Kangaroos and Much More to Come

Posted on September 19, 2011 by admin

My first 6 days in Australia have been a completely different experience than anything I could have expected. Upon arriving here in Melbourne, Australia, after a full 24 hours of traveling, I’ve been flooded with a new lifestyle that cannot be replicated anywhere in North America, let alone Montreal!

My first night here was when I saw my first kangaroo. We were driving in the car around the countryside area of Melbourne when within 5 minutes we saw a whole group of kangaroos. There were at least 20 of them, and I was able to take some great photos, but seeing them jump around on the field was amazing.

Since the day after I arrived here, I’ve been attending Ivanhoe Grammar School‘s Plenty Campus, one of two campuses that are run by the school. Here, I’ve taken classes similar to those at LCC but the atmosphere is completely different. The school has multiple small buildings around a central courtyard where all the lockers are. It’s very different than LCC’s campus which can all be accessed indoors. The people at Ivanhoe, and also everywhere else I go, are very nice which adds to the amazing feel of Australia.

The weather has been great, but because it’s spring here, the nights are cold. Today, however, is the hottest day since last summer, reaching almost 30 degrees!

In my first six days, I already feel like I’ve experienced enough to last the next five weeks, but I know that there is much more to come. In a week, Ivanhoe takes a two week spring break and I plan on going camping with the wonderful family that I’m staying with. I’ll also explore the city of Melbourne and maybe go to the beach once or twice in those two weeks.

I’m very excited for what Australia has to offer and hope to see and experience as much as I can over the rest of my exchange period. I’d like to thank Ms. Shadley and everyone at Round Square and Ivanhoe for making this exchange happen!—Jeffrey Morris ’13

Learning by Experience in Thailand

Posted on September 7, 2011 by admin

On August 21 I found myself in a new part of the world. I kept telling myself, “I am in Thailand. I am in Thailand,” but somehow it never fully hit me that I am on the other side of the world without anyone I know or can to whom I can go.

As I travelled to The Regent’s School I kept certain Thai rules in mind that I had read in a guide: never touch peoples’ heads, no revealing clothing (shoulders & high thighs) and NEVER say anything disrespectful about the King His Majesty or the Queen. At first, these rules seemed pointless to me because these types of behaviours were never a problem at home, but I knew that here I would have to adapt for the next six weeks.

After an hour-long drive from Bangkok airport to Pattaya, I arrived at the school. After leaving my bags in my large three-person (at the time) empty room, I went for a small tour of the beautiful red brick campus with two new boarders from Lithuania. The thing that has stayed with me was the humidity in the air. What I did not know then was that the next day scorching heat would also be part of the daily weather here in Thailand.
Like most youths, I can dismiss the advice of my elders, so when I was told on that August night that the “pesky tiny gnat-like flies” bite and leave nasty marks, I had the uncomfortable pleasure of seeing what they did to me the next day. Any mosquito bite would have been ten-times better than the marks that these almost invisible flies had left!

The next day, things started to become more promising as I had my first hot meal (which was delicious) and went swimming with all of the girls in the boarding house. Little did I know that when I returned from the pool, my roommate would be waiting for me. Antaya and I got along the minute we saw each other.

Everything, so far, is great here! I’ve met many new friends, experienced a whole new way of living and learned to be even more independent. There are still a lot of things to be done here such as elephant trekking and visiting “Community Partners.” It is just the beginning of the trip and I already worry about when it will end. —Olga Jablonski ’13

A Welcome Experience at the Welcome Hall

Posted on September 2, 2011 by admin

Today we started our Youth Philanthropy Initiative by volunteering at a grass roots organization called Welcome Hall Mission. This organization affects the lives of many; the young, the old, families and new immigrants through their many services offered. This organization serves as a shelter, a food bank, a rehabilitation centre for men, women and youth, and as a counseling centre.

The grade 10 Woods House advisory visited this centre yesterday to give much needed help. We made food packaging for the people who will be coming in today, we inventoried school supplies from their recent ”back to school drive,” and we organized clothing that would later be given out to the clients of the Hall.

Working with such a great organization that helps so many people in our city was a fantastic experience. Knowing that the food we were distributing would go to kids and families who really needed it felt good. It was great to work with our advisory. As a whole I think we all realized how fortunate we are and that in a city like Montreal, there still is a great amount of poverty. –Alexa Dlouhy ’13

Students Compete to Support Local Charities

Posted on April 27, 2011 by admin

Last night, six groups of grade 10 LCC students made presentations on behalf of six grass roots charitable organizations in Montreal. Their purpose was to convince a panel of four judges that their chosen charity was deserving of a $5,000 donation provided by the Toskan Foundation through an active learning project called the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative. Students in grade 10 had been working since the starting week of school, learning about the need for charitable organizations, the role of philanthropy in our society and doing actual volunteer work at various charities. They then researched each organization to find out about their mission and history, impact on the communities that they serve, and the nature of the volunteer experience. Working in small groups, the students then put together intricate presentations with the sole purpose of convincing the judges that their respective organizations were deserving of the donation. The presentations took place in the Chamandy Auditorium.

Once again I was amazed at the abilities of the students and the good work that takes place all around Montreal. The students used their oral presentation skills to convey the passion that they felt for their chosen charities. They also seamlessly wove the use of technology, including still images, music and stirring videos to make their respective cases. All six groups were amazing, but the judges had to choose some winners.

Due to a generous donation from members of the Class of ‘85, the usual $5,000 donation from the Toskan Foundation was to be doubled. For the first time we would now be able to give $3,000 to the second place charity and an additional $2,000 to the third place finisher. It is really hard to talk about “winners” because all of the groups did an exceptional job. One day we hope to be able to give donations to any group that makes it to the finals.

Congratulations to all of the students, and a special nod goes out to Centre Philou, which took away the $5,000 donation from the Toskan Foundation, Generations which will receive $3,000 and Share the Warmth which will receive the $2,000 donation, both of which come courtesy of the Class of ‘85. –Patrick Peotto, Assistant Head – Advancement

This Year’s YPI Finalists:

Taylor Hodhod, Yvonne Hercun & Gabby Rappaport (Centre Philou)
Alix Faraggi & Alex Sinor (Generations Foundation)
Alexa Weiser, Helene Osterman & Valerie Rivest (Share the Warmth)
Christie Heseltine, Chelsea Voronoff & Chloe Stroll (Welcome Hall Mission)
Emily Tiberi, Olivia Auclair & Alexandra Masella (The Friendship Circle)
Julian Miller, Max Rabinovitch & Greg Wainberg (NDG Food Depot)

Dernier blogue!

Posted on February 24, 2011 by admin

Cette dernière semaine d’école était excellente. Capucine a dû étudier plusieurs examens, mais nous avons quand même eu le temps de regarder beaucoup de films français et de nous amuser. Il ne fait pas très chaud, pas de soleil en ce moment. En fait, ce matin, j’avais du mal à distinguer l’école à travers la brume !

Ce jeudi, je suis allée encore une fois à Paris. Le matin, nous avons fait des courses. À midi, j’ai rencontré ma cousine et nous avons passé le reste de la journée ensemble. Alexandra a 21 ans et vit à Paris depuis un an. Elle m’a emmené dans tous ses endroits préférés, j’ai réalisé qu’elle connaissait tout le monde ! Nous nous sommes promenées dans le Marais, nous avons visité la Place des Vosges et nous avons acheté de délicieux chocolats chez François Pralus, un chocolatier bien reconnu.

La semaine prochaine, ma dernière en France, sera folle ! Samedi, nous allons visiter les plages du débarquement de Normandie. Puis, de dimanche à mardi nous serons à Londres. Finalement, jeudi nous irons à Disneyland.

Je dois dire que ces cinq semaines ont passé beaucoup trop vite. J’ai rencontré plein de personnes sympathiques, avec qui (grâce à Facebook) je resterai en contact. Tout le monde me dit que je ne suis pas restée assez longtemps, il va falloir que je revienne. Ils ont définitivement raison !

Chère France, à bientôt !—Hélène Osterman ’12