Spirit Magazine - Winter 2012 'Service in Our Community'

SPIRIT COMMUNITY MAGAZINE SOUTHRIDGE SCHOOL

Winter 12/ Issue 27

Service in our Community

Inside this Issue Primary Years . . . . . . . . . . . . Pgs 2-3 Middle Years . . . . . . . . . . . . Pgs 4-7 Poverty and Justice . . . . . . . Pgs 8-9 Inclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pgs 10-11 Dignity and the Elderly . . Pgs 12-13 Environment . . . . . . . . . . Pgs 14-15

primary years service in our community related relief fund. Also in Grade 4, students continued the school’s commitment to Free the Children, participating and inspiring others to join in the Vow of Silence. Their moving assembly moved students in Grades 6 and 2 to also join in to show their support with authentic action. Still moved by the loss of Alexa Middelaer, Grade 3 student, Davina Lit, rallied her peers together with parents and their teachers to make many purple tree ornaments and book marks to be sold during the last week of classes. All money raised was donated to the Back the Bus campaign. In Grade 2 where students were studying the interdependence between schools and their communities as part of their How we organize ourselves theme, many were moved by helping the homeless. As such, many students made miniature Christmas cards to be given out at a downtown Vancouver shelter when the Angels of the Night volunteers went out in early December. We are all proud of the tremendous commitment shown at such young ages to really make a difference in the lives of others.

By Jo-Ann Murchie (Faculty)

sandwich making club • • • Grade 3 students visited the Surrey Urban Mission during their PYP unit on challenges as part of the Who we are theme.

Upon seeing the great need for more food, the children were anxious to resume sandwich making and took the initiative to begin a voluntary after-school club under parent facilitators and a teacher sponsor. Presently over twenty PYP students meet on most Thursday afternoons to prepare a box of 50 sandwiches that will be delivered by the Senior school advisory groups when they serve lunch at the mission most Fridays. To date about 300 sandwiches have been prepared.

Beginning in January Cobs Bread in Crescent Beach will donate bread monthly. This is a special service project due to its real “hands-on” approach, and one that is so very appreciated by the local shelter’s volunteers and clients.

“I come every week [to make sandwiches] because I want people to know that we care about them and I want to take action. I want to make a difference.”

- Nathan Leach (Gr 2) “I want everyone to be equal with enough food. Some people don’t have food. If they have a sandwich they will have something. It’s better than starving.”

- Isabel Hodgson (Gr 3)

pyp class actions • • • During the first term, different PYP units of inquiry led to student-initiated action involving community service. While investigating the impact of weather, as part of their How the world works unit, Grade 4 students learned about the tornado damage in Goodrich, Ontario. The children created and sold adorable Hallowe’en decorations and book marks, making money to send to a

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“Making cards let people know we care about every single homeless person. You should take time to think about what it feels like to be them and not ourselves.”

- Lukas Sorensen (Gr 2) “I wanted to do something helpful at our school.”

- Davina Lit (Gr 3) “Child labour is unfair, and I wanted to support the kids with the Vow of Silence.”

- Graeme Lister (Gr 4) “I was very impressed by the involvement of the whole class; each person had a specific role and showed such pride in the project.”

- Jackie Birch (Faculty)

junior school casual days • • • After the highly successful Terry Fox Run and visit from Cops for Cancer, the September casual day was for the BC Cancer Society. Such focus on cancer raised awareness about the importance of eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, sleeping adequately, and choosing not to smoke. The funds raised support such education, research, and treatment of patients dealing with cancer.

Also, connected to a traditional community service endeavour, the W.E. Kinvig Clothing Drive, the October casual day raised money to support the students at that school. W.E. Kinvig runs an after school homework club which not only provides time and assistance for students in developing important academic habits, but it also provides a nutritious snack for the participants. Our donated funds would support this portion of their extra-curricular offering.

November’s casual day brought in over $1,400 to support an extension of our annual Christmas hamper program. This

service in our community primary years

service in our community dignity and the elderly christina place • • •

money is used to put together additional hampers for single mentally-challenged clients who do not qualify for other hamper programs because of their single status. These casual days give our school the chance to work together to support local, provincial, and national endeavours. Students give their time to help organize and promote causes, donate items, and learn the value of shared efforts.

pyp choir • • • Students in Grades 2 to 4 practised all term and performed beautifully at assemblies, including the Grade 3 to 12 Remembrance Day assembly. Then they shared their talent outside of Southridge School at Semiahmoo Mall to sing Christmas carols for shoppers and family members. For those students who love to sing it is easy to share the joy of music with others.

“I like going to choir because I love to sing. I love to help older people get the spirit of Christmas.”

- Samahra Pawa (Gr 2)

christmas hampers • • • Each year is an amazing testament to the empathetic and caring families in this school. Once again, the students and staff sponsored seventeen local families, many of whom are new families to Canada. Vehicles were loaded down with groceries and gifts to be taken for drop off the last week of classes before the holiday.

The impact of such generosity can never be underestimated. For example, it is not uncommon to have sponsored families receive a hamper one year, and within the span of a year, turn around and sponsor a family the following year.

“It’s just good to help out in the community because most of the people have come from poor countries and don’t have as much as we do. They need our help.”

- Joshua Block (Gr 6) “I love the whole Christmas hamper idea. It’s great for teaching all of us the importance of giving to others at this time of year. I also like to manage my own classroom hamper because it makes me feel very connected to my homeroom families.”

- Sue McNeil (Faculty)

In Grade 7 we were assigned a project to give back to our community. My friend had chosen to help seniors in care homes, and she asked me to come along with her. I have been going to Christina Place every week ever since. Everyone there is so nice but someone that I never forget to visit is Dorothy. Dorothy is sweet, caring, and loves to talk about books she’s reading. One day while we were saying goodbye to her, she said that she might not be here any more. She said someone had stolen her money from her bank account, and she couldn’t afford to live there any more. My friend and I, broken hearted and in tears, went to talk to the manager of the care home to see if there was anything we could do to help. He told us that she was fine and that she had moments where she thought that people had stolen things from her. Finding out that she was going to be okay, and had a place to stay calmed us down. And although she can be paranoid about some things, Dorothy shows us love and compassion as if we are her own grandchildren, and we love her just as much back.

- Rogin Rashidan (Gr 9)

hospice • • • Walking in to the White Rock South Surrey Hospice I was shaking with nerves but over the three days I learned that a Hospice is not a place for grieving about death, but merely enjoying the last days of your life and living them to the fullest.

We got to do many different activities, not only helping the sick in the Hospice but setting up activities for kids who attend a grieving camp and working at the Hospice store, where I really enjoyed using the cash register.

- Bryan Froh (Gr 10) When I first saw the list of places I could volunteer one place grabbed my attention: Hospice. My uncle was in the Hospice before he passed away of cancer but I was in Grade 2 at that time and did not know what this place called Hospice was all about. Volunteering at the Hospice I learned that it not only treats patients, but they help people grieve and overcome the sadness when their loved one dies.

- Gil Jang (Gr 10)

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middle years service in our community tech team • • • The Junior school tech team is a great way to contribute to the Southridge community, and at the same time learn about technology and have fun.

One routine activity that the tech team assists with is Junior school assemblies. One tech captain and one learner help run the presentations for assemblies and in addition, the tech team help run special presentations and events. One example is the Junior school Christmas concert. The tech team students help run the audio and the lighting for these presentations, working in twos. The tech captains help set up the wires and lights prior to the performances, to prepare them for the Senior school, while the younger tech members learn about the lighting panel and sound box.

Last year, during the “Annie” play performance, we experienced some audio problems. We were receiving a lot of feedback (ringing noises) from the speakers, during the performance.

As a team, we were able to identify the problem and fix it by turning down the volume that the microphone was set to, so it would not be picking up what was coming through the speakers. This kept the show running smoothly.

Throughout the year, the students on the tech team reinforce their technology skills with frequent small activities when technology help is needed. Through these experiences, the tech team members create a bond, and learn to work efficiently in small groups.

- William Lauzon (Gr 7)

school tour ambassador • • • Being in Grade 7 at Southridge comes with lots of opportunities for students to do service for the school. One of these opportunities is applying for School Tour Ambassador. If you are selected, you are given the chance to tour prospective families and special guests around the school. For Term One, I shared this role together with three other students in Grade 7. These tours last approximately twenty minutes and start in the Great Hall.

We performed two practice tours with Ms Middelaer, the Head of the Junior school, before we were ready to do one on our own. For our first tour, we escorted Ms Moore, the Executive

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Director of the Independent Schools Association of British Columbia, or the ISABC, around our school. After hearing her official title, the four of us knew she was an important person. I remember the butterflies in my stomach as we waited for her to arrive. Once we introduced ourselves to her and began the tour, the tension and nervousness began to fade away. When we went upstairs, we became calmer and began to talk normally again.

As we made our way down the MYP hallway, we told her about us having no locks on our lockers.

She really liked that part of our school, and said that it showed how much we are like a community.

Ms Moore asked us all sorts of questions about our school, and we answered to the best of our ability. She also really liked the library, and thought the A.R. program was fantastic. When we were done, we told her what a pleasure it had been to meet her. Then it was back to class, and all of us were really surprised at how much fun the tour was. I was really looking forward to touring again, and when the opportunity arrived, I jumped at it.

Another chance to tour people through the school arose at Open House in November of 2011. We were touring many families on our own, and by this time it was no longer nervewracking. For the first time, we got the opportunity to tour the families of prospective students. Touring a family is really different from touring an individual. When touring a family, they ask more questions about your experiences at Southridge, and opportunities that are available to the students. They also ask about the subjects taught, class size and the use of the computers. The guests ask more about the school as a whole and what it offers. They are especially interested in the IB program. The first family tour I did was with a girl in Grade 6 and her parents. They were hoping to get their daughter in next year, when she is in Grade 7. They asked me a lot of questions about Grade 7, and they were really curious about the extracurricular sports. This was a short and informative tour for both the parents and the daughter. I hope it captured the spirit of Southridge and the pride of its students.

- Miranda Buchinski (Gr 7)

service in our community middle years peer tutoring • • • Peer tutoring is a way for students like me to give back to our community. I help my Grade 1 buddy get practice in reading.

As she nervously reads with barely a whisper coming out of her mouth, I help her with words that she finds difficult. It’s that easy to make a difference in our community. By helping my buddy with reading, she can increase her vocabulary and become a better speaker, writer, and reader.

- Emily Tees (Gr 6)

peer tutoring • • •

school tour guide • • • One of the leadership roles that Southridge Junior school offers to Grade 7 students is School Tour Ambassador. In this leadership role, four students are selected by the teachers each term to give tours to individuals or small groups that come into the school. These tours mostly happen during school hours and the tour guides must be prepared to make up class time at home. The tours vary in length depending on the size of the group and the ages of the children the parents are looking to enrol. The biggest night for tour guides is Open House. We have to know a lot about the history of the school and the IB program. Our abilities and leadership reflect on the school as a whole.

The most exciting tour we gave was to the Executive Director of the ISABC (Independent School Association of BC), Ms Elizabeth Moore.

She was really interested in the school and how the students are so respectful, caring and principled. She was fascinated by our “no locks on lockers” policy. It has been quite an experience being a tour guide. I have met new people, learned a lot about the school and gained confidence. I look forward to giving more tours to parents and other people.

- Landon Gill (Gr 7)

After recess I go to the Grade 3 class to tutor some of the students during silent reading. We always do many things, and usually I help many different students finish their homework, read, do their spelling, tutor in math, and much more; it depends on the day. I also have three or four students in a day that I help. It is really fun for me because I feel really good knowing that I am helping someone understand something better and that they will do better because I helped make the difference. The students are really kind and most of them catch on to the concept quickly, or sometimes they know what they need to do, they just need it explained differently. They are really good at the math we are doing right now, regrouping, and most of them just needed to see it on a whiteboard or need it explained in a different way.

Usually the student and I will read aloud to each other and I will ask them if they understand something that they seem unsure about, or we will figure out math questions on a whiteboard and using special blocks and then we will figure out four ways to re-group the same number to make sure that they understand the concept. In spelling we will go over their unit and check any errors and many times after reading it over, they will see the mistakes before I need to hint at them. We also will go over tests and see what they did wrong and how they can avoid the same thing next time.

I chose peer tutoring as my service opportunity because I love kids and I want to help them do better and feel good about their tests and feel proud of what they have done. I like to know that I am making a difference in their lives, even if it is just a little bit. I love my service opportunity and hope that those I tutor like me too!

- Amy Doerksen (Gr 7)

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middle years service in our community science monitors • • • When I was in Grade 5, I first volunteered to be a science monitor.

Ever since I walked into that door I was hooked. Now I’m in Grade 7 and I’m still a science monitor.

I sign up to come into the lab about once a week on a designated day.

While you are a science monitor you take care of all the animals and the plants in the science lab.

There are multiple plants that you have to tend to and a few animals as well.

Puff is the bearded dragon that we have in the lab. Putting my hand into his cage for the first couple of times to change his food and water were the scariest moments for me; sometimes I was frozen with fear because he looked like he was about to eat my hand. People would always tell me that Puff was friendly and he has never bitten someone however that didn’t make me feel any better. It wasn’t until a few days ago that I held Puff. I then realized he was friendly and surprisingly his spikes were like rubber. After that moment I was cured of my phobia and I was able to tend to Puff’s needs more regularly.

The most beloved animal in the Science lab and a science monitor’s favourite job is to take care of Cinnamon which is our guinea pig.

Whenever I pick Cinnamon up he tries to run away from me; it’s a wild chase around his cage to grab him.

Although when you do finally get him he’s calm and very sweet. Cinnamon loves his little house so wherever he goes he has to have his blue house; it’s his safe place.

While the guinea pig is safely in another cage, I need to scoop the bedding and put new bedding in so it’s nice and fluffy for him. Cinnamon loves lettuce and veggies, so I fill his bowl with veggies and lettuce on the side of the cage. Finally, I change his water so he has enough to last him till the next day. Taking care of Cinnamon is the highlight of my day.

Other animals in the lab are the toads. The toads are red belly toads that are NOT poisonous. My job as a science monitor is to feed the toads with crickets. Once I went to grab the

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tube with crickets in it and while I had the tube in the air a single cricket jumped out as there is no lid on one end so that I can pour the crickets into the toad’s habitat. I quickly poured the rest of the crickets into the cage then attempted to catch the loose cricket. I chased the cricket around the lab but eventually I was able to pick it up and put it safely back into its home. From then on, I let my partner take control of feeding the toads.

Being a science monitor and taking care of various plants and animals had given me the opportunity to create memories and have a good time with my friends, all while helping my school.

- Stephanie Naas (Gr 7)

recycling • • • Our service job is to do the recycling: we’re called the Earthkeepers. We signed up because we wanted to make a difference in our school. Although it is not the biggest difference, it is a small difference to help the world a couple of steps at a time. For recycling, one group goes around the school collecting paper from each classroom, and the other group collects bottles and cans. If there is some type of liquid in a bottle, we squeeze it out into a bucket that looks and smells very gross, and later we pour it out into a sink.

Recycled paper is put into a bag, and recycled bottles are left in the cart that we use. Everything we collect later gets picked up by people from Semiahmoo House.

Tareeq, Harrison, and Brian really enjoy doing recycling, and they are going to do it again next term without a doubt. Tareeq likes to do recycling in the Junior school because it teaches people not to just throw away things that can be recycled. Instead of people just buying new bottles, for example, they can recycle them so that they can be used again. That is great because it doesn’t pollute the earth. Harrison knows that he is doing the right thing for the earth, but the problem is that too many people are throwing away full containers. Brian reminds everyone not to throw away anything that can be recycled!

- Tareeq Mangalji, Harrison French, and Brian Rickard (Gr 5)

sali • • • I have been involved with Semiahmoo Animal League (SALI) for two years. They are a non-profit organization dedicated to the people and animals of Surrey and White Rock. SALI’s mission is to honour and respect the human/animal bond.

SALI helps at-risk women (fleeing domestic violence) keep their pets by caring for their pets while these women are in transition. SALI helps seniors to place their pets when they

service in our community middle years

can’t care for them any more and also helps seniors to feed their pets if they cannot afford to do so. SALI helps the homeless care for their pets by providing food and vet services (Southridge School has collected much needed pet food for this purpose). SALI has also started SALI’s Farm. Animalassisted therapy and horticultural activities serve to help abused and neglected children heal emotionally from trauma.

The farm will be home to neglected animals; the kids will help to care for them. I would like to continue to help SALI with the help of my friends at the school. Together I think we can do a lot to raise awareness about SALI. If you want to check it out go to WWW.SALI.CA. - Max Bueckert (Gr 7)

w.e. kinvig • • •

money we raised for W.E. Kinvig will go towards buying healthy snacks for this program. In previous years we have supported W.E. Kinvig through Jump Rope for Heart. Also, starting two years ago, our Grade 2 students are pen pals with the Grade 2 students at W.E Kinvig School.

Last year we had the opportunity to deliver the clothing donations ourselves to W. E. Kinvig.

While there we met their principal, Ms MacMillan and an amazing lady named Kookum who is a First Nations elder who works with students at their school. We were given a tour of their school and we met some of the students at W.E. Kinvig. The morning we arrived the school was setting up their annual clothing boutique in their gym where students and their families can come and choose from donated items for free. It was wonderful to see that our donations would help to fill up their clothing boutique. It was an incredible experience for us to deliver our boxes to W. E. Kinvig and to get to meet the children at the school that we were helping. This is a day we will all never forget. We hope to pass this project on to Madisen’s sister in Grade 5 when we graduate from the Junior school, so that this project will go on. We want to continue to make a difference in the everyday lives of our community around us.

- Kyla Davies, Madisen Muncey-Buckley, Isabelle Lei (Gr 7)

Our clothing drive started when we were in Grade 4 (2008/2009) when Madisen read an article in the newspaper about a school called Edmonds Community School that was in need of clothing donations for their students. This was when the three of us got together and decided to start a clothing drive for them. We collected items for Edmonds for two years.

One lasting memory we have from delivering clothing items to Edmonds was when we arrived on a cold rainy day. Their Vice Principal immediately went over to a box labelled boots and another box labelled socks and took a pair out for a young girl who had walked to school barefoot that day. It was in that moment that we realized how much our donations were needed by this school.

Now we are into our fourth year of our clothing drive. For the past two years we have been involved in a clothing fundraiser for a school in Surrey called W.E. Kinvig School. Many families at this school live in poverty. Several of the families are refugees who come from war-torn countries and aren’t prepared for winter in Canada. Many students at W.E. Kinvig are served breakfast and lunch each day because they do not have enough to eat at home. For some students this is their encouragement to come to school. This year the casual day

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poverty and justice service in our community tutoring at w.e. kinvig • • •

w.e. kinvig: typical day • • • We board the bus around 2:45 in between the Junior and Senior school campuses. There is a little impatience in the air; parents are lining up to pick up students from school at 3pm.

Our crew is ready to go. Everyone is super excited, talking about any previous trips, remembering all the kids’ names, making plans for what will go on, which activities will take place. Fifteen minutes later we are at W.E. Kinvig. The crew never waits for me, they run out of the bus, so eager to get inside and meet the kids.

“Yay!” I hear when I walk in the hallway; at this point I know that our students are already in the library, kids have been waiting for them and are all excited to see their friends again!

And it begins: students are working in groups, they may be doing their homework, reading, researching for projects. Our students are right there with them, sorting things out, telling stories, helping, encouraging and having fun. The hour goes by so quickly and then there is a game at the end and a great sendoff: our students make an arch of hands by the door and kids run through it to go home!

There is cheering, laughter, smiles and happiness all around!

On the way back to Southridge there are great reflections I always hear from our students, sharing what went on, some advice on how to do certain things next time. Once again, fifteen minutes in traffic are gone by like they were never there, a good way to wrap a Thursday school day!

- Max Sterelyukhin (Faculty)

w.e. kinvig elementary • • • My understanding of service changed because I didn’t know that you could have such an impact for doing something so little. I went to W.E. Kinvig Elementary and I discovered that the children were actually thankful for the small things that people do for them, like getting them a pencil or helping them to spell a word.

- Celene Neumeyer (Gr 10)

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I can still remember the smile on her face; my heart swelled with gratification as I experienced firsthand what a difference tutoring can make in the lives of children today.

I sat down with her and we began working our way through her math homework. She was particularly having trouble with this one topic, so I thought a couple of years back and tried to remember what it was that made me learn this particular concept when I was in Grade 6. I told her when I was her age what stimulated me to remember the concept was a song my teacher had taught me. The minute she comprehended the song she immediately began working her way through her math homework and soon we were all done. She told me how grateful she was to have me as a tutor and because I had told her the song she felt confident enough to do any math assignment without adversity.

Smiles fluttered from her face as she realized she had done it, she had completed her math homework and she had done it all by herself. She told me that before I had come in she thought there was no hope in finishing her math homework but with me there and with the new song just in mind she felt she could now go home and be in complete satisfaction, worriless about finishing her daunting math homework. Knowing that I had made a difference in her life made me feel really good. This experience made me realize how much of a change tutoring can really make for the lives of children, with just a little assistance and dedication one can be the help to millions of children around the world.

- Tarnjit Dhinsa (Gr 11)

service in our community poverty and justice growing together daycare • • • At the beginning I was very keen to go to the daycare and really looking forward to working with very young children.

After the first day, I was completely exhausted from having three kids to look after all day long. I did not know how my mother did it. I was less enthusiastic going into the day care the next day, but when I got there I began to get the hang of things and I discovered that I really love working with the kids that are newborns to eight months of age, getting the newborns to sleep and making the babies laugh and smile.

- Abby Wells (Gr 10)

options • • • I expected that helping out at the Newton Family Resource Program meant that I would be cleaning up after the children and helping with jobs like wiping down tables and serving snacks and lunch but volunteering there was completely different to what I had imagined as we actually got to play with the children and read to them or do puzzles with them. I was excited to realize that volunteering could be this easy and fun!

- Samantha McBryer (Gr 10)

family place • • • Arriving at the Family Place, we were immediately drawn to the wonderful, warm, and cheerful atmosphere the Family Place provided. Children were playing freely, cookies baking in the oven, and the soundtrack of Dora the Explorer gaily playing in the background. The greatest highlights of our work at the Family Place were definitely interacting with the kids and playing games with them. Every morning when we came in, dozens of smiles would light up and we would be persuaded to play with them. For days we slaved over plans for fundraisers and any other innovative ideas we could come up with in order to help the Family Place as they desperately needed resources. Our efforts culminated in the Semiahmoo Family Place Toy Drive. We noticed that they didn’t really have a lot of toys and art supplies so we decided to step in and help. After all of our efforts, we ended up with four large boxes of art supplies and toys that we sent to the Family Place. This year, we hope to not only continue our efforts, but to include the Junior school as well.

- Kevin Chung (Gr 11)

I volunteered at the Growing Together Daycare which is an organisation linked with Options that helps and supports teen moms by taking care of their children while they attend school at Guildford Secondary School. It was hard to take care of so many children at once. The days also felt very long and it was hard to stay patient in a home full of cranky children but I learned that no matter how small the action is, even if it’s helping one single person in our community, it’s making a difference and this has encouraged me to continue volunteering.

- Jess Kumar (Gr 10)

alexa middelaer foundation • • • We made a video about impaired driving and how it has major consequences. This video will be posted on BCAA’s website so that others can view it. During this experience something that really stood out to me was how many deaths there are in a year because of reckless driving.

- Kareem Pabani (Gr 10)

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inclusion service in our community over the initial shock of the smell, and the amount of work we had ahead of us, we all worked together, with two or three of us cleaning a stable at a time. In total it probably took us three hours to clean the stables. Once that was all finished we had a quick lunch break then moved on to cleaning the outside of the barn. That wasn’t as difficult, but it was definitely dirty. We worked fast and it probably only took us an hour to clean the outside of the barn. We saw some of the people who use the various programs on their way in and out of their activities and many of them stopped to say hello and thank us for our hard work. This made me realize that even though cleaning the stables was something gross and insignificant in our eyes, it really did made a difference to these people, even though we didn’t realize it at first. Reflecting upon the whole experience I was glad that I did go and help, because now I realize that they need people to help clean the stables so that the organization can spend time and energy on providing their programs for people with disabilities. Cleaning up after the horses would not have been my choice of an activity, but I am glad that I was able to help out, in any way that I could, and make a difference.

- Shania MacDonald (Gr 11)

prda • • • I woke up on the morning of our volunteer day, excited and ready to help out at Pacific Riding for Developing Abilities, an organization that provides therapeutic horseback riding for people with physical and emotional disabilities.

I was very eager to be helping out at this organization because I thought it would be an experience where we got to spend the day interacting and talking with the people with disabilities that the programs help. Much to my surprise when we stepped off of the bus, we were told we were going to be hauling planks of wood, cleaning the horse stables, and cleaning dirt off the side of the barn. We got off to a quick start, and began to move many large planks of wood from a stack onto a chain connected to a tractor which our instructor would use to transport the wood to another area of the property. This took us close to an hour, and then we started on cleaning the stables. We were asked to clean all of the horse poo off of the side of the walls, as well as scrub the stable gates. Cleaning the stables was probably the most disgusting thing I have ever had to do in my entire life. There was poo everywhere, it smelled terrible, and it was very hard to clean; we had to scrub for so long just to get the smallest amount clean. Luckily the horses were out in the fields, so we didn’t have to dodge around them. After we got

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PRDA is a foundation which allows disabled persons to ride horses; this makes a huge impact on improving their balance.

Since I have horse experience I was able to be more involved with the horses and I spent the week cleaning stalls and paddocks, tacking up horses and helping during the riding lessons. Alex, the main coach, showed us how to pull a cart; he was training a horse to do this so that it could pull people who are in wheelchairs or are not able to get on a horse.

- Lindsay Clarke (Gr 10) At the beginning I thought we would be doing the cleaning work for most of our time but when the people realised that Lindsay and I had horses of our own they gave us the opportunity to do things with the horses and the kids riding. I helped teach a vaulting lesson and I learned how to drive a horse and attach a cart.

- Lauren Ross (Gr 10) Even though I had to clean horses the PRDA benefitted because the people who run PRDA needed to be helping people with disabilities and not worrying about if the side of the building was clean.

- Lauren Moretto (Gr 11) Even though at PRDA we were not working directly with the people or animals we were doing jobs that the regular volunteers wouldn’t have had time to do and because there were so many of us the work went by quickly.

- Samara Davies (Gr 11)

service in our community inclusion this process, but more importantly, it is wonderful to have made such a kind, caring and confident friend who I would never trade for anything in the entire universe. The book is called “High school and Life Are All About...” and we are just under halfway done. Who knows, maybe you’ll see us both on Oprah talking about this book!

- Prem Sai Ramani (Gr 11)

semiahmoo house • • • The first time I met Manjeet was actually at a Creative Expressions party that we had to wrap up a term of fun art, media and drama activities. I had only been to one Creative Expressions session, but I thought I’d go to the wrap up party.

While I was happily gorging myself on the snacks that were there, Manjeet introduced us to her book. She was looking for people to help her write, design and format a book that she had already started. I raised my hand immediately and from then on I’ve been working with her every Thursday for about one year.

Most people wonder what Manjeet and I actually do. In essence, I am just a transliteration machine. Manjeet has an excellent voice, excellent diction and a great writing style. All I do is type what she says, give her little suggestions on words and mention a few ideas. In fact, she is the one correcting my spelling and grammar as I type. I also helped her with the format, and cover design of the book. However, working with Manjeet is not all about typing what she says and then leaving when we’re done. Over the time I’ve spent with Manjeet, we’ve developed a strong friendship. We joke with each other, tell stories about each other’s day and we even talk about issues we face.

Thursdays are always the highlight of my week and I always look forward to meeting Manjeet every week. It’s wonderful for me to be able to put her words onto paper and be a part of

I remember attending my first Semiahmoo House Snowball Dance in Grade 8. I had no idea what the Semiahmoo House Society was, nor about the relationship Southridge had with the organization, but when I walked into the Alan Brown Great Hall, I saw it filled with decorations made by students from Southridge.

The cafeteria had stations set up where the participants could make arts and crafts, and even get their nails painted by the volunteers from Southridge.

Everyone was dancing to the music, having a really good time.

The best part about the event wasn’t how nicely the dance hall was decorated, or how thoughtful the stations were, however, it was the new friendships that were built up between Southridge students and the participants from Semiahmoo House. When you looked around the room, it was obvious that the two communities were bonding. Everyone was dancing together, having casual conversations. At the end of the event the participants left with big smiles on their faces, and I could tell that they really enjoyed their time here at Southridge.

- David Wei (Gr 11) I learned how to interview people and how to work as a camera crew because by the end of the week we presented a video to the people at Semiahmoo House Society.

- Max Stow (Gr 10) I went to Semiahmoo House and joined their different day programs that offer different services to people with disabilities.

Our task was to make a video showing Semiahmoo House, their people and how it has changed their lives, as part of celebrating community living month. As we conducted the interviews we met different people and I began to understand what it takes for all people in a community to communicate, work and live communally and equally.

- Avery Kan (Gr 10)

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dignity and the elderly service in our community the residence • • • I had a fantastic time interviewing the residents and getting to know them progressively more throughout the week. I discovered some new skills that I didn’t know I had, such as being able to communicate with people with various disabilities that prevented them from remembering their past, where they were, or even who they were. At the residence, one of best things I did was help everyone be happy. The best part had to be “Happy Hour”, a social gathering for all the residents at the Residence. We all gathered in a room and danced and sang to music and talked with each other. This was an especially incredible experience, and seeing all of their faces lighting up and watching them smile made us all feel so wonderful. It was great to focus on giving them an amazing time and helping them be happy and at ease.

- Kara Van Donkersgoed (Gr 10) I started volunteering at The Residence at Morgan Heights in the summer, working with the complex care residents and continue to do so now. During service week I learned a lot more about the seniors living in the home and the home itself because I worked on the assisted living side of the Residence where I had never previously worked. This experience gave me a much better idea of how things are done overall in the home.

While working on the assisted living side I interviewed two seniors and took notes on their lives. From them I learned a lot about what their life was like when they were our age, and also about some of their struggles during their life and some of the challenges seniors face in their day to day lives now. The next day we made a collage with pictures of their favourite things and a letter that we wrote to each senior; I felt that my two seniors had as much fun doing this as I did and the next day we presented our finished poster with our collage and letter to the seniors.

When I volunteer at the Residence I normally work on the complex care side of the Residence where I help with activities for seniors who have more severe disabilities such as Alzheimer’s and while working there I also learn a lot about what life is like for the seniors who have more challenging disabilities. Volunteering at the senior home has been a great experience for me. It has allowed me to learn how to work with seniors much better than before and has given me the opportunity to learn what life is like when one reaches their age.

- Adrian Dray (Gr 10) I was given a tour of the Residence where I had volunteered to work for two hours every Saturday and I was introduced to a few of the residents. One of them was a violinist who had been part of Vancouver Opera Orchestra for twenty nine years. When I met her, she was in her wheelchair looking

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lost, and asking questions, “Where’s my violin? What is a perfect fourth? How many flats are there in Mozart’s E minor sonata?”

I knew her from listening to her violin solos with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra’s concerts every year. The poor lady, as I was told, was suffering from osteoporosis and memory loss. As a developing musician myself, I could understand her questions about music. After shaking hands and introducing myself to her, I answered them.

When I came the next Saturday, she asked me, “Do you play the violin?” I hesitated, and replied with a yes. After having a nice chat, I told her that I needed to leave. She asked me, “Can you play something on your violin for me?” I pretended not to hear, and left.

One Saturday, I arrived and something was wrong. People were crying, and moaning. The news struck me like a blow in the face. My friend was sick and at risk of dying. I was told that she wanted to see me in her room. Immediately, I went to her. She sat in her bed, looking extremely pale. I knew at once that the only way to make her passing less painful was with the sound of music. I called home, and asked my mom to bring me my violin. I went into my friend’s room. She sat there, still in her dreadful condition, and my hands began to tremble. Why was I so scared?

I picked up the violin with confidence, and began to play.

Ignoring the setting, I poured my heart in the notes. Familiar faces began coming into the room. I continued, but someone whispered in my ear.

I didn’t want to hear it. She had died. She died a peaceful death. That was what counted.

- Rishi Saincher (Gr 11) I have always really enjoyed working with seniors and I find it fascinating to learn how life functioned fifty or so years ago.

Just being able to converse with the residents always made me smile as did the way most of them were so positive in their final years. I loved being included in all the activities of the Residence.

- Jillian Brockman (Gr 10) I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Morgan Heights Residence. I was able to communicate and relate to the residents even though they were from a completely different time period and had endured experiences that I can only begin to imagine, such as in 1939 when Batman made his first appearance in a comic book. Almost all of the residents were over 70 years old, and most were exceptionally frail and forgetful. It was an eye-opening experience to see that we too could end up like that some day. Over the three days that I was there we interacted verbally and through exercise and sports. One of the residents that I spoke to was Vera and throughout our conversation I was fascinated by how much she remembered about the past, while others had trouble remembering their own name.

- Sooruj Ghangass (Gr 10)

service in our community dignity and the elderly Bob has been giving his time to UGM since the tender age of 15. “We have to be aware of what is happening in our community and the only way to get a true look at things is to roll up our sleeves and dive in.”

Serving breakfast was a surprising and amazing experience, especially being able to chat with some of the clients and learning about their story. It made the whole experience that much more personal. It gave me a chance to understand that homeless people are no different than us, except they are faced with much greater problems that make ours seem extremely trivial.

- Hailey Lonsdale (Gr 10)

union gospel mission • • • Service week is meant to instill change within our community, bring the Grade 10 student body closer together and help us learn about the challenges that people are having in our neighbourhood.

I was placed in the Union Gospel Mission in New Westminster. This non-profit organization produces hot meals, clothing, food hampers and many other community outreach services. Most of the clients that are regulars at the Mission are “street homeless”. This term is used for citizens that either live on the street, or move from shelter to shelter every day. Their newly revised mission statement puts an emphasis on transforming communities through serving them a hot meal, getting them on their feet, helping them reintegrate into the job market and hopefully break them out of the vicious cycle of homelessness.

The Union Gospel Mission is run almost solely on volunteers and 87% of the funds needed for the Mission to function are from donations.

When we first arrived at the facility we were warmly greeted by the kitchen staff and program facilitators. Walking into the kitchen armed with my dishwashing apron and yellow kitchen gloves, I was introduced to one of the most passionate people within the organization. Bob, a retired Pastor, still loves to come and help with “dish duty” every Tuesday. He also gives a prayer during soup service.

One of the most surprising things I discovered was the amazing amount of food that was donated by a local grocery store and Starbucks.

Every day we had boxes of food to package and it really surprised me the amount of food given to each person. I learned that for the people being able to know that others care about them was a huge thing for them as many don’t get to see their families. I was told at UGM that just walking around the room and starting a conversation was much appreciated by many of the people because some had children whom they couldn’t see. By the end of the week I had met and talked with many of the regular customers that came every morning for breakfast.

- Claire Pak (Gr 10) We stepped out of the bus and saw the row of people crouched outside the building, waiting for the doors to open so they could eat. As we stepped inside, there was a little old lady waiting for the day to start, waiting for her coffee and breakfast. These were the people I was about to serve. At first I came into UGM thinking that we were doing the needy a big favour and that they were separated from our society.

As I started to interact with the people though, I began to realize that they were all normal people and just wanted a decent life. I saw more than a few smiles creep up their faces when I had a quick chat with them. Both the staff and the clients at UGM were very friendly and hospitable and they were truly glad that we were there.

- Brody Wong (Gr 10)

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environment service in our community owl • • • The first thing to keep in mind when volunteering at O.W.L. is that volunteering there is not at all how you picture it. As students, none of us were qualified veterinarians so working with the birds themselves was out of the question. Instead we had to do other odd tasks around O.W.L.; still helping the birds, but indirectly.

Firstly, they divided us up into two groups, each of about seven or eight people. One group was told to mow the lawns and they set out eagerly, thinking they had got the better end of the deal; but they quickly discovered just how big O.W.L.’s lawns were.

The second group was tasked with sorting logs and sticks by size and shape so that they could be used to build perches. Once a system was established, things moved quite quickly, other than a few interruptions by the odd sword fight.

Once we finished these tasks, we were all brought back into one group, and told to dig small trenches around the birds’ cages, which were about the size of a small shack. These trenches would then be filled with gravel in order to drain any run off, preventing damage to the cages. However the dirt around the cages was very hard, and very wet, making digging tough work.

On our next day at O.W.L., we were all told to shovel gravel, for whatever reason I cannot remember. All I do remember was how long it took to shovel the gravel into a wheelbarrow, to transport it to the “dumping site,” and then to smooth it all out in an even layer, only to come back and find the pile of gravel was just the same size.

All in all, we worked for about ten hours at O.W.L. Individually, we did not do much, but as a group of about fifteen, we did about 150 hours of work. Out of all the Grade 10 service week opportunities, O.W.L. had to be the most physically gruelling, but it was also the most rewarding. You left feeling you had accomplished something, even if you never got to work “with” the birds.

- Carson Vander Noot (Gr 11) In October 2010, I accompanied a group of Grade 10s to O.W.L., the orphaned wildlife rehabilitation society for birds of prey. The facility that caught my interest and imagination the most was the pool cage. It is a large cage, over 120 ft, long enough to allow for large birds like bald eagles and osprey to gain practice flying before they are to be released. In the center of this enclosure

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was a 50 ft long trench dug out for a pond. It was lined with plastic and holding muddy water, but was also full of weeds and grasses. The rest of the area in this cage was also full of vines, weeds and grasses knee to thigh high, a bit of a jungle to navigate around. It looked as if someone had had a great idea, but it was put on hold due to lack of funds, or volunteer manpower.

We could see this place was in need of some serious T.L.C., but it was exciting to think of the potential it has as a flight training center. To make this cage even more special was the pond they can stock with fish to test the raptors’ hunting ability in the rehabilitation process. Prior to this, rehabilitated and released raptors would often return to their society weak and malnourished because they didn’t have sufficient hunting skills to survive on their own.

So, with a group of young lads with strong backs, not afraid to get dirty, we headed in. One boy wielded a weed whacker around the edges, and another ploughed over the tall grass with the lawn mower, while one more led the way moving sticks and rocks out of the way and two others followed with rakes and bags. Several insects and arachnids were sacrificed in the process, but in the end, the grounds were much improved.

Since we were only there for those couple of days, I wondered if anything more had happened with improving that cage over the year: that cage with so much potential. This year, I was driving the bus to pick up a group of students there, and couldn’t resist walking around to sneak a peek, although this year’s students were working on different projects at the society. The pond had been re-lined, was full of clear water and I could see a rocky bottom. There were two water features, peacefully trickling away to

service in our community environment

keep the pond circulating and oxygenated. There were cultured stones creating some nice structure around the grounds, with logs and branches making a selection of perches available. As I peered in through the lattice, I couldn’t see if there were fish stocked in the pond, but I like to imagine there were. It was gorgeous! Such a huge improvement from last year! It was a satisfying moment to know that the work our students did helped to allow for easier access for others to continue the work, and that the ball kept rolling to lead to such a magnificent outcome. I’m certain the eagles and ospreys will have much improved chances of survival now when they are rehabilitated and released.

- Anna Szymczak (Faculty)

parks & rec • • • My time at Surrey Parks and Recreation helping out was great.

On the very first day we got to walk to a park near Southridge and chop down all the holly trees from the park. It was probably one of the most fun things we did the entire time. They were pretty big trees, around two or more metres tall. We used a mini saw to cut through the base of the tree and then we carried the entire thing on our shoulders to the mat where we left all our stuff. After the day, Roberto (the guy who was in charge) took all the trees to the HQ and showed off the trees we managed to cut down because apparently they were some of the biggest that they ever saw cut down by volunteers. On one

of the last days, while we were working at Blackie Spit Park, we got to save a mud shark that was dying. Drew and Nick found it in one of the ditches and because the tide went out, the shark was stuck in the shallow water so they took him out and walked with him to the ocean and let it go there. All in all our time at the Parks and Rec was pretty awesome.

- Alex Datcu-Romano (Gr 10) We went to different parks and areas around White Rock and we cleaned them up by removing invasive species such as holly trees, blackberry bushes and evergreen blackberry bushes.

- Drew Coles (Gr 10) Removing the blackberries is the hardest task: they are covered with spikes and their root systems are very healthy and deep.

- Mike Zhang (Gr 10) After seeing Roberto and the other volunteers work tirelessly to plant trees and dig out blackberries, I now see that service is something you do because you want to. The good thing about working for Surrey Parks and Rec was that I got to learn about the earth, plants and different things about how plants grow and why other species are bad for the trees. I learned about the different layers of dirt, how to plant a tree and why invasive species are bad.

- Austin Chang (Gr 10)

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service in our community Service week helped me to see that you don’t have to go to Kenya or India to build a school if you want to see what service is like; you can help charities in your own community that need help too.

Shae Gadallah (Gr 10)

Half of the group was really just useless while the other half did all the work. I was part of the group that did all the work.

a student

If everyone chips in just a little to help the community it could make a big difference.

Jackson McCartney (Gr 10)

I found out that it’s not as complicated as I previously thought to get involved in the community and make a difference.

Julia Lauzon (Gr 11)

Service week made me think how special it must have been for these organisations to have help. Also, that if nobody is willing to share their time then it would be difficult or impossible for these organisations to run.

Chanel McPhail (Gr 11)

For more information about Southridge School, please contact us at:

T. 604.535.5056 F. 604.535.3676

www.southridge.bc.ca | 2656 160 St., Surrey, BC | 604.535.5056

Editor Dorothy Podmore Design Steve Culley, mgdc culleycreative Thanks Contributors Photos Various Send us your news at alumninews@southridge.bc.ca Please contact lboudot@southridge.bc.ca with your address