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!”

Grand Plants

Julie Leduc and the Primary Cycle 2 students at Riverview Elementary in Verdun learned that “students can, and will, get their hands dirty for a worthy cause!”

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Through the “Grand Plants” project, the students fostered a love for plants and then spread that love, like the seeds of their plants, to their grandparents, who were invited to the school to be involved in the project.

Ms. Leduc felt that not only would the project strengthen inter-generational ties, but it would also integrate French language arts, science, arts and citizenship. The project gave students a greater understanding of...

• the importance of plants
• the easiness of growing planting
• how to help plants grow
• the impact of global warming
• the need for inter-generational ties and activities.

Student’s were in awe and amazement by how well their plants grew. Another success of the project was seeing the students enjoying the time spent with their grandparents at school and working on the project.

While it’s not always easy to coordinate schedules and find the time to get everything done, students were engaged.  For instance, “some students, who were previously afraid of worms and compost (“Yuck! That's sheep's poo”!) began to take interest in how soil becomes more nutritious for plants and were excited to find worms when we turned the soil in the community garden outside.”

Interested in learning more about school-community gardens in the CLC network?  Contact Ben for links to lesson plans and grants.

St. John's Healthy Heritage Project

St John's CLC

St John’s Elementary students took part in a program entitled the “Lunch Club project”.  The workshop’s aim was to increase student, parent and community awareness of healthy lifestyle choices such as good nutrition and active living.  

The project was geared to help provide students with basic cooking skills and understanding of the importance of all four food groups by teaching them what ingredients to include and what to avoid.

Through the Lunch Club Project students realized that preparing their own lunches at school eating healthy can be fun. With the loving attention of the seniors group Lionnettes, and careful guidance of St. John’s School Nurse, a strong intergenerational dynamic could also be felt in the school, giving it all more of a family kitchen feel.

The project’s huge success was due to capable partnerships with Bouffe Pontiac who provided a free animator for the Nutrition workshops. Pontiac en Forme provided an animator that helped the children in preparing the lunches. The Lionnettes helped supervise the students as they prepared their lunches, St. John’s School Nurse who monitors their lunches and finally even the town Mayor participated in the activity and found the program “Remarkable”.

Since the start of the Lunch Club Project students are more aware of a nutritional diet and have a greater  variety of interesting recipes and healthy practices.

Check out an amazing recipe and activity book compiled for this project by.. Clicking Here.

Saint Lambert Healthy Heritage Project

Saint Lambert CLC

Students and families of the Saint Lambert area participated in a two-part workshop geared towards promoting the importance of healthy nutrition practices. An innovative aspect was that parents and students would be split into child-cooking and parent-nutritional info workshops and then brought back together near the end of the evening to integrate their learnings while parents enjoyed the outcome of the children’s workshop!

 

“We wanted to show our families that preparing healthy meals (together to strengthen their bonds as a family) does not need to be difficult.” - Natasha MacDonald, CLC Coordinator.

The first workshop entitled “Packing Healthy Lunches”, introduced students to healthy lunch alternatives, with a twist on the traditional tuna sandwich as well as introducing other healthy side alternatives such as sesame noodle salad and green salad.

The second workshop was entitled “How to Prepare Healthy Meals as a Family”. Students and their families were educated on healthy eating practices such as how to get full servings of all essential food groups.  This was followed by strategies for preparing simple yet interesting meals they can take home and prepare with their families.

Students prepared chicken breasts wrapped in pancetta with leeks, and chicken breasts with asparagus and tomatoes to take home and cook as a family. This workshop was successful in helping children understand nutrition and how to ensure they maintain a healthy diet, along with some exciting twists on traditional dishes.  But they also had the opportunity to bond with their parents creating a stronger sense of community. After the workshops students and their families left with their very own CLC Family Cookbook to continue the healthy trends learned with family.

 

The workshops were a huge success.

“You could literally see the excitement on the children’s' faces as they led their parents and grandparents into their cooking area, showing off all their hard work.  The enthusiasm and sense of empowerment was very strong.”

Everyone’s efforts showed in their dishes and parents left understanding the need for attention to food preparation with families, as noted in several parent comments:

“I noticed I need to pay more attention to labels before I buy.”

“I learned that simpler can be better, and to eat less processed foods.”

 “I'm re-inspired to eat properly again.”

Thanks goes to the diligent efforts of partners Sandra Power, Holistic Nutritional Consultant and Margaret Kassab of Simple Gourmet. Their efforts ensured that the workshops ran smoothly and effectively while providing students and their families with the know how to prepare healthy meals on their own. 

St Lambert compiled a great list of documents for this project, including yummy smoothie recipies, a Family Nutrition Workshop and handouts for Packing Healthy Lunches and Cooking with Kids. 

To access all these great resources click here!

Metis Beach School Healthy Heritage Project

Métis Beach School

Students and community had the opportunity to take part in a workshop geared toward cultural understanding and acceptance of differences through some activities quite non-traditional to the area!

For three days the African percussion teacher, Louise Amyot, came to Metis Beach School to work with students and community members developing new skills and further understanding through documentary film, storytelling, songs and percussion practice.

This turned out to be very successful, and creative. As participants explored different artistic media and aspects of African culture, a positive sense of belonging was generated and positive relationships were bolstered. This is the sort of experience that we find contributing to reducing bullying.

To achieve the goal of acceptance students had the opportunity to learn by engaging themselves in a part of a culture foreign to their own. Students worked with the community members to create different rhythms and provide sounds effects for traditional stories. Aiding to understanding and acceptance of differences.

The community links greatly increased our success. For ten days before and after the activities at the school, Métis-sur-Mer Public Library brought together resources and information about African countries, cultures and the changing political situations in a free exhibition. Students as well as community members, including those who were unable to attend the workshops, were invited to view and discuss.

The success of this intergenerational and community building program was due to the diligent efforts of the partners involved including Louise Amyot who provided the cultural expertise and insight, the seniors who participated and Métis-sur-Mer Public Library. 

Mecatina CLC and Harrington Harbour CLC CHSSN "C is for Coast" Project

"C is for Coast"

A fantastic initiative called “C is for Coast – Photo Share” was launched to bridge the gap between the youth and the seniors of the Lower North Shore. The goal was to instill in the youth a sense of community and family that goes beyond the immediate household.

The students in the region are becoming less aware of the life of their grandparents and great grandparents. This initiative helped create a sense of self-esteem in youth and seniors through the sharing of their own individual knowledge, while creating a connection and breaking down isolation between the two groups.

Specifically, grade 2-4 students at Mecatina School sent invitations to local seniors, prepared snacks and prepared a PowerPoint presentation about the Lower North Shore in which students used pictures from the "'C' is for Coast" project website. (To see the presentation.. Click Here.)

The seniors brought their own pictures and stories to share information and memories about local places, moments and landmarks.  The stories brought much needed understanding to places, in a humourous & personable way that is hard to replicate in a typical history class. The event was a relaxed environment that allowed both groups to come together in a meaningful way, demonstrating the power of intergenerational collaborations.  Students enjoyed demonstrating their expertise with new technologies and the seniors were please to share some “old fashioned know how”.

CLC Coordinator Molly Organ said:

"The project was a huge success and watching the seniors and students present with such pride in what they were sharing was one of the best parts of the day."

Without the aid of the involved Seniors from the community, this project would not have been possible and a generational gap would have continued. Now as a result of this initiative, students have made a bond we hope they continue to maintain.  

Lachute Healthy Heritage Project

Lachute CLC

Students of Laurentian Elementary participated in a character-building workshop for at-risk students to feel more connected to their family and school.

This initiative was executed through an “Intergenerational Gardening Project” which teamed up an at-risk student with their grandparents to help teach the students how to grow flowering plants, which requires technical and timely support to harvest and finally sell their flowers as a part of a school fundraiser.

 

The overall aim was to have the student’s work at something they could see through to the end, while being invested throughout in order to help them develop the lifelong skills necessary for success while creating a positive connection between family and school.

The workshop went off brilliantly and students found themselves invested throughout, learning that patience and dedication are virtues worth cultivating. The initiative was a great success that the children and partners involved can both be proud of.

The project was successful through the irreplaceable help of partners Benoit Mallet a Teacher at L.E.S., Erin Traynor L.E.S.’sSpecial Education Technician, and Rola Helo at 4Korners Family Resource Centre.  

Grosse-Ile Entry Island CLC Leadership and Anti-Bullying

Grosse-Ile Entry Island CLC

Active Leadership Workshop 2013

Students from Grosse Ile CLC were taken to the woods of Grande-Entrée to participate in a workshop focused on leadership and team spirit building activities. Students took on leadership challenges such as: learning how to build fires, how to find their way out of the woods, how to work as a team,  and build empathy.

The overall aim of each workshop was to equip students with the tools needed to develop themselves into competent and capable young adults while understanding that we must work together to reach common goals as well as individual ones.

Another goal was to engage fathers and older men in mentorships with the students. In the end this aspect was not achieved.  However, reflecting on lessons learned we have several new ideas for better outreach and engagement for next year, including recruiting a few fathers to lead sessions and do outreach to the others.

Pink T-Shirt day -An Anti-Bullying event was another intergenerational activity developed in partnership with l’Accalmie, the CSSS and the 50+ club. During the event, students and members of the 50+ Club participated in a workshop that highlighted what is bullying as well as bullying prevention strategies.

This workshop aided the 50+ Club members by allowing them to understand the realities of today’s youth and what ways they can help as adults to bridge the generational gap between our youth and adults.

The students benefited by recognizing what bullying really is and learned key ways to prevent bullying in the community. The collaboration of the 50+Club also allowed bullying awareness to be spread in the community, further than the school.

These activities were developed in partnership: CAMI NPI, Grosse-Ile School Spiritual Animator, 50+ Club, an ex-scout/Grosse -Ile student,  l’Accalmie and CSSS.

Baie-Comeau Healthy Heritage Project

Baie-Comeau

Baie Comeau CLC organized three intergenerational health activities with the support of the CHSSN grant, with the shared goal of bringing both young and old together in mutually beneficial workshops to build relationships and counter social isolation.

One activity was the ‘Hero in 30’, a workshop where members of the 50+ Club worked alongside high school students to learn how to assess the state of a person in physical distress and deal with a crisis situation using CPR and first aid; a highly beneficial skill set important for any age.

The second and third activities saw two groups of elementary school students working alongside members of the 50+ Club to share healthy living habits and dialogue on issues concerning social isolation, increasing empathy and understanding.  

Later in the day, members of the 50+ Club treated students to a heritage and history exchange where they learned about the historical significance and uniqueness of the Church of St. Andrew & St. George, as well as how the building reflects the heritage of the Anglophone pioneers of Baie-Comeau.

Overall the workshops were a huge success through great contributions by the CLC’s partner - North Shore Community Association (NSCA), the 50+ Club and the Church of St. Andrew and St. George. With the help of these organizations the Baie Comeau CLC and community were able to reach their goal for this year of creating ownership and pride in our heritage sites.

The project also supported learning beneficial skills related to crisis management, understanding of local history and continuously promoting a healthy active lifestyle for young and old alike while shrinking the generational gap and social isolation.

Growing up Green at Parkdale

Parkdale CLC

This past year nearly 100 children of Parkdale Elementary had the opportunity to participate in a great new program called “Growing up Green at Parkdale”, which had several interesting components woven together.

The heart of the project is the vegetable garden, and a focus on the mutual importance of both healthy eating habits AND a healthy community. We tried to make the garden a non-stressful environment. Through the initiative children got to work along side their friends as well as teachers, including ALL of Parkdale’s French teachers, which was a great experience considering the English dominant environment of Parkdale elementary. The project was a great success exposing our children and their families to healthy habits; which is an identified goal at Les Tables de Concertations (Youth Planning Table) in our region.

During the project children involved themselves by not only choosing which vegetables the school would plant but also planting with their grandparents helping aid in the strengthening of family and community while learning the importance of healthy living with a particular focus on both French and English.

The booming success of this project was a direct result of our collaborative efforts through our various partners that allowed us to apply for more grants and allow this idea to develop. Of those who made the entireendeavor possible as well as successful EMSB, CHSSN, Quebec en Forme, Vert-Cité (Éco-Quartier of St-Laurent) and AREQ du Ruisseau Raimbault  are amongst the most notable.

Also, the highly knowledgeable horticulturalist hired by the Éco-Quartier  and graphic designer Don Royer (for helping with the creation of the Calendar) were invaluable aids throughout the entire project. No partner is greater than another and thanks to the efforts and contribution of everyone involved the children benefit most of all taking with them not only some soiled hands but also the seeds of success.

 Parkdale created two 2013-2014 School Calendars... Click Here to view!

Harrington Harbour Healthy Heritage Project

Harrington Harbour CLC

This project gave  students an opportunity to learn cooking and food preparation strategies. Because many students will end up leaving this small town to go away for school, we wanted to show them how to maintain a well balanced diet once they are away from home and build their confidence in their abilities so that, even for those remaining in town, they are not afraid to try cooking something different on their own. Our larger goal is to support their healthy growth and proper functioning now and into the future. The 50+ Club wanted to create connections with the youth in the community and show them the traditional manners of cooking local specialities.

Since the onset of the program they had seen all of the students involved evolve from shy quiet young men (at least in the kitchen!) waiting to be told how and what to do, to young men with the confidence to start on their own and follow a recipe once they know what they are preparing.  The evenings are now filled with camaraderie, jokes, smiling faces and good smells.

The project was concluded with a spaghetti dinner (with something a little less healthy for dessert, Texas Brownies, we thought that this was a good way to end) for all of the volunteers prepared by 8 of the student participants

“They did an amazing job and it was a great evening.” CLC Coordinator

As always none of this is possible without the help of some great people. The 50 + Club provided recipes and cooking skills. The BCN En Forme , also helped to make this whole endeavour possible by providing supervision and extra help. It is the contribution from these partners as well as the willingness of the students involved which has made this project such a great success and so much fun. 

Try some of the Harrington Cooking Club's recipies at home by... Clicking Here.

Stacey's Adventures in Chevery

Stacey's Adventures in Chevery

Netagamiou School

Marguerite Cox

In the small community of Chevery, on Quebec’s Lower North Shore, students in Ms. Cox’s Pre K, Kindergarten and Primary Cycle 1 class created a book about a baby emperor penguin plush toy named Stacey who came to the class looking for adventures. Each student took Stacey home, and took pictures of an adventure with their parents.

The creation of a student-authored book met a need in the community because there is a lack of local literary activities. There is no bookstore and the library is only open sporadically. Ms. Cox felt people need access to books for early-readers and the children need to realize the importance of books and become active in their community.

  
The book of adventures was written in the third person and publishing using blurb.ca.  The project was woven through English and Science and Technology competencies. 

Once completed, a copy of the book will remain in the Netagamiou School/Municipal Library and Centre régional de services aux bibliothèques publiques (C.R.S.B.P.) de la Côte-Nord. Ms. Cox and her students also made a community presentation at the local Salon des Livres in June 2013the classroom, and available for loan to all students in the school library and the Biblioteque Cote Nord. Ms. Cox and her students also made a community presentation at the local Salon des Livres in May 2013.

For more information on the project, click here.

Gardening Containers

Gardening Containers

Harrington Harbour CLC
Joyce Foreman

Harrington Harbour is a small island off the coast of the Lower North Shore of Quebec.  The growing season is very short and there is not a lot of green space for gardening since the topography is Canadian Shield, featuring a lot of rock. Students decided to address the lack of plantation by building gardening containers and placing them around the community. Two main benefits include beautifying the village and engaging the community members in a collaborative project. The engagement was of utmost importance during the summer when the school is closed and the containers would need to be watered. Future goals would include growing vegetables to help support healthy food choices.

The project was linked to the curriculum in science through the study of plant growth and in technology was incorporated through the building of the planters.

According to teacher Joyce Foreman, This project met a community need because there is a strong interest in gardening within the community. As the climate changes, gardening is becoming a more and more viable activity. The beautification of the community can only help the tourism industry. This project also allows for the interaction between the generations, for example when the 50 + Club helped the youth build four planters. The United Church helped bring two groups together to build the planters and various businesses around the small island agreed to have a planter placed at their establishment with the promise that they would help maintain it.

To learn more about the project, click here.

Cross-Age Connections

Cross-Age Connections

Chateauguay Valley Regional
Janet Reid

Ms. Reid, a teacher at Chateauguay Valley Regional has developed a project called “cross-age connections” whereby secondary cycle two students perform valuable service in their community as part of their Ethics and Religious Culture course.

Ethics students tutored and mentored grades 1 & 2 students at the local elementary school to help young students "at risk" to develop reading skills.

Another couple of groups of students visited two local senior's homes to develop connections with the resident seniors.

A third set of students remained in the school to work with students in the Learning Centre in whatever capacity they were needed. For example, helping students with projects, reading, social skills, etc.

To learn more about the project, click here.

Quebec High School Intergenerational Art Project

Quebec High School (QHS) collaborated with the Jeffrey Hale Community Partners (JHCP) to develop an intergenerational art project.   QHS special needs and WOTP students traveled to JHCP where they participated in art classes for students that could not necessarily take part in a regular stream class. JHCP  had an arts expert and was willing to animate this project with the help of technicians from QHS.  At the conclusion of the art class, the QHS students met with a group of seniors associated with the JHCP to present their work and socialize in a non-school environment.

Prior to the meeting, the capacity of seniors was built to prepare them for working with a special needs population.  This project was important in strengthening the relationship with JHCP as the school is making it a priority to raise awareness of the supports special needs students require once they leave QHS at age 21. 

JHCP is very concerned about the special needs population of the Quebec City region.  Plans are already in place preparing for the various services that will be required in years to come.  It was beneficial for the partners to gauge the level of capacity needed to work with a special needs population. 

For QHS, the program provided a controlled atmosphere away from the school where the students could be placed outside their comfort zone and mix with other adults that they do not see on a daily basis at school.  The obvious benefits of students participating in an art project were observed, such as increased self-esteem.  

The resource team from the SNACS (Special Needs Activities & Community Services) program was pleasantly surprised with the positive feedback received from the students about their time spent with seniors. The JHCP found the partnership valuable in identifying and developing relationships with the clientele that they will have to provide services for after high schools years.  

The JHCP seniors did a great job in bringing out conversation with the students, which can sometimes be a challenge with special needs student clientele.  The intergeneration aspect to the project added a human aspect to our sessions.  Our students were able to showcase their artwork, which in the beginning was a challenge until some of the “ice” was broken.