Students ask, Parlez-Vous français? Mais-Oui!

A good Community Service Learning projects begin with the question, what is an authentic need in our community?  

On the small island of Harrington Harbour, Madame Monger and in the town of Chevery, Madame Nadeau-Monger understood that students living in geographically isolated, completely Anglophone communities do not always see the day to day need for French that other Anglophone students in Quebec might observe.   The two teachers asked the question, how could we change the attitude of students towards French?

This was the start of Parlez-Vous?, a collaborative project between the communities of Harrington Harbour, Chevery and Kegaska on the Lower North Shore of Quebec.  

The CLC schools wanted to show students that even though people live in English in the village(s), many speak French and use those skills for work purposes, often outside of the community. The teachers thought if the students realized that people they know, and often look up to, are bilingual, the students might have a different, more positive view on bilingualism.

The Project:

Students were asked to prepare questions they would like to ask bilingual community members.  Three classes met over the videoconference to select the best questions and picked a name for the project.  

Outside of class time, the students approached a community member to go over the questions and a second meeting to conduct the interview. After the interviews were completed, the students and teachers used Windows Movie Maker to edit everything together.

When everything was done, the students viewed the video in class and then screened the video for the community using the videoconference.

A final activity was writing thank you notes for the 'stars' (en français), and launching the videos at a community event.

What did the students learn?

Through the project, students realized that even in a close community, being bilingual is a very important asset. Students also discovered that there were a lot more bilingual people in their community than they previously thought.

Madame Monger noted that students had to go outside of their comfort zone and interact with adults in the community and also speak publicly in another language.  Producing a short film presented an opportunity to get familiar with Windows Movie Maker. Finally, the videoconference collaboration between the three schools allowed the students to get to know each other a little better, important because they will become classmates in secondary IV & V when they will all be together at Netagamiou School in Chevery.

Madame Nadeau-Monger noted that some among the greatest successes was “the look on our students faces when they saw someone they knew speaking French”.

Many thanks to the teachers, students and community members who participated in a wonderful initiative that promotes the importance of bilingualism on the Lower North Shore of Quebec.

Student Voice in a Second Language

Student voice and meaningful student involvement are important elements of Community Service Learning projects.  Student voice happens when there is a process for engaging students as partners in school improvement for the sake of education, community, and democracy.   

Madame Desjardins, a French teacher at Laurier Macdonald CLC created a space for her secondary five students to address a community and school need.  Students worked out solutions to an authentic environmental problem, all the time communicating in their second language.

Students first became aware of the problem of the urban heat island or in French, « îlots de chaleur urbains » during a presentation by the local Écoquatier.

When the students understood that an under utilized asphalt section of their schoolyard was an example of an urban heat island, an idea developed to create a student initiated green space called “Eco-Laurier”.

Every 2-3 weeks, Madame Desjardins invited community partners from Écoquartier, a youth entrepreneurship counsellor from Horizon Carrière and a local landscape architect.

The students were split into 4 different committees – Marketing, Finance, Production and Human Resources.  The students had to communicate and coordinate with each other in French.   As the space came together, the students researched the appropriate flowers and vegetation to plant and built benches.  The space was promoted with the slogan – “chill in the back of LMAC to eat your snack and just relax”.

It is not always easy for teachers to make space for students to have voice.  I asked Madame Desjardins what she learned from the experience and she replied, “I learned to let go and work without a net”.

I applaud her attitude, especially when it results in young people having a chance to gain self-confidence and address an authentic need in their community, especially while using their second language.   

Music through the Decades

Music through the decades is a wonderful service learning project addressing the authentic community need of reducing isolation of seniors from the Mary- Elizabeth Residence in Châteauguay while being integrated into the music, math, English and French curriculum.  The project was lead by two teachers from the New Frontiers School Board, Moira Lemme from Centennial Park Elementary School and Melissa Ianniciello from St. Willibrord.

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The project started with students interviewing seniors and taking notes about music they loved throughout their lives.  The students took the information back to the classroom analyzing the results with surveys, bar graphs and answered questions using the information.  Perhaps not surprisingly, some students less engaged by math, “took the assignment very seriously as we were analyzing data. They wanted to understand - what the averages were and most common answers”  Ms. Lemme noted “Projects like this lead to better understanding for students, especially typically lower scoring students who can make connections and be excited about the work they are doing”.

The project didn’t stop there, students responded to what they had learned by working hard to put together a set of songs that would appeal to seniors.

Let’s not pretend inter-generational projects like Music through the generations are not without some challenges, even with the support of a great CLC Coordinator like Anthony Spadaccino.   Ms. Lemme mentioned the difficulty in finding time to visit the seniors and the arranging transportation logistics.   After some back and forth with the seniors home, it became apparent the seniors did not want to leave their home to see the show in the school gym.  So instead, the class brought the concert to them (with a cold buffet, props, and costumes).

Reflecting on the concert, The most popular songs were Brown Eye'd Girl and Can't Help Falling In Love. The students brought the seniors potted flowers and presented cards saying "thanks for having us" and "have a good summer".

A lot of work went into this project, and we have a few clues that the event was successful for the seniors and students.

After the concert, Ms. Lemme was proud to say she had received 4 calls from seniors at the residence “to thank us for our show, the flowers and the snacks!”  She also said the “students wrote a journal today about their experience and many of them noted that they felt really good doing something for their community. They also loved learning songs that they don't hear every day. (A few also said their parents were happy to hear some classics when their child practiced at home)”.  “I was very pleased! The kids were happy and the seniors seemed very happy!”

Food in our school, food in our community

Work Oriented Training Program (WOTP) students at St Michael’s in the town of Low jumped into action and took over food preparation for their school two days a week after a local restaurant that provided school meals ended that service. The class also made sandwiches daily for several students who are undernourished.

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As if that was not enough, the class wanted to support seniors in their community. They took some of the by-products (such as chicken bones for making soup) and made meals for members of the community who are shut in or less mobile.
The project was fully integrated into the curriculum and taught practical skills like procedures for safe handling of food and working in a professional style kitchen.

Their teacher, Billy Boudreau, commented, “The students are more engaged by projects, especially those that require much hands on work. This project helped to allow for that to happen.”  The students also learned the “value of giving back to the community and making healthy choices.”
Among the greatest successes were “the students’ personal feeling that they had accomplished something real, and the fact that students who come from lesser means were able to get a lunch.” 

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This is a great example of service learning; students identifying an authentic need, coming up with a solution, all the while learning and making a    contribution to their community.

Mini Leadership Camp

Mini Leadership Camp

Quebec High School

Quebec High School teacher Fannie Cayouette-Marsh worked with her Secondary Cycle 2 students to develop a mini-leadership camp to promote positive relationships between teenagers and elementary school students.  The genuine need for this projectwas to encourage elementary school students to register in a Central Quebec School Board High School in secondary 1 and by doing so, stay connected to the English Community.

Ms. Cayouette-Marsh points out, "We are losing close to 50% of the students population in the transition from English elementary schools from those choosing to pursue their studies in the French or private sector." 

This reality encouraged the QHS leadership class to create a project that will build relationships to encourage enrollment in CQSB high schools. The QHS students also wanted to highlight the good things that the youth in the English community do and showcase the great young leaders in the English Community.

On January 15 and 16, 2013, the QHS leadership class took two grade 4 classes from Holland elementary school to the Camp Saisonnier for one day of Leadership activities. The QHS students shared their leadership expertise through different activities that promoted trust, teamwork, communication and leadership skills, and through their actions, encouraged the younger students to continue their education in the English through the Central Quebec School Board.

This activity highlights the ability of youth to be part of the solution in strengthening Quebec’s English school system.

To read more about the project, click here.

Snacks from the Garden

Snacks from the Garden

Richmond Regional High School CLC

Danielle Hamel

Richmond Regional High School has a beautiful community garden, which Math and Science teacher Danielle Hamel decided to incorporate into her lessons.

Secondary-one science students started seedlings in March and transplanted them in the garden outside before the end of the school year.  When the students came back after the summer, they harvested what they had planted.

 

Throughout the summer, Ms. Hamel, a local resident of the community collected the most abundant fruit and vegetables which included zucchini, black berries, strawberries, tomatoes and garlic and placed them in her freezer at home.

When October came, she was teaching proportions in her secondary-two math class and had the students double or triple recipes for smoothies, muffins and dips. The class then spent a period cooking and baking.  Surprisingly, for some students, it was their first experience and some found it quite a challenge, but most students enjoyed it.

Through an annual survey of students, it was discovered that the healthy eating habits of teenagers could be improved.  The genuine service the students provided was the promotion of healthy, locally grown food. 

Students were asked to make pamphlets that included the recipe, nutritional facts and fun facts about the fruits and vegetables. The class then shared the snacks with the students from the high school, the elementary school, the nursery school, the day care and two local senior homes. The class wanted to promote locally grown, healthy snacks as well as reaching out to our community, showing positive things that the teens are doing at the high school.

To read more about the project, click here.

St Willibrord School-Community Garden

For the third year in a row, teachers at St Willibrord School and CLC have been developing a school-community garden that allows for hands on learning opportunities about plants in French and Science.  In addition, students have the opportunity to grow food that is shared with families in the community. The work of students and teachers promotes healthy eating and awareness of growing vegetables and eating healthy snacks straight from a garden.

In an innovative partnership, the responsibility for the garden is given to a local camp during the summer and returned to the school in September.  This past year featured a partnership with McGill students in urban horticulture who researched the garden, analyzing the current situation and making suggestions for future developments.

Click here to learn more about St. Willibrord’s School-Community Garden.

Babu the Three-Legged Dog

Babu the Three-Legged Dog

Lisa Howell

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary School

Students in Ms. Howell’s class collaborated with a local author to publish a book about a dog named "Babu", who lost a front leg in a car accident. The vision for the project was to write stories about Babu's courage, perseverance and ability to live a completely normal, satisfying life with one less leg. The aim of the project was to connect students to the illustration and publishing process, work with an author from the community and to distribute the book to local schools and community organizations to promote awareness of the "normalcy" of life with a disability.

The students took a trip to visit the farm that the story is set on; students were able to meet the characters in the book, take in the setting and take photographs and begin sketches. The students continued to work on a number of drafts, develop the illustrations, record songs and finally publishing and distributing the book. The project was embedded into English, Ethics and Religious Culture and Arts Education

Students became a part of the book production process, which was a huge success. The classroom looked like an illustration studio, with drafts and text and photos everywhere.

Ms. Howell reflected that “Community Based Service Learning is the way to engage all students. I learned that CBSL projects make the curriculum come alive. When the Quebec Education Program (QEP) talks of kids "identifying" as authors, this project did more than that: they were part of the entire process of book creation”.

You can visit the Babu website here

You can access blurb, the site used to publish the book here


I highly recommend visiting Lisa Howell's class website here

Read more about the process of making of the book here

Blue and Gold Studios presents the Blue and Gold Christmas Album

Blue and Gold Studios presents the Blue and Gold Christmas Album

Quebec High School

Quebec High School’s singer-songwriter club had an idea to build a music-recording studio.  Over the course of a year, grants were written, permission from administration was received, parent and student volunteers renovated an old book room in the basement and equipment and sound proofing was installed.  

Once the studio was completed, A group of secondary 5 students had the idea of making a Christmas album with money raised being split between the annual Christmas hamper and the studio.  The Christmas album was released in December 2012 and featured an original song and cover songs by students and teachers. Students recorded and produced the sound, liner note and artwork.   A highlight of the album was a rendition of the “12 days of Christmas” featuring verses by each department including Administration, Secretaries, and Students from the Challenges Program and Work Oriented Training Program (WOTP).

The recording studio provided a service to the school community by a niche in school  for students who were not necessarily interested in sports, to be connected to the school and contribute collectively.

As a result of the studio, QHS has become a spot for artists traveling through Quebec to stop and perform, allowing them to inspire and mentor young musicians and music producers.  Many artists have performed at QHS’s annual coffeehouse to a large crowd.  Students have been recording musical performances in the studio and posting the video to a youtube video page. Check out a performance with Hey Ocean.

You can read more about the project by clicking here.

QHS Teacher DJ Awalt is very proud of all the accomplishments. He writes...
 

Blue and Gold Studio started out two years ago and has evolved into what we have today. We transformed what was once a room full of moldy books to welcoming 7 different Canadian musicians into QHS’s very own recording studio.  Our first album “Blue and Gold Christmas” was produced last December  and was a great success and sold close to 100 copies!  When we look back on this year we can see proof of the determined and creative spirit that embodies all of us at QHS.  B & G Studio has inspired all who has taken part in its creation and production of the music that is captured within its walls to push our creativity to the next level. Thank you to all that supported us and volunteered their time and money to making this project a success. This is only the beginning!

For further information check out the links below.

Interview on CBC Radio One – “Breakaway” 

Blue and Gold Studio – Facebook page

Nutrition - Making Healthy Snacks. - Growing our own fruits and Vegetables

Making Healthy Snacks - Growing our own fruits and vegetables
Nutrition

Parkdale Elementary

Maria Kanellopoulos, a Cycle 1 teacher at Parkdale CLC worked to develop a nutrition project integrated in French, Drama and Art. As students learned about proper nutrition they developed presentations and participated in the planting of a school garden  This project shows how even young students can play a role in promoting healthy communities.

Students walked to a nearby grocery store where they learned about the food groups through a hands-on experience by shopping for supplies needed for a Healthy Snack Day with their parents.  

Then students prepared healthy snacks which included, zucchini muffins, avocado-salsa dip and onion dip for the veggies and a tangy-sweet dip for the fruits. The students also prepared fruit and vegetable brochettes, fruit salad and veggie pita pizza.

According to Ms. Kanellopoulos “The students were inspired and gained a sense of responsibility, self-esteem, and ownership”. At the beginning of May, the students planted vegetables in class.

Using fabric markers, students colored their pizza ingredients on tee-shirts and performed the song, ''Je suis une pizza'', for their parents. Students shared their nutrition book created in class which included all their work.

Many pictures were taken throughout this process and the parents had the opportunity to see the whole process through a photo slide show.  Ms. Kanellopoulos wrote that “Needless to say, they learned so much through this experience and I also learned so much from my little grade 1's”.

Some of the greatest successes of the project included the "real" learning that took place and the sense of community that was created. Families were brought together.  A lesson learned by the teacher in charge was the importance of organization and having a team to work together to pull off this kind of project.

For more information about this project click here.

The Living Map Project

The Living Map Project

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary School (PETES)

Lisa Howell

In 2013, Students in Ms. Howell’s Elementary Cycle 3 class decided to build cultural bridges and connect the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary School (PETES) community with the diverse community that surrounds them. The student population largely comes from areas out of the immediate vicinity, which means that students do not have many links to the surroundings.

"Our Living Map: Voices from our community" project is an inter-generational, intercultural, artistic and linguistic endeavour that  builds relationships with neighbours and connect with the larger community. By building stronger connections, there is a hope that misunderstandings or incidents of vandalism of school property will be less prevalent.  

The students met and heard the stories of their neighbours: the Larsh Home for adults with intellectual disabilities down the street; the Portuguese Church around the corner; a community centre that serves the needs of families that live in the social housing project that borders the school grounds and the neighbours who live across the street who know the stories of our schools history.

The end result was a living 3D sculptural map as well as a book that features the writing and photography works of student’s interactions with the members of the community. You can download a document the class produced here.

You can read more about the project by clicking here.

Ms. Howell has a great website which features many of her class projects. It's well worth a visit - http://room224.yolasite.com/

School and Community Garden

For the third year in a row, teachers at St Willibrord School and CLC have been developing a school-community garden that allows for hands on learning opportunities about plants in French and Science.  In addition, students have the opportunity to grow food that is shared with families in the community. The work of students and teachers promotes healthy eating and awareness of growing vegetables and eating healthy snacks straight from a garden.

In an innovative partnership, the responsibility for the garden is given to a local camp during the summer and returned to the school in September.  This past year featured a partnership with McGill students in urban horticulture who researched the garden, analyzing the current situation and making suggestions for future developments. Click here to view the McGill report.

Click here to learn more about St. Willibrord’s School-Community Garden

Books and Breakfast

Books and Breakfast

Parkdale CLC

Jackie Dare, a teacher at Parkdale Elementary in Montreal developed Books and Breakfast, an early literacy project with her Kindergarten classes and parents.  The project took place throughout the whole year with specific celebrations at Christmas, Valentine's day and Mother's day.  Books and Breakfast stressed the importance of literacy and reading to young children as a stepping-stone for continued success in education.

One of her main goals was to implement an open door feeling where parents would be comfortable coming into the school and therefore be more involved in their children’s education and school life.

Ms. Dare felt if she could get the parents of kindergarten students to feel good about coming into the school then perhaps they will continue this trend throughout their children education.

To read more about the Books and Breakfast Project click here.