Local Education Summer is on the Way
Sustainability and environmental awareness have played a huge role in the learning here at Lions Bay this year. From the Sustainability Fair in March showcasing the mini eco-homes designed and built by multi-aged groups of the students, to Assignment Earth, this year’s big (and absolutely FABULOUS) musical production, the message is loud and clear - the students of Lions Bay School will do all they can to change the world for the better and slow that climate change down a little. To find out more about what you can do to help our planet, just ask one of our primary students! They are a wealth of knowledge and, as many of their parents can attest, quite vigilant in their policing of everyone’s commitment to reduce, re-use and re-cycle!
Speaking of climate change … for those of you wondering if spring is a thing of the past, look no further than the tanks in each classroom to find bonafide proof that we are, in fact, in the midst of (a wintery) spring. There are praying mantis eggs getting ready to (hopefully) hatch in the K/1 classroom, chrysalises hanging from the top of the 1 / 2 classroom tank and tadpoles merrily swimming and growing appendages in the 2/3 class. And the classroom isn’t the only place where our students are learning science! Many of the Lions Bay children entered this year’s West Vancouver Science Fair which took place in April. The theme was Rube Goldberg’s Gadgets, Gizmos and Contraptions and the kids learned all about simple machines and various elements of physics from the three Science World workshops held before the event. We are so proud of the effort put in by all the participants and invite you to give Skylar Brockie and Kelk Jeffery a hearty “congratulations!” next time you see them as they came in first place in their age group! Well done boys!
The question we should all be asking is not “How intelligent are you?”, but “How are you intelligent?”. That simple switch changes everything! - particularly with respect to all the different styles of learning now recognized that our aging education system does not take into account. It also neatly illustrates one of the many new approaches to education being put to the test in the West Vancouver School District and, more specifically, at Lions Bay School. The students here are becoming familiar with the concept of multiple intelligences (word smart, math/logic smart, art smart, nature smart, existential smart, music smart, body smart, interpersonal smart, intrapersonal smart …) through this term’s Big Idea of Storytelling. How can we tell a story or convey meaning using these different intelligences? The students are invited to show/share the areas in which they feel their strengths lie and to learn from their peers who may have strengths in different areas. A story is explored and told from the perspective of each ‘smart’. The really incredible part is that these primary students GET IT! They really understand that there are many different ways of showing knowledge and of being ‘smart’. (If this intrigues you we recommend you research Howard Gardner and his Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Fascinating stuff.)
Story telling also served as our spring board to launching what we feel is one of the highlights of this term, the Grand Buddies Project, facilitated by Trudi Luethy, Brigitta Shore, Louis Peterson and Mr. Billingsley. Several seniors from our community volunteered to come in to the school and share a story from their lives with the children. The children acted as reporters/information gatherers and plied the storytellers with questions and observations. It was a beautiful exchange to be a witness to, and particularly poignant for those without grandparents/grandchildren nearby. There is so much value in that bridging of the generation gap, for everyone involved. We are hoping to make this program an established part of the Lions Bay School year. An enthusiastic and heart-felt “Thank you!” from all the students and staff at Lions Bay School to Bob Tanner, Louis Peterson, Berenice LeBoutillier and Hilda Mayo for taking the time to come in and inspire us all.
June is looking to be just as crazy as every other month here at the school! Bob Baker, from Squamish First Nation, will be coming in the first week of June to demonstrate the oral tradition of storytelling. We have invited all the village 4/5 year olds (that we know about) to a very special Welcome to Kindergarten event with a little tour of the school and all sorts of activities designed to get the kids excited and ready for their entry into the big school. Sports day (complete organized chaos and really, really loud), Grade three graduation (always a bit of a tear jerker) and our big final assembly on the last day of school and then …
School’s out for summer …!” Yes, we are all a little excited about that.
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- Radio Controlled Car Club
May 22, 2012 (18:30)Please join this enthusiastic group of young and old at the Village Hall as they RACE with radio-controlled cars! No speed limit required.
