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May 2016
Ten students win international award for high marks by
Beverly Pausche
T
en former students from Gleneagles Ch’axáý Elementary school have received top awards from Trinity College London for their examination performance in an international public speaking program, first brought to the school in 2013. All ten students were recognized with highest distinction marks in the North American region, including the Bahamas, West Indies, USA and Canada for Communications Skills 5 exam, completed in 2014. Students recognized include: Lily Buhr, Sammy Gach, Finn Ganske, Eloi Gruget, Thomas Kusnierczyk, Oscar Mather, Colin MacNeily, Trinity Richardson, Connor Legg and Rojus Sinkunas. All but Sinkunas currently attend Rockridge Secondary school.
“The program was new to our school in 2013,” says Connor. “The skills we learned really help with a lot of different things, like getting a job and building confidence in new situations.” Colin agrees: “It’s great for speaking to adults. It really helps you to present yourself well, establish a good reputation and build networking skills.” Trinity uses the skills all the time, saying, “it makes a good impression on people when you take the time to strike up a conversation and take an interest in people.” Lily, who hated public speaking before she took the program in 2014, says the program helped most when meeting new people – for example, when she met Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on a recent visit to British Columbia. Now that all of the students are attending high school, the skills they learned continue to bring positive recognition. Sammy
won the grade 8/9 competition for public speaking at Rockridge, where he presented in front of the whole school. Eloi won Gold for his performance in 2016, and Oscar took it home in 2015. Building on three years of success, Gleneagles Ch’axáý Elementary school continues to offer the program free to all grade 6 and 7 students each year. The Gleneagles Ch’axáý Parent Advisory Council partially subsidizes the cost of adjudication, so that students who wish to undergo the formal exams are able to do so for a nominal cost of $50. About 60 students will be tested by adjudicators in May. Student winners. Top L-R: Thomas Kusnierczyk, Trinity Richardson, Lily Buhr. Bottom L-R: Connor Legg, Colin MacNeily, Sammy Gach. Absent: Oscar Mather, Finn Ganske, Eloi Gruget, Rojus Sinkunas. Photo: Courtesy of WVSD
Every Third Bite: Beneficial Bees by
Anita Green
“M
y sense of delight in spotting my first bumble bee of the year led me to reflect how interdependent our lives are with these pollinators. Just think, every third bite we eat is thanks to a bee.” - Elizabeth Elle I recently read the 2015 Governor General’s Literary Award winning book, Bee Time Lessons from the Hive, by Mark Winston. I originally bought the book for my brother who was a beekeeper. The book brings back memories of visits to the hives, watching his calmness working with thousands of honeybees with bare hands while I watched uneasily from a distance. After three decades of researching and working with bees, Winston shares how
the apiary “slows our sense of time, heightens our awareness, and inspires awe”. There is much to learn from the bees on how we interact with each other and natural ecosystems. We can no longer ignore the human impact on bees through what he calls “industrial farming” practices that rely on mono-cultures and toxins. Of particular interest is a Vancouver study that found that wild bees in the city were more diverse and abundant than in surrounding farmland areas. In the city, there is limited pesticide use and many bee-friendly ecosystems such as unmanaged parkland, right of ways, and undeveloped land. Backyards that include native plants can also be bee-friendly habitats with a diversity of all-season flowering plants. Winston concludes, “as we come to know bees, we see an echo of ourselves”.
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Bee gathering pollen.
Photo: Courtesy of Marshall Bauman
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