging of Fibs got picked up by the New York Times. And, well, if you can make it there... Couple blogs picked up on this fact over the weekend - thanks to Chicken Spaghetti and Jen Robinson's Book Page for drawing it to my attention!

Jen also had a list of a few other items of interest here. My favorite from the list, yet again, has nothing to do with children's lit. She has managed to track down another blog that posts about silly signs. Random Notions and Stories of Teaching has quite a good selection. My personal favorite:

Because, wow, if I smoked - that would be a serious problem. Also enjoyed her posting on telemarketers. My general approach, if I am unfortunate enough to get caught on line generally goes like this:

Hello is Mrs. Hayes there?
I'm sorry there is no one there by that name. Good-bye.

Or alternatively...

I'll tell you what, you guess my first name correctly and I'll sit through your pitch.

Here's hoping the GoC enacts that bill from last Parliament on the do not call registry!

But I digress...

The Magic of Books has a good post on Beverly Cleary in honour of her 90th b-day. We've posted previously on that HERE as well as a post here on the books of Laura Numeroff. Many kids at the Reading Circle are fans of If You Give a Pig a Pancake. And really, who wouldn't be?

Over on Book Moot there is a good post on books about the Titanic - posted last Friday in memory of the anniversary of the sinking. I got quite interested in the Titanic in high school - watched the old A Night to Remember movie, read the book and have a collection of various documentaries on it on VHS from back then.

Another list of book awardees HERE for those interested - courtesy of KidsLit.

Finally, Fuse 8 has two posts of interest. One on celebrities who HAVEN'T written children's books. (Read the comments - the list is even shorter than you think!). We've posted on this previously when both Fiddy Cent and Jessica Simpson - oh AND Post Spice AND Kylie Minogue all announced they would be publishing children's books.

The other is on JK Rowling's rant on her blog about our thin-girl obsessed culture. This was picked up last week when we mentioned that JK Rowling was a Pink Fan. It's a worthwhile read for those who have a moment - I especially enjoy her tale of an aquaintance who runs in to her after a few years and is far more interested in the fact that she has lost weight than in the fact that she has released another best-seller or had a child. It is, after all, important to focus on what matters in life!

Ooh - and one more thing. Courtesy of Daveberta - if anyone is looking for a fun trip try this. And remember - safety not guaranteed (sorry - in a bit of a silly mood).

TTFN!

Exercise Breaks at School

2006-04-18T13:22:00.000-04:00

And this one caught my eye. Will have to follow-up on the fact that this is being done in Ontario? I do remember reading an article a while ago where they were doing an experiment where they had children stand rather than sit in class in an effort to have them burn more calories. Then there is this post about encouraging figiting in clasrooms for the same reason. (Thanks to Fuse 8).

DATE: 2006.04.16
CATEGORY: National general news
PUBLICATION: cpw
WORD COUNT: 275

Man. school board wants to replace lunch and recess with exercise breaks

WINNIPEG (CP) _ Five Manitoba schools hope to be the first in the province to adopt a new system popular in Ontario that replaces recess and lunch with longer classes and extended exercise periods.

The Interlake School Division north of Winnipeg is seeking provincial approval to divide the day at the five schools into three 100-minute teaching slots, separated by two nutrition and exercise periods of 45 or 50 minutes apiece.

Called the balanced school day, the concept is used in more than 600 Ontario elementary schools.

It was devised during a brainstorming session at a small school northwest of Toronto among teachers trying to figure out ways of improving student literacy.

``If it's successful, we would likely bring all our elementary schools online for the following year,'' Interlake superintendent Darlene Dufily said Sunday.

Ontario teachers who are part of the program say that kids learn more in longer teaching slots. They also say that by having kids eat twice, they're not getting hungry in mid-morning, and are far more attentive late in the school day.

The two extended exercise periods give kids more activity than two short recesses and part of the lunch hour.

``Two nutrition breaks does not mean bring two big lunches. Eating smaller amounts more often will be healthier,'' Dufily said.

The 300 minutes of instructional time would be the same as the current day, which includes two 15-minute recesses.

But Dufily said teachers in Kenora, Ont. estimated they had been losing the equivalent of four-and-one-half days of class time a year by the hassle of having kids put on and take off winter clothing and boots twice a day for recess.

The five elementary schools hoping to adopt the program are in Balmoral, Argyle, Stony Mountain, Warren and Rosser, Dufily said.

The first nutrition and exercise break would start around 10:30 to 10:40 a.m. and run 45 or 50 minutes, the other around or shortly after 1 p.m.

Nunavut school problems

2006-04-18T13:17:00.000-04:00

Okay,

This is a story I've been reading about for the past week or so with rising concern - so I thought I'd post two stories on it here.

PUBLICATION: The Whitehorse Star
DATE: 2006.04.13
SECTION: North
PAGE: 14
SOURCE: CP
BYLINE: Weber, Bob

'Failing' Nunavut schools add to social woes, cost millions

Nunavut's education system is failing, and its inability to produce graduates competent in either English or Inuktitut is one of the main causes of the territory's social problems and crippling unemployment, says a report being released Monday.

The report, written by former justice Thomas Berger, goes on to blame a federal government that hasn't lived up to the requirements of the Nunavut Land Claim. The report says it would take $20 million a year and revamped, bilingual schools to make things right.

''The schools are failing,'' wrote Berger. ''They are not producing graduates truly competent in Inuktitut; moreover, the Inuit of Nunavut have the lowest rate of literacy in English in the country.''

That failure, he calculates, costs some of Canada's poorest people $72 million a year in lost employment - and costs taxpayers up to another $25 million a year in recruiting, training and housing southerners for jobs that could have gone to Inuit.

Berger penned the report as a conciliator in a dispute between Ottawa and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., which oversees the implementation of the land claim.

Part of the dispute is over Article 23, which guarantees the Inuit a representative slice of federal and territorial civil service jobs in Nunavut. Inuit make up 85 per cent of the territory's population, but have never occupied more than 45 per cent of territorial jobs and are stuck at 33 per cent of federal jobs.

Ottawa has argued that it has held up its end by making jobs available and offering pre-employment training.

But Berger, in a clear win for the Inuit, says that's not enough.

''It is quite apparent that Article 23, which deals with employment, cannot be discussed intelligently without discussing education,'' he writes.

''The schools are supposed to equip students with the skills to obtain employment. But in Nunavut they have not produced an adequate pool of qualified Inuit.''
---------------

PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL
DATE: 2006.04.17
PAGE: A9 (ILLUS)
BYLINE: SARA MINOGUE
DATELINE: IQALUIT

Iqaluit students lacking basic skills Report highlights need for literacy and remedial math programs in schools

SARA MINOGUE IQALUIT A report on Nunavut last week by former British Columbia Supreme Court judge Thomas Berger outlined a host of social ills there, but educators say they have long ago grown used to the troubling statistics.

Three in four high-school students drop out before graduating, attendance rates are abysmal and literacy levels are the lowest in the country.

Mr. Berger's report may have grabbed the headlines, but last week also saw the release of a research report put together by the Iqaluit District Education Authority, a volunteer board that oversees four schools in Nunavut's capital.

The status report on students at risk in Iqaluit schools also contains some shocking numbers: 13 per cent of Iqaluit children arrive in kindergarten without the basic skills that five-year-olds are expected to acquire before formal education begins.

In Grade 1, 22 per cent of students are found to be below the level of skills they should have by that grade. In Grade 2, that percentage goes up to 28; by Grades 4 and 5, it is in the 30-per-cent range.

The number of students working below their grade level peaks in Grade 8, where teachers estimate that 53 per cent of students do not have the basic skills expected in that grade.

Moreover, students who fall behind are lucky if they get any kind of remedial math or literacy help, because there are no programs specifically designed to help struggling students.

"This is not a surprise to anyone working in the school system," Katherine Trumper, who oversaw the report, said at a board meeting last week. "But for some reason, the issue of struggling kids in our schools is not getting attention." Ms. Trumper said the figures are based on a survey of about 100 teachers, all of whom use their own judgment to estimate who is "below grade level." The report shows Iqaluit has 99 Grade 8 pupils, 105 students in Grade 9, and 172 in Grade 10, the year students face the dreaded tests from the Alberta curriculum used in Nunavut.

Then comes the dropping out. In Grade 11 this year, Iqaluit has 66 students, and in Grade 12, just 44.

The research reveals a trend that is missing from the usual statistics: students who struggle to understand the material they confront in class and who get little, if any, help to catch up.

In some grades, nearly all the students who need extra help get it. In others, none of the students are getting extra help, even though their teachers know they need it. Over all, only half of students who need extra help are getting it, the report says.

The issue of standardized testing draws heated debate in the North, where many view the different language and culture as a disadvantage for Nunavut students.

Ms. Trumper said there is a connection between poor information and the students' poor results. "There is a relationship, in my opinion, between the fact that students are not being [given standardized tests] and that resources are not available for remedial programs," she said.

Nunavut's Department of Education has opted out of national standardized tests since a 2001 math test showed that just 27.8 per cent of Nunavut's 13-year-olds reached the basic level of skills, compared with 88 per cent of 13-year-olds nationwide. Sixteen-year-olds did slightly better, with just over half reaching the first skill level, compared with 91.5 per cent in Canada as a whole.

The lack of data on student performance is one of the reasons the District Education Authority dedicated itself to research at the beginning of its three-year election term.

The latest research paper follows a status report called Closing the Education Gap, which looked at Iqaluit's school outcomes relative to Canada as a whole.

That report found that Nunavut spends more than twice as much per person on education as the provinces, with poorer results. It also outlined health and social issues that affect students.

Social problems again figure in the latest report in a section on discipline incidents in schools, which are often sparked by students who are frustrated academically.

These figures are highly subjective, but some information stands out.

School principals call a social worker or RCMP officers when faced with cases of suspected child abuse or extreme violence. This happened 12 times in Iqaluit schools in the first five months of the current school year.

"The information in this report wasn't a surprise in some ways, because when you talk to the poor teachers, in a regular conversation, these things come out," said Christa Kunuk, the board's chairwoman.

"To see it on paper, though, is another thing. We're hoping that it will open up people's eyes and say, 'Look, this is the situation.' "Should you be concerned? I think so."

More on the LG of Ontario's reading camps

2006-04-18T13:13:00.000-04:00

Have posted on this previously quite a few times. This is also being done in partnership with Frontier College. Info on that HERE.

PUBLICATION: The London Free Press
DATE: 2006.04.13
BYLINE: PETER GEIGEN-MILLER, FREE PRESS REPORTER

CAMPS TAKE LEARNING TO REMOTE AREAS ONTARIO LT.-GOV. JAMES BARTLEMAN SEES LITERACY AS KEY TO BREAKING THROUGH POVERTY AND DESPAIR.

Saying that reading and writing are the keys to breaking a cycle of poverty and despair, Ontario's lieutenant-governor is spearheading a program to establish summer literacy camps in 27 isolated Northern Ontario communities this summer.

London-educated James Bartleman talked about his literacy project yesterday during a visit with The London Free Press's editorial board.

Bartleman said the summer program grows out of a pilot project operated successfully last summer in five remote communities.

This summer's program, with Frontier College as the lead agency, will operate 35 camps in 27 communities.

All are "fly-in" communities with no road connections to southern Ontario.

Their remote location has contributed to poverty, abuse, low educational levels and poor self-esteem, Bartleman said. Adolescent suicides are frequent because of the lack of opportunity.

Bartleman is counting on improved literacy to improve the lives of young people and encourage them to stay in school.

The summer camps will provide morning instruction for children aged five to 10 and afternoon programs for adolescents.

It's important to get children learning early, Bartleman said.

"You have to get them reading in Grade 2 or they won't be able to read and write."

He pointed to statistics showing 40 to 50 per cent of aboriginal children fail to meet literacy and numeracy requirements in Grades 4, 7 and 10. Seventy-five per cent fail to graduate from high school.

Bartleman was appointed lieutenant-governor in March 2001, becoming Ontario's 41st vice-regal representative.

He talked yesterday about being raised in Muskoka and, with support from a benefactor, coming to London for his high school education at Central secondary school.

He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Western Ontario in 1963.

Bartleman served for more than three decades with Canada's foreign service and held posts around the world.

How Boys Read

2006-04-18T11:58:00.000-04:00

So, this is the first in a series of postings for today. First of quite a few articles of interest over the last few days here. The website is well worth checking out as well. We have posted on boys and reading previously on this site. Here and here for starters.

Also - particularly like the section of the A book for Boys site that talks about Southpaws. Go Southpaws! Was thrilled to know that I was part of an illustrious group that includes Bill Clinton, Queen Victoria, Leonardo Da Vinci and both Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen!

Louise

PUBLICATION: National Post
DATE: 2006.04.13
PAGE: A26
BYLINE: Don Truckey
NOTE: Don Truckey is a screenwriter whose work includes StreetLegal and TV movies Chicks With Sticks and Crazy Canucks. He is also the author of a children's novel, The Adventures of Caraway Kim ... Southpaw. www.abook4boys.com

How boys read

Twenty years ago, it was girls and math. Now, it's boys and reading. It's the latest hot-button subject in education. In Canada, the United States and many other Western countries, boys trail girls by 10% or more in standardized reading and writing tests.

The counter-attack is well underway. Ontario, for instance, is hosing the entire field of literacy with money, and the special problems faced by boys have gotten an extra soaking. Me Read? No Way! A practical guide to improving boys' literacy skills, a comprehensive survey document put together by the province's education ministry, spells out the scope of the problem.

Those on education's front lines have been studying this issue for some time. In Toronto, the result is the mushrooming phenomenon of boys' book clubs. There are close to 300 of them now operating, with nearly 50 more in nearby Hamilton.

It all started early this decade. Dr. Chris Spence, now Director of Education at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, was principal at a school where the data on boys' reading achievement were, in his words, "appalling ... jumping off the page."

Spence and others decided to do something about it. A mass gathering of boys was convened at a local video-games emporium, and the kids were asked what they do when they're not reading.

As you might expect, the answers included: playing video games, sports, hanging with friends and eating junk food. "We said to them: You don't have to give up one to have the others," Spence recalls.

So when the clubs were formed, they included comic-book analysis, movie reviews, buddy programs that paired a senior reluctant reader with a junior counterpart, as well as conventional library reading. (More about these clubs can be found in Spence's latest book, Creating a Literacy Environment for Boys).

In Toronto, this club network convenes en masse at a hotel near the airport for an annual day of presentations by authors, poetry readings by members of the Toronto Argonauts (yes, you read that right) and, last year, an appearance by Premier Dalton McGuinty, jacket off and shirt sleeves rolled up, exhorting a ballroom full of hundreds of boys to read.

Boys can attend the year-ender only if they are in a club. It's a goal they work toward. And this aspect notches into a consistent finding among those who study the issue: Boys' reading is directed. They need a reason to read.

Professors Heather Blair of the University of Alberta and Kathy Sanford of the University of Victoria concluded the same thing in their provocative study of the subject (www.education.ualberta.ca/boysandliteracy/).

For two years, they followed groups of boys in grades three to six, snooping with permission in the boys' lockers and backpacks, and examining any and all reading materials they found.

It became clear that boys actually read a great deal, and to great effect, but not always in ways valued or even measured in school.

The researchers found that boys obtain basic reading skills from a variety of non-academic sources, and then adapt them into their own custom-made, boy-honed literacies. Blair and Sanford call it "morphing" literacy.

Boys' reading is often aimed at improving their knowledge or skill in specialized interest areas. It might mean poring over the sports page to relive last night's games. Or studying a videogame instruction manual to learn obscure strategies and tips. It is certainly there in Web surfing and Internet chat rooms, in devouring comic books and analyzing the data and biographical information on sports cards.

Remember the byzantine world of Pokemon? Look beyond the game's animated characters and you find a complex videogame world that requires memorization and strategizing. Tellingly, many schools banned Pokemon, which shows how hostile academic environments are toward the way boys learn. To educators, building literacy typically means school texts and high-brow children's library books. That approach works far better for girls than for boys. It's not literacy boys reject, but rather school literacy.

Blair and Sanford found that boys want reading that delivers in five areas: personal interest, action, success, fun and purpose. It's almost always about "finding stuff out" and "relating to their friends." If boys don't get this in school, they create a literacy of their own that comes in under the radar of standardized testing, school instruction and rigid teaching curricula.

But the researchers pushed their conclusions further. This "morphed" literacy is actually more valuable to boys when they leave school than the conventional reading (novels, poetry, stories) favoured by girls, Blair and Sanford say.

"The abilities to navigate the Internet, experiment with alternate [media], and read multiple texts simultaneously are more useful workplace skills than is the ability to analyse a work of fiction or write a narrative account," they concluded.

But what about boys and the cornerstone of reading -- books? Is it possible to write a novel that engages boys from the first page to the last, that speaks to their world, in their language?

Yes, it is. Boys want to read about relationships and emotions, but they want them on their own terms. Friendship, loyalty, competition, teamwork, winning and losing -- all of these engender positive feelings and help forge strong bonds between boys. And so they are all themes that figure in books that boys enjoy reading.

Yes, some boys still love books. But even those who don't are hardly lost causes. The energy a boy invests in finding out if Jerome Iginla is on the same goal-scoring pace as last year, or how to destroy the Combine Gunships in Half Life 2 is not wasted. "Morphed" reading is just as valuable as its structured, classroom equivalent. If educators want to help boys, they should understand that fact, and learn how to exploit it.

Let the fun and games begin...

2006-04-18T08:05:00.000-04:00

The Ottawa International Writers Festival started yesterday and runs all week. Check out their website for a complete schedule. Some events are free, all are fairly cheap (cheaper for students!), and there's a special tribute to my pal Sam Beckett (Happy 100th, buddy).

Also, the first book will be voted off the Canada Reads Island today at 11:30am. (Oh, the anticipation!) Because the CBC is so very cool, all broadcasts are archived on their website, for your listening pleasure.

Other Stars

2006-04-13T09:36:00.000-04:00

Go Winnie the Pooh! He gets his own Hollywood star.

Link courtesy of Read Alert.

In other news, Fuse 8 has another post on Slovenly Peter. He apparently has a museum. How cool is that?

The Magic of Books has a post on a web resource called the Bookhive. The site is "put together by the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County" and "is appropriately titled "Your guide to Children's literature and books". Bee sure to check it out!

Finally, on a completely separate issue - Original Content posted yesterday (April 12 for those later scrolling through) on Vampire novels. She reviews Peeps by Scott Westerfeld and discusses what she thinks makes it a YA novel (or not).

Found the post particularly interesting given my addiction to all things Anne Rice during high school. Also have a collection of other Vampire fiction at home as well with other Anne Rice-like vampires.

That's it for now!

Blog Idol!

2006-04-13T09:05:00.000-04:00

WARNING! - we're about to toot our own horn.

So, was surfing around yesterday and came across a new site called Frontier College V Spot. Speculating that that's likely V for volunteer. Also THINKING it might be someone in Toronto behind it... You know Toronto - that OTHER Canadian centre of the universe?

But check it out - we are their Blog Idol! AND they include a photo of Lyndsay and me. I even manage to have my eyes open!

That's Lyndsay of the left and me on the right. Photo was taken last August at the Summer Leadership Forum in Toronto.

Apparently, the honour of Blog Idol is bestowed on us for being "simply excellent." Our blog is also "a wonderful collection of wit, useful information and updates for volunteers." I think we might have to start an "I love me wall" in the side column of the blog and post that quote.

(You all know about I love me walls, right? That wall you had in your room as a kid where you put up all your ribbons and certificates from various things you got in order to remind yourself just how fabulous you were? Hoping that wasn't just me....)

Anyway - a warm thank you for the compliments. And relief that the honour of Blog Idol didn't involve having to sing for a panel of judges.

Okay - I'll stop this now. Sincere thanks again for the recognition. I mean, hey - as volunteers we're big on recognition. And we'll be sure to visit often to see what Vspot is up to!

Urging you all to go forth and be simply excellent.

Volunteer Appreciation Night

2006-04-13T00:27:00.000-04:00

Nothing says, "thanks for volunteering" like a hot plate of nachos, right?

Last night was our end of the year appreciation night! I will post a list of award winners here shortly. Since it's late and I'm only half done packing, I'll just leave you with a photo for now. Yes, Louise's eyes are closed, and my eyes are glowing demonaically red, but everybody else looks great--and our new swag looks AMAZING! (Get a load of those flashy purple and yellow pens! And how about those tote bags? Don't forget, you can purchase your very own tote for the low low price of $10!)

Edit: "Everyone else" = (left to right) Lilah, (Louise), Kristin, Ellen, Melanie, Leslie, Lorna, (Yours Truly).

More on the new provincial Education Minister

2006-04-12T11:43:00.000-04:00

And on a warm fuzzy alumni note - Kate Heartfield is a Carleton J-skool grad. We overlapped for a year there in 2001 (of course, I was doing my undergrad in Journalism, and she was doing her Masters - but hey! small program)

Louise

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.04.11
PNAME: City Editorial
COLUMN: Kate Heartfield

Pupatello should push libraries

Most cabinet shuffles are times to call for new ideas. I wish Sandra Pupatello all the best as Ontario's new education minister. But I hope she keeps her ideas to herself for a little while.

Nothing against Ms. Pupatello. She's a talented, hardworking MPP with no shortage of opinions. It's just that the education portfolio is already stuffed to the breaking point with the ideas of the last guy, Gerard Kennedy.

Mr. Kennedy resigned last week so he could run for the federal Liberal leadership. Premier Dalton McGuinty moved Ms. Pupatello into the education job. Madeleine Meilleur moved into Ms. Pupatello's old job as minister of community and social services, while retaining the francophone-affairs post. Backbencher Caroline Di Cocco moved into Ms. Meilleur's old job as culture minister.

This increases the number of women in the cabinet by one, although it's not exactly ground-breaking to put women in charge of culture, education and community services. Mr. McGuinty took the opportunity to make a joke that ended up sounding smarmy: "I'm also pleased to say this was the very first swearing-in where I was able to kiss all the new ministers." Blech.

Ms. Pupatello remains the minister responsible for women's issues. Perhaps she could let the premier know some women think it's a bit creepy when men seem too eager for comradely affection.

She might do it, too. Ms. Pupatello is loyal to her premier, but she's also the type to speak her mind. She's known for her heckles in the legislature.

She isn't an education expert, but she seems like a quick study. Besides, Mr. Kennedy is going to act as a transition adviser. I don't expect it will take her long to acquaint herself with the portfolio, despite its size.

And I don't expect it will take her long to develop some plans and proposals. Education is a topic that inspires. It's so important, and so universal, and so vulnerable, that it always seems ripe for revolution.

It sometimes seemed Mr. Kennedy could reach into his pocket and find a simple solution for every complex problem. The kids are struggling? Change the curriculum. The kids are dropping out? Make high school mandatory until 18. The kids might leave anyway? Take away their drivers licences if they do. Sometimes, simplicity is brilliance. Sometimes it is folly.

Still, he gets points for the intelligence and passion he brought to the job, and he leaves the education system better than he found it. The teachers are happier, their classes are smaller, the test scores are rising. Paul Whitehead, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association, praised Kennedy last week for the "astonishing number of new initiatives" during his tenure.

The immediate task for the new minister is to see Mr. Kennedy's many initiatives through. Ms. Pupatello may be tempted to make her mark on the education file right away. She said the premier told her: "This is your baby." But it's one she adopted from Mr. Kennedy. The next election, in October 2007, will be the time for new ideas.

Ms. Pupatello does not have a perfect record of seeing things through. She didn't fix one of the biggest problems in her old ministry: the provincial government's clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement from people who get social assistance. That's not entirely her fault, but it was her ministry. She should have fought to see that promise kept.

There's more fun and glory in making wild promises than in making them happen. In education, Mr. Kennedy got to announce the ideas: reducing the drop-out rate, raising test scores, reducing class sizes. Ms. Pupatello gets to see these difficult jobs through to the end. But it will pay off if she can finish the Liberals' term with solid successes in education.

In Mr. Kennedy's time, the Ontario government was finally starting to understand just how important school libraries are. A new study, funded by the Ontario Library Association and conducted by a Queen's University professor and People for Education, shows that students in schools with trained library staffs have better test scores. This is one case where Kennedy-style simplicity makes sense. The kids aren't reading? Give them better libraries.

Ms. Pupatello should take the library ball from Mr. Kennedy and run with it. Appropriate, stable funding for school libraries is a goal she can make her own, but it's not some wild idea from the clear blue sky. The Ministry of Education has had quite enough of those in the last couple of years.

You heard it here fourth!

2006-04-12T09:12:00.000-04:00

Harry Potter might really be Lord Voldemort.

Da da DAAA!

Interesting post on the issue on Michele's Scholar's Blog. Others, such as Fuse 8 and Jen Robinson have also picked up on the fun. And for the benefit of certain bloggers, I'd just like to state that I am a fan of Harry Potter (debates on Narnia vs Harry notwithstanding). I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of any criticism of Giving Tree or Love You Forever proportions :)

Fuse 8 also has another post in her ongoing and fun series on the Hot Men of Children's Literature. Click HERE to find out who it is!

Kids Lit has two posts of interest today - one on the issue of teens writing for teens (more here) and one on VOYA's new list of best Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror books for 2005.

Also, forgot to post this yesterday - there has been a bit more news pick-up on the school library issue I posted on previously here. Hamilton Spectator story HERE and Toronto Star article HERE. Links courtesy of What's New in JK-12.

Finally, on the international front, news on literacy from the Philippines and how literacy rates and levels/availability of education are not necessarily linked.

Cheers!

Louise

Swimmers are good people!

2006-04-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

Caught this story from Australia courtesy of Google Alerts. It is discussing literacy initiatives for Aboriginal peoples in Australia and the links between improved literacy and improved quality of life. I would think there are some interesting parallels to some of the literacy challenges our Aboriginal people face here in Canada. We have posted previously on the Ontario Lieutenant Governor's literacy initiatives with Aboriginal communities HERE and the partnership with Frontier College in this regard HERE.

This article also makes reference to something called the Ian Thorpe Fountain for Youth which according to the article concentrates on grass roots literacy and health education. Books and other early learning materials are placed into communities "that are truly bookless." One project is a literacy backpack which a child can share with their brothers and sisters at home. The books are those Aboriginal teachers recommend.

For those unfamiliar with "the Thorpido in a Speedo" he is an Australian Olympic Swimmer and World Record holder.

So there you have it! Competitive swimmers are good people!

In two other quick news points. Article HERE on the Cuban literacy method being successful in Mexico. Posted previously on Cuba and Literacy HERE. And webpage here of interest on good children`s books divided up by age. Courtesy of fellow local literacy org Also.

Cheers!

And miles to go before I sleep

2006-04-11T16:27:00.000-04:00

So I spent some time yesterday surfing through some of the other entries over at the Blog Carnival on Semicolon. Came across this one on Bartography that brought back memories of Grade 10 English Class. Anyone else out there wince at any reference to Robert Frost? Chris Barton, whose blog I have yet to add to my list of frequently visited sites, but that I do check out from time to time, entertainingly describes how he use to re-cycle Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening for school presentations for years. My memory of the poem is months spent teasing out every possible hidden meaning in it in high school English. Well before the end I had some suggestions regarding the hidden meaning of those last two lines!

But moving on....

Also of note and found through the carnival was this post on a blog called So Many Books. I don't know about you, but I'm now eagerly waiting some Mad Lib poetry. She also had a fun quiz on her blog HERE. Like the blogger at so many books, I too was John Ashbery. This seemed to be the result of most people. Unfamiliar with the poet myself - but then poetry is not my forte. Courtesy of wikipedia...

Also, be sure to stay tuned for the week of April 24-30. It is national TV-Turnoff Week in the US.

And finally, for those of you who are enjoying following these things - according to Semicolon, the next Carnival will be held at a blog called Picturesque Life. I am unfamiliar with the blog but will be sure to check it out.

Read Alert's round up for the day has some juicy tidbits: JK Rowling likes Pink (the singer), Beverley Cleary turns 90 (previous info on this here) and stop the press! Harry Potter makes a lot of money!

The Magic of Books has a fun post on children`s books with stories that take place in libraries.

Fuse 8 has a fun post on a German book from the 1800s called Slovenly Peter. Apparently it has a bit of a cult following. You can check out some of the reviews at Amazon. In her post, she also takes another swipe at poor Robert Munsch's Love you Forever. We posted on the previous jibe here. If anyone has a defence for this poor book, please come forward! If you need further motivation, I remind you of recent commentary on it by one of Canada's leading political journalists.

That's it for now!

Purdy: Darn Good

2006-04-10T17:35:00.000-04:00

Canada Reads starts April 17th. Have you read any of the five contestants yet?

I picked up Al Purdy's rooms for rent in the outer planets yesterday and I've been enjoying it immensely. Go poetry!

Something tells me I've posted this before, but if you didn't already do so, go to the "Al Purdy" link above and watch feature #5, "On Margaret Atwood." It's an hilarious sound clip!

Signs of the Times

2006-04-10T09:43:00.000-04:00

Be sure to check out this site. It is one of bloggers Blogs of Note for the week. I have a thing about ridiculous signs, so I found it amusing. My personal favorite was one I saw in Hawaii about six years ago. I made my family pull the car over so I could take a photo. It read, "Now entering Banana Virus Quarantine Area". I still wonder what that means. Do all the poor sick bananas have to travel there?

Also, if you wish to check out other Blogs of Note - you can check out the Blogs of Note blog.

In literacy news, while I'm a bit late on this, McGuinty shuffled Ontario's Cabinet last week, so there is now a new Minister of Education in Ontario. The old Minister, Gerard Kennedy, stepped down as it is anticipated that he will be running for leader of the federal Liberal Party. The new Minister is Sandra Pupatello.

Finally, over at Read Alert there is a link to a new book about Harry Potter called "Mapping the World of Harry Potter."

Cheers!

Louise

Couple Quick Announcements

2006-04-10T09:31:00.000-04:00

Reminder that this Wednesday evening is Volunteer Appreciation Night at the Urban Well. Don't miss it!

Also, conference of interest at UofO at the end of the month. Info HERE and info on the organization HERE.

And on three totally separate non-literacy related issues, I went to see HMS Pinafore on Friday night with my mother. Put on by the Savoy Society here in Ottawa it was so much fun! I also saw them put on the Mikado two years ago. Next year they are doing Iolanthe. Will have to see that one as well! For those unfamiliar with Gilbert and Sullivan - think Andrew Lloyd Webber for Victorians. They make rather entertaining political commentaries while singing! What more could you want in life? (Disclaimer - brought my boyfriend to see the Mikado - and while he didn't fall asleep, he got pretty close. So it isn't for everyone - hense the bringing of my mother this time around).

Tried a new restaurant Friday night called Flying Piggies - well worth a visit.

And hit Originals - their annual Spring Craft Fair at Landsdowne Park. Bought some nice jewellry and food! Tastetesting is the best part!

Louise

Poetry Friday - Second Edition

2006-04-07T13:11:00.000-04:00

So I mentioned last week that I may continue with this theme of Friday being poetry day. To recap for those of you thinking "Huh?" Kelly over at Big A little instituted this a few weeks back because kids don't read enough poetry. Jen Robinson has posted twice on the issue - again here today and A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cosy has as well. I also feel obliged to point out that, of course, April is National Poetry Month, as the Magic of Books has pointed out a few times.

Anyway, I have two strains of thought on the issue today. One is related to Kelly's post from last week where she talks about the poem Monday's Child - I am, of course familiar with this as yet another poem my mom would recite - but the "days of the week" poem I always liked best was Solomon Grundy.

Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday.
That was the end of
Solomon Grundy.

I always liked the idea of a life happening in a week - although the days spread over years. Also, relating back to the previous poem, I guess Solomon Grundy was full of grace.

Wikipedia teaches me that it is a 19th century children's nursery rhyme presented by James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps in 1842. Also, I learnt that those above are actually alternate words and that the poem also reads as follows:

Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday,
Christened on a stark and stormy Tuesday,
Married on a gray and grisly Wednesday,
Took ill on a mild and mellow Thursday,
Grew worse on a bright and breezy Friday,
Died on a gay and glorious Saturday,
Buried on a baking, blistering Sunday.
That was the end of Solomon Grundy.

I like the other better.

My second train of thought on poetry for this week is Girl Guide songs. I thought about what things poetic I remember most from childhood and they are songs more than poetry. But then, I think songs really are poetry - as various high school teachers told me in later years.

So, having spent 3 years as a girl guide (got the cord to prove it!) - I learnt an incredible number of songs which still take up brain cells today. Some of my favorites:

Barges

Out of my window looking in the night,
I can see the barges' flickering light.
Silently flows the river to the sea,
And the barges too go silently,

Chorus:
Barges, I would like to go with you;
I would like to sail the ocean blue.
Barges, have you treasures in your hold?
Do you fight with pirates brave and bold?

Out of my window looking in the night,
I can see the barges' flickering light.
Starboard shines green and port is glowing red,
I can see them flickering far ahead.

(amusingly - I also seem to remember bits and pieces of the spoof version of this taught to me by the older girls at summer camp. See! Poetry sticks!)

--------------------

Boom Chicka Boom

Boom chicka boom (crowd repeats)
I said a boom chicka-boom! (crowd repeats)
I said a boom-chicka-rocka-chicka-rocka-chicka-boom! (crowd repeats)
Uh huh! (crowd repeats)
Oh yeah! (crowd repeats)
One more time... (crowd repeats)
Someone shouts out a style. Choice could be:
Faster, slower, whisper, Southern, English, janitor style broom-chicka-broom... then broom-chicka-sweepa-chicka-sweepa-chicka-broom, valley girl style, photographer style, babystyle, underwater style, motorcycle style (vrooom chicka vroom).

(anything where you make silly sounds is fun!)

------------------

Black Socks

Black Socks, they never get dirty,
The longer you wear them the stronger they get!
Sometimes I think I should wash them
But something keeps telling me
No, no, not yet!

(not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet.....)

-----------------

Kookaburra

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Merry merry king of the bush is he,
Laugh, kookaburra, laugh, kookaburra,
Gay your life must be, ha, ha, ha!

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Eating all the gumdrops he can see,
Stop, kookaburra, stop, kookaburra,
Save some there for me, ha, ha, ha!

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Counting all the monkeys he can see,
Stop, kookaburra, stop, kookaburra,
That's not a monkey, that's me, ha, ha, ha!

For more song resources check out this list.

I also tried to find the words of one of my favorites called "Magdalena Hagdalena" on the web but couldn't. It's possible I'm spelling it wrong, though.

And I think I'll leave that there for now.

Happy weekend!

Louise

Look! Teddy Bears!

2006-04-07T11:55:00.000-04:00

Check out the photo montage over at Laurier Students for Literacy from their Teddy Bear's picnic event April 2! Looks like it was a great event. (And I'll give a shout out to Andrew from over yonder for stopping by and commenting about the event).

Big A little a has a nice piece on teens writing for teens.

Fun review over at Kids Lit on a book called The Hiccupotamus by Aaron Zen. I mean, just look at the cover. Don't you want to read it?

The Magic of Books reminds us that April 22 is Earth Day and provides some good links for kids.

What's New in JK-12 has an interesting article on how parents and children are losing the art of conversation with each other. Issue being that kids now watch TV and play video games, while work schedules tend to limit the amount of meals families spend together so kids aren't developing communication skills and thus don't arrive at school with skills previously had for expressing themselves. Interesting idea.

And for all the English Lit students out there - your wait is over Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog. Thanks to Book Moot for the link.

Finally - story below picked up by quite a few papers this morning about the benefits of school librarians.

Louise

PUBLICATION: The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal
DATE: 2006.04.07

School librarians good for kids TORONTO (CP) - Kids at Ontario schools with good library resources and staff do better on standardized tests and like reading more, researchers said Thursday]

School librarians good for kids

TORONTO (CP) - Kids at Ontario schools with good library resources and staff do better on standardized tests and like reading more, researchers said Thursday as they called on the province to stop underfunding elementary school libraries.

While more research is required into the influence libraries and librarian-teachers have on students' literacy, "it is essential to halt the decline of Ontario's school library resources and staffing now," said researcher Kathryn Blackett of People for Education, which helped with the study.

The province's funding formula doesn't provide dedicated resources for libraries and their staff, so it's up to the discretion of each school whether the cash is spent on the library or to cover other shortfalls, Blackett said.

If this shift in resources continues "school libraries are surely on the way to demise," said Michael Rosettis, president of the Ontario School Library Association.

Eat Swanky Food for a Good Cause

2006-04-05T09:25:00.000-04:00

And other news...

My friend sent me a link to THIS EVENT on May 2. It's called Bon Appetit Ottawa and features over 90 restaurants and caterers and dozens of wineries and breweries. Tickets are $75 with a $45 tax receipt (so TECHNICALLY that makes them $30). Proceeds raised are donated to local charities and Bon Appetit Ottawa has raised over one million dollars and supported such important charities as the School Breakfast Program, Champions for Children, the Snowsuit Fund and the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa.

And just catching up quickly on a bit more news. Another article HERE on the literacy initiative in Bolivia that I've posted on previously. They will be creating one million teaching posts throughout the country. Wow.

Later!

More on Rae's "Learning Agenda"

2006-04-05T09:08:00.000-04:00

PUBLICATION: Cape Breton Post
DATE: 2006.04.04
PAGE: A1
BYLINE: wes stewart

Education: At top of Bob Rae 's agenda

Bob Rae 's talk Monday on the need for a national policy on learning to a large supportive audience at Cape Breton University had all the earmarks of a campaign speech.

He advocates a social commitment where children are well fed and housed, nurtured, where there is adequate child care where necessary.

"If we build people who have the brain and capacity to innovate and change and if we give them the opportunity to do that then we will succeed because the investment will come.

"If we don't get this right in this generation, if we don't get at this in a serious way in terms of learning opportunities for those kids, what kind of a future are we providing for them," Rae said.

Governments need to invest in higher education and ensure each and every student can afford to go to school.

The former Ontario NDP premier recently completed a review of Ontario's post-secondary school system. Last year he was appointed a special adviser to the Canadian minister of public safety on the Air India bombing.

He said he will have to make up his mind soon on whether he will make a bid for the leadership of the federal Liberal party.

CBU president John Harker, who has known Rae for 25 years, said Rae's interest in education and its role in nation building is refreshing and compelling.

"I am pleased to learn he has been called to look at the way we value and must invest in post-secondary education."

Canada has enjoyed years of economic growth and development that helped get its public finances in order.

"How are people fairing in this economy which has done well and how can we keep it going," Rae asked.

Globalization has resulted in a dramatically shifting and changing world where the focus of economic growth will shift and change over people's lifetime.

"Canadians can't stop the world and try to get off, our economy, our economic lives, how we make our way in the world depends on our ability to connect to this world," said Rae.

"We have to find our way as a country to give education and learning the priority they deserve. If we don't do that it will have a dramatic effect on wealth creation and the prosperity agenda that is so important for Canadians and the social justice agenda."

Education is about improving the country's capacity to become a truly innovative economy which is at the heart of what it is going to take to succeed in the world today.

He said Canadians need to make this economy the most innovative, the most open to change, investment and prosperity.

One recipe to do that is to cut taxes and deregulate as advocated by the new government in Ottawa but that is not the answer.

The most successful economies in the world of a certain size and kind have not simply embraced this right wing theory, they've looked at public investments in infrastructure, learning, innovation and in supporting families to allow the economy to do even better.

"You need sufficient taxes in order to provide the public with the goods and services they need and in fact will only really come from significant public investment."

That investment has yet to be made in education, he said.

Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board member Dr. Andrew Lynk said he grew up in the 1990s in Ontario when Rae was premier and recalls the government's fiscal difficulties.

Mi'kmaq elder Albert Marshall said education must be viewed objectively and wondered if the "purpose of an education is to transform us to be the best consumers, exploiters of our natural resources.

"Unfortunately I think that is the path that we have taken," he said.

wstewart@cbpost.com

Private Money for Public Education & National Learning Policy

2006-04-04T15:37:00.000-04:00

Two interesting news pieces today:

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.04.03
SECTION: City
BYLINE: Maria Kubacki
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Private money for public education a controversial move: Ottawa-Carleton school board asks donors to help round out basic education
Frustrated by years of insufficient funding from the provincial government, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is turning to private money to pay for public education.

The board's new Education Foundation of Ottawa is asking for donations for music, art, outdoor education, and literacy and numeracy projects. The foundation will also help provide children with food or winter clothing in emergency situations.

"Our provincial tax dollars today pay for a basic education," explains a letter sent out this week in advance of the April application deadline for the first round of grants.

"It is not our intent to replace provincial funding; however, we just cannot wait any longer while our children go without."

The foundation will focus particularly on students at risk of failing school.

"I say hats off to them for establishing a foundation to benefit their students," said Ontario Public School Boards' Association president Rick Johnson. "You do what you have to do. Boards have to be more creative these days to make great things happen."

Not everyone agrees. The establishment of foundations to raise money for public education is misguided because it lets the government off the hook, warns Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education, a group dedicated to preserving public education in Ontario.

"I think it's incredibly worrying and in a way entrenches the notion that public education is a charity."

Ms. Kidder said she understands that the OCDSB and other boards across the province are "desperate," having spent years "robbing from Peter to pay Paul."

But Canadians are already paying for public education through taxes, she said. And relying on philanthropy to fund public education is dangerous because "charities are at the whim of their donors."

She also worries that asking for donations to cover programs considered to be beyond the core curriculum is the first step on a slippery slope. "The line that defines what is core becomes very fuzzy."

As far as she's concerned, music, art, outdoor education, and literacy and numeracy programs should be considered part of a broad-based curriculum.

"I couldn't agree with (Ms. Kidder) more," said Patti Davis, the executive director of the Ottawa-Carleton board's Education Foundation.

Ms. Davis acknowledged that "there is controversy about who should be paying for this." But, she said, "We think the children need our help now."

Ontario Minister of Education Gerard Kennedy said he also supports art, music, outdoor education, literacy and numeracy programs. "Those should be available to all students across the province," he told the Citizen.

But, given that the Ottawa-Carleton board has received a 16-per-cent funding increase over three years, he said, he could not understand why the board would not be able to provide these programs. "Public education is not no-frills education."

Mr. Kennedy said the provincial government's investments in literacy and numeracy has resulted in measurable gains. (The number of Grade 3 and Grade 6 students meeting provincial standards has increased from 54 per cent to 62 per cent in the past two years).

As for the arts, there will be 600 new specialist teachers in Ontario schools this year, some of whom will likely teach art and music, he said.

However, Mr. Kennedy said, he does see a role for charitable foundations to "add enrichment experiences beyond what the essential education provided by the government is."

Money raised by charitable foundations or school councils is not considered part of funding for schools and "cannot be taken into account for budgeting purposes," he said.

The McGuinty government has been "very supportive of education," said Ottawa-Carleton board chairwoman Lynn Graham. But government funding "does not cover all the enhancements that a school board might want to offer in order to engage all our students and maintain a strong public education."

For example, Ms. Graham said, the foundation could help buy French language materials for school libraries.

According to Ms. Davis, the independent foundation also wants to support in-class and extracurricular programs, such as the Artists in the Schools program, and a music and drama program run by music-education specialist Greg MacIntosh of Goyo Productions. Both those programs are currently paid for with money raised by parents in some schools, but are not available in other schools.

"Not every school has a strong fundraising council," said Ms. Davis. "If you're in an area that's not really affluent, it's really hard for some parents to raise money."

Most large school boards in Ontario now have charitable foundations, including the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board, the Toronto District School Board, the Halton District School Board in Burlington, the Limestone District School Board in Kingston, and the Thames Valley District School Board in London.

The mandate of the foundations varies from board to board. Ottawa's Catholic board foundation, for instance, was created strictly for "the alleviation of poverty in our schools," said the board's director of education, James McCracken.

Money raised primarily through staff payroll deductions and through the annual play -- about $200,000 per year -- goes toward funding summer camps for "kids whose parents could never afford to send them to camp," as well as tutoring and mentoring programs for needy children. There's also an emergency response fund to pay for food, clothing, medicine and other necessities, such as eyeglasses and hearing aids.

But other boards raise funds for "enhancements." The Limestone Education Foundation in Kingston, for instance, raised $400,000 last year, which was used to create "a margin of excellence," according to managing director Phil Perrin. The money paid for extra books and math materials, and funded special initiatives such as a photojournalism project for Grade 6 students.

Although the Ottawa-Carleton board's foundation was officially launched in October, its fundraising campaign is in the early stages. So far, it has raised an estimated $50,000 to $60,000 through staff donations to the United Way, which will go toward funding Artists in the Schools and "innovative projects" that enhance student success in literacy, numeracy, technology, trades, the arts, outdoor education and other areas. The maximum per grant is $3,000.

For more information, see the foundation's website at www.ocdsb.ca/foundation.

----------------

PUBLICATION: The Chronicle-Herald
DATE: 2006.04.04
SOURCE: The Canadian Press

Rae pushes for national learning policy
SYDNEY - Potential federal leadership candidate Bob Rae called for a national policy on learning during a speech in Cape Breton on Monday.

Rae advocates a social safety net which provides improved housing, education and nourishment for children, and which provides adequate child care.

"If we build people who have the brain and capacity to innovate and change and if we give them the opportunity to do that, then we will succeed because the investment will come," he told a university audience in Sydney.

"If we don't get this right in this generation, if we don't get at this in a serious way in terms of learning opportunities for those kids, what kind of a future are we providing for them."

The former Ontario NDP premier recently completed a review of Ontario's post-secondary school system. Last year he was appointed a special adviser to the Canadian minister of public safety on the Air India bombing.

He said he will have to make up his mind soon on whether he will make a bid for the leadership of the federal Liberal party.

'If we build people who have the brain and capacity to innovate and change and if we give them the opportunity to do that, then we will succeed because the investment will come.'

Edible books and Fibs

2006-04-04T15:08:00.000-04:00

Kay these were just to two I found most entertaining. But in no particular order - this and that from the web:

Book Moot has a fun post on various different books she has recently had a chance to read aloud to children!

Read Alert informs us that last Saturday was Edible Books Day - coinciding nicely with April Fools. More fun photos here.

This is something I discovered both through Jen Robinson's book page and Fuse 8. New Blog of interest by one Gregory K called Gotta Book. Something called Fibs. Jen explains it quite well on her site, so I am about to borrow liberally (ie: verbatim):

They are poems based on the classic Fibonacci Sequence, in which you start with 0 and 1, and keep adding the previous two numbers together to get the next number. So you end up with 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc. Gregory proposes using the Fibonacci Sequence to build "a six line, 20 syllable poem with a syllable count by line of 1/1/2/3/5/8." He has some examples on his site here, especially in the comments section.

All quite fun.

Regarding the above Fuse 8 post, I am curious if anyone here has any defence for either The Giving Tree or I Love you Forever. Both came up at volunteer training as favorite children's books so somebody's gotta like 'em. And I feel obliged to point out the campaign power of the latter (although, Martin lost. Hmmmm - I see it now - Munsch brings down PM!). I just have to show the photo again.

Big A little a has a good post on books your parents want you to read. I know I still have untouched hard copy versions of various classics.

Jen Robinson has two further posts of note. One on another literary award and one linking to a fun iniative from the UK called the Neverending Story. Once you register, you can participate in writing stories and poems. For each continuing story, you can sign up to write the next page. The site editors select what they feel is the best submission, and post it on the website. The idea is to publish a book once the story reaches a sufficient length. Fun, fun!

Finally, the Magic of Books reminds us that it is Poetry Month in the US and offers some links of interest.

Louise

I am black coffee

2006-04-04T13:54:00.000-04:00

Okay,

While I am getting a bit tired of these quizzes this one is fun if you have a moment and are as coffee-dependent as me :)

You are a Black Coffee

At your best, you are: low maintenance, friendly, and adaptable

At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty

You drink coffee when: you can get your hands on it

Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Courtesy of Book Moot. Big A little a had a further addition with the rather less flattering Oracle of Starbucks Quiz.

However, I still have a soft spot for Starbucks!

Cheers!

Volunteer Appreciation Night

2006-04-03T09:21:00.000-04:00

Email sent to our volunteers - be sure to let Lyndsay know if you missed it!

To All of Our Hardworking Volunteers,

What a great year it’s been! Before we all go our separate ways for the summer, let’s get together one last time to celebrate our successes.

You are cordially invited to the URBAN WELL at 244 Laurier Ave. East in Sandy Hill on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2006! The official festivities will go from 7:00 p.m. to about 8:00 p.m. We will be giving AWARDS to our star volunteers, and all volunteers who show up will receive at least a little somethin’ somethin’.

After the official stuff is over, you’re welcome to hang around for a drink or two and some socializing.

A couple more things I don’t want you to forget:
- Nominate a volunteer! All are welcome to e-mail nominations of
volunteers to Ottawa@frontiercollege.ca
- Fill out the online survey! Be sure to take a few minutes to give Frontier College your feedback.
- Join the OT! We’re looking for student leaders for next year: why not join the Organizational Team? Ask Lyndsay for details, including job descriptions.

Hope your last week of classes goes super swell. Hope you’re enjoying this sunshine, too.

See you all on Wednesday the 12th.

Let the Wild Rumpus Start

2006-04-03T09:11:00.000-04:00

Alright,

Be sure to head over to Semicolon to check out the Third Carnival of Children's Literature! Sherry had done a wonderful job and offers something for you to check out each day in April.

On the home front, you may have noticed that we have a new blogger - Jess. Jessica is one of our volunteers at the Rideau Library Reading Circle. She's currently doing her Master's in English at uOttawa, has made some great suggestions for activities at the Reading Circle and is more web-savvy than me because it only took her one try to join the blog :) What more can we look for in a fellow SFLO Blogger. Give it up for Jess!

Thirdly, would like to do a quick shout out to Liz B over at A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cosy for mentioning us in her post on Poetry Friday - and for putting us on her blog roll as part of her update and spring cleaning iniative. Very appreciated!

Will post more later, but am heading in to a busy day at work.

Cheers,

Louise

Can you hear that buzz of excitement?

2006-04-02T15:34:00.000-04:00

The nation's capital is buzzing with anticipation as 28 young spelling talents from across Canada are coming to Ottawa to take part in the second annual CanWest CanSpell Spelling Bee National Finals. Sponsored by Saturn Relay, the 28 regional finalists will compete for the CanSpell Cup and a chance to win a $10,000 education fund. The contestants will have an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and engage in an exciting educational challenge with their peers from 14 Canadian cities. The winners of the Regional Spelling Bees will go on to represent Canada at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. from May 31 to June 1, 2006.

When: Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Event begins at 12:00p.m.

Where: Canadian Museum of Civilization Theatre

Who: 28 regional Spelling Bee finalists from across Canada

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada and Patron of the National Spelling Bee

Please join us in this celebration of literacy. Call to reserve your free tickets today: (819) 776-8382

Third Carnival of Children's Literature!

2006-04-01T08:40:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

So I finally got my act together and sent in our submission for the Third Carnival of Children's Literature being hosted over at Semicolon this month. Deadline for submissions is today at 6:00 pm. Hopefully I wasn't like Ping - the last duck over the bridge :)

For more info on the Carnival, please visit Semicolon. And be sure to visit them Monday to see the results!

There have also been two previous Carnivals. The first was hosted over at Here in the Bonny Glen and the second over at Chicken Spaghetti.

Talk to you all later!

Louise

Catching up

2006-03-31T15:29:00.000-05:00

Well,

As you can see from this afternoon, I am having a bit of a catch-up day for blogging. I have been on training for work for the last two days (really three - because Tuesday was the day of infinite meetings)and not able to blog.

But before I summarize all that I found of interest and note recently in the blog world of kiddie lit, I have to share some excitement. While I realize this might not be shared by everyone, I thought it was very cool.

The keynote speaker for my work retreat was one of my new-found favorite authors Steve Paikin. As some of you know, I am a bit of a political junkie. Mr. Paikin is a journalist and host of TV Ontario's Studio 2 - a current affairs program. He also was the moderator for the second English Language debate for the Federal Election. Like many others, I think he won the debate. Balanced, interesting and tough questions. Then thirdly, he is the author of three books:

1. The Life: The Seductive Call of Politics
2. The Dark Side: The Personal price of a Political Life
3. Public Triumph, Private Tragedy : The Double Life of John P Robarts

I have read the second one and really enjoyed it. Unlike many political books, it was a smooth read, not overly academic and written in a way that made you believe the author actually liked the people he was writing about - which sometimes doesn't happen in political books where some authors spend more time analysing/criticizing various actions. The book profiles the careers of many politicians and essentially, the large personal prices many of the pay to enter public life. What impressed me most was that it managed to do this without scaring people away from the prospect of public life. A fun read.

So I bought the life, and got it autographed. And am looking forward to reading the happier of the two stories.

But getting back to literacy, quite a bit happened during my three days of professional learning.

Read Alert posts about a fun sounding band called Harry and the Potters (also info courtesy of Book"/&*) and answers a life-long question I had: Where do rejected greeting cards go to die?

Fuse 8 has lots of news as usual (indeed, quickly becoming one of my favorite blogs) like some other blogs, she picks up on Beverly Cleary of Ramona fame turning 90!. I was a huge Ramona fan when I was in elementary school. Also, courtesy of Fuse 8 I learnt about Ms Cleary's Drop Everything and Read Campaign on April 12! Very cool concept.

Fuse 8 also reports that there will be a Charlotte's Web movie!

Courtesy of Jen Robinson's Book page I discovered a new Canadian Children's Book Award. Way to keep up on the news to the north!

And yet another good review over at Book Carousel. My Monster Mama Loves Me So by Laura Leuck.

We have a regular book at Reading Circle called Monster Manners by Joanna Cole. It's always a favorite.

Well, it's 19 degrees (that's celsius, so beautiful) so I'm off to enjoy the outdoors!

Louise

Poetry Friday

2006-03-31T15:04:00.000-05:00

So I missed this last week. Kelly over at Big A little a is initiating something called Poetry Friday because, in her opinion, kids don't read enough poetry. Thanks to Jen Robinson for drawing this to my attention.

I'm trying to think what poems I liked as a kid. My mom had a few she use to say to me all the time that I share with you here. I don't know where she got them, but I remember her repeating and repeating them. Just really silly little ones that were fun:

(clearing of throat)

I've never seen a purple cow
I never hope to see one
But I can tell you anyhow
I'd rather see than be one.

(pause for applause)

Mother, may I go out to swim?
Yes my dear! Put on a suit
And you'll look cute
But don't go near the water.

(bow and exit stage left)

Googling teaches me the first is by Gelett Burgess. This, as I understand it, was his most famous poem, which he followed up with this one:

Confession: and a Portrait Too, Upon a Background that I Rue:

Ah yes, I wrote The Purple Cow,
I'm sorry now I wrote it;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'll kill you if you quote it!

The second, I also learn is Mother Goose. I will also have to inform my mother that she taught it to me incorrectly. However, it is possible that I simply remember it incorrectly.

Also pausing to consider how I lived before Google.

And on a personal note, I share with you the poem "My Snowman" written by yours truly in Grade One. Bear in mind it may become valuable if I ever become famous as it is one of only two published pieces of poetry I have ever done. It was published in the Ottawa Citizen's Youth in the 80s section on March 27, 1984. I have a certificate to prove it. Both the certificate and the poem hold a place of honour in my mother's scrapbook.

My Snowman

I made a snowman in the snow.
He is fat and not too low.
I made ball one, ball two, ball three.
And then I finished him off like me.

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Ladies and gentlemen, my poetry submissions for this Friday. I may follow it up next week with a second entry after some more reflection.

Louise

Literacy Games

2006-03-31T13:53:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,

We played a game at our Reading Circle last week that went really, really well. So I thought I'd share it, and some of the other ones we've done over the year, with you.

I suppose I will start by stating literacy - and getting kids excited about literacy and reading - isn't just about reading books. So we try to help the kids who come to the circle improve their skills not only by reading with them and/or to them - which IS what we do for a large portion of the time, but also by doing writing exercises with them and by playing games.

We have some standard ones we use at the Reading Circle - lots of flashcard games. We have Go Fish cards with the alphabet on them which is a favorite - even for the kids who are already pretty clear on the ABC's. Then we have cards that work on rhymes which match together in sets of three rhyming words which then form a funny picture (eg: a goat who floats in a boat). The pictures also serve as clues for the younger or less advanced kids who cannot necessarily read the words yet.

Then we have silly sentences. This is a pack of flash cards containing verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions etc... The concept is similar to Mad Libs and the kids form silly sentences (ie: Short giraffes jump and play with penguins).

Our new game (courtesy of super-star volunteer Jessica) was based on this game. She made a series of flash cards with animal words on them and then further divided those words, generally by syllables ("pen" and "guin", "ti" and ger" etc...). Then she had conjunction, verb and adjective cards. We hid the cards all over the room. The kids then had to run and find them all and put them in a pile in the middle. This in itself was fun for them because a lot of them are quite active and after sitting and reading with their tutor for half an hour they enjoyed the chance to run around.

Once they had found all the cards they first had to assemble the animal cards. They were quite good at this part (once we explained that there was no such animal as a guin-pen and realized that someone's coat was on the "ger" of "tiger"). Once that was done they then made silly sentences with the animal cards and the other cards. All in all the game took about 20 minutes and was a lot of fun. It taught them new words, touched on issues like syllables and the need to sound out and assemble different words, and then taught about different types of words (ie: what type of penguin is it - you need a "describing" word. The penguin needs to do something, you need an "action" word etc...)

We are always looking for more game suggestions for cicle, so if you have some, please let us know. Some of our other favorites are:

1. Making Sentences Race - modification of the above concept. We compose a sentence of about 8-10 words and then put the words on individual flash cards and hide them around the room. If we do it in teams we'll have two different sentences on different colour flash cards. The kids find all the flash cards and assemble the sentences. Useful for teaching vocab and sentence structure.

2. Body Parts Game - I have various body parts on flash cards (hair, knee, shoulder, arm, leg, nose etc....) One volunteer acts as a, well, volunteer. Children pick a flashcard and have to read the word and then stick it on the right part. Everyone has fun and its good for learning that specific set of words. And really, anything involving tape, index cards and sticking things on someone else's nose is fun)

3. Concentration - set up word flash cards in sets of two face down. Children turn over two cards. If they have a match they have to use the word in a sentence and then they can keep the cards. If they don't have a match, they turn the cards back down. This continues until there are no more cards. Child with the most cards at the end is the winner.

4. Charades - we have Actions and Things on cards. The concepts vary in complexity so we have stuff as simple as "cat" and some more complicated ones like "making a cake". Each child is assigned a card and must act it out for the group. Their tutor can help them if they cannot read the word. Lots of fun and the kids really get into it. I still laugh when I think of one of them acting out a chicken. It was very authentic!

We also have other game suggestions here and I am thinking of possibly investing in Jr. Pictionary which we use to use at another program I volunteered with, and possibly twister. I'm thinking the last one may come in handy from an "active game" perspective and I can someone put words, letters or syllables on the colours and make a literacy game out of that.

Cheers for now!

Louise

That's a Wrap, Folks!

2006-03-28T21:51:00.000-05:00

Our Sawmill program finished up today. There were lotsa hugs from the kids and many terrific comments on our tutor evaluation forms. We're planning to return to Sawmill in the Fall, after a successful first full year at this site!

Pictured here is our volunteer team: Melanie, Steve, Lilah, Kristin, and yours truly!

Literacy Awards, Hobbits and Aliens

2006-03-28T08:26:00.000-05:00

Because really, what more do you look for in a quick blog post?

Canada Post Announces the 2006 Literacy Awards

In other news, some points on literacy from Finland, which has quite impressive literacy rates and from Scotland.

Courtesy of What`s New in JK-12, an interesting article on how Blogs are changing education - the idea (among others) that kids like writing for an actual audience instead of simply the teacher.

And in case any of you were feeling like over-achievers this morning, this story, was picked up by a few of the literature/children`s book blogs.

Book Buds is on a bit of a role this week in my opinion - another good review here on the book Aliens are Coming! by Meghan McCarthy. Looks like fun!

Finally, further to my post yesterday about how there is a Lord of the Rings Musical, Canadian columnist Paul Well`s links to this article in the Chicago Tribune about Toronto's showings of the musical.

Move over, pen and paper...

2006-03-27T17:52:00.000-05:00

Jerz's Literacy Weblog drew my attention to an interesting article from the BBC yesterday: "E-mail and text 'replace writing'."

This (British) study found that:

* 1/2 of written communication is conducted via e-mail;
* 29% by text message; and
* only 13% by pen and paper

Another stunner (or maybe notsomuch):
The results among those aged 15 to 24 who took part showed only 5% of their communications were by pen and paper, a lot lower than the older people.

If this somewhat expected revelation leaves you wanting to practice your typing skills more than your penmanship, why not try out my new favourite online game: Typer Shark. (Warning: it's very addictive!)

Buy a Friend a Book Week!

2006-03-27T10:06:00.000-05:00

Okay - this was nice, so I just had to blog about it.

Unfamiliar with this until I saw a link to it over at Gail Gauthier's Original Content.

BAFAB Weeks come four times a year, in the first weeks of January, April, July, and October.

The rules: Just get yourself to a real-life or virtual book store during Buy a Friend a Book Week and, well, buy a friend a book (or e-book)! But here's the fun part: you can't buy your friend a book because it's their birthday or they just graduated or got engaged or had a baby or anything else. You have to give them a book for no good reason. In fact, this present out of the blue from you should shock the pants off of whomever you decide to give it to. And it'll make them happy. And that's the point: promote reading, promote friendships. Just make sure to let them know about Buy a Friend a Book Week. (How? Order a BAFAB card from Zazzle.com to get your message across, or print out this explanation and include it in your gift book. Or, if you're not giving your friend the book in person, just point them to the explanation's URL.)

Couple of Frontier College related links I came across:

1. University of Alberta Students for Literacy.
2. University of Calgary Students for Literacy.
3. Write-up on a Scrabble Night in Canada event from the University of Toronto.
4. Info on what appaers to be a now defunct Frontier College Award called the Mary Isabel MacKay Award.

Courtesy of an American Site - a brief article on recruiting and retention for literacy programs which I found spoke to many of the challenges we face with these issues - this is from an initiative put forth by Verizon in the US.

From the blogs Book Moot provides another update on the ongoing Book Banning Saga. The decision of the Judson School Board re: the Handmaid's Tale has now been overturn and the book will again be allowed. Read Alert also had an interesting link on a separate but related issue about the Oklahoma House passing a bill that would force libraries to “place all children and young adult materials that contain homosexual or sexually explicit subject matter in a special area [and limited] distribution . . . to adults only.”

Book Buds has a review HERE of two fun children's books which use food to teach about shapes.

Another useful site here for recommending children's books which I will also be adding to the side menu in the resource section. Link courtesy of Kids Lit. Their plug from the site:

At ChildrensPictureBooks.Info, we love children's picture books. They are window on the world for youngsters allowing them to explore new ideas, new places, and new things. A favorite picture book will be read and re-read providing emotional satisfaction and rhythm to a child's life. As you explore our pages, you'll find information about children's picture books of all kinds, how to select the perfect picture book for your child or grandchild, and a wealth of suggestions.

And yet another children's blog found courtesy of Jen Robinson's Book Page. This one is called All About Children's Books and is done by Sally Apokedak. Appears well worth future visits.

Finally, two entertaining points of interest from Fuse 8: There is a Lord of the Rings Musical and someone has gone to the effort of deconstructing Nancy Drew.

And finally finally (and slightly off topic) - cool link from Cachibachus to Whatever... Whenever - an online newsletter full of craft ideas etc...

Louise

What a Blog's Worth

2006-03-25T16:21:00.000-05:00

So,

I had another geeky discovery on the Internet yesterday. I was at work killing time (I'd finished work, but had the Organizational Meeting at 6:00, so no point going home) and came across Blogshares. You may notice the new link at the bottom of the right-hand column of the blog. According to Blogshares our blog is worth $2,633.73! Unfortunely this is in imaginary money - but I got warm fuzzies all the same. Also, our value appears to have increased since December, when I'm guessing I may have accidentally first registered the blog :) Some of my other Blog Favorites are also listed and I came across a fun Frontier College link I was previously unaware of: Laurier Students for Literacy! Always nice to see other clubs online. I'll be sure to add them to the FC Across Canada section.

Also, the 3rd Carnival of Children's Literature is being held over at Semi-Colon as previously announced on this blog HERE. They now have more info over on their site.

Had a good morning at Reading Circle this am. Had eight children which was quite a good turnout and six volunteers. Had the kids review the books they read this time with their tutors - which may be a good exercise for future reference as it gets them talking more than usual about why they like their books, or why they didn't. We also formally extended the program until April 22 when we will have a party (on of the parents already asked). Judging from the allergy lists, which I will have to check more closely before going any further on the party front, I'm thinking peanut brittle is out for snack purposes. :)

Finally, I tried to post this picture previously when I originally posted on the subject HERE because I just thought it was so ridiculous, but for some reason the picture poster was acting up. Anyhoo - here it is!

Guess I'm just not cut out for the world of high fashion.

Off to be productive!

Louise

Couple Carleton Updates

2006-03-25T12:48:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,

Some general Carleton news of interest + a volunteer opportunity there!

March 20, 2006
Ravens Victorious!

The Ravens men's basketball team defeated the number one ranked University of Victoria Vikes to claim their fourth straight Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship title yesterday in Halifax. The Ravens jumped out to an early lead, poured on the offense, and went to the lockers at the half with an 11-point advantage. The Vikes came out strong in the second half and started chipping away at Carleton's lead until they were within one point with less than 10 minutes remaining. But the Ravens charged through the Vike's defense to finish the game 73-67.

Fourth-year guard Osvaldo Jeanty, who played all 40 minutes of each of the team's three games, was named the tournament's most valuable player for the fourth year in a row. He netted 27 points for the Ravens in the championship final and has now scored 169 points in 12 CIS tournament games.

Meanwhile, it was fan-demonium off court as more than 100 Carleton students and cheerleaders electrified the Metro Centre with their roaring cheers and enthusiastic support in the Red Zone.

For more information on the tournament, visit http://www.carleton.ca/athletics

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March 17, 2006
2006/2007 Communication Positions Available

We are now recruiting for the 2006/2007 team of Leave The Pack Behind (LTPB). The LTPB program offers a way for senior students to take on leadership roles, help other students, and gain professional communications experience that complements academic studies.

We will accept applications until Friday March 31, 2006. If you are interested in applying for a position, visit our website www.LeaveThePackBehind.org and enter the Carleton campus link for position profiles, key dates and deadlines.

If you have any questions about the LTPB recruitment process, please e-mail ltpb@carleton.ca or call us at 520-2600 ext. 6544.

Background
Leave the Pack Behind (LTPB) is funded by the Ministry of Health Promotion in support of Smoke-Free Ontario. It is a comprehensive, age-tailored, tobacco control initiative for young adults on post-secondary campuses. This peer-to-peer program is now available on 18 university/college campuses in Ontario. With trained student teams guided by campus health professionals, LTPB encourages occasional and regular smokers to quit, protects non-smokers from second-hand smoke, prevents students from starting to smoke and exposes deceptive tobacco industry tactics.

For further contact information:
Noy Kongtakane
Team Leader
Leave the Pack Behind
http://www.LeaveThePackBehind.org
Tel: 613-520-2600 ext. 6544
Fax: 613-520-4059
Email: ltpb@carleton.ca

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March 17, 2006
ABORIGINAL MOVIE NIGHTS

The Centre for Aboriginal Culture and Education (CACE) presents on March 29th 3 documentaries about native women issues:

"Donna's Story", "Indigene Native Women: Politics", "Keepers of the Fire" (2001, National Film Board of Canada)

Donna is a Cree woman who left behind a bleak existence on the streets. She has re-emerged as a powerful voice conselling Aboriginal adults and youth about abuse and addiction. Donna Gamble was raised in foster homes, addicted to drugs and caught up in prostitution by the age of 13. The camera unravels her exhilarating and tumultuous journey: her motivation to turn her life around, her work to keep others off the streets, and the renewal of personal relationships with her family and children. With courage and candour, Donna also reveals an ongoing struggle with addiction, exposing the rage and pain of abuse that can haunt even the strongest person. Donna's mother and daughters are also introduced. With extraordinary purpose, these women hope to shatter the cycle of addiction and abuse that has affected generations of their family.

Indigene Native Women: Politics (1994, Motion Visual Productions)

This is a four part survey of the opinions of native women of British Columbia about Aboriginal self government and native women's roles in it. As well as a historical survey of the political situation of Indians in Canada, the film surveys both individual and band efforts towards self government and native women's hopes for its future.

Keepers of the Fire (1994, National Film Board of Canada)

According to an Aboriginal proverb, no people is broken until the hearts of its women are on the ground. In KEEPERS OF THE FIRE, Aboriginal women let their hearts speak. Mohawk and Haida, Maliseet and Ojibwe, these are the voices of warrior women—those who have been on the front lines of some of the most important struggles Aboriginal people in Canada have faced in the latter part of the 20th century. Storytellers, dreamers, healers and fighters, they are just some of the women who are keeping the fires of hope and determination burning in Aboriginal communities right across this land. With dignity and courage, these women speak their truth. And, as long as they speak, the fire will burn.

Length: 50 + 25 + 55 minutes,

Language: English,
Wednesday, March 29th, 6.00 P.M,

Where: The Commons Grille in the Residence Commons building (free admission; popcorn & pop provided)
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March 15, 2006

Carleton U Art Gallery Nominee Wins Governor General's Award

Diana Nemiroff, Director of the Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG), is delighted to congratulate Canadian artist Vera Frenkel, winner of a 2006 Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts. Ms. Nemiroff and Sandra Dyck, CUAG's curator, co-nominated Frenkel for this prestigious award, which is funded and administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.

CUAG is celebrating Frenkel's award with an exhibition entitled The Storyteller: Vera Frenkel, which is now open and continues through until April 16. This exhibition will feature landmark video projects from the artist's recent four-disc DVD compilation, Of Memory and Displacement, accompanied by related works selected from CUAG's permanent collection.

For more information on the exhibit, please visit http://www.carleton.ca/gallery/index.html
Cheers!

Louise

Drama Brings Reading and Writing Alive

2006-03-24T13:45:00.000-05:00

For the past two weeks, we've had quite a few kids in our Tuesday homework club who have shown up with all their homework finished, but are eager to be there, nonetheless. Two weeks ago, we decided to try something new: we asked the learners (all in grade 4) to write a play and perform it at the end of the session.

While the day was a bit chaotic and the script a bit confusing, it was amazing to see these 5 children come alive while impersonating some very creative characters. Because this was such an exciting moment for the learners, we added some drama into last week's activities as well. This will definitely be something to consider incorporating when planning next year's activities!

If you're in the Ottawa area and looking for some creative, on-the-fly playwriting inspiration this weekend, I'd encourage you to check out the Ottawa Theatre Challenge at the NAC's Fourth Stage. Tickets are only $10 and you'll be witnessing fierce competition as three teams (including a personal favourite of mine--the Company of Fools) compete for the coveted rubber chicken prize.

I'm now officially on the lookout for ways to incorporate drama into our Reading Circle and Homework Club sessions!

-Lyndsay.

Money for Literacy in the Ontario Budget!

2006-03-24T08:42:00.000-05:00

So Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan presented the 2006 Ontario Budget yesterday. Among other highlights, $6 million was announced for libraries and literacy programs on First Nations reserves. YAY. The Ontario Library Association had some further info on their site:

March 23, 2006
BUDGET HAS MONEY FOR SCHOOL LIBRARY COLLECTIONS AND FOR FIRST NATIONS LIBRARY AND LITERACY PROGRAMS

Today's budget confirmed that the government has earmarked another $15 million for school library collection development (last year it was $17 million). The money and the process had been conveyed to school boards across Ontario earlier this week in a secret exchange to Directors of Education that was instantly leaked around the school library world, rather than waiting on today's budget announcement. Each school in the province is to receive $3,096. The money is to be spent in the next eight days. Past purchases may be counted but it begs the question of how boards will honour this as new money in the weeks ahead.

Today's provincial budget also contained $6 million for First Nation libraries and literacy programs. There was also provision for "more than $800,000" for the Lieutenant Governor's summer camp initiative that encourages literacy among aboriginal youth in northern Ontario.
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You will, of course, remember many previous posts here on the Lieutenant Governor's summer camp initiative, as well as the fact that you can apply to be a counsellor as Frontier College is a partner with the initiative.

More in the blogs today on the banning and challenging of books. Chicken Spaghetti has a link to THIS ARTICLE in their suggested weekend reading post. It is an interview with Robie H. Harris - a grandmother, former elementary-school teacher and author of two of the "most challenged" books of 2005. Book Moot also has another post on the issue HERE and Book ____ has a couple stories HERE and HERE on the topic - specifically in regards to Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

Over at Jen Robinson's Book Page she has a recommended reading list for toddlers and The Magic of Books reminds us that April is National Poetry Month (in the US) and provides some good poetry links.

On a fun note, a few blogs have linked HERE - where blogger Tiff is reliving the awkwardness of youth by re-reading and reviewing the Babysitters Club series.

Finally, another blog I'd bookmarked a few days ago (so I forget the source, sorry) is Bec's Book Blog. It is doing a series of "retro book reviews" which are quite fun.

And finally finally - I just have to include this picture sent to me by a co-worker:

Six years in the making, 500 million euros, 918 meters long.......now this is engineering!

It's a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany and was built as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin. The photo was taken on the day of inauguration.

Too cool for words.

Louise