Duke of Ed Peru Gold Trip: The Pleasure of the Unexpected

Posted on April 30, 2012 by admin

To be honest, I don’t think any of us knew what to expect when we stepped off the plane in Lima on day 1 of our adventure, not even the returning students. No two trips are ever alike, and the Duke of Ed Gold Trip to Peru was probably the most eye opening experience any of us ever had.

What started off as a 4-day community service project in the shantytown of Las Palmas, ended up being the most fulfilling and selfless event any of us ever did. From making cement from scratch to adding it to the first floor of a roof on a small building and everything in between, the 30 hours of service we did created lasting memories and unimaginable experiences.

From there we traveled to the city of Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Incan empire. Guided by Trans Andes co-workers—Alex, Olivier and Greco—our 4 day, 3 night hike proved to be a lot more then just 30 hours of walking over 75 km. The surreal scenery in the midst of a magical mountain range known as the Andes tired us all out, but made real trekkers out of us.

Needless to say only three people didn’t get sick at least once throughout the entire trip, the problem was never missing a bed to get better in, but rather always missing the day’s activities.

If there’s one thing I learned from this trip, poverty does indeed exist and is very real. But even in the saddest of conditions, Peruvians find a way to always smile and work from dawn to dusk to make their lives more accommodating to their community and to ours.

Nighttime was never without lack of activity. From long walks in the cool air through Lima, to dancing Salsa and swimming at Markham College, to playing soccer with locals before bed in a small village during our trek, the diesiocho LCC students and four teachers on this trip were really shown the true bright colours that Peru has to offer.

Folkloric dancing, insane water parks, high altitudes and positive attitudes kept us busy for 14 days, but what kept us going was the encouragement and willingness to aid others. This trip will no doubt stay in the minds of everyone on that trip forever, the only question remains, when will we be back? — Jacob-Ray Falutz ’12

Enviro-Man #1: Composting

Posted on April 24, 2012 by admin

Even though we have compost bins all around the school, they are not very popular. Julia and I decided to make a video explaining what to compost and why. We used, as the main character, an eco-based super hero named Enviro-Man and an irresponsible teenager who has never composted.

Dans la vidéo, Enviro-man explique à Sally que le compostage aide la Terre d’une excellente façon et que c’est tout aussi facile que de mettre les choses à la poubelle. Ils font un course l’un contre l’autre pour voir qui peut composter la plupart des aliments et des articles compostables en premier.–Joseph Wiltzer ’15 and Julia Israel ’15

Debating in Halifax

Posted on April 20, 2012 by admin

Last weekend, three of LCC’s debating teams, along with Ms. Wall, took off for Halifax, Nova Scotia, to participate in the annual Donahoe Cup debating tournament at Sacred Heart School of Halifax. We arrived in Halifax late Friday afternoon and headed straight to the Lord Nelson Hotel to drop off our bags and catch our breath. Shortly thereafter we took a walk by the water where we all had lot’s of fun climbing up on a giant statue of a wave and then sliding down it. After eating our first delicious dinner in Halifax that night, we all went back to our rooms to get some rest and prepare for the upcoming debates.

The next morning we arrived at Sacred Heart School of Halifax, ready for the four rounds of debating that would be coming our way throughout the day. The topics up for debate were very interesting, and had strong connections to the world around us. For example, the notion of recovering artifacts from the Titanic wreckage site was brought up in one of the debates, and the fact that we debated this on the 100^th anniversary of the day that the Titanic sank made it all the more relevant. After the long day of debating, we made our way back to the hotel to get some much needed sleep.

Our third and final day in Halifax started off very well, with two of the three LCC teams making it to the quarterfinals of the tournament, each of them finishing among the top eight teams. Unfortunately, none of our teams made it past that point in the tournament, however I can confidently say that the entire weekend was all-in-all a success, with two of LCC’s teams making the quarterfinals, and four out of ten individual speaking awards being given to students from our school. I think it’s very safe to say that we all enjoyed every second of our time in Halifax, and that we’re pleased with the outcome of the weekend.– Matthew Steinberg ’14

Peru: A New Adventure

Posted on April 4, 2012 by admin

Wow, I cannot believe that one month has already passed since I arrived in Lima. This trip has been more amazing than I ever imagined, the friends I’ve made, the places I’ve been to and the things I’ve seen are all unbelievable. Since I arrived, everyone has been very welcoming and so kind. My Spanish is improving, my understanding of the language is great and everyday I learn something new. I still have trouble speaking but I manage to explain myself with all the different words I know.

During my first week in Lima, I saw some familiar faces when I joined the LCC group on the Gold Duke of Ed trip for the afternoon at a service project in Las Palmas. Even though I only stayed for a couple of hours it was great fun helping, getting covered in cement and seeing all of the work LCC has done in the past year or so.

This week I went to Lunahuana on a four day trip as a counselor with 11 year old kids. Getting to know the kids was my favourite part. I had a group of 12 kids and we were three counselors: a French exchange student, a Markham Grade 11 student and myself. The kids all practiced their English with me which I really appreciated. I got very close to them and it was a different experience as before I had always been a camper but never a counselor. It was great to switch roles!

My favourite activity was white water rafting in level 3 rapids. We took part in lots of other activities like horse riding through the Peruvian mountains, zip-lining across a river, repelling and rock climbing and Inca-teering (exploring the old houses of the Incas, the founders of Cusco). Finally, we performed a service activity when we went to a primary school and made a vegetable garden!

Le weekend prochain, j’irai à Cusco et a Macchu Pichu ( une des sept merveilles du monde). Nous partirons pour cinq jours durant le congé de Paques. Je suis tres excitée mais en même temps un peu decue car une fois de retour de ce petit voyage dans les montagnes, il me restera seulement 4 jours à Lima et ensuite c’est le retour vers Montréal. Je suis tellement triste que cette merveilleuse experience se termine mais toute bonne chose doit avoir une fin!–Eloise MacIntosh ’14

Career Landscape

Posted on April 3, 2012 by admin

Our grade 10 and 11 students are eagerly participating in Career Day this week. It’s something we have done for a long time—long enough for the ground to have actually shifted from under our feet. It has always made sense for students to aspire to traditional professions: lawyer, doctor, engineer. However, the concept of career has changed and fragmented a great deal in the past decade. Young people should no longer expect a long career with a single firm or institution. Change and transience are now the norm. We have also learned a lot from university dropouts, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, that has shattered well-entrenched notions of success.

With the development of the Internet, businesses, governments and learning institutions can now communicate directly with potential clients. Ingenuity and new digital tools have essentially redefined the world of work. Yes, there is still a need for traditional professions. However, even those professions are having to adapt.

As we move forward, noted Harvard educator Tony Wagner in his book, The Global Achievement Gap, stresses that it is now less about preparing for a specific profession and more about teaching and refining the following core skills:

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Collaboration across Networks
Agility and Adaptability
Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
Effective Oral and Written Communication
Accessing and Analyzing Information
Curiosity and Imagination

—Christopher Shannon, Headmaster