Me Cojocaru rend visite aux élèves du cours de droit

Posted on November 13, 2012 by admin

Jeudi 8 novembre 2012, les élèves du cours de droit de 10e année ont reçu la visite de Me Cojocaru. Avec enthousiasme et dynamisme, il a expliqué les rôles des acteurs dans un procès criminel.

Voici les commentaires des élèves :

J’ai appris que la manière dont les avocats communiquent a beaucoup changé. Il n’est plus acceptable pour deux avocats de se battre comme des « pitbulls ».— David Rosenberg ’14

Aujourd’hui, pendant la visite, j’ai appris que lorsqu’un avocat est nommé juge, sa vie change. Elle devient plus privée parce que si un juge est pris en train de faire ou de dire quelque d’incorrect alors les problèmes commencent.– Eric Tellier ’14

Aujourd’hui, j’ai appris la disposition des personnes dans une cour criminelle. C’était loin de ce que j’imaginais avec l’image de Lincoln Lawyer ou de Judge Judy. Ensuite, j’ai appris les tâches des personnes qui sont présentes (greffier, huissier…). J’ignorais leur existence.– Thomas Boucher-Charest ’14

J’ai beaucoup appris à propos de la cour. J’ai maintenant bien compris son fonctionnement. Aussi, j’ai beaucoup aimé savoir comment un avocat devient juge. J’ai beaucoup apprécié la présentation et j’espère qu’un autre avocat viendra nous parler un autre jour.– Luca Saputo ’14

J’ai appris le processus pour devenir juge. Je voulais toujours connaitre les étapes, et Me Cojocaru les a expliquées très clairement! Maintenant j’ai une idée de ce que je dois faire dans ma carrière si je veux devenir juge.– Arielle Supino ’14

Pendant le cours, j’ai beaucoup appris! Je connais maintenant toutes les fonctions des personnes dans un tribunal criminel ainsi que leur position. J’ai aussi appris beaucoup sur la/le juge et comment tu peux le devenir. Tu dois avoir plus de 10 ans de pratique comme avocat, tu dois être recommandé et remplir une demande. J’ai aimé ce cours parce que j’ai eu le sentiment d’avoir beaucoup appris quand j’ai quitté la classe.– Arianna Silla ’14

J’ai appris comment un avocat pouvait poser une candidature pour être un juge et que la vie d’un juge est très « secrète ». J’ai aussi appris sur le rôle du greffier, par exemple comment il/elle donne l’ordre à la cour, et comment il/elle doit assurer que tout le monde a de l’eau, a les photocopies des preuves… Cela parait peu important, mais ce sont toutes des petites choses qui font une grande différence.– Brian Brotto ’14

Solisterra: An Influential Journey

Posted on November 8, 2012 by admin

This year the grade 9 and 10 enriched math classes were invited for a second time to Solisterra in the town of Kazabazua. When I heard that I had a second opportunity to head out for Solisterra and work on another outdoor building project, I couldn’t wait to sign myself up. Not only was I super excited to work on a straw bale shed and learn how to sew the bales together and apply the paraging, but I was also grateful to be able to spend another weekend on the actual property of Solisterra.

I loved working on the shed all weekend but what I want to share is how inspiring and relaxing Solisterra actually is. Solisterra is located in a small town one hour north of Ottawa called Kazabazua. It is a property of 350 acres and there are two straw bale houses on it, one playhouse and now there is a straw bale shed! There are two beautiful lakes on the property as well and the land is covered in trees.

The nicest part of the trip was walking in silence, in the pitch black, through the property from one house to another. As we walked, we heard the sounds of our own footsteps and the rain lightly hitting the trees, the wind that rustled through the leaves and the sound of coyotes way off in the distance.

Knowing that Solisterra is completely off the grid and that you are staying in a place where you can’t hear the sounds of cars is the greatest feeling. You feel as if you are living in a different but better world. Visiting and working in Solisterra opened my eyes as to what our earth can give us. And our hosts Frank and Dominique inspired me to work with solar energy and an environmentally friendly building. All in all, these experiences to Solisterra have been the most influential journeys of my life. – Mia Roberts ’15

Movember Madness @ LCC

Posted on November 7, 2012 by admin

LCC’s Mark Capombassis ’88 is our guest blogger. He shares how he, and subsequently LCC, got involved with Movember.

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I got involved with Movember because it raises money for men’s cancer. My father, Panos Capombassis, died of cancer: it was in his memory that I first chose to get involved. I created my first Movember team in 2011, and we raised over $120,000 with a mere six-member team. We were the #1 team worldwide (of 10 people or less) for funds raised…and we had fun doing it.

After the success of the 2011 campaign I wanted to get more involved with Movember, so I joined the Montreal Board of Directors in 2012. My goal in 2012 is to help create more teams and inspire more people to participate in this important initiative.

I was aware that Movember does a great job getting university students involved, but I had never heard of the organization doing anything specifically with high schools. I know that when I was in high school, my friends and I would have definitely grown moustaches if we had been given the permission to do so! We would have done it for the fun of it as well for the cause. With that in mind, I thought “let’s get my old high school involved.”

I had initially approached LCC to participate in 2011, but there was not enough time to assemble a team, so Kirk LLano (Director of Philanthropy and Alumni Relations) and I decided to talk about the possibility again mid-2012. Kirk gave me the go ahead to come into the school and talk to the grade 11 boys after lunch one day. With Kirk’s support and enthusiasm, he has created a movement within the school to get the kids signed up. To date LCC Stash is up to 48 people on the team and that is far more than I ever could have hoped for in our first year.

In addition to LCC’s involvement I have created a Canadian High School Network where another 20 high schools from across Canada have joined. Together we will show the capacity this demographic has in raising awareness and funds for a great cause.

My Movember goals for 2012 have been as follows:

Continue my personal efforts to raise awareness in honour of my father
Create a Movember LCC team
Create a Movember Canadian High School Network
Use the success of our Canadian High School Network to encourage high schools worldwide to get involved in Movember

I’m well on my way. — Mark Capombassis ’88

Round Square: A Rich Mosaic of Culture

Posted on October 17, 2012 by admin

It is rare to have the opportunity to sit in a room alongside people from five different continents, and to, over the course of an hour, have eight conversations with people from eight different countries. The conference, hosted at Herlufsholm Skole in Denmark, acted as a binding force between people from every corner of the globe: people traveled from near (England and Germany) and far (Armenia, Kenya, India, Australia, South Africa, and Canada). A beautiful blend of accents and languages could be heard echoing through the school’s halls at any given moment. We were fortunate enough to have delegates from all Round Square regions at the conference, so we knew that we had a culturally enriching experience in store for us. Personally, my participation in the conference was so incredibly different from anything that I had ever experienced. Although I have been fortunate enough to travel quite a bit in my lifetime, I had never had the opportunity to interact with so many people of my age from so many diverse places at once. I was fascinated by the rich cultures and ideas that each group of delegates brought to the conference. I loved hearing stories about their day-to-day lives. It was evident that although we all came from such different backgrounds and experiences, we were all the same in so many ways.

Several days into the conference, each group had the opportunity to display their culture in a much-anticipated cultural evening, which would prove to be a highlight of everybody’s trip. The event showcased diverse cultural features from each country, including a traditional Danish dance, a British poem recitation, an Indian yoga demonstration, a lesson on Australian slang, and many more. We were taken on a journey across the globe in just two hours. We, along with the students from Toronto, presented a reenactment of Canadian history. This particular moment in the conference truly captured one of Round Square’s central “IDEALS:” internationalism. The national pride that each group displayed, as well as international pride and appreciation for the enthusiasm of our fellow delegates, was palpable. The most incredible aspect of the evening was the lasting impression that it seemed to have on all of the participants; it sparked curiosity and desire to learn more about each culture that we were exposed to. The evening seemed to accomplish the fundamental objective of the conference: to “encounter, engage, and enjoy” the rich mosaic of culture that we were fortunate enough to immerse ourselves in for a week. — Allie Mayers ’13

Round Square: Conquering Fears

Posted on October 17, 2012 by admin

Our conference in Denmark was entitled, “Exploring Heights” and on the fifth day of the conference we woke up at 6:30 am as usual, to catch the bus to “Kragerup Gods,” Denmark’s first and only high ropes adventure course. Once we arrived we were split into two groups. Those in the first group were the first to start the high ropes course while the second group had to wait one hour so that there wouldn’t be too big of a line. Since I was in the second group, we crossed the street to what looked like an old barn from the outside. But to my surprise once the big barn doors opened we were shocked to see a human sized foosball table and an archery station. Easy enough to say we were well amused for that hour playing several soccer games with our arms harnessed on a long pole. While I was busy playing human sized foosball with some of the German students Maxwell had got a bull’s-eye in archery.

Once the hour had passed and it was our time to take on the high ropes course we were all excited. After everyone had been harnessed we were taken though a quick demo of how to safely go about the high ropes course. I had already done something similar to this in Tremblant so I considered myself ready to take it on. There were four different adventure courses, all with different levels of intensity, green, blue, dark blue and red. Green being the easiest we all had to start there. A German boy and I were the first to give it a go. At first it was pretty easy but once we were all the way up to dark blue I started to get nervous. The German boy I was with, Moritz, didn’t seem to mind the height. Once it was lunch break, Moritz and I manned the BBQ’s and made everyone’s burgers and sausages. The lunch break was well needed but we still had the red course to do!

Half way through one of the sections in the red course I hit a wall. At over 40 feet above ground, I felt I could no longer push myself to beat this course. But then I remembered something my dad always says, “mind over matter.” If it were the same course but only 10 ft. off the ground it would be a piece of cake. So I overcame my fears and finished as much as I could with the time I had.

In all it was a great day. Not only did I become good friends with Moritz, but I had also challenged myself and found a way to conquer my fears. I had literally “explored the heights.”– Charles Laframboise ’13