Director General’sReport to Council

by R. T. Mills

Budget NewsAs has been noted before, we

have been awaiting for a num-ber of weeks news of the School Board Budget allocation for the coming school year. On several occasions, we have been prom-ised such information but in each case subsequent delays have taken place. The draft rules have now been forwarded to school boards, confirming in many ways the rumoured reductions. This evening’s meeting will certainly involve further information and discussion of the impact. At this time, I can assure you only that, as has been done in the past, ev-ery possible effort will be made to minimize impact at the classroom level.

Retirement BanquetOn a more positive note, it was

very pleasant to be part of the annual Retirement Banquet last week, an event that celebrates the truly exceptional contributions of staff members who will be leav-ing us at the end of this academic year. As each of the more than 50 retirees received his or her depar-ture memento, it was very easy to reflect on the commitment and professionalism of each of these people. Their wisdom and exper-tise will be truly missed but the gift that they have given to the students for whom they worked will never be forgotten and their impact be felt for many years to come. I wish to extend to the Human Resources Department my most sincere appreciation for the organization of the truly warm and exceptional event.

ExaminationsLate May and early June mark a

period of intensive student evalu-ation in the schools. Ministry of Education required exams take place at both elementary and secondary levels with the usual concentration of Leaving Exami-nations for Secondary IV and V students for whom the time is particularly stressful. We wish them well and much success.

Summer Camps: “Camp Venture” and “Transitions” Summer Camp

I am delighted to announce that, once again, our FSSTT will offer a summer program to se-lected students with special needs in the LaSalle area, an initiative that is partially supported by the Pearson Educational Foundation. Taking place in August prior to the start of the new school year, this program has been praised as being innovative in supporting the transition back to school for children with social and behav-ioural challenges.

A new initiative this year is a summer program for adolescents

Chair’s Report to Council

by Suanne Stein Day

This time of year is always fun in our schools. Spring has sprung and many year-long projects have been completed, from plays and concerts, to vernissages and sci-ence projects. I’ve had the sincere honour of getting out to see many of them and take in what our stu-dents are accomplishing.

A first for me was attending the launch of Bakuru and the School on the Hill, a book by students of Westwood High who partici-pated in the Bridge to Burundi project. These students have been fundraising to build a school in Burundi, Africa and providing funds to have water brought to the school, as well as teaching materi-als. How exciting to actually have a children’s book published! Mrs. Lorraine Tibbet, a native of Africa, provided a reading of the book that night was truly lovely.

Our Central Students Commit-tee Welcome to Our World was another big success, with stu-dents and parents raving about the morning’s activities. Our CSC members were impressive and the event made me very proud.

Another source of pride were the 6 LBPSB students, from St. Thomas High School, Lakeside Academy and Westwood Sr., who were awarded the Lieutenant Gov-ernor medals this year. Each had a incredible story of service to their community while maintaining high academic standards. We add our congratulations to the many they have received so far.

It’s always fun to be in atten-dance at the Montreal Impact game where two LBPSB students are awarded the Tony Licursi Scholarships. Congratulations to them as well.

The Borough of Verdun, Vélo Quebec, the SPVM and the Eng-lish and French school boards met a couple of weeks ago to partner in ensuring that the roads and walk-ways around schools in Verdun are safe for our students and their families. What a great example of what can be accomplished when we all work together. I thank Vélo Quebec and the Borough of Ver-dun for this wonderful collabora-tion.

A real honour for me is recog-nizing our retirees each year and this year was no exception. The celebration of men and women who have contributed so many years to the success of our stu-dents is a very moving experience, enhanced this year by the inclu-sion of my colleague Bob Mills. I wish all our retirees the best of everything in this new stage of their lives and thank them for the impact that they have had on so many students.

Riverdale High School is now 50 years old and the reunion com-mittee threw a bash that will not likely be forgotten by any of the attendees. I’d like to hire that committee to run my high school reunion. It was great to run into

The Pearson NewsFROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL & CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Mai/May 2015 GRATUIT/FREEVolume XVII No. 9

FINALDU DIRECTEUR GÉNÉRAL ET DE LA PRÉSIDENTE DU CONSEIL

See MILLS page A2 See STEIN DAY page A2

by Alycia Ambroziak

Who would have thought that playing mini-putt could be an educational experience? Or that a Medicine Bag project - created by grade 2 students at St. Lawrence Academy Jr. to help a fellow stu-dent suffering from a serious childhood illness - would lead to tops spots at the Quebec Entre-preneurship Nationals in Quebec City.

The Minis-Putt Plus project, created by students at Beacons-field High school, placed first in the regional division among hun-

dreds of projects submitted from the five Montreal Regional School Boards, including the Lester B. Pearson School Board.

And coming a close second was the Medicine Bag project from the LBPSB’s St. Lawrence Acad-emy Jr. campus.

Both projects have been sub-mitted for national consideration, an event which will take place June 18 in Quebec City.

The Medicine Bag project by the grade 2 students at St. Law-rence Academy Jr. was inspired by a classmate, Kiki Guite, who has been diagnosed with child-hood Leukemia.

“The students in Kiki’s class decided they wanted to create

medicine bags which would be decorated for special holiday oc-casions and would be filled with the essentials for a hospital stay – as well as personal get-well note from the students,” said Mary Anne Fyckes, Spiritual Animator at St. Lawrence Jr and Sr.

The bags, initially designed for Kiki , are now given to other sick children at the hospital.

“I love the medicine bags – I’ve gotten many bags from my class-mates when in was in the hospi-tal – and I’ve kept them all in a scrapbook,” Kiki said in a state-ment through the school, located in Ville LaSalle.

Beaconsfield High School Teacher Rosemary Hill, said the

Mini-Putt Plus project was edu-cational not only for the students who play the game, but for those who created it.

“The Mini-Putt Plus project helped students learn a relevant math concept as well as develop entrepreneurial skills including problem-solving, collaboration and communication skills,” she said.

“It was inspiring to see the stu-dents engaged, learning and hav-ing fun.”

Beaconsfield High School stu-dents Justin and Trevor said cre-ating the game was a lot of work, as well as a lot of fun. “Sometimes

LBPSB Students Take 1st & 2nd Place and Other Awards at Regional Entrepreneurship Competition

by Alycia Ambroziak

How many kids in kindergarten and grades 1 and 2 get to Skype with a top aerospace expert in Canada and with the NASA space programs as well as design their own robotic solutions for life on Mars?

Quite a few, as it turns out. More than 60 kindergarten stu-

dents from Beechwood Elementa-ry in Pierrefonds and Forest Hill Jr. Elementary in St. Lazare were able to Skype with aerospace educator and consultant Brian Ewenson on Tuesday (May 5) be-fore showcasing their own Lego robotic inventions which offered solutions to potential life-on-Mars problems such as garden-ing, producing electricity as well as picking up dust and moving big rocks.

Students asked Ewenson – a native of Ville LaSalle – such questions as whether there is ice on Mars. Answer: yes, but not water ice, carbon dioxide ice,” he replied.

On Wednesday (May 6) more than 180 kindergarten and grades 1 and 2 students from St. John Fisher Jr. Elementary and Clear-point Elementary in Pointe Claire held their own Lego Robotics collaboration and competition – which everyone calls a coopeti-tion - with the theme of There Is No Place Like Mars.

They too got to Skype with Ew-enson, the creator of Spaceport Calgary, the world’s first air and space museum located in an In-ternational Airport and the first non-American to be bestowed the Cherri Brinley Space Educator of the Year award.

Sophie Lussier, Pedagogi-cal Consultant for the Lester B. Pearson School Board, said this

year’s Mars events are the result of a STEAM – Science, Technol-ogy, Engineering, Arts and Math – project , presented at the Space Exploration Educators’ Confer-ence at the Johnson Space Cen-tre.

“…we can see the students be-coming engaged in their projects, each challenged at their own lev-el,” said Lussier, adding that the robotics projects were funded by the Pearson Educational Founda-tion.

“The foundation has been so generous in supporting all robot-ics projects,” said Lussier. “If ro-botics is where it’s at today at our schools, it’s due in large part to the Pearson Educational Founda-tion .”

Some of the robotics projects shown at St. John Fisher Jr. in-cluded how vehicles would func-tion on Mars, how to find water, a Mars Home and growing food on Mars.

One robotics project, called Dancing Birds, was made by Grade 1 St. John Fisher Jr. stu-dents, Ellie, Angel, Sophie and Adriana. Asked why they chose to make their project about birds, they replied – as only Grade 1 students can – that “we like danc-ing birds - and they could fly on Mars!”

One student asked Ewenson if people would have to wear space suits on Mars. Yes, said Ewenson who also spoke about the time it would take to travel to Mars, space food, growing food on Mars and more.

LBPSB Chairman Suanne Stein Day – one of many school board officials who attended the events - even got into the swing of things by thanking the students in what she said was the Martian lan-guage.

Who knows? There was no one there to prove her wrong.

See ENTREPRENEURSHIP page A4

LBPSB Elementary School Students Build Mars Robots With Help From Nasa Aerospace Expert

A2Pearson News Mai/May 2015

Stein Day, from page A1many people that I hadn’t seen in years. That weekend culminated with Riverdale’s annual Family Fun Day. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for all the events and shows held out in the field.

And of course May starts the celebrations of graduation – the celebrations of our ultimate suc-cesses. Grad season kicked off last week with a lovely ceremony at Sources Adult and Career Centre and will continue this week and through to the end of June. Real-ly, it’s so wonderful to share these events and celebrate what we ac-tually do – bring our students to a point where they can continue their education or move on to jobs and careers, successfully, here in Quebec.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet with many community members about Major School Change, as the consultation moves forward. It’s been a very different exercise than in previous MSC’s. I certain-ly have the impression that our community really understands the realities we are faced with in our schools and I’ve heard of real efforts to come up with realistic, workable scenarios for our future. I thank you all and remind you that administration and council are available should you like us to visit your school or community.

As far as those realities go, I can say with full certainty that we have our work cut out for us in work-ing with the government to ensure that everything I have been talking about can grow and expand. The budget rules have once again been targeted at cutting funds for stu-dent success and, in particular, our daycares and children with special needs, while trying to tell us to in-crease student success. They are introducing new measures that will clearly affect English boards more than French boards and their message is strong. We will hear more detail about this later in the Budget Rules Resolution to be passed.

The Minister of Education has also been talking out of both sides of his mouth asking for our coop-eration to come up with new ways of governance while unilaterally dismissing any suggestions that we make and inflating the costs of the current model. Mark my words, if the government’s ideas of Regional School Boards or Regional Gov-erning Bodies is implemented, the province will make a huge leap to-wards homogeneity in all schools. We can forget about all the many initiatives that make us unique and make us successful. We can be as-sured that our student success rate, always amongst the highest in the province will move towards the mean. We can guarantee that proj-ects meant to engage our learners in their futures, like Français Plus, STEAM, Robotics, BYOD, iPad projects; like integration, Reach, Life, and our many other alterna-tive programs will disappear. Gov-ernment appointed bureaucrats will no doubt be told that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, that one size fits all. And I can promise you that it is not the case. This council will continue to work with our sister boards to fight for the best education for each and every one of our students. And we will continue to do it at a fraction of the cost that any Regional Govern-ing Body will cost.

I will end by focusing on the ex-citement that the end of the school years brings to our schools, staff and students. I wish everyone luck in their end of year activities, final exams, in their summer plans and futures.

with developmental disabilities. Staff members working with teens in the “Transitions” alternative learning program housed at Al-lancroft will offer a summer camp experience for these students with developmental disabilities. Staff members are dedicating their time to support this project that is seen as an important con-tinuation of student learning over the summer break. This, too, is indicative of the commitment and professionalism of Lester B. Pearson staff members for which I congratulate them.

Mills, from page A1

What a great day we had

at the second annual FUN RUN on Sunday, May 3rd

Huge thank-yous• to the organizing commit-

tee: Maria De Wolfe (PEF Direc-tor), Rachel Wilson and Joanne ,Malowany (LBP principals), Nan-cy Battet (LBP consultant), Chris Fuzessy (LBP Director), Kather-ine Acton (LBP gym teacher), Lily Sacco (executive secretary), Della Chechile (running pro).

• to LBP maintenance staff Harold Ross and Don Purcell for equipment & tents transport &

heavy lifting, to PEF board mem-bers Antoinette Scarano & Nan Beaton, our indefatigable Sue Grand, and Kerri Underdown for handling the registration table.

• to DdO for the use of magnifi-cent Centennial Park

• to Mark Massarelli for emcee, music and warm-up services.

• to West Island Air Cadets 690 Lakeshore Squadron for traffic control

• to Kelly and Karine Dashney of SEMS (Special Events Medi-cal Services) for standing guard. Luckily a few Band-Aids were the only medical needs!

• to Pointe-Claire Maxi, Dor-

val IGA, Pierrefonds & Kirkland Provigo, Pierrefonds Super-C, and St-Viateur Bagel for refreshments for our tired but happy runners and walkers.

But most of all, thank you to our participants:

PEF members we hadn’t put to work and LBPSB parents, direc-tors, administrators, teachers, sup-port staff, students and commis-sioners who ran or walked with their families, and everybody’s fa-vourite, Lola, the French bulldog.

Very particular kudos to the teams (admin,staff and students) from Sources Adult and Career Centre and

from Place Cartier FSIS. And a HUGE shout out to the Central Students Committee, All of the members ran and brought friends. Participants from Lasalle and Ver-dun persisted through the traffic nightmare caused by the Champ-lain Bridge closing to one lane the same weekend as the Mercier was shut down. Your dedication to the cause, for your fellow students is most deeply appreciated.

Next year on Sunday May 1, 2016 we look forward to wel-come even more of you, classroom groups and families. Special dog-gie treats for all four-legged jog-gers.

by Alycia Ambroziak

O r g a -nizers of the sec-

ond annual Pearson Education-al Foundation’s (PEF) Fun run promised a lot of sun for the May 3 event – and they came through with flying colours.

Warm weather and a bright sun saw more than 300 people taking part in the run, one of the founda-

tion’s newest fundraisers.“What a great day we had,”

Barbara Freeston, PEF president, said of the event that took place at Centennial Park in Dollard des

Ormeaux. “I want to thank every-one – those who helped organize the event and those who took part in it – for helping us make this Fun Run a reality.

Freeston noted that participants included groups from schools, administrators, teachers, students and their families.

“They ran or walked the course with their babies in strollers, with their parents, their grandparents and even with their dogs,” said

Freeston adding that this year, members of the LBPSB’s Central Students’ Committee held their own supporting run following the main event.

“We especially appreciate the support from the CSC and look forward to them participating again next year,” said Freeston noting that for some of the par-ticipants, getting to the race was a

feat in itself due to road and lane closures.

The 2K and 5K run or walk grew from an idea that the event would be a good community fundraiser as well as raise the profile of the Pearson Educa-tional Foundation, a non-profit organization that funds LBPSB school projects not funded by the Quebec Ministry of Educa-

tion.This school year alone, PEF

gave out more than $70,000 in grants to Lester B. Pearson schools and centres. The grants cover everything from advanced

robotics equipment, funding for a special needs workshop, cook-ing and science equipment, ther-apeutic furniture and even glee club uniforms.

For more information about the foundation, go to http://pef.lbpsb.qc.ca and https://www.facebook.com/PearsonEduca-tionalFoundation

A Good Time Had by All at 2nd Annual Fun Run Under Bright Sun

by Alycia Ambroziak

H a l f -time at the May 9

Impact game against the Portland Timbers at Saputo Stadium was especially exciting for two Lester B. Pearson School Board students who were awarded 2015 Toni Li-cursi bursaries.

Grade 11 students Annik Malo from Pierrefonds Comprehen-sive High School and Alex Mc-Intyre from Lakeside Academy were presented with the awards on mid-field by LBPSB Chairman Suanne Stein Day.

The game was also special for

the Pearson Educational Founda-tion which received a portion of tickets sales that day, as part of All

the Way with the Impact program.The foundation funds projects

not covered under the Quebec

Ministry of Education. Earlier this year, PEF gave out more than $70,000 in grants to schools for such things as science equipment for kindergarten students, ad-vanced robotics, arts, music sup-plies and more. In addition, PEF also takes care of many of the LB-PSB’s needier students, providing them with snowsuits, scarves and mittens.

The Tony Licursi award – named after the Impact’s team statistician who passed away in 2005 – recognizes excellence in school and sports as well as team spirit.

The Timbers beat the Impact with a 2 to 1 score.

PEF Newsletter: Thanks for a Great Fun Run!

2 LBPSB Students Awarded; Money Raised for PEF at Impact Game

After more than 42 years of ser-vice dedicated to public educa-tion, Robert T. Mills announced that he will retire at the end of this school year as Director General of the Lester B. Pearson School Board.

“I was lucky to come to this board and I was lucky to have the entire staff making this job one of the most enjoyable of my life,” Mills said at the April 27 monthly school board council meeting. “Thank you all.”

Mills’s career has included roles as teacher, department head and senior administrator with the former Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal as well as leading the Educational Services Department at Lester B. Pearson prior to assuming the role of As-sistant Director General at the LBPSB in 2001. Mills has been Director General of the LBPSB for the past nine years.

His educational leadership has been acknowledged through his service to and membership in a wide variety of professional orga-nizations. He has served as Presi-dent of the Association of Ad-ministrators of English Schools of Quebec, President of the Associa-tion of Directors General of Eng-lish School Boards of Quebec and President of the Canadian Asso-ciation of School System Admin-istrators. Mills is the only Canadi-an to be elected to the Executive Board of the American Associa-tion of School Administrators.

In 2012, the Canadian Asso-ciation of School System Admin-istrators (CASSA) named Mills Superintendent of the Year for Canada as well as recipient of the Xerox Excellence in Educational Leadership Award.

“I can think of no more reward-ing career than that of service in public education,” Mills said in a separate interview. “I have had the joy of working with our youth, with our adult learners and with the most dedicated pro-fessionals anywhere.

“On a daily basis, the people who staff our schools and cen-ters give so much of themselves to support and advance our com-munities and I have shared in the pride they demonstrate,” Mills added. “My admiration for them has no boundary.”

LBPSB Chairman Suanne Stein Day said the school board has flourished under Mills’s commit-ment and leadership.

“…running a school board well cannot be done without a part-nership between the Council of Commissioners and the Senior Administration,” said Stein Day. “Bob’s commitment and encour-agement to that partnership has resulted in open, easy communi-cation and a cooperative environ-ment committed to the success of our students.”

ROBERT T. MILLS, DIRECTOR GENERAL

of the LESTER B. PEARSON

SCHOOL BOARD, ANNOUNCES HIS

RETIREMENT

Pearson NewsA3Mai/May 2015

by Alycia Ambroziak

John Kesson may sometimes joke

about sounding like a drill ser-geant but ask any of his students – or the people he has helped over the years – and the first thing they will say is that there is a very gentle giant living under that gruff exterior.

“He’s like a teddy bear - and he’s the reason we do what we do,” said Clara Sweetman-Hammond, a grade 11 student at Lindsay Place High School (LPHS) who has for the past three years helped

in these charitable activities.”Linda Roach, President of the

Lindsay Place Home & School Association, said Kesson’s contri-bution goes way beyond the time students spend in school.

“In a nutshell, Mr. Kesson has spent the last 15 years helping students develop a sense of com-munity in both body and mind,” she said. “It is so important in these times of cutbacks, that we recognize the teachers who make the extra effort to have a positive impact on our children.”

Matthew Pearce, CEO at the Old Brewery Mission, said the mission is fortunate to be able to count on the support of loyal and long-time donors.

raise funds for and served dinners at the Old Brewery Mission. “Mr. Kesson is one of the kindest peo-ple I have ever met.”

Kesson, who teaches grades 9 and 10 English at LPHS, has been fostering a partnership between students and the Old Brewery Mission for more than 15 years through various fundraising activi-ties, such as bagging groceries and selling donated clothes and wares.

Over the years, Kesson and the LPHS students have raised about $100,000 for people in need and for food and products donated to the Old Brewery Mission.

It’s no surprise then that Kesson was selected to receive the 2015 Pat Lewis Humanitarian Award from the Quebec Federation of Home & School Associations. He received the award on May 2.

“What a wonderful idea to rec-ognize the importance of think-ing about others, especially for those less fortunate than our-selves,” QFHAS President Law-rence DePoe said in a letter to the LPHS Home & School Associa-tion which nominated Kesson for the award. “In addition, Lindsay Place students are learning a very valuable lifelong lesson by al-ready becoming actively involved

“And none have impressed me more than have the students of Lindsay Place High School under the leadership of John Kesson, a man who saw a way to come to the aid of our city’s most vulner-able citizens – and to do so in a manner that inspired and en-gaged young people in a complex and demanding project from the design stages to its implementa-tion and to accomplish this year after year,” Pearce said.

“Today Lindsay Place High School holds a very special place in the hearts of the staff of the Old Brewery Mission and the cli-ents we serve and has become es-pecially synonymous with Christ-mas time celebrations,” Pearce continued.

“John’s remarkable commit-ment and tenacity is an example to us all of how a single citizen can create change and improve the society around him.”

Ask Kesson about his work though, and he’ll say it’s all be-cause of his students.

“It’s the students who do it, not me,” Kesson said. “They take great pride in what they are doing…”

Kesson said the connection with the Old Brewery Mission began

more than 15 years ago when, af-ter delivering Christmas baskets to local families in need, there was some money left over that had been collected at the school.

“Someone ... suggested we buy turkeys and potatoes with the money and take it to the Old Brewery Mission and I thought, why not,” he said adding that he did not know much about the mission back then.

In the end, Kesson and five stu-dents bought 15 turkeys and lots of potatoes down to the mission.

“We just showed up and they were happy to see us,” he said adding that staff at the mission showed him and the students around. “You should have seen the look on my students’ faces.”

Kesson thought it would be good for the mission as well as his students if the students could help at the downtown mission with some volunteer work.

“It was in January or February – after all the holidays were over and people had gotten back to their lives – and we went down and helped serve meals.

“Point a student in the right direction and he or she will do a good job,” Kesson said adding that it was a very humbling experience for the group of 14 students.

“The mission could only serve 112 people at a time so there were people lined up, waiting for their turn for dinner,” said Kes-son adding that about 500 people were served that day.

The tradition continued, with

students raising funds and serv-ing dinners on Friday and Sun-day nights.

“At one point, I thought not many students would want to give up their Friday nights or Sunday evenings but sure enough, they did,” he said adding that the stu-dents weren’t deterred even when they were given garbage duty, that is scraping plates clean and putting them in the dishwasher.

Lately, the LPHS students have been raising funds to buy and deliver food to the Old Brewery Mission during the Christmas and holiday period.

“I don’t know why the students continue to do this, it never ceas-es to amaze me,” Kesson said.

“Volunteers or not, they have to do a good job – and they do,” Kes-son said. “I don’t expect anything less than 100 per cent from them – and they give that and more.”

In fact, Kesson said that when he meets some of his former stu-dents, they often tell him that they have continued with some sort of volunteer work.

For example, in 2012 Taralyn Donnelly, a former LPHS student in Kesson’s class and who was then in her third year student-teacher stage at McGill, organized a collection of new cutlery for the Mission – in all, more than 1,200 pieces of cutlery were donated to the Old Brewery Mission from the Lindsay Place community.

And Steven Lipkowitz, who in his second year at McGill Univer-sity, studying Physical and Health Education, said he was inspired by working with Kesson when he was a student at Lindsay Place.

“When I graduated from LPHS in 2008, one of the fond-est memories I had was working with Mr. Kesson for three years, raising money and volunteering at the Old Brewery Mission,” he said, adding that experience has spurred him on to start a Pay It Forward project which will start

off by providing the homeless with food and clothing gift cards and helping them get job inter-views – and ultimately jobs.

For his part, Kesson said he is grateful for what the students have given back to him.

“As an educator, we don’t often see the benefits of the seeds we put in the ground,” said Kesson. “But I have been lucky enough to see just that.”

by Erin Wainwright, Birchwood Visual

Arts Specialist

F r o m May 4th to the

11th, the students of Birchwood Elementary School, welcomed artist, Nathalie Levasseur into their art classroom and learned so very much from her and from each other!

With the help of this unique artist, the students created a traditional, basic structure by weaving together various natural materials. Working in teams of two, they cooperated, laughed, overcame frustrations and built a realistic forest canopy for all to enjoy in their cafeteria. Since the

art of weaving is a practically non-existent technique in Quebec, the opportunity to work with such a talented Quebec artist was quite an honour!

By working with only natural materials, the students were able to grasp the notion of fragility and the ephemeral which means that not all things last forever. Through this project, the students were en-couraged to explore not only their natural environment but also their cultural environment as well. The goal was be to bring the school to-gether as a team, to create a space of natural beauty and to promote environmental awareness.

This project was made possible by a grant from the MELS Culture in School Program.

Strategic Direction 4Promoting Wellness in a Safe and Caring Community

Strategic Direction 3Enhancing School Collaboration and Community Partnerships

The Strategic Directions

Strategic Direction 2Fostering and Supporting a Commitment to Professional Growth for All

Strategic Direction 1Maximizing Student Success in a Culture for Learning

LPHS Teacher John Kesson Receives 2015 Pat Lewis Humanitarian Award from the Quebec Federation of Home & School Associations

Birch Tree Canopy Created by Birchwood Students

A4Pearson News Mai/May 2015

Below is a list of Commissioners along with their school board locals. 422-3000 Ward Communities Commissioner Local Chairman All Suanne Stein Day 30101 1 Lasalle/Verdun Mary Ann Davis 30121 2 Lasalle/Lachine Frank Di Bello 30122 3 Lachine/Dorval Joshua Arless 30123 4 Pointe-Claire Noel Burke 30102 5 Pierrefonds-Roxboro Nan Beaton 30125 6 Dollard-des-Ormeaux Craig Berger 30126 7 Kirkland/Dollard Laura Derry 30127 8 Beaconsfield Martin Sherman 30128 9 Pointe-Claire/Beaconsfield/Baie d’Urfé/Ste. Anne Eric Bender 30129 10 Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue/Île-Perrot Domenic Pavone 30130 11 Off-Island North Daniel Olivenstein 30131 12 Off Island South Wayne Clifford 30132 Parent Sharad Bhargava 30161 Parent Sandra Buckingham 30162 Parent Frank Clarke 30162 Parent Michael Nalecz 30163 Student Sierra Nadeau Student Kathy Nodzynski

Executive Committee Tuesday, May 22 5:30 p.m. Board Room Council of Commissioners Monday, June 29 7:30 p.m. Board Room

by Alycia Ambroziak

A veg-e t a b l e garden at

Riverview Elementary school in Verdun is part of the One Toma-to at a Time collective gardening project recently named as recipi-ent of Centraide’s Solidaires Mo-bilization Award which carries a $10,000 cash prize.

“We started a garden in 2009 at Riverview though the Com-munity Learning centre (CLC) in order to address food security is-sues at our school - many of our students were eating very un-healthy lunches and snacks,” said Audrey Ottier, Lester B. Pearson School Board coordinator for the Community Learning Centres at Riverview Elementary in Verdun and at Riverdale High School in Pierrefonds.

“Families in our community of-ten lacked access to fresh, healthy produce, either because it wasn’t readily available in grocery stores or because it was not affordable,” she added.

As well, said Ottier, the garden was an opportunity to provide an experiential learning opportunity for students.

Last year, about 150 Riverview students as well as members of the community tended to the six 5-feet by 2.5-feet raised garden bins at the school as well as two in-ground gardens which feature berry bushes.

Students have begun planting this season’s garden, with the help of animators who organize

educational workshops for the children.

“Each year, we did up a new sec-tion of the front lawn at the school to add to the garden,” Ottier said noting that, besides berries, stu-dents and community members plant and care for such food plants as tomatoes, zucchini, squash and many herbs.

The school also has a Three-Sisters Garden, a Native American way of planting that, according to legend, describes beans, corn and squash as three sisters who, al-though different, thrive when they are near each other.

The garden at Riverview began with a grant from the Pearson Ed-ucational Foundation and is now funded through the One Tomato at a Time project, said Ottier, not-ing that the project is the result of a partnership between several agencies - Riverview Elementary School and Learning Centre, the Dawson Community Centre and SouthWest United Church - that joined forces in 2012 to improve the food security of residents in the Desmarchais-Crawford neigh-bourhood of Verdun.

Central funding comes from grants from Centraide and the city of Verdun. A coordinator and several animators are hired each year to offer gardening and food transformation workshops in four collective gardens and a collective kitchen in Verdun.

This year, One Tomato at a Time is expanding to include a new garden and a new partnership: the Wellington Centre which is a program comprising the Douglas

Institute’s psychosocial rehabili-tation and community support services for people with mental health disorders.

The One Tomato at a Time project includes:• The garden on the grounds of

Riverview Elementary;• A collective garden called the

Jardin de l’Espérance;• A roof garden at the Dawson

Community Centre;• A parent-child cooking program

at the Dawson Community Centre;

• Collective kitchen workshops at SouthWest United Church and Mission;

• Education and awareness workshops which introduce school children to gardening, cooking and health eating.For more information on the

One Tomato at a Time project, go to http://plantdetomate.com/

a simple idea can be the best idea – it took a lot of work, but having a great team helped,” said Justin. Trevor said the project created “a fun way to learn about positive and negative integers.”

Two other projects from LBPSB schools won the Coup de Coeur awards at the April 30 gala held at LaSalle College: the Dress for Success project from St. Lawrence Academy Sr. in LaSalle and the Hayden Garden at John Rennie High School in Pointe Claire, an ongoing project which students do all the gardening – including purchasing seeds and herbs and keeping track of costs – as well as the tending and weeding the garden. All of the fresh produce from the Hayden Garden is used in teacher April Rehel’s cooking classes.

The Dress for Success project was inspired by grade 4 students at St. Lawrence Sr. Academy who

noticed that some classmates did not have clothing which fit them well or which could be worn dur-ing special occasions at school.

“The students rallied to col-lect gently-used clothing which is available to all students at the school to enhance their ward-robes,” said St. Lawrence Acad-emy teacher Lynn Dallaire.

“Clothing has a significant ef-fect on self-esteem and confi-dence,” she added, as a couple of her students agreed. “If you dress good, you feel good,” said stu-dent Veronica Batson-Deraiche. “When I dress well, I feel smart,” said classmate Jaliyah Sinclair.

Nancy Battet, LBPSB Commu-nity and Partner Liaison, said the LBPSB encourages entrepreneur-ship in its schools.

“Children as young as in grade 1 are doing entrepreneurship projects in their classrooms with their teachers,” she said, noting that in all, more than 400 entre-preneur projects were submitted by LBPSB schools. That number was whittled down to 27 projects

for the Quebec Entrepreneurship Regionals.

Battet explained that in order for a project to be eligible for the Entrepreneurship contest, stu-dents must identify a problem in their school, community or even globally and take action to solve it. It can be a product, a service or an event.

“At a time when …50 to 70 per cent of students in classrooms today will be entrepreneurs or small business owners, we try to incorporate the entrepreneurial spirit into our classrooms,” she added.

The 27 projects from LBPSB schools – including the two that are going on to the Nationals in June – and the students who cre-ated them will be at the LBPSB Entrepreneurship Gala which takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. on May 26 at the school board, 1925 Brookdale Ave. in Dorval.

For more information, contact Nancy Battet at 514-909-8711 or at nbattet@lbpsb.qc.ca

Entrepreneurship, from page A1

by Alycia Ambroziak

Grade 6 s t u d e n t s at Terry

Fox Elementary in Pierrefonds learned a lot about cultural and religious diversity by studying and visiting four places of wor-ship – a Synagogue, Mosque, Hindu Tem-ple and Sikh Temple (Gurdwara).

”It is important for students who live in a pluralistic society like ours to better un-derstand the differ-ences that exist with the different religions and cultures,” teacher Marianick Pharand said noting that she planned the special project as part of her ethics and Religious Culture Program.

“In opening the stu-dents up to the world, it teaches them to respect others with their differences both socially and culturally and to learn that we are equal, no matter who you are.”

One of the 50 students who

took part in the program, which took place in March, said the vis-its to the places of worship helped him and his fellow students learn about religion and cultures in a different and real way.

“I believe I learned more on the visit to the places of worship than just learning in school because

you get involved with the host … you see where they worship and you can ask questions,” said Mas-simo D. “It’s something real and not just looking at photos.”

Pharand noted that when these students enter high school next year as well as later in life, they will be meeting and working with peo-ple of many different beliefs and cultures.

“It is essential for them to be open and informed in order to build a better world,” she added. “In ef-fect, ignorance or not understanding other cultures or religions is what brings on dis-crimination - and ed-ucation is the key to combat the problem of stereotyping and excluding others un-justly.

“Thanks to this ex-ceptional form of teaching by experienc-ing, students better understood the differ-

ences in culture and religion,” she added. “This is how we build a better society.”

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Terry Fox Students Learn About Religions, Cultures, Diversity

To learn more about the Lester B. Pear-son School Board’s Autism Spectrum DisordersCentre of Excellence, visit: http://www.lbpsb.qc.ca/eng/asdn/index.asp

Pearson NewsA5Mai/May 2015

In the News...April 22 – Allion Elementary students shut up for goats. Montreal TimesApril 23 – Fostering a lifelong love of learning. McGill Reporter April 28 – LBPSB Director General Robert T. Mills set to retire. Global News. April 28 – Student authors launch book inspired by Burundi project. L’ Etoile,April 28 – Lester B. Pearson among the lowest funded school boards in Quebec. The ChronicleApril 28 – English school boards hire lawyer to preserve board elections. CBCApril 28 – English school boards hire constitutional lawyer to fight plan to eliminate elections. The Montreal

Gazette.April 28 – English boards take on government over plan to eliminate school board elections. Global TVApril 29 – We don’t care about school board elections but we need to show our passion for bilingualism. Column

by Brenda O’Farrell in the Gazette, West Island April 29 – Forest Hill craft fair raises $2700 for activities – budget cuts create a need. Gazette, West Island.April 29 – Family Fun Run – Pearson Educational Foundation. The Chronicle April 29 – LBPSB Director General Robert T. Mills set to retire. Online Shaw Media May 1 – Pearson Educational Foundation Fun Run at John Rennie High School. Breakfast Television. May 1 – With expected budget cuts and decreasing enrolment at Lester B. Pearson schools, the school board

is looking for public input into necessary changes. Shaw Media May 5 – Teachers protest outside Geoff Kelley’s office in Pointe Claire. The Montreal GazetteMay 6 – Twelve-year-old honoured as a Caring Canadian – Cassandra Gillen, St. John Fisher Elementary.

Gazette, West Island.May 6 – Teachers denounce larger class sizes. Gazette, West Island. May 6 – Life on Mars robotics at St. John Fisher Jr. Elementary school. CBC TVMay 6 – School Board Director General retiring. L’Etoile May 6 – Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary hosting blood drive for former student. L’Etoile May 7 – Light a Dream students mentioned in a story about the Creatibility Expo that takes place May 8.

Breakfast Television.May 7 – English teachers stage May Day protest outside provincial MNA riding office. Your Local Journal. May 7 – Kelley defends education cuts. The Suburban May 7 – Teachers denounce government’s collective bargaining demands. The ChronicleMay 7 – Light a Dream’s special needs students to showcase talent at Montreal Expo. The ChronicleMay 7 – Robert T. Mills retires from the Lester B. Pearson School Board. The Chronicle May 7 – Graduation and special needs kids at the LBPSB – an interview with LBPSB Chairman Suanne Stein

Day CBC May 7 – Graduation and special needs kids at the LBPSB – an interview with Board Chairman Suanne Stein

Day. CTV May 12 – Veleno is refused exceptional status (Joe Veleno, a St. Thomas high school student and hockey

prodigy). The Montreal Gazette May 13 – Pearson school board director retires after 42 rewarding years. Gazette, West Island.May 13 – Lindsay Place teacher chosen for humanitarian award. Gazette, West Island.May 13 – Interview with Lindsay Place Principal Dona Bianchi) regarding strip searches in Quebec Schools to

require police presence. CBC Home Run.May 13 – Royal Canadian Legion Youth bursary awarded to Jess Walker, John Rennie Student. The Suburban. May 13 – John Rennie student Nathaniel Foster skates to gold at Quebec Games. The Suburban May 14 – LBPSB Chairman Suanne Stein Day and dress codes. CBC Radio Noon May 15 – Beechwood Elementary students learn about life on Mars. Two-page spread in The Suburban

MagazineMay 15 – Book launch at Westwood Sr. high School. Two-page spread in The Suburban Magazine. May 16 – Montreal teachers take to the streets over education cuts. Global News.May 16 – Cooperative for developmentally delayed students – Light a Dream - launches new product line.

Premier Edition. May 20 – Education cuts will gut vital services: union. The Montreal GazetteMay 20 – Kindergarten teachers rue reduced class time. The SuburbanMay 20 – LBPSB teachers demonstrate against government’s proposed cuts. The SuburbanMay 20 – LBPSB elementary students learn about life on Mars. The Suburban newspaper May 24 – Beechwood Elementary school raises money for Shriners. Global TV

by Alycia Ambroziak

Students, family and communi-ty members got together Monday evening (May 5) for the official book launch and reading of Ba-kuru and the School on the Hill, a children’s book written and illus-trated by the Westwood Sr. High School’s Bridge to Burundi (WBTB) students.

“You make us very proud,” Lester B. Person School Board Chairman Suanne Stein Day told students at the launch which took place in the library of the Hudson school.

“…thank you for what you are doing - making the world a better place, one child at a time.”

The book is based on the high school’s Westwood Bridge to Bu-rundi project, a student-run ini-tiative that began seven years ago when students learned about the life of one of their French teach-ers, Jean-Claude Manarakiza, who was born in Burundi and lost both his parents in separate outbreaks of genocide.

The WBTB project started off with the goal of building, staff-ing and supplying a school in Bu-rundi, Central Africa – and so far, the WBTB has built more than 10

classrooms for students in grades one to six. WBTB has also assist-ed villagers in developing a com-munity co-op as well as provid-ing the village with a flour mill, sewing machine, livestock, clean running water, solar panels and a medical centre. As well, the project is aimed at further help-ing develop agriculture, farming techniques and health facilities

in Rwoga, a community of 5,000 people.

The idea for a book was launched by Nancy Koluzs, a re-source teacher and WBTB direc-tor, after she met with Valerie Redmond, a local author who wrote a children’s book called Emma and the African Wishing Bead.

A group of 30 Westwood stu-dents worked together to pro-duce the manuscript for Bakuru and the School on the Hill, a sto-ry that follows a young girl in Bu-rundi through a day of learning

about the school.Westwood art students did

the colourful illustrations for the book and some alumni helped with the editing. Lieutenant-Gen-eral Roméo Dallaire (ret’d) wrote the introduction to Bakuru and the School on the Hill.

Zachariya Javeri, one of the Westwood students involved in the project, said he was proud

of the work everyone did to make the dream of writing and illustrating – and pub-lishing – the book come true.

“It’s sometimes hard to col-laborate – but we did it,” said the Grade 10 student.

Bakuru and the School on the Hill has been printed thanks to a gift from Halo Publishing. All proceeds will

go to the Westwood Bridge to Bu-rundi project.

Bakuru and the School on the Hill can be purchased for $20 at www.halopublishing.com or di-rectly from Westwood by contact-ing Nancy@bridge-to-burundi.org. Funds raised will go toward the Bridge to Burundi Project.

Bakuru and the School on the Hill on Amazon: http://www.amazon.ca /Bakuru-School -Westwood-Burundi-Project/dp/1612443567/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429797558&sr=8-1&keywords=bakuru

Marie Landry, Music Teacher, St. Patrick

Elementary

Violins made out of old oil cans, flutes with buttons and bottle caps for keys, clarinets made out of drain pipes…these are the in-struments that the children from Cateura, Paraguay play in their aptly named ‘Landfill Harmonic’ orchestra; all of what they have in this poor town comes from what they can glean from the local gar-bage heap.

To be made aware and to be in-spired; for these two reasons the children in grade 1 at St. Patrick’s elementary spent several music classes learning about how chil-dren from a country such as Para-guay make music from garbage, and being inspired to do the same. After viewing and discussing the 60-minutes report (search for it on

youtube!) on the Paraguay project, students brought into school items from home that, with some imagi-nation and A LOT of tape and glue, could become instruments they would be proud to play.

The children explored the dif-ferent textures of tin cans and toy train tracks for scraping, and the different sounds you get when you make a shaker with corks, or old bits of lego, or soda can tabs. Some

students made chimes out of dis-carded beaded necklaces, others made guitars using wooden clem-entine crates and elastic bands.

We are hearing music every-where now! How about using bas-ketballs to play rhythms? We tried that too! And we even spent a fairly serious 10 minutes discuss-ing the possibilities of jacket mu-sic (those zippers make a GREAT sound!).

Our last step in this process will be to send some of the pictures you see here along with letters to the children who play in the Land-fill Harmonic, making a personal connection between what we do here in Canada and what those courageous kids are doing in Para-guay.

Learning to be creative while taking care of the environment by recycling, learning to make music and connecting it to the world and children from other cultures…the richness and power of arts educa-tion in action!

by Mme Agulnik, 3e année, École Saint Patrick

Class i -f ica t ion, c r ea t ion and com-

munication, Oh My!Classes 302 and 303 at Saint

Patrick Elementary School have been busy learning about ani-mals and creating an animal di-orama using a shoebox in French class.

Once each child had select-ed their animal, the fun began.

Students were encouraged to research their animal using the iPads, take notes and organize their ideas and write their rough copy in class. The final prod-uct required them to make a diorama using a shoebox. The goal was to display the animal’s habitat: land, air, or water. All of the written information was to be attached to the outside of the shoebox. Each child was also re-sponsible to present their project orally in front of their respective class.

Both classes had the chance to display their work in class and share their project with other classmates as well as oth-er grades. The classroom doors were open on Wednesday, April 9th and again on Thursday, April 10th to welcome visitors. This diverse project was multi-facet-ed and covered many subjects, including science, technology, French oral and writing.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

St. Patrick Grade 1 Music Students Inspired by Paraguay’s Landfill Harmonic

Westwood Sr. Students Launch Children’s Book

A6Pearson News Mai/May 2015

by Alycia Ambroziak

Beacon Hill Elementary 7th annual Art Gala not only show-cased student art but also raised approximately $6,000 for the school’s technology program.

“With the art of each student

being displayed, the primary goal of this main fundraiser - hosted by the Home and School Associa-tion - was to let every child know that their individual creativity is valuable and that, together, they can bring about a positive change in their own school,” said Princi-pal Patrice Delage.

Thanks to the many volun-teers at the April 23 gala, parents

and students were able to stroll through the various exhibits, in-spired by a visit last fall to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Student artworks included sculptures and paintings, in-spired from many artists includ-ing Van Gogh to Kadinsky.

Delage said the money raised will be used to complete the school’s set of iPad minis.

Jennifer Baltuonis Music Teacher,

St. Patrick Elementary

T h e M u s i c Man Ju-

nior at St Patrick ElementaryFrom April 21st to 23rd, stu-

dents from St. Patrick Elemen-tary performed The Music Man Junior, a Music Theatre Interna-tional Broadway Junior Produc-tion, in front of three different au-diences. The Music Man Junior is St. Patrick’s ninth Broadway Junior Production.

Students who participate in the Musical Production at St. Pat’s are very dedicated young performers. They audition in the early fall and are selected through a tough pro-cess which involves individual acting and singing auditions as well as call-backs where they act out scenes with other candidates. There is a panel of teachers who watch and select the students ac-cording to different criteria, in-cluding but not limited to acting,

singing, and chemistry with other actors.

Once selected, the students, all of whom are in Grades 3 through 6, take part in a long rehearsal process. They rehearse after school three to four days a week from October to April.

Other students also take part in other ways. Some are select-ed to build and make props and sets for the performance. These students also help out during the performances by moving sets and making sure props are in the right place. Another student was our sound designer this year, making sure the microphones were work-ing properly, and playing the mu-sic for us backstage.

Such a production would not be possible without a dedicat-ed staff. We have teachers who build the sets with the help of the students. We have teachers making costumes. We have a dedicated volunteer who choreo-graphs the show. And we have a teacher who teaches the music and directs the students on stage.

In the final stages, we have teach-ers that come in to help out back-stage and to run the lights.

All of these people have come together to make sure that The Music Man Junior was another wonderful performance. Har-old Hill came to life, fixing the “trouble” in River City caused by, of all things, a pool table in the billiard parlour. Marian Paroo is on to his deception, however sees the benefits of a boy’s band in the city from the way it helped her brother, Winthrop, come out of his shell.

The Music Man Junior was a great show! From the gossip by the ladies in “Pick-A-Little” to the show stopping dancing in “Shipoopi”, not to mention the great crowd-pleaser “76 Trom-bones”, the students at St. Patrick Elementary had the crowd on their feet.

I am proud to be a part of a wonderful production at St. Pat-rick Elementary every year. My students make my job easy with their dedication and work ethic.

Creative Fundraising: Beacon Hill Art Gala Music Man Junior at St. Patrick

The Lester B. Pearson School Board

Digital CitizenshipProgram

The Lester B. Pearson School Board

Digital CitizenshipProgram