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Wednesday, 04 March 2020 12:29

Legion Corner (Hollowood Branch 425)

Steaming Hot Chili, garlic buns and fantastic cinnamon buns were enjoyed by a hungry crowd after the Polar Bear Plunge. Great entertainment put the finishing touch to a great Heritage Weekend.

The word is out! Wednesday noon at the legion for euchre and lunch is proving to be the go-to for mid week. Meeting old friends and enjoying a few rounds of euchre for a small cover charge of $5.00 is the best deal in town.

Our branch supports two students who are accepted into post secondary education programs. Applications for the two $500 bursaries are at Granite Ridge Education Centre. It is important to have your application submitted to the Legion before the end of April, anything later will not be accepted.

Our Zone poster winning entry went on to district where she placed third. Congratulations to Dixie Warren from Prince Charles Public School in Verona.

See you for dinner on Friday

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

Teachers from Land O’Lakes and Clarendon Central Public Schools were on the “morning shift” of picketing at Granite Ridge Education Centre Tuesday morning in Sharbot Lake.

“We opted for a more visible location,” said picket captain Danielle Harding. “The GREC elementary teachers will take the afternoon shift and we’ll switch shifts tomorrow (Wednesday).”

Secondary teachers are scheduled to picket Thursday.

Much like their secondary counterparts, class size is a huge issue for the elementary and intermediate teachers.

“They (the Ministry of Education) want to remove all language involving class size,” Harding said. “That would have a big impact on special needs students, who don’t get the attention they need now.”

They also don’t want to see changes to kindergarten programs and are deeply concerned about the Local Priority Funding program not being renewed.

In the 2017 contract extension, $56 million was added to hire teachers and early childhood educators so that class sizes could be reduced to a cap of 30 students in the first year in most full-day kindergarten the first year of the contract and 29 in the second.

Also, that contract extension included funding resulting in a four-per-cent salary increase for teachers over two years.

And while there is a 1 per cent salary increase on the table this time around, that’s not why the teachers are out picketing, Harding said.

“It is a contract negotiation, so it’s in there, but it’s not what we’re fighting for,” she said. “We’ve already lost that increase from picketing days.

“We would be the worst mathematicians ever if we were to strike over 1 per cent.

“We want them to say they won’t change the kindergarten formula.”

In all, they say cuts to education funding totalling $235 million will affect all students but particularly at-risk and special needs students.

Harding said they’ve been bolstered by the support they’ve received, particularly from parents.

“A lot of parents have dropped off treats . . . we like the treats,” she said. “Some have even dropped off non-perishable goods and we’ll see they get to the food bank.”

There did seem to be a lot of public support Tuesday morning with a high percentage of passing cars honking.

One driver, Dave Hansen in his red Ford F150, noticed a painting of Premier Doug Ford eating an apple on one of the picket signs, rolled down his window and called out: “Fords don’t last forever, you know.”

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 12 February 2020 12:42

LPS Teachers Begin Two-day Walkout with Music

LPS teacher Al MacDonald and some of his fellow Loughborough Public School teachers pulled together an ‘ad hoc’ musical group to entertain passers-by and SHS-across-the-road on Tuesday. And to keep up their own spirits on a chill, grey day when they would have much preferred to be inside with their classes.

Never mind that the drummer had played drums only twice before and ‘Strike Pay’ as a group has no intent to take their show on the road: their music’s gleefully familiar, and the words are sharp and sassy. For example: “Pants on Fire” (thanks to Johnny Cash), and Sounds of Silence rewritten as “We Won’t Be Silent”: “And people honked and waved/to the neon signs we waved/ and the snow flew hard this morning/my face is frozen, frostbite forming/And the sign said the cuts hurting kids/are gonna hurt for years/ Mr Buck-a-Beer/ And we won’t be silent.”

Strike line teachers were unanimous in their dismay about the Provincial government’s intent to save money at the expense of children who need extra time and attention: “It’s not just the high needs children who will suffer; the whole classroom ends up not getting the best learning situation,” said one.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 27 November 2019 11:07

2019 Community Builder Awards

Each year the Addington Highlands Council and the Addington Highlands Economic Advisors for Development call for nominations of a deserving person to receive a Community Builder Award in a number of categories This year’s recipients received their awards at a ceremony last week.

Abbi Woods received the Emerging Youth Leader Award. A grade nine student from North Addington Education Centre, (NAEC) Abbi has exhibited strong leadership skills and enthusiasm towards volunteering. She helped organise the local soccer association and was a coach, and volunteered with the Santa Clause Parade, the Lions Club, the Haunted Walk hosted at Sherwood Park, and the Trunk or Treat Halloween events in Flinton.

Diana Weichenthal also received the Emerging Youth Leader Award.
Diana is a grade eleven student at NAEC. Diana provides leadership through her involvement with volleyball and in the hallways of NAEC, where her positive demeanor welcomes others and makes everyone ready for learning. Teri Woods received the Citizen of the Year Award. Teri was recognized for volunteerism in the community over the past few years. She helped to organize the Breakfast with Santa and Touch the Truck events in conjunction with LARC, the township float for the Santa Clause parade, and the North Addington Soccer Association. Teri has had a positive impact on our local community for many years and has also donated her time to the Lions Club of Land O’Lakes as well as North Addington Education Centre.

Jillian Mumby received the Business Leader Award. She operates a small business and employs a significant number of locals depending on demand. Jillian recently built a two-unit family dwelling in Flinton to provide housing for seniors. During construction a number of local companies were contracted to complete the project.

The Township and AHEAD committee thanked the recipients for their efforts in the community and congratulate them on a job well done.

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS

Dear Frontenac News and readers,

Please allow me to respond to the July 24th editorial “One take on the shortage of primary care physicians” by Dr. Emma Cronk. Being a rural family physician myself, I applaud Dr. Cronk’s achievements, concern for her community, and desire to serve the health care needs of her rural community. I am concerned, however, that her years south of the border have led to a careless disregard for facts and a tendency to blame foreigners for our complicated domestic issues.

Dr. Cronk’s letter might lead people to believe that students from Saudi Arabia and other countries are taking up spots in medical schools and/or family medicine programs that would otherwise go to Canadians, but the data simply do not support that. I consulted the publicly available 2018 Canadian Medical Education Statistics produced by The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada to gather information on how many international students are attending Canadian medical schools at the undergraduate level and the post-graduate residency program or fellowship level. The document is 161 pages long, but I’ll share a few interesting facts I discovered.

First, let me address the undergraduate (= medical school) situation. Of the 2,872 new medical students throughout Canada in 2018, only 9 of those students (=0.3%) were not Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Three of those students came from the USA, and six came from elsewhere. Those spots were not “held” for foreign students … they competed for them. Of the 13,635 Canadian students (citizens and permanent residents) who applied for spots in a Canadian medical school in 2018, 19% were admitted. Only 3.4% of the 294 foreign students who applied for spots in Canadian medical schools were admitted. Of all the foreign students currently attending a medical school in Canada as an undergraduate (i.e. as a medical student) there is only one single student from Saudi Arabia here on a student visa. The country most represented in terms of foreign students attending Canadian medical schools on student visas is actually France, with a total of nine students.

Second, let me address the issue of foreign students and international medical graduates (IMGs) at the post-graduate or residency level. It is certainly true that some residency programs reserve spots for IMGs. Among the 1,466 trainees who began a family medicine residency program in 2017, 238 (16.2%) had earned their medical degree outside Canada, just as Dr. Cronk did. It is important to note that 49% of all post-graduate trainees in residency programs or fellowships are actually Canadian citizens or permanent residents who earned their medical degree outside of Canada, and are now returning to complete their training and hopefully practice in Canada. Looking at family medicine programs in particular, only 18 of the 3,514 family medicine trainees (0.5%) in 2018 were not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

The IMGs I trained with in the Queen’s University Family Medicine program were all Canadians, or married to a Canadian, and all planning to practice in Canada. Moreover, acceptance into the family medicine residency program as an IMG is conditional upon signing a “Return of Service” commitment, in which the IMG resident promises to practice in an Ontario for at least five years after completion of their training. They do not take their training and run back to some other country to practice.

Yes, in 2017 there were 1,561 doctors from other countries who came to Canada on student visas for post-graduate training, but they come here to train in specialties such as thoracic surgery (62.5% of trainees), neonatology (56.3%), pediatric general surgery (50%), cardiac surgery (48.6%), and critical care / ICU (45.2%) – not family medicine (0.5%). Yes, in some cases the medical schools receive money from other countries to fund the specialty training of international students. These international funds help to subsidize the cost of training for Canadian students. How is that a bad thing? I think it’s great!

Looking at the actual numbers of international students in medical schools and these various residency training programs, I fail to see how this practice of training international students contributes to the shortage of family doctors in rural areas. I could go on for another few pages about numerous other factors that do contribute to the shortage of family doctors in rural areas, but I will not. I just hope that I have to some extent dispelled the notion that international students are to blame.

To Dr. Cronk, I share your frustrations about our shortage of rural family doctors, and I appreciate how much it pains you that you are not able to step in and fill that need for your community. It is indeed a tragedy that Dr. Cronk is currently unable to live and serve in our area. Perhaps Dr. Cronk’s experience could inform future policy to prioritize excellent candidates who have their heart set on rural family practice.

Sincerely,

Sabra Gibbens MD, CCFP

Family Physician in Verona

Published in Editorials
Wednesday, 19 June 2019 12:44

An appreciation for a colleague

After twenty-nine years of teaching and impacting the lives of many students, Randy McVety has decided to retire. Sharbot Lake High School and Granite Ridge Education Centre have been extremely fortunate to have had this incredible teacher for twenty-six of those years and he will be dearly missed.

Mr. McVety has always taught in the Social Sciences department; teaching geography, history, civics, philosophy and law. He enjoys providing enrichment opportunities through field trips and guest speakers, making his lessons come alive. He has encouraged his students to be active members of society and understand their responsibilities through such organizations as United Way, Student Vote, and 30 Hour Famine. Mr. McVety was the driving force behind the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative in the civics class which has resulted in numerous charities receiving funding based on student presentations.

His teaching extends beyond the engaging lessons he has provided in his classroom. He has taught students how to give of themselves and to be kind to one another. His infectious smile and his big heart are fondly remembered by students as they understand that he genuinely cares and respects each individual student while encouraging them to reach their full potential as they pursue their dreams.

Since his first year of teaching, Mr. McVety has unselfishly dedicated his time to students by coaching numerous teams, attending leadership camps, and acting as an advisor to Student Council. Students remember those special moments where they travelled to Ottawa or Toronto or even to Costa Rica and Europe. He has been instrumental and creative in fundraising to make these opportunities feasible for students.

As a colleague, Randy has been a mentor to many. He has been a liaison between our schools and the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University, passing on his knowledge and expertise to future generations of teachers. Randy cares deeply about his colleagues and has always been a welcoming agent for our small, northern, rural school.

On behalf of all the people who have been influenced by this exceptional teacher and kind man, we want to thank Mr. Randy McVety for the wonderful memories. We congratulate Mr. McVety on a fabulous career and wish him all the best in his retirement.

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC

Loughborough Public School (LPS) grade 3 Anishnaabe student Nescia Giangrosso travelled to Winnipeg, early last month, to be part of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Imagine a Canada – Youth Leading Reconciliation workshop and national celebration, which took place at the Turtle Lodge International Centre for Indigenous Education and Wellness in the Sagkeeng First Nation.

Imagine a Canada also includes an art project. Youth across Canada “invited to submit an art piece about the way they envision Canada through the lens of reconciliation”.

Nescia was invited to participate in the workshop because the mixed-media art piece that LPS had created was chosen as the Ontario entry for 2019. 11 or the 16 classes at the school (aprox. 70% of the students) from grades Kindergarten to grade 8 participated in creation of the art piece.

The 13ft long piece, which hangs in the school, is called “From What Dish Do You Want to Feed Your Grandchildren From?” was inspired by the treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississauga and Haudenosaunee First Nations in 1701 that bound them to share the territory and protect the land along the Lake Ontario basin. The treaty carries a message of peace and unity, and it is its environmental underpinnings that make it so valuable in a modern context. This was the inspiration for the art piece.

But the idea of one bowl (or one dish) one spoon is an old one in North America, signifying an agreement to share hunting grounds between neighbouring peoples. It refers to sharing the harvest as well as ensuring that there is plenty left for future generations to share.

The idea for the piece came from a walk that Nescia took with her mother and her little brother along a creek bed that runs through their backyard. When their mother Janza knelt down and thanked the creek, it sparked the idea that led to the art piece that the Loughborough students ultimately made, and idea about reconciliation with the natural world.

When Anishnaabe elder Deb St. Amant and Anishnaabe parent Janza Giangrosso shared the teachings about One Dish, One Spoon, and the wampum that it has inspired (see photo). They included some text from John Burrows about the wampum.

“We all eat out of the dish, all of us that share this territory, with only one spoon. That means that we share the responsibility of ensuring that the dish is never empty; which includes taking care of the land and the creatures we share it with. Importantly there are no knives at the table, representing that we must keep the peace,” he wrote.

The classes decided to "What do you want your grandchildren to eat?" - detail look at what they ate and where it came from, and ask the question, ‘what dish do you want to feed your grandchildren from?’.

They had the idea for the art piece. On one side it would be wrappers and garbage that litters the community, it would have beaver pelts in the middle, and birch bark on the other side.

They cut out squares of birch for one side, and cut out wrappers and other found materials for the other side. Then they sewed them together to make a very large installation. They each reflected on the piece and wrote their thoughts in many of the squares.

Each side of the piece represents an option for the future.

In her presentation in Winnipeg, Nescia said “Reconciliation is more than just reconciling our relationships with each other. We need to reconcile our relationship with nimamaki (mother earth). She has loved and supported us for generations. We learned about the honourable way to harvest gifts from the earth. This awareness can significantly impact my ecological footprint, as it is our grandchildren that will carry the burdens of the decisions we make today.”

The submission from LPS was an effort of the entire school community. Students from upper year grades helped with the cutting and sewing process, and the school’s ongoing food initiative dovetailed with the project.

Janza Giangrosso, who was also with the project from start to finish, said that a number of passionate teachers in the school and their students made the project what it was.

“We really warmed the ground and as a community, got a taste of what Indigenous education can look like and what is possible when members of the Indigenous community are invited into the classroom to share teachings alongside educators”.

The submission that accompanied a photo of the piece, which was much too large to transport to Manitoba, concluded with the following statement on behalf of the school: To imagine means “to form a mental image or concept of”. This was more than just a dreamy conceptualization of reconciling this country. This work created a safe space within our school community, where multiple perspective, narratives and world views came together to engage in a real, visceral conversation about sustainability and the future lives of our grandchildren.”

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

Last week was a busy one at Prince Charles Public School in Verona beginning with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) night, a concert by the Blue Skies Community Fiddle Orchestra, a play from the 1,000 Islands Playhouse Young Company and then on Thursday afternoon, the school’s Grandparents & Games gathering.

“There’s a common misconception that there are two kinds of people — math people and non-math people,” said Principal Peter Mouncey. “That’s not true.

“Everybody can do it (and) math is fun.”

To that end, Prince Charles invited grandparents (and other family members) to have a chance to play new and familiar games that promote arithmetic and problem solving skills for Primary/Junior age students (JK-Grade 4).

“In conjunction with the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University, the staff at Prince Charles are participating in a two-year project to help families find fun and effective ways that engage children with mathematics,” Mouncey said. “We will provide all the games, some light snacks and a math card game for each student to take home.”

And by all accounts, it was mission accomplished.

As Grade 6-7 class members Jorja Steele, Maddy Parks, Sydney Leonard and Isaac Badour wandered around the games tables offering cookies and snacks they’d baked as part of their classes, grandparents like Ina Emmons enjoyed the company of their grandchildren and their friends.

“He’s (grandson Tyson Revelle) always at my place but he made a point of wanting to do this this year,” she said. “He said ‘you come, you come.’”

Grandfather Peter Fitzsimmons was part of a larger group playing the card game Uno.

“Nobody knows the rules,” he joked. “They’re (the kids) picking on us.”

SK-Grade 1 teacher Lee Casement said games are a good way to teach concepts like probability, spatial sense and counting.

“This was so successful last year, we just had to do it again,” he said. “I remember being a student here in the ’80s and we’d have a grandparents tea.

“It’s nice bringing this concept back.”

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

It was hard to tell who was having more fun last Wednesday at GREC — the organizers of the music workshops going on, or the students participating in them.

“Teaching is an art form,” said vice-principal Kristin Stevens, the main coordinator of the artistic events. “Art finds its way into everything (and) fun is always our focus.”

This particular event, made possible by Al Rankin, Blue Skies and Live Wire Music, the Parents Council and an Arts grant from the Limestone District School Board, featured about 150 Grade 4-8 students from GREC, Land O’Lakes Public School, Prince Charles Public School and Clarendon Central Public School. The students spent the day rotating through music and instrument-making workshops including flute making, indigenous drumming and song, drum making and acoustic instruments.

“The students are making art,” Stevens said. “They’re learning indigenous drumming and the value of arts endeavours.”

Judy Montgomery and Pam Giroux led the indigenous drumming/singing workshop.

“We’re having loads of fun working with the students,” Montgomery said. “We’re teaching them why we have music — why people sing.

“We give thanks to Mother Earth and our connection to the Earth.

“It encompasses the language and gives a sense of peace and well-being.”

And to get a sense of what’s involved in making music, students got a chance to make their own instruments.

Lily Legacy, who’s been known to create symphonies with nothing more than plastic buckets and enthusiasm, led a drum-making workshop where students made their own “indigenous inspired” hand drums out of tubes used for pouring concrete footings and packing tape.

“They’re super cheap,” Legacy said. “And they’re making drumsticks from dowels and hockey tape.

“It’s a good day.”

Over in the wood shop, students were drilling holes in dowels and creating unique flutes.

“When I’m not teaching, I’m making music or doing carpentry,” said teacher Julia Schall. “These kids are super engaged.”

Finally, students got to spend some time with Teilhard Frost, a fiddler by trade but also a music historian and on this day, he was passing along his knowledge of the not-so-common aspects of acoustic instruments, showing how just about anything can be used to make music.

“I picked some grass in the front yard of the school to show kids how to make notes blowing through it,” he said. “You don’t need anything other than what’s always been around to make music.

“You can be a drumset — without a drumset.”

Frost said he showed the students the relationship between a conch shell and a trumpet.

“You want people to know you’re there,” he said. “And a jug is the basis for hip-hop and beatbox.

He said this is the basis for his acoustic music project — “No Batteries required.”

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC

Where could you find a scale model of the CN Tower, complete with elevator, a 3D modelling of your school and a working trebuchet?

That would be the Loughborough Public School Maker Faire, which was on display to the public last Thursday afternoon in Sydenham.

Teacher Alan MacDonald, who was one of the organizers of the event, said this was the third time they’ve done this and this time, it involved the entire student body — from kindergarten to Grade 8.

“This isn’t a science fair, where getting help from parents and neighbours is illegal,” he said. “Here, it’s encouraged.

“The idea is to make something you’re interested in. The spelling of ‘Faire’ is french for ‘to do’ or ‘to make.’”

MacDonald said another way this differs from a science fair is that it’s non-competitive.

“If it were competitive, kids might be more apt to make something they already know how to do,” he said. “In this, kids are much more apt to take risks.”

He said another inspiring attraction for students is that there is lots of choice in what they make.

“There’s really only one rule,” he said. “You can’t do something you already know how to do.

“Oh, and other than the odd mediaeval weapon of mass destruction, it must be school appropriate.”

The mediaeval weapon MacDonald referred to came from Grade 8er Lucas Steele, who along with fellow student Jack MacInnis, built a working scale model trebuchet, which is capable of launching a basketball 50 feet.

“A couple of weeks ago, we were studying levers and mechanical advantage in physics and math class,” Steele said. “Jack looked up plans online and drew up a schematic.

“We built it at my grandparents’ house.”

Edie Hillman and Caitlyn Ball turned their love of all things Harry Potter into their project — butter beer.

“We had butter beer at the Universal theme park,” said Hillman. “We found a recipe online and changed it around a little bit.”

The projects on display ran quite the gamut.

There were plenty of dioramas, but also a Nimbus 2000 (Harry Potter again, it’s a broom favoured by quidditch players), horse treats, homemade cleaning products, a refracting telescope, bath bombs, jams, cookies, homemade essential oils, maracas, a catapult, a guitar and stomp rockets.

One of the more fascinating projects came from Keagan Leonard, who got dad Wade to fly the family drone around the school and then took the data collected to map the entire school yard, complete with elevation and vegetation components.

He then printed out a 3D version of the school.

“The idea just came to me,” he said. “I asked the principal if it was OK to use 3D printers and he said sure.”

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
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With the participation of the Government of Canada