CAIS in Point

We’re hopeful that the faculties and staffs of all CAIS schools have had some refreshing time away from school life in July and August. At the same time, summer provides the time for vital work and innovation in curriculum development, in addressing facility and infrastructure needs and, perhaps particularly this year, in managing enrolment. For the CAIS office, the summer has been a busy one. The Leadership Institute (LI) had 83 participants, 15 of whom graduated. This brings the total number of LI graduates to 85, since the inception of the Institute in 2000. This year, over 40 schools were represented and the split of male and female participants was about 50/50. Bishops’s College School (BCS) were wonderful hosts, and the survey of participants commented extremely favourably as to the quality of instruction and general worthwhileness of the Institute. As well, the survey results revealed some recommendations for the evolution of the Institute, so that it continues to meet the professional needs of the participants and the schools they represent. The Summer Institute was a real success, and CAIS is grateful to BCS for their organization and hospitality and to the instructors for the thorough preparation and superb delivery of the program. Much of the rest of the summer work has revolved around the planning process leading up to the October AGM, when membership will vote on the proposal to create a new national organization of accredited independent schools. The proposal has been sent to all Heads and Chairs. Transition Task Forces and the Transition Committee have been meeting in preparation for the regional meetings scheduled for September, where updated plans will be shared with Heads and Chairs. Feedback will be solicited, so that the final proposal can be ready for presentation at the AGM. We would like to wish all schools best wishes for a successful school year and, once again, offer any assistance that CAIS can provide to help schools achieve their goals. William Mitchell, Interim Executive Director

CASLT encourages Canadian FSL teachers to integrate the flamme de la francophonie project into their lesson plans

The Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers
(CASLT) is proud to participate in the promotion of the Canadian flamme de la francophonie project as part of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games school-based activities. CASLT is asking all FSL teachers in Canada to integrate
this project into their lesson plans and to actively take part in the flamme de la francophonie project starting this fall.

The flamme de la francophonie is a new pan-Canadian educational project that will shine across Canada as of September 2009. This major national initiative is the result of a partnership between the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue, Vancouver 2010 Education Programs, the Ontario Ministry of Education, as well as numerous other partners including the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers.

The project encourages learners of French as a second language to use French while offering them an opportunity to demonstrate their participation in Canada’s linguistic duality. Students will be able to use French on topics of interest to them and proudly carry the flamme de la francophonie. More details on this “glowing” project can be found in the attached fact sheet. The teaching support guide can be downloaded at the following URL address: www.flammefranco.ca

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will bring together people from different cultural backgrounds and will offer numerous learning and discovery opportunities. They can also be a source of inspiration for students of all ages.

Join CASLT as they head back to school in September and be part of the official flamme de la francophonie launch!

Established in 1970, the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers (CASLT) increases awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the importance of second language learning and teaching throughout Canada and promotes the advancement of professional excellence among language educators. See www.caslt.org for more information.

For more information, please contact:
Sarah Du Broy
Communications Officer (bilingual)
CASLT Head Office – Ottawa, Ontario
613.727.0994 X2 (office)
communications@caslt.org

La_flamme_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Bring in the Harvest at the Toronto Botanical Garden (TBG)

Start your school year with a class visit to the Toronto Botanical Garden! Curriculum-linked programs are available for Kindergarten to Grade 4 students across the Greater Toronto Area. All students will plant in the garden, discover composting worms and explore the children’s Teaching Garden and grounds through program themes like:

          KG - Seasons, Cycles and the Five Senses

          GR 1- Needs of Living Things

          GR 2- Animals

          GR 3- Soil and Plants

          GR 4- Habitats

Click here to view the TBG 2009 colour program brochure.

To register and learn more visit: www.torontobotanicalgarden.ca  Call 416-397-1355 to book your class trip. Visits begin September 22 and end October 30, 2009.

Submitted by:

Liz Hood
Children's Programs Supervisor
Toronto Botanical Garden
T: 416-397-1355  F: 416-397-1354

Good Sports

As we approach the fall season, and the time to register our kids for their next round of extra curricular activities, it may be a good opportunity to introduce a new sport or activity into their lives. The Heart and Stroke Foundation has put together some easy tips on helping your child stay active, and interested in a variety of physical activities.

To read more visit: Good Sports

Collaborative Curriculum Development

With all the enormous strides in communication over the last decade, it is sometimes hard to keep up with the wide variety of tools that are available to us right now. Following the tremendous success of Facebook and MySpace, there are some exciting new e-forums that promote social networking with the goal of collaborative curriculum development for teachers.

Created just over a year ago, and being touted as “the Facebook for lesson sharing”, Better Lesson http://www.betterlesson.org/ is receiving kudos for its user-friendly method of sharing information amongst educators.

Better Lesson aims  to “save educators from "reinventing the wheel," give them more time to focus on creating and delivering innovative content, grade, tutor, analyze data, communicate with parents, finish paperwork, and sleep.”

They are also “committed to connecting educators within and across diverse instructional and geographic communities. The first core principle is that meaningful collaboration among educators is the key to creating and delivering the highest quality instruction.”

The Better Lesson blog features recent articles of interest, and highlights education-focused events that have taken place across the North America. As the site grows and continues to develop, it will be interesting to see how far its message reaches, and the potential impact of being able to share curriculum ideas with someone in another town, city, country or continent. Facebook connects people from around the world. This is also the aim of Better Lesson.

As reported by CNET News, http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10303253-93.html, the founders of Better Lesson believe in the power of social networking to allow teachers to brain storm with colleagues, and stay excited about teaching. Keeping educators motivated to remain in their chosen career, and continue to develop methods of engaging students in a world where kids can suffer from sensory overload, is no small task. Hopefully, by embracing some of the many advances in information sharing, educators will be more apt to network and work together to create meaningful benefits to the development of shared curriculums.

Lindsay Ireland, CAIS