Le blog du MS Pride. Le journal étudiant.

Posted on November 14, 2012 by admin

After two months of being The Wire head, I have realized the challenges of my responsibility. I have numerous plans for the upcoming weeks before the winter break, and they’re all going full force as of this week. Zoe Doyle ’16, Rebecca Ross ’16 and I have planned a community service opportunity at the Grace Dart retirement home, which will take place on December 1, 2012. A group of grade 8 students, who are enrolled in LCC’s band program, have signed up with me to play a few pieces of music for the residents at the retirement home.

Un autre projet sur lequel je travaille est un café équitable qui aidera la fondation « Madagascar In My Heart ». C’est une fondation qui aide les enfants à Madagascar pour aller à l’école, car c’est trop cher pour les familles. Alors, à LCC durant le mois de décembre, Ryan Hawa et moi allons vendre du chocolat chaud, du café, du thé et des muffins aux bananes cuisinés par les élèves de Middle School Pride. Je pense que ce projet va prendre beaucoup de temps car il y a beaucoup d’étapes à faire.

Soon, there will be posters around LCC advertising this café, so be on the lookout! Also, I’m very happy to say that Middle School Pride has already raised over 270 dollars for Madagascar In My Heart! –Christina Papageorgakopoulos ’16 (Wire Head 2012-2013)

Parging: Worth the Hard Work

Posted on November 13, 2012 by admin

From November 1 to 3, math-loving grade 9 and 10 students departed for Kazabazua, a small town three hours north of Montreal, to help build a straw bale structure. We stayed at Solisterra, an eco-friendly community of straw bale buildings built by Frank Dutton and Dominique Tonetti. The boys stayed in Rosa, the main house, whereas the three girls (plus Ms. Saunders) stayed in Pinea across the lake. The group worked on a straw bale shed designed to house tools and solar panels, which provide energy for the buildings in Solisterra. Our job consisted of adding and preparing the straw bales for the shed, as well as parging the finished walls; this included placing and modifying bales, stapling chicken wire, and even sewing the bales! Our group was very productive, and by 5 pm Saturday, we had finished parging all but the second floor interior and one main level wall! This job required a tremendous amount of physical labour, but we had plenty of sustenance thanks to the delicious meals and snacks provided by our chef, Deb. After all of our hard work, we were rewarded with a trip to the town’s harvest dinner before the long drive back home.

This was my second trip to Solisterra, and I had a fantastic time once again. It was nice to be working with straw this time instead of wood, as I finally got the experience of putting together a straw bale structure. My favourite part of the construction process was sewing the bales together, which involved communication and teamwork. I want to congratulate everyone for putting in their best effort, and I highly encourage anyone offered to take the opportunity to travel to Kazabazua, and better yet, participate in building a straw bale structure. – Holly Faria ’15

Solisterra Take Two: The Art of Parging

Posted on November 13, 2012 by admin

Three weeks ago, the grade 9 and 10 enriched math classes were invited to go on a community service trip to the town of Kazabazua in Quebec. The moment this was presented to me, I knew I wanted to go. Three hours later, my form was already handed in. I could not wait to go back to Kazabazua for the second year in a row.

There we slept in a straw bale house at the Solisterra Eco-Cottages. We were going to stay for two nights and work for two days. Our task was to build a straw bale shed that would create solar energy by using solar panels and be used as a storage room. Straw bales were going to have to be modified and sewed together to make the walls. The entire shed was going to have to be chicken wired. And finally, the walls of the shed were going to have to be parged with a mixture of cement, sand and water. So much to do!

The highlight of my trip was learning the art of parging under the guidance of Andrew the expert. Saturday consisted of applying the first layer of parging on the walls of the straw bale shed. Making the parging was a lot of fun. We got to observe how adding different ingredients changed the texture and stickiness of the parging. Covering the straw bale walls was my favourite part of the process, as I applied this gooey playdough-like substance with my hands. Needless to say, I got very dirty.

During our two days, we got the chance to learn and work with unbelievable people. We learned about our natural environment, about the importance of trees, solar energy and the art of parging. We spent two full days in the cold, working nine hours a day to complete our project. We are happy to say that the shed was successfully built with no complications. What a wonderful experience!—Zack Shine ’15

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

MS Pride: Community Service

Posted on October 16, 2012 by admin

This year, Zoë Doyle, Elijah Flomen and Rebecca Ross are very proud to be your community service heads. We have a lot of ideas we would like to share with you, such as different community service activities you can do to complete your hours. We have already organized a show that the grade eight band will be performing in December, which will contribute up to two hours to their total hours of community service required. Several other events and activities will be available for the Middle School soon. These events will be fun and entertaining, yet productive at the same time.

Au cours du Middle School vous devez faire 15 heures de service communautaire pour pouvoir recevoir votre broche à la fin, mais nous vous encourageons à en faire plus. Vous pourriez faire des activités durant les fins de semaines pour accumuler vos heures. Il y a un jeu qui s’appelle «Penny War» qui va commencer bientôt. Ce jeu durera toute l’année, il est amusant et peut faire gagner beaucoup d’argent.

This year, all money raised by school activities will go to an organization called Madagascar In My Heart. Madagascar In My Heart est une organization qui aide Tulear (un village en Madagascar). La responsable du projet est membre du Round Young Square of Americas. Voici le site web: http://madagascarinmyheart.org

Nous sommes ouvert à écouter vos questions et idées, n’hésitez pas à contacter Rebecca, Elijah ou Zoë. Here are our email adresses: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Merci! Thank you! — Zoë Doyle ’16, Elijah Flomen ’16 and Rebecca Ross ’16