Education, Citizenship and Youth
Manitoba Grants for Innovations in Citizenship Education
Project Descriptions 2005
Standing Together, Strengthening the Circle
William Whyte Community School - Grade 6 and 7
Project Description: The focus of this project was the development of citizenship through community activism. The program began with an exploration of the global community and subsequent Project Love fund-raising effort, and then shifted to strengthening the local community by developing an after-school drop-in program.
Program Summary: In the first phase of the program, students organized, planned and publicized a fund-raising campaign to raise funds to provide school supplies for students in Ethiopia. Students also wrote letters to the African students. In the second phase of the program, students embarked on a major activism project, an after school drop-in program called the Fun Zone, which was run by kids, for kids. Students designed invitations and permission slips and distributed them to all of the houses in the community. The program ran every Thursday from 3:45 to 5:00 and included:
- a registration table where students checked in and received a ticket for refreshments
- a refreshment table with fruit, granola bars, and drinks for every student
- low-organized indoor games
- outdoor sports
- board games and bingo
- a middle years craft table
- an early years craft table
- a yo-yo station
As a wind-up activity, the community was invited to enjoy the Fun Zone as well as a barbecue.
Feedback from Students, Educators, Parents, and Community Members: Of the 21 students in the class, 16 attended every Fun Zone day as an instructor or facilitator. The Fun Zone provided an affirming, peaceful, fun-filled environment for more than 70 children each week it was in operation. What a gift to their community, where recreational options are limited and safe places to play are hard to find. Some quotes from students were:
"I think the Fun Zone helps our community by providing a place to do stuff and hang out, not to cause trouble."
"We are making the community a better place because we're putting something into it, not taking something from it. Kids can come into a drop-in after school program instead of watching people fight outside."
"The Fun Zone is another place for kids to hang out, but we are going to run it, so it will make it different than other drop-in centres."
This program was also recognized by an article in the Winnipeg Free Press on June 19, 2006 with the headline, "Kid-run drop-in packed with fun," as well as by Q-94, who presented the class with a certificate recognizing them as a "Super Class."
Portraits of Elders
Philomene Chartrand School - Grade 7 and 8
Project Description: The project involved students meeting, interviewing and photographing Elders in the community of Camperville and creating a permanent display of the portraits in the foyer of the school to honour the elders for their importance to the community and for their contributions.
Program Summary: Students learned interview skills and then put them into practice by interviewing Elders from the community. Students also had a wonderful opportunity to practice the virtues of respect and empathy. The focus of the interviews was on how life and school were different for the Elders compared to life and school today. As a wrap-up, the students held a feast for the Elders, where the portraits were unveiled for the community to see.
Feedback from Students, Educators, Parents and Community Members: The Elders felt very honoured that they were being recognized in this way. At the feast, they appreciated being served and waited on by the young people. Students appreciated learning about how things were "in the old days" and gained an appreciation for the importance of maintaining their culture and their language.
Building Character Today for Communities of Tomorrow
Oak Lake Community School - Grades 1 to 6
Project Description: To allow students to engage in positive interactions with people of different cultures, and to build knowledge, understanding and acceptance, Oak Lake Community School students participated in various activities in a neighbouring First Nations community.
Program Summary: The grade 5 and 6 class visited Sioux Valley School to share in a cultural afternoon. Students shared snacks and observed and participated in traditional dance. The grade 1 and 2 class wanted to visit the nursing home in Sioux Valley, where they planted flowers in decorated pots to give to each resident, read poetry, sang songs and shared book readings. The grade 4 class attended a National Aboriginal Day at Canupawakpa Dakota Nation on June 21 where they did arts and crafts, bead-work, did some painting and drawing, and had lunch.
Feedback from Students, Educators, Parents and Community Members: Students responded with very positive comments and observations. At first, students were shy, but by the end of each visit they were dancing, participating and interacting with their hosts, both students and elders. Parents were quite pleased with the results of the project, and staff felt that students developed in their collaboration and decision making skills, and in their ability to evaluate new information and to articulate their beliefs.
Rebuilding Lives and Limbs
Morden Collegiate Institute - Grade 9 to 12
Project Description: Students had the opportunity to take local action to make a global difference by becoming involved in a fundraising campaign with a goal of raising $7,500 to go towards the Manitoba Campaign to Ban Landmines.
Program Summary: Fifteen students from Morden Collegiate, as members of HASTA (Hopeful Awareness Students Taking Action), were involved in planning and putting on a fund-raising dinner, the main fund-raising event of this campaign. Students first learned about the One Project Love the previous school year. One Project Love provides free orthopedic support to landmine survivors and other disabled people. With this as a motivator, the HASTA students wanted another opportunity to help, and thus decided to organize the fundraising dinner.
Feedback from Students, Educators, Parents and Community Members: Parents, teachers and community members were pleased with the enthusiasm and commitment demonstrated by the HASTA members. They felt the dinner was well organized, the food was good, and that the students were setting a positive example. Students have expressed the wish to make the dinner an annual event.
Youth Coalition
École Selkirk Junior High Grade 6 to 9
Project Description: The project involved students collaborating with several community stakeholders such as the RCMP, Family Services, City Council, Probation Services and Leisure Services in order to address the needs of youth and to raise people's awareness of youth's ability to become actively involved in the community in a positive way.
Program Summary: Students undertook, and will be undertaking, several projects to address the needs of youth such as:
- A weekend basketball camp for grade 6 students which ran 8 consecutive Sundays and was mentored by grade 8 students as well as Senior Years students from Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive School
- In partnership with the City of Selkirk Leisure Services Coordinator, to plan and implement a summer program for youth.
- Gathering data to make presentations to the City Council and Rural Municipalities regarding the need for a shelter to provide an emergency and transition facility for youth.
- Assisting the Crime Prevention Council of the City of Selkirk with the staging of a Youth Justice Forum in September of 2006.
- Working with School Division staff to have Aboriginal content increased in the grade 9 Social Studies Curriculum as well as into a "House System" which will begin in the 2006 - 2007 school year, and to increase volunteerism.
Feedback from Students, Educators, Parents and Community Members: The number and variety of community members participating in the Youth Coalition has increased. Various community stakeholders have contacted the Coalition asking them to become involved, which they have done. At-risk youth were positively impacted by the opportunity to sit across the table from people in "the system" such as RCMP and Family Services, and to take part in a problem solving process with them. This helped them to believe that it is possible to be a part of the community and to make a difference in the community. Some of the Elementary students who were involved are now interested in becoming part of the Coalition.
Students Without Borders - Afrique 2007
College Jean-Sauvé - Grade 11
Project Description: This project involves improving the literacy, health care and economy of the people of MBour, Senegal. This is an ongoing project which has received much publicity and there has been quite a demand for staff and students to present at various conferences, which they have done and will continue to do.
Program Summary: Students, parents and staff of College Jeanne-Sauvé support the bridging of two communities, one Canadian and one African, through a long term sustainable exchange of ideas and resources in order to embrace and celebrate our common humanity. Goals include connecting with MBour individual parents, students and staff, negotiating and fulfilling common projects, embarking upon a cultural exchange and partnering with sponsors who share this vision. In 2005 - 2006, 46 students, 17 parents and five teachers focused on two activities: Global Change Game, run by the University of Winnipeg and a Camp Survival which simulated African conditions to build leadership skills and group "esprit de corps."
Feedback from Students, Educators, Parents and Community Members: Both activities were powerful in sensitizing the group to the realities of Global Citizenship. As the project progresses over the years, it has been noted that students are becoming more independent in their analysis of situations and needs, putting together an action plan through consultation and negotiation, putting the plan into action through collaboration and consistent follow-through, and then debriefing the action to integrate into the next activity.
Further details are available on the web at http://www.afrique2007.org
Building Our Future - Involving Our Youth
École Communautaire St-Georges - Grade 7 to 11
Project Description: To involve grade 7 to 11 students in community decision making by meeting with the Mayor and Council and the Administrator, past and present, by having discussions on the democratic process, and democracy.
Program Summary: An ex-reeve of the municipality spoke to students about their municipality, its boundaries, reason for existence, laws, finances and taxes. Students attended a Council meeting and observed the democratic process around the issue of closing a municipal library. In class, the novel I Am David was used as a basis for discussions on dictatorship versus democracy. Students made oral presentations on Hitler, Stalin and Concentration Camps. A workshop was held featuring an Aboriginal resource person and students learned about Aboriginal singing, drumming, smudging and the seven virtues of First Nations Peoples.
Feedback from Students, Educators, Parents and Community Members: Students learned through this project that their actions lead to consequences and they began to understand the composites of our Canadian society. Students gained a very powerful insight into the trials and tribulations of Aboriginal people, past and present, and they also gained an appreciation for Aboriginal culture and traditions.
Lake Winnipeg Research & Documentary
Cecil Rhodes School - Grade 6 to 8
Project Description: To allow students a first-hand look at the current state of Lake Winnipeg and to have them create a video documentary on the environmental concerns surrounding "our great lake."
Program Summary: Our students have been researching the health of Lake Winnipeg. We have met several times with a scientist, Dr. Karen Scott, who is responsible for the Educational Outreach program for the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium. She has visited the school, spent time showing photographs, and taught the students about various issues surrounding the lake such as nutrients in the lake, levels of phosphorus, and algae growth. Students did their own subsequent research in preparation for spending the day on the Research Consortium's vessel, The Namao. At the beginning of June, five students and two teachers spent the day on the Namao filming the research that was going on at research stations in the south basin of Lake Winnipeg. Students had the chance to interview two scientists who were on board and made notes on the areas that they would study further for their documentary.
Feedback from Students, Educators, Parents and Community Members: Our students have been researching the health of Lake Winnipeg. We have met several times with a scientist, Dr. Karen Scott, who is responsible for the Educational Outreach program for the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium. She has visited the school, spent time showing photographs, and taught the students about various issues surrounding the lake such as nutrients in the lake, levels of phosphorus, and algae growth. Students did their own subsequent research in preparation for spending the day on the Research Consortium's vessel, The Namao. At the beginning of June, five students and two teachers spent the day on the Namao filming the research that was going on at research stations in the south basin of Lake Winnipeg. Students had the chance to interview two scientists who were on board and made notes on the areas that they would study further for their documentary.
The students have made lists of follow-up activities that they plan to continue with in September. These include:
- another "research cruise" in the south basin of Lake Winnipeg
- a meeting with the Minister of Water Stewardship once they are better prepared with research data
- going to the Fresh Water Institute at the University of Manitoba to interview a taxonomist who classifies algae
- a visit to the labs of two of the researchers on board the Namao, who invited them to view the fish and zooplankton samples that they retrieved on the cruise under the microscope, and ask follow-up questions
- further filming for the documentary, looking into some of the issues which have come up so far such as the use of fertilizer
The feedback from the crew on board the Namao was fabulous. They couldn't believe how keen our students were or how well prepared they were for the day. They normally don't allow students this young on board for research cruises. The students were on task the entire time, which was incredible, as we left Winnipeg at 7:30 a.m. and returned at 8:00 p.m. The students loved being a part of such interesting research.
While the project is far from finished, I can tell already that the students are developing as citizens. One of the students interviewing a scientist on board asked, "What can we be doing to better protect the lake?" The scientist and I just smiled at each other as much as to say, "They are getting it!" With this type of project will come better self-confidence, and a sense that they too can make a difference in protecting their environment. In interviewing "important people" who make themselves available to students, they will gain a better understanding, and a sense of voice. For our students, in our neighbourhood, this can be life changing.
We Are The World
Dalhousie School - Grade 1
Project Description: The project involved students sharing family treasures with their classmates, setting up twelve Folklorama style pavilions and hosting a Citizenship Court.
Program Summary: In the Family Treasures part, students shared with each other the special features of their culture including food and traditions with a goal of raising their awareness and appreciation of their varied backgrounds. In the Folklorama portion, students were able to experience various aspects of different cultures, which reinforced their understanding and appreciation of our multicultural society. By hosting a Citizenship Court, students gained an appreciation of the rights and responsibilities that go along with Canadian citizenship, and they gained a sense of pride in being Canadian.
Feedback from Students, Educators, Parents and Community Members: Parents surveyed felt that all three components of the program were very valuable. Sample comments:
- Family Treasures: What a great way to introduce kids to different cultures, foods etc. My daughter came home and shared many different things with her family that she learned at school.
- Folklorama: It was a wonderful program that represented different cultures. It was an opportunity for us to display our country and get together with other cultures. We could feel the Multiculturalism of Canada.
- Citizenship Court: Children had the opportunity to learn what citizenship is and how it is granted. It was an excellent experience and a reinforcement of how our differences make us strong.
Students in Action
Lockport School - Grade 7 to 9
Project Description: The project involved students watching the movie "Pay It Forward" and then discussing and identifying what types of local, national and international needs they saw as being important. Students chose to focus on different poverty issues and proceeded to collect books for Inner City Children.
Program Summary: Students planned this initiative from beginning to end. They first made contact with a teacher from Strathcona School and then put up posters and made school announcements to promote the project. They held a contest to get students to donate books and solicited local businesses and the library to donate books as well. The books were then organized by category a readability level. The books were then given to Strathcona School and children were each allowed to take 3 books home, or more if they had siblings. Over 3000 books were collected and distributed.
Feedback from Students, Educators, Parents and Community Members: The community was informed of the various aspects and successes of this program through articles in the local news paper, the school newsletter and the school website. Students at Strathcona School were quite pleased and the project was a great success.
