No Makeup Required

Posted on November 1, 2016 by admin

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We are the girls from LCC and we stand 800 strong.

Over the years, I have met many LCC alumnae and I have to say that we’re pretty awesome. Some of us have gone on to pursue exciting careers, some of us have become moms, while others have moved to exotic (and not so exotic) places! Whatever the case, we have all had unique journeys since leaving the halls of LCC and what better way to celebrate 20 years of coeducation than by sharing our experiences with one another.

As a grade 7 and 8 English teacher at the school, I believe that cultivating a relationship and sense of belonging with the women who have graduated from LCC is essential. I want my students to leave high school knowing they can come back, no matter what. Most importantly, I want them to know that they have a family within the LCC community. I want them to know that they are, one day, going to join that group of girls who stick together, who get together and who support each other in the most difficult of situations. They will one day join The Girls from LCC.

So, here is what I propose to all of you, near and far, lifers and non-lifers:

Let’s get together on November 26 and make it count!

Let’s make it count because we deserve to meet and laugh about the old times – the good times and even the not-so-good times.

Let’s make it count so that we can reminisce about our teachers who made us work, pushed us out of our comfort zones and challenged us to take on the world.

Let’s make it count so that we can talk about how we’ve changed, and yet, how we’ve managed to keep that 14-year-old self within us.

Let’s make it count so that we can start a group like the boys did all those years ago: I suggest we call it The Old Girls.

You are a girl from LCC and we want you to be a part of it all. You deserve to hug your friends, to connect with classmates with whom you’ve lost touch over the years, and to take the opportunity to meet new people.

How do you become a part of it?

Bring your classmates and tell everyone you can think of. Don’t take no for an answer.

Let’s take pride in how we changed the school for the better when girls were admitted for the first time in 1995. We made history when we joined the boys in the classroom and we need to recognize all that we’ve contributed to LCC. Let’s come together and celebrate.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Alex Mazzella ’04
(AKA the girl who never made honour roll or Ms. Saunders’ soccer team.)

De très, très, très vieux livres exposés à LCC

Posted on October 17, 2016 by admin

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La bibliothèque juive de Montréal offre des ateliers pour présenter des livres anciens. Ceci a permis aux élèves de pouvoir toucher, sentir et lire des livres du XVe au XVIIe siècle.

Voici des commentaires des élèves

Aujourd’hui, nous avons eu le privilège d’interagir avec des bibliothécaires du JPL.C’était très intéressant et j’ai appris beaucoup sur des livres anciens.

Aujourd’hui nous sommes allés écouter deux personnes qui travaillent à une bibliothèque publique juive. Après leur présentation, nous avons mis des gants de protection pour prendre soin des livres, nous les avons touchés et regardés avec attention.

Ce matin, j’ai touché une partie de l’évolution intellectuelle des humains!

Lorsque j’ai regardé les vieux livres, j’ai compris que j’étais en train de toucher l’histoire, et cela était une expérience mémorable. C’était “extraspécial” pour moi, car la plupart des livres étaient écrits par des juifs et/ou sur des histoires juives.

C’était un honneur d’être capable de regarder et de toucher ces livres.

C’était très intéressant de voir et toucher des livres anciens. Maintenant je sais comment la première machine à imprimer a changé la vie et la technologie.

Je ne savais pas qu’il existait des livres aussi vieux. On a parlé des premières machines à imprimer l’année dernière en classe alors c’était incroyable de pouvoir voir des livres qui ont été faits avec une de ces machines, ou juste écrits à la main.

J’ai trouvé cette période très amusante et intéressante. Je crois que c’est extraordinaire que ces livres soient encore intacts.

J’ai aimé voir ces livres si vieux en personne. L’exposition était aussi intéressante, car il y a avait des livres juifs tandis que les livres que nous avions étudiés en classe étaient chrétiens.

Regarder des livres d’une autre époque était très intéressant. Une des choses que j’ai trouvées cool c’étaient que nous étions capable de toucher des livres qui ont plus d’une centaine années.

On a eût la chance de voir des livres magnifiques, et on était même capables de les toucher. Notre leçon parlait aussi de comment la machine à imprimer a changé le monde.

Les livres ont été très intéressants parce que c’est évident que les informations dans ces livres ont été très utiles dans le passé. Cela m’a permis de prendre une pause pour réfléchir sur les moyens que j’utilise pour trouver des informations et comment ils ont changé au fil du temps.

J’ai beaucoup apprécié l’expérience d’observer les livres. C’était très intéressant et spécial de penser que ces objets, que nous avons touchés et regardés, ont été fabriqués il y a des centaines d’années.

La chose le plus spéciale à mon avis, était de savoir que les livres que je tenais étaient touchés, utilisés, et lus par des personnes qui vivaient des centaines d’années dans le passé.

J’ai aimé voir les livres anciens, c’était très intéressant pour moi de voir les livres en ancien hébreux. J’ai essayé de les lire, mais les lettres anciennes sont différentes de celles du présent.

Photos

Sailing to Schleswig

Posted on October 13, 2016 by admin

Ahoy, LCC!

At 0900 hours sharp, all of RSIC Louisenlund’s delegates gathered at the school’s harbour to grab a fluorescent life jacket and climb aboard one of two types of vessels: a smaller sailboat or a motor yacht. The five of us opted for the more hands-on sailing experience in cutters, or boats about 12m long rigged with a jib and a main sail and carrying 11 passengers each. We sailed for about two hours in perfect conditions – strong but not overwhelming tailwinds and no rain – to the picturesque town of Schleswig. Once we arrived, we docked in the local marina and walked around for an hour, visiting the breathtaking Schleswig Cathedral that dominated the skyline and walking down the quaint streets of the village.

On our way back to the school, the wind, now against us, had picked up significantly, producing white caps that splashed us with freezing seawater as we crashed nose-first into wave after wave. We had to tack back and forth down the lake, which required more work than during our leisurely sail from earlier in the day. When we finally returned to our berth, we were shiver(me timbers)ing, wet, but in good spirits overall. Although we were initially a bit apprehensive about the frigid weather, we had a great day and would do it all again in a heartbeat if we could! –Adam Vandenbussche ’17

In Gratitude for Democracy & Freedom of Expression

Posted on October 11, 2016 by admin

Round_Square_Graphic De nos jours, le citoyen global est célébré. On aspire d’être des citoyens qui font du bénévolat et qui sont actifs dans leur propre communauté, et partout dans le monde. À LCC, nous avons la chance d’être une école qui fait partie du Round Square. Les IDEALS de Round Square ce sont les bases de nos traditions anciennes à LCC. Aujourd’hui, je vais vous parler de la lettre D dans l’acronyme IDEALS : la démocratie. Comme j’espère que vous saviez, Canada est un pays de fière démocratie. We embody the IDEALS of Round Square in our every day life. In Canada, we are lucky enough to be able to study what we want, speak about what’s on our mind, and freely take initiative in any way we like. What if we broaden our horizon, what if we look elsewhere. What will we find?

Homa Hoodfar, a 65-year-old Canadian who, until some time ago, taught at Concordia University, is an Iranian-Canadian dual citizen with family in Tehran. On June 6, Homa Hoodfar was taken into custody in Tehran whilst visiting her family. The charges of her incarceration were unknown to the public, though many sources in the Iranian government claimed that she had been dabbling in feminism, exploring the history and encouraging the modern culture, making her an enemy of the state. She was held captive for a total of 112 days in what is known to be a hell on earth. She was captive in solitary confinement at the notorious Evin Prison; this prison is known to actually execute its inmates. Since she has a neurological disorder where her muscles can become frail and weak, she was in very poor health during the time of her incarceration. It was almost to the point where the 65-year- old could barely walk or talk.

Pour plusieurs, Homa Hoodfar a été un symbole pour la démocratie. Elle enseigne les études féminines à Concordia et elle a été emprisonner pour ses croyances en l’égalité. Au Canada, on a de la difficulté à imaginer que quelqu’un puisse être emprisonné pour cette raison. Heureusement, après 112 jours, Hoodfar a été libéré. Au Canada, nous sommes chanceux d’avoir la démocratie, au Canada nous sommes chanceux de pouvoir nous exprimer librement.

Zack Billick ’17

Grade 7 Nominingue Experience Trip: Games Galore!

Posted on September 2, 2016 by admin

2016_2017_Gr7_CampNominingue_002 After a refreshing sleep, the students woke up bright and early for a jam-packed day of activities. They spent the morning and early afternoon participating in teacher-led activities and then had some free time to play tetherball, go for a swim, or spend some time kayaking. These students like to keep busy!

During the afternoon, the students had the opportunity to participate in some activities led by the staff members. The students played War of the Words, where each student was given a lanyard with a letter. They had to group up to create full words using each person’s letter. Once the word group was holding hands, they had to cross a field and avoid being intercepted by the “illiterates”, also known as the teachers. The students were laughing so hard – it was great!

After grabbing dinner, students played a game to continue to get to know everybody’s name on the trip – their task was to fill in the alphabet using someone’s first, middle or last name. The students then laughed as they played Headbands where staff members placed a sticker with a name on each student’s forehead, like James Bond and Moby Dick. The students walked around and asked each other questions about the name on their forehead in order to figure out whom they had.

After a snack, we played an exciting game called Music Mystery. The staff members hid around a section of the camp with one musical instrument. The staff would give the students clues by playing the instrument and luring them into their area. The students had to go around and find all of the teachers, which was not an easy task considering Mr. Allison was hiding up in a tree!

After a day filled with activities, the students fell asleep to re-energize for their final day at camp.

We are now on our last and final day of the Nominingue experience trip and are packing up to head back home. With friendships developing, they’ll be ready for Tuesday’s orientation week and will have memories to keep forever.

Ms. Caspin and Ms. Mazzella