Teeming with Potential

Posted on November 25, 2010 by admin

I had a special day last Tuesday. At the outset of the morning, sixteen bright-eyed members of Kindergarten visited me in my office. At this early stage in their development, every trip beyond the confines of “la Maison Maternelle” is a learning experience and journey of discovery. They asked what I actually do at LCC, and after some discussion, it still remained a mystery. The only “doers” in their eyes are their gifted teachers who teach, encourage, guide and support them everyday in their classroom. The children were satisfied with more pedestrian questions: what is my favorite shape (round) and colour (blue)? Why are all the “big kids” allowed to walk around without their teachers? Is the shovel in my office that was used to turn the sod on our new arena construction project in 2007 made out of real gold? What a fabulous group of children, teeming with potential and yearning to learn at all times.

Later that morning we had a visit from Walter Dean Myers, author of Monster, this year’s LCC Reads selection—our community summer reading/literacy initiative. Started six years ago by English Department Head Brian Moore and Head Librarian Maria Varvarikos, the program has been widely embraced by students and staff. Mr. Myers is the fifth author from the LCC Reads program to have followed our collective summer reading experience with a visit to 4090 Royal to address our Middle and Senior School student body. Mr. Myers was wonderful in explaining how he plies his craft: up every morning at 5 am for three to four hours of writing, always producing five pages of his novel—never six or four, always five pages. It is this kind of commitment and measured certainty that has allowed him to publish more than one hundred novels, mostly aimed at adolescent readers.

For many, the description of his early life was most interesting. Mr. Myers lost his mother at an early age and was placed in foster care. He suffered from a speech impediment that made him the brunt of many jokes among peers. Frustrated, he spent much of his youth in Harlem fighting, but not just with other boys, also girls, his teachers, and on one occasion, the mailman. Along the way he found comfort in books and became an avid reader. He claimed it was that skill that allowed him to mature and emerge. He slowly gained confidence in his own capacity to share stories with others as a writer. Mr. Myers openly encouraged all of our students to read as much as possible. Like our Kindergarten students, even our high school students need to remember that they too are teeming with potential. I am pleased that an accomplished writer was able to remind them that continuing to develop reading skills is essential to their success—and success they will experience because of LCC Reads! —Chris Shannon, Headmaster

LCC and Our Global Classroom Initiative

Posted on November 23, 2010 by admin

I have been fortunate to have visited India three times in my life, including visits to the bustling cities of Mumbai and New Delhi as well as a journey to the top of the world—to the Himalayan mountain state of Kashmir.

I am pleased that through the Round Square LCC will send two students on exchange to India for the first time later this year. It will surely be an exceptional and eye-opening opportunity for them. When they return we all look forward to hearing about India through students’ eyes.

During each of my visits to that country I have been dazzled by the colour and diversity of Indian culture. It is an ancient society currently progressing at an incredible pace. The city of Bangalore—India’s Silicon Valley—is a leading centre of high tech creativity and a symbol of India’s commitment to innovation.

With a population of well over one billion people—about thirty times greater than Canada’s on a landmass about one-third size of Canada’s—India is a country challenged by its need for resources and the provision of education and health care to its huge population.

In recent years, LCC has partnered with Health Inc., a small non-profit organization committed to bringing literacy, health care and community-building activities to India’s most remote villages—on the top of the world in the northern state of Ladakh in the Himalayan mountains.

Our newest venture is The Global Classroom Initiative; a special partnership between LCC and Health Inc. We are currently hosting Health Inc.’s founder Cynthia Hunt and three young Ladakhi leaders-in-training on a special educational exchange that will continue until mid-December.

In addition to following some of our daily routines in classes and on the hockey rink, this group is focusing on learning IT skills so they can be proficient at making videos. They will then be able to teach other Ladakhi students to tell video stories to us and to the world.

We intend to send LCC staff to Ladakh to help set up a satellite supported classroom so that we can use dependable technology to bring us closer together. We have already sent some young LCC alumni to Ladakh and some day we hope to send students. If you are interested in our Global Classroom project, check out this video and feel free to contact us directly if you want further information. —Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Getting to Know Ourselves Through Others

Posted on November 18, 2010 by admin

On November 8, 9 and 10, seven students from Lower Canada College were given the privilege of travelling to Camp Massawippi with six severely disabled children from the Mackay Centre. It turned out to be an unforgettable experience for everyone concerned.

We had previously spent two mornings at the Mackay Centre getting to know the children who would be coming with us on the trip. However, as we boarded the bus bright and early on the morning of our departure for the camp, we were excited, but also not too sure of what to expect. One thing we certainly had not expected was that the bus would break down about an hour outside of Montreal! Unfortunately, we found ourselves stranded at Tim Horton’s for an hour as we waited for a replacement bus. One hundred and twenty (120) Timbits and 20 chicken nuggets later, we were once again on the road to Camp Massawippi.

Because the weather did not lend itself to outdoor activities on the first day, we had fun painting pumpkins with the kids, and playing a game of Monsters Inc. After a great spaghetti dinner we had open mic night. By the end of the evening, everyone was feeling much more comfortable in the new surroundings, and we headed off to our bunks for a good night’s sleep.

The next morning we woke up and had breakfast, then went out for a hike in the woods. The rain made it hard to push the wheelchairs up the hills, but it didn’t dampen our spirits. We managed to come back to the camp with a Christmas tree for the classroom back at the Mackay Centre. We had lunch and then started an arts activity, which consisted of painting a mural to be hung up back in the Mackay classroom. We used leaves gathered on the hike to decorate the painting. We had an amazing roast beef dinner, followed by a talent show during which we sang a song that we had composed the night before about each of the Mackay students we were with. Once the song was finished we gathered at the campfire on the shore where we enjoyed smores, chocolate-filled bananas and attempted to sing campfire songs.

On the last morning, we made a huge brunch for everyone. It was comprised of 40 pieces of bacon (which wasn’t enough), 35 eggs and home-fried potatoes. We had a face-painting session and then before we knew it, we had to leave.

This was truly an amazing experience, and one that we will never forget. Each of us learned so much, not only about what it means to have a disability, but about ourselves and the importance of appreciating everything we have.

Noah Schouela ’11
Thalia Nghiem ’11
Isabelle Thibeault ’11
Jennifer Motter ’11
Alix Faraggi ’12
Sam Ergina ’12
Kevin Fraser ’12

Operation Veteran

Posted on November 17, 2010 by admin

A normal November 11th for LCC students would involve missing an hour of class to take part in a Remembrance Day ceremony in the Memorial Gym. During this time, the younger generations try to imagine what it would be like going off to war, not knowing the outcome or if they would ever return. Fortunately for five LCC students, the outcome of their day exceeded their expectations in every way.

Arriving in Ottawa, teachers and students alike were curious to see what the day had in store. It began with a brief meet and greet with distinguished guests who were taking part in the ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. These students had the privilege of taking part in an initiative started by a generous couple that believes in the importance of teaching younger generations the need for peace. They created an organization that permits veterans to have a fresh hot meal four days of the year at the War Museum in Ottawa, as well as bringing students to Ottawa on November 11th. This year in particular marked a significant event for Operation Veteran; it is the first year where they have received enough donations to supply hot meals to veterans every day of the year.

Following the meet and greet, the group travelled to the Tomb of the Unknown Solder to watch the ceremony. Many students were surprised to see more then 30,000 people ready to remember the fallen of WWI, WWII, the Korean War and the peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan. Throughout the ceremony, Canadians remembered the soldiers who gave up their lives for their freedom. The students were able to see the impact war has on our society, and the amount of people that were affected by the wars. The most memorable part of the ceremony was the poem written by the ten-year-old daughter of a fallen soldier. It surprised me the most because a ten-year-old isn’t supposed to know anything about war or death. As the ceremony was brought to close with the singing of the choir, many of the 30,000 Canadians in attendance put their poppies on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Around noon, we had lunch with two veterans who spoke to us about their time in the war. Although the war seems like a dire subject, these veterans kept their stories light and positive. We were also given the opportunity to see a lecture by an author who has written a book about the Highway of Heroes. As someone who did not know that this was going, I was particularly moved by the idea and of some of the stories she told. Our final activity of the day was a tour of the war museum. The guide gave us some insightful details and information about the architecture of the building and some of its symbolism. In many sections of the building the windows create a sentence in Morse code, for example, Lest We Forget. It was incredible to look at the artifacts from these wars and understand some of the weaponry used during those times. Throughout the museum, many other veterans were there who taught us about their jobs in the war. Being able to talk to many of these veterans was a rare opportunity that we were lucky enough to have.

At the end of the day, the bus ride back to Montreal was quiet. All 40 students had experienced, learned and remembered.

We would like to thank the creators of Operation Veteran who allowed us to go to Ottawa. November 11, 2010, was the first day that I truly understood what it meant to be Canadian. I believe that every student will remember their experience and be forever moved. –Christiane Heseltine ’12

The Wonder of Mr. Machai Viravaidya

Posted on October 27, 2010 by admin

I recently attended the annual Round Square international conference in Thailand along with six LCC student-delegates. This international association of 80 schools from across the globe continues to focus on key values and IDEALS we promote regularly in our school (Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership, Service). Active learning experiences such as the annual international conference connect students, teachers and administrators and open eyes to major issues and challenges far from home. In addition to a host of excellent keynote speakers, discussion groups and cultural activities, I had the opportunity to participate in two separate service days, including a memorable day connecting with young children and babies at a Thai orphanage run by the Catholic church.

Although there is much to reflect on from this eye-opening experience, I will share my impressions of a single speaker. Mr. Machai Viravaidya is an impressive and humorous Thai man who has led an incredibly accomplished life of service and initiative, mostly dedicated to improving public health at the broadest level in Thailand. Known as Thailand’s “Condom King,” Mr. Viravaidya has spent decades distributing condoms across the country—years before it was being done widely in most countries. This was a big deal in Thailand as it is a very conservative and traditional country. He made the topic of family planning fun, distributing free board games which educated people, giving taxi drivers and police thousands of condoms to distribute to the general public and holding an annual condom blowing championship. He also started a chain of restaurants called “Cabbages and Condoms,” hoping that condoms would some day be as common as cabbages. He joked with student delegates at our conference to remember that condoms aren’t dangerous, they are what he calls useful “weapons of mass protection.”

As the founder of PDA, Thailand’s largest non-profit development association, Machai Viravaidya has played a key role in developing Thailand’s immensely successful family planning initiatives. This has led to one of the fastest reductions in birth rate anywhere in the world—falling from an annual increase of over 3% in the mid 1970’s to merely half of one percent today. During that time the average number of births per woman in Thailand fell from seven babies to less than two.

Mr. Viravaidya has also been instrumental in building Thailand’s comprehensive national HIV/AIDS prevention policies, radically reducing new HIV infections. In 2005 the World Bank estimates that these prevention measures helped save nearly 8 million lives and saved the Thai government over $18 billion in treatment costs alone. Amazing achievements resulting from one man’s vision and determination!
For his service toward improving Thailand’s public health, Mr Viravaidya has received many major awards, including the United Nations Gold Peace Medal and was acclaimed by Time Magazine as one of “Asia’s modern heroes.” Most recently he was recipient of the Bill & Melinda Gates Global Health Award and a prize called the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, with each prize having a value of $ 1 million—significant funds that he immediately put back to work fighting public health issues in Thailand.

Despite this success in family planning and fighting the spread of HIV, Mr. Viravaidya has not taken time to rest. Now he has turned to education, poverty reduction, and the promotion of creative solutions to complex problems in his country. He sees education as the key to success and has started a school called the “Mechai Pattana Bamboo School” which boasts the world’s largest geodesic bamboo dome (30 meters across), a climate change centre, a design and innovation centre, a democracy education centre, and what he calls a “Barefoot MBA and Philanthropy Academy” dedicated to teaching young Thai villagers how to make money and how to give it away. The students designed their own uniform, they sit on hiring committees for the selection of teachers, and there are no textbooks, just the Internet.

It was impressive to meet Mr. Machai Viravaidya personally and hear him speak. He is a global leader, an innovator and someone whose life motto could very well be “Non Nobis Solum.” His final message to his audience in Thailand was simple yet profound….. “If the educated and the wealthy don’t help with the world’s many problems, then who’s going to help? Go out and do something decent.” That’s a mantra we all should follow.

Check out his organization’s web site at: www.mechaifoundation.org –Chris Shannon, Headmaster