The Unfair Four

Posted on January 8, 2016 by admin

There seem to be certain issues that get pushed aside by the media and most of the world because they are deemed to be not as important as everything we do see on the news, however, they are very important to me. This is all in regards to the unjust treatment of non-humans. While I have chosen only four items to speak about, it is important to keep in mind that there are so many more which need attention as well.

Firstly, there is the issue of shark fin soup. Shark fin soup is a delicacy in China and a few other Asian countries, made by using the fins of sharks. An estimated 100 million sharks are killed per year for shark fin soup, and, in reality, the fins actually don’t add any flavour to the soup, but considering that a bowl costs upwards of $100, it is a huge money making industry that has no plan in stopping anytime soon. Unfortunately, for the longest time sharks were the face of beasts and killers, which makes it harder to get people to agree to save them. But considering the ratio of 100 million sharks we kill vs. the less than one human that they kill per year, I’d say it’s time for their image to change.

Secondly, there is the issue of palm oil. Big producers of palm oil destroy rainforests and the natural habitats of animals like elephants, orangutans, tigers, and rhinos. Not only does it destroy their homes but it can also seriously injure them since one of the methods used to gather palm oil is by burning the trees. In fact, one of the top producers of modified palm oil is the brand Nutella. However, palm oil isn’t only found in food but also in products like creams, soaps, shampoo, and many others. So, in the future, check the list of ingredients of a product and if you read “Modified Palm Oil”, take a moment to consider whether it’s really worth it.

Thirdly, I’m sure that nearly everybody has been to a zoo before, and maybe even got the chance to pet a lion or a tiger, either an adult or perhaps a cub. However, most people aren’t aware that those poor animals were actually drugged. Sometimes to make them fully unconscious, but most of the time just to make them a little bit calmer than they should be, because to the zoo workers the only well-being that matters is that of the people who are paying. Also, most zoos really don’t care about their animals since an animal like a polar bear, that should be living in the snow at negative temperatures, is currently living in San Diego, baking in the sun.

Finally, I think that most people have heard of the controversy at SeaWorld. Recently, ex-SeaWorld trainers began speaking out about what really happens within the walls once the spectators leave. Orcas are actually very similar to humans in the way that their brains function and that their bodies and health need to be maintained. Long story short, the whales were being kept in dirty, small enclosures, which damaged their bodies and even drove some to the point of insanity where they would try, and sometimes succeed, to commit suicide by ramming themselves into the metal walls. Females are forced to breed, only to have their babies taken away from them right after birth and moved to another park thousands of miles away. In the wild, Orcas usually live until about 50 or 60 years old, when they usually die of old age. In captivity, orcas very rarely make it past their teens, and none have ever died of old age. This past week, an 18 year old female orca named Unna died at SeaWorld San Antonio after “contracting a harmful strain of fungus”, which was due to poor living conditions. Campaigns like #emptythetanks and #thanksbutnotanks have been popping up all over the place, and you can do your part by taking part in the movement, and also by informing yourself more by watching BlackFish, which was the first push made by ex-trainers when they began speaking out, and it is really an amazing film. Also, try to inform others and make sure that they don’t buy a ticket.

There are a few people or small organizations that inspired me the most to make changes in my everyday life to help these beings. The one that influenced me the most is Keiko Conservation. Their main goal is to spread awareness, and they are so inspiring to me because they are three young girls from different places in the world who are actually making a huge difference and shining light on so many things most people don’t even know are happening. Black Jaguar White Tiger is a sanctuary in Mexico where they take in felines from zoos and circuses that have been mistreated. Third is Shark Addicts, from Jupiter Florida, and they go down into the ocean everyday to take hooks out of the mouths of sharks that people tried to fish. I love what they do because they have really helped changed the image of sharks to a species that desperately needs our protection.

On top of the ones that I mentioned, there is so much more that occurs everyday regarding beings other than humans that we could try to help end. Sadly, it would be nearly impossible for a small group of people who care to stop the Japanese dolphin slaughter or save rhinos from poachers, but we can all start with small things, like throwing your trash out so that it doesn’t end up in the ocean, or simply by cutting down your meat intake. Another great thing to do is to check out change.org, where you can subscribe to them to get updates not only about animals but about plenty of occurrences around the world that aren’t featured in the media, and that with your signature you can help end.

Thanks for reading! I hope that I have brought awareness to these important issues and that you can help me and the thousands of other people in speaking for those without a voice. – Alyssa Obrand ’16

Design and Innovation: Demo Day Outing

Posted on December 10, 2015 by admin

Last week, on Wednesday, December 2, three of us had the opportunity to attend the InnoCité MTL and Founder’s Fuel Demo Day event at the beautiful Olympia Theatre on Ste. Catherine Street.There we watched a dozen or so pitches from local start-ups who were either working toward making Montreal a more “intelligent” city or strengthening the community. The products being presented ranged from ground-breaking earthquake sensors and an app to help you find parking to easy-to-use portals for citizens to communicate with their local governments and a 21st century tutoring over text service. The projects were all fascinating and extremely creative, yet also very well thought-out and thoroughly developed!

Now, you might be wondering what on earth three LCC students could possible gain from an experience such as this! We are all participating in LCC’s Design and Innovation Challenge, which is a co-curricular that students can apply to be part of in the fall. Then, over the course of the school year, the students have to invent something, and design it, build it, develop it–whatever it–to present to a panel at the end of May. This invention could be anything: a product, a service, an app, a proof of concept… the possibilities are endless! The point of the project is to learn about the process of designing something from start to finish, including keeping decent documentation, collaborating with mentors, and working in facilities such as LCC’s new Fab Lab, as well as self-growth and independent learning. To give you an idea, some inventions between the five of us in the group include a mirror that compliments like a human would, an app to take you to the nearest safe location no matter where you are, an interactive 3D surface and a hairbrush that removes static. Quite the variety!

Back to the Demo Day, the three of us got a chance to witness genuine start-ups who had to start from scratch, like we were doing, in order to build a product that would interest the general public. We learned about the kind of risks involved with starting start-ups, as well as some challenges when trying to get your feet off the ground as an organization with extremely limited funding. It takes true passion, dedication and grit to do so, but judging by the excitement in each of the presenters’ voices, it was all well worth it!

For those who are interested, here are the start-ups that participated:
Innocité MTL:
DASBOX – dasbox.io
prkng – prk.ng
Sensequake – sensequake.com
UBIOS – ubios.co
Digitalstate – digitalstate.ca

FounderFuel
OneSet – oneset.co
GradeSlam – gradeslam.org
zora – zora.io
PACTA – pacta.io
SpherePlay – sphereplay.com
periodic – periodic.is
WARDEN – delvelabs.ca

Ultimately, we learned a lot from our experience and were inspired by what the start-ups had to offer. We can’t wait to apply it to our projects in the months to come. Stay tuned!

– Adam Vandenbussche ’17, Abby Shine ’17 and Amy Qin ’16

It’s About the Journey!

Posted on December 9, 2015 by admin

As our high school students prepare for exams we should all be reflecting on the journey that every student has experienced since we first gathered in late August. It’s a journey of learning and personal growth with a notable impact on mind, body and heart.

This morning I asked each Middle and Senior School student to reflect on their own personal journey – asking, what it has looked like and how it has felt?

Since September each student has gained new knowledge in various subjects. They’ve completed projects, in groups or alone, honed special technology skills, become better critical thinkers. They’ve all certainly experienced proud moments of achievement as well as difficult periods of frustration. I hope they are all learning how to handle both ends of the emotional spectrum well.

On this learning journey teachers have pushed and pulled, challenged and often inspired. Every student’s development and growth is complicated. Yet, as one parent recently declared after an evening of parent-teacher meetings, LCC teachers are “caretakers”. She was very thankful that our teachers are so supportive of our students.

Some of our students are quiet by nature, while some like to speak a lot and are still working on becoming better listeners. All have drawn on their capacity for creativity in their courses, but especially in developing what are called “Studio Habits of Mind” in Art, Drama, Music and Digital Media. This is the capacity to create, refine and improve work. In essence, they are developing skills for personal and academic resilience.

Pride is something we talk about a lot here – and it has often been on display in the classroom and in our many co-curricular activities.

For a large percentage of our students, athletics is a key aspect of the journey and involvement at school. With a focus on fitness, skill development and competition, most students have navigated dozens of practices, demanding coaches and high expectations.

Some teams won league banners while others fell short. However, the highs and lows of athletic competition have been an important part of their personal experience, providing many memorable learning moments.

Beyond sports, LCC students have been very engaged in many interesting activities. Dozens were Open House Ambassadors or hosts for “Student for a Day” events. They have stepped up as members of their Houses, iPride in Middle School, Grad Pride in Senior School as well as Student Council.

The journey has included debating competitions, Model UN, participation in the Destiny Quebec organizing team, Green Team, Yearbook, LCC Reads, Amnesty International, Duke of Edinburgh, Round Square, LCC TV, The Wire, Robotics, Movember, and roles as delegates to leadership conferences in Canada and Singapore. And of course they have all participated in a wide array of service initiatives across this city.

Our students prepared diligently for Monday night’s wonderful Holiday Concert and many are preparing the upcoming Middle and Senior School plays slated for the winter.

So yes, students should prepare well for their exams. But let’s remember, much of what they do here that is important has no exam at all, but does certainly test them. Clubs, activities, various inter-school competitions and performance opportunities are an integral part of personal and character development.

Since August each of our students has been on a marvelous journey. They have exerted a lot of effort, discovered some hidden talents, grown and matured. They should take genuine pride in that. No test or exam required!

Happy & safe holidays!
Chris Shannon – Headmaster

Active Learning at LCC: Coding & Robotic Engineering

Posted on October 16, 2015 by admin

LCC’s Coding & Robotic Engineering Programme provides innovative active learning opportunities. This year, coding & robotic engineering will be more accessible than ever from grades 7 through 12. There are specialty courses, integrated projects, and clubs, which include professional mentors from the engineering industry.

Integrated Coding Projects in Grade 8 Science

Last year, grade 8 science students used coding and robotics to set up an experiment that would help them better understand the effects of photosynthesis. This year, the experiment will be expanded, and will once again involve measuring the growth of numerous bean plants over a 30-day period. Each plant will be assigned different amounts of exposure time to sunlight. Robots will be used to lower a milk carton over the plants to keep them in the dark, or to raise the carton to give the plants sunshine. Students will program their robots to raise the cartons for their daily allotment of sunshine over a 30-day period. At the end of the experiment, the plants’ growth will be measured, and students will then formulate assumptions regarding the impact of light on the growth of their plants (view the apparatus demo and project site). This year, approximately 100 grade 8 students will participate in this experiment led by Mr. Tukkonen, Mme. Lalonde, and Mr. Auclair.

LCC Joins First Robotics Competition (FRC) with Industry Mentors

This year, Lower Canada College’s robotics team, comprised of 35 students, will be partnering up with mentors from the aviation industry as it competes in the globally renown First Robotics Competition. FRC is quite a change from the Canadian Robotics Competition (CRC) that LCC traditionally competed in; while engineering is still key, programming is also a featured skill. In fact, one of the coding platforms used in the FRC competition is Labview, an industry standard programming tool that is also used at all grade levels at LCC. Interestingly, Labview was also used to program several Mars explorers and it is compatible with LCC’s Vernier scientific sensors, leaving the door open for further cutting edge projects. This project will be coordinated by Madame Lalonde, Mr. Searle, Mr. Zuccheroso, and Mr. Auclair.

Middle School Coding Club

Now in its second year, Lower Canada College’s Middle School Coding Club now provides students opportunities to program on their iPads using Mindstorms. Add into this mix the latest EV3 robotic kits, and you have a recipe for some sophisticated active learning opportunities. Mr. Auclair and Mr. Tukkonen will be challenging students with a number of programming tasks throughout the year.

Specialty Coding Class in Grade 10

In grade 10, students have the option of taking a computer programming course with Mr. George. Using Visual Basic in combination with Excel, students delve into the more fundamental aspects of manually coding increasingly sophisticated projects. Precision, logic, and math figure prominently in this class.

Optional Course in Robotic Engineering, Programming & Artificial Intelligence

Now in its 14th year, approximately 20 students are enrolled in Mr. Auclair’s Senior robotics class. This course explores concepts in physics, biology, and psychology in relation to the engineering, programming, and logic behind the design of autonomous robots. Students are provided with a variety of hands-on challenges to design and program innovative, functional robots that can make decisions on the fly. Past projects included robotic football, obstacle courses, and the development of an interactive humanoid.

– Christian Auclair, Coordinator of the Computer Science Department

L’Honorable Juge Trahan parle aux élèves du cours de droit

Posted on September 28, 2015 by admin

Dans le cadre de la participation au concours d’écriture sur le droit des enfants, l’honorable Anne-Marie Trahan, c.r. a rendu visite à Lower Canada College pendant le cours de droit.

Madame Trahan a exercé le droit à Montréal de 1968 à 1979, au sein du cabinet maintenant connu sous le nom de Lavery, puis elle a poursuivi sa carrière comme juriste au service du droit commercial international du Bureau des affaires juridiques des Nations-Unies; elle travaillait à Vienne. Nommée par la suite commissaire à la Commission canadienne des transports (1981-1986), elle a été sous-ministre déléguée, droit civil et services législatifs, au Ministère fédéral de la Justice de 1986 à 1994. Elle a été juge de la Cour supérieure du Québec du 5 juillet 1994 au 30 juillet 2010. Elle se consacre maintenant à diverses activités au sein d’organismes à but non lucratif.

Voici les commentaires des élèves suite à la discussion :

La semaine dernière, Juge Trahan a visité notre école pour nous parler du droit des enfants au Québec et autour du monde. Elle nous a enseigné un peu sur nos droits en tant que mineurs et c’était un grand plaisir de l’écouter parler.
– Ryan Hawa ’16

L’autre jour, j’ai eu l’occasion de rencontrer et de parler avec la Juge Trahan, une femme qui a travaillé dans le système de justice du Québec pendant de nombreuses années. Nous avons parlé des droits de l’enfant, non seulement au Québec, mais partout dans le monde. C’est toujours un plaisir d’écouter ce qu’elle a à dire, et je suis chanceuse d’avoir eu la chance de l’entendre parler à nouveau.
– Christina Papageorgakopoulos ’16

J’ai beaucoup aimé quand la Juge Trahan est venue nous parler car elle est drôle quand elle parle et elle avait beaucoup à dire. Quand on posait une question elle allait en profondeur pour nous répondre le mieux possible. C’était très intéressant de rencontrer quelqu’un qui a déjà envoyé une personne en prison, mais aussi qui était une bonne avocate puisqu’elle a pu devenir juge.
– Madison Llano ’16

J’ai trouvé la visite de la juge dans notre classe de droit très intéressante et j’aimerais bien en savoir plus sur le droit criminel et le code civil. En effet, ça ma juste renforcé dans mes intentions de découvrir plus des choses sur le droit international, le code civil et le droit criminel.
– Giuliano Latella ’17

Lors de la visite de Mme Juge Trahan, j’ai appris plein de nouveaux faits et lois sur le Québec. La juge Trahan nous a enseigné le droit d’une façon intriguante et plaisante. Elle a répondu en détail à toutes mes questions sur le droit des enfants au Quebec, avec enthousiasme! Le fait le plus captivant que j’ai appris c’est que l’article 33 répond à la majorité des questions que j’ai sur le droit des enfants au Québec.
– Ryan Garber ’17

J’ai bien aimé la visite du Juge Trahan. Elle avait une très belle personnalité et elle m’a éduqué beaucoup sur le droit en nous disant son expérience passée dans la domaine du droit. Aussi, elle répondait à nos questions avec une telle facilité et ceci m’ impressionnait beaucoup.
– Adam Mahrouse ’17