PEARSON NEWS October 2011 Volume XIV, No 3 FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL & CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

2 DIRECTOR GENERAL’S REPORT

3 AWARD-WINNING QUARTET PERFORMS AT LPHS

3 CONGRATULATIONS JOHN RENNIE HIGH SCHOOL

4 DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP WORKSHOPS

5 TERRY FOX RUN DEDICATED TO SOMEONE SPECIAL

5 SUNSHINE ACADEMY DAYCARE WELCOMES TPOC

6 PCHS VISITS MONTREAL HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL

6 PEARSON EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION GALA

7 WINTER AND STUDENT TRANSPORTATION

7 PACC’S MEET AND GREET THE POLICE EVENT

8 DANIELA’S CORNER

8 ST. PATRICK ELEMENTARY HOSTS ANNUAL RUN

8 INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM AT RIVERDALE

9 DISCOVER THE STARS AWARDS

9 EDUCATORS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

9 WESTPARK TEACHER MAKES SCHOOL PROUD

10 REPORT FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

11 CANADIAN STUDENT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE 2011

11 SUNSHINE ACADEMY PARTICIPATES IN TERRY FOX RUN

12 2011 CAREER AND EDUCATION FAIR

13 BHS STUDENTS ATTEND ANTI-VIOLENCE CONFERENCE

13 JRHS AT MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY WALK

13 SOULANGES RUNS IN HONOUR OF TERRY FOX

14 SUNSHINE ACADEMY ATTENDS LBPSB RUN

14 THE STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS

14 PCHS HOSTS INVITATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY RACE

14 UNOFFICIAL NOTES FROM COUNCIL

15 UNOFFICAL NOTES FROM COUNCIL - CONTINUED

16 COMMISSIONERS’ PHONE NUMBERS

16 DATES TO NOTE

IN THIS ISSUE:

SCORE WITH SCHOOL PROGRAM The Lester B. Pearson School Board recently

took part in a joint press conference to announce its participa-tion with the English Montreal School Board at an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) regular season game between the McGill Redmen and Royal Military Col-lege. The game will take place on

Friday, December 2nd at the Verdun Auditorium where more than 3,000 students from the LBPSB and

EMSB will be in attendance. The LBPSB’s Chairman, Suanne Stein Day was on hand to represent the school board during the

press conference along with a number of LBPSB officials. Martin Routhier, a former Redmen captain, is reviving the Score with School Program he introduced while serving as president of the Montreal Juniors. In the coming weeks, McGill players will visit a number of LBPSB schools to illustrate the importance of focusing on education.

ST. PAUL ELEMENTARY NEEDS YOUR VOTES!

St. Paul Elementary is the only school in Quebec to be

chosen as 1 of 10 finalists in a nationwide contest for a $20,000 custom-designed outdoor classroom from Majesta (Irving Tissue). Popular vote will decide the winning school.  Each participating school submitted a design of what their outdoor class-room would look like: St. Paul’s design shows an outdoor learning area with 32 stump seating, six bird houses, a fold-out chalkboard, game

logs, one reading chair and two reading circles. St. Paul Elementary is hoping everyone will help bring the Bea-consfield school to the forefront by voting every day. They need the help of the communities of the West Island, Montreal and Quebec to win. The name of the winning school will be announced once voting closes on November 4th.

Vote daily for St. Paul Elementary until November 4th - and get a chance to win a $10,000 prize – by going to www.majesta.ca.

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continued success and to the staff members, my thanks for the wonderful work they have accomplished on behalf of the gradu-ates over the years. Training Workshop: Governing Board Members This annual training session took place last week here in the school board offices and was very well attended by the governing board representatives. The major focus of this year's training was on the development of the School Success Plan and on measures related to that project. Hertsfordshire Visitors This annual project in which we receive Head Teachers and staff members from the Hertsfordshire district in England is taking place this month and is expanded to include additional British schools. Since its incep-tion several years ago, the program has provided a great deal of interaction between the educational authorities from England and much enrichment for students and staff of the hosting schools. I extend a very warm thanks to Head Teacher, Chris Ingate, and to Catherine Prokosh for their strong efforts in maintaining this relationship between Québec and England. The Interna-tional Language Centre provided financial support for the continuing venture. Professional Development Within any organization, professional development is an activity essential to on-going growth and to personal satisfaction. Although it is highlighted during the days in our calendar that are officially so desig-nated, professional growth continues on a regular basis throughout the year. For example, during the past month, our Student Services Department has held professional development sessions for teachers who form the Elementary and Secondary Re-source Networks and for Special Education Technicians. Less formal but equally productive growth takes place on a daily basis as veteran teachers act as mentors to those just entering the profession and teach-ing teams work together to provide the best possible teaching and learning practices. Concordia Workshop Collaboration between the Concordia University Human Sciences Department and the board has continued this year with a jointly-sponsored workshop entitled “The Art of Influence,” a most rewarding session that emphasized how each of us can have enormous influence on others.

Central Parents’ Committee The Annual General Assembly of the Central Parents’ Committee took place on the eve-ning of October 5 and I am pleased to report that long-term parent

representative, Mrs. Bobbi Brown, was elected Chairperson for the current year. Mrs. Nan Beaton was reappointed as Par-ent Commissioner, Secondary, and Mr. Domenic Pavone, Parent Commissioner representing elementary schools. This committee is the major consultative group that is asked to respond to a number of policy questions coming from the Council of Commissioners. The work can be oner-ous at times but I assure you that we are most grateful for the input received from the committee. Special Needs Advisory Committee This group, representative of parents of students with special needs, met on the evening of October 12 to begin its work for the current year. This is an advisory committee mandated to provide input on matters regarding special needs. It, too, has most important work to do in this area and will be active in the examination of the Special Needs Policy that is being re-viewed. We are most grateful for the ef-forts and input of this group of dedicated parents. Ninth Annual Student Peace Summit: October 13 Under the leadership of Judy Grant and the team of Spiritual Animators, the ninth Annual Student Peace Summit was held in the Boardroom on October 13th. The theme was "The Shifting Roles of Girl-Bullying." The delegates from the schools, 102 girls from Grades 5-8, participated in discussions and activities to understand relational bullying in a girl's world. A resource pack of materials that can be used in the schools was provided to all the Spiritual Animators. Convocations Although many of our high schools hold their graduation exercises in the spring of the year, four schools, Riverdale, LaSalle Community Comprehensive, Lakeside Academy and Macdonald, hold their con-vocations in the month of October. I ex-tend to those graduates my best wishes for

DIRECTOR GENERAL’S REPORT

National Student Leadership Conference Under the guidance of Educational Consultant, Rebecca Binet, students involved in leadership in their respective high schools travelled to Corner Brook Regional High School in Newfoundland and Labrador to participate in the 27th annual Canadian Student Leadership Conference, “New Found Energy.” The Lester B. Pearson School Board was privileged enough to bring approxi-mately 40 students to this wonderful event that allowed student leaders from across the nation to collaborate with one another and learn meaningful lifelong leadership skills that will help shape the future of their schools and communities. Throughout the conference, students were given the opportunity to network with one another, explore new bounda-ries of learning, become better listeners and use their critical minds. An array of workshops created for this unique moment in time gave way to amazing new learning opportunities and ideas for students to bring back to their respective schools. We were proud to have these students represent our school board. They conducted themselves with kindness and integrity. Adults who work with the leadership groups in our schools who accompanied the delegation were Tanya Margotiaux (Beurling Academy), Michael Gabe (Riverdale High School), John O’Donnell (John Rennie), Chris Chang (Macdonald), Jimmy Hiotis (Lindsay Place), Renaud Labesse (Lakeside Academy), Nicolas Fournier (LaSalle Community Compre-hensive High School), Tannia Ditchburn (St. Thomas), and Kelly Tellier (Westwood). Cristina Prata, Principal of Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School, and Rachel Wilson, Vice Princi-pal at John Rennie High School were also with the group. Congratulations to them all and to Rebecca for her great work in this area. R.T. Mills - Director General

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PEARSON NEWS

Strategic Directions in the Pearson News As you read through the Pearson News, you’ll notice that some of the

articles have the numbers one through four next to them. These numbers are associated with the LBPSB’s 2010-2015 Strategic Plan

and its four main directions. Each month, you’ll see these numbers next to the articles found in the pages of the Pearson News and it will give you

an idea of what the board’s schools and centres are doing in line with the new Strategic Plan. You’ll find a legend on page 14 with details

on what strategic direction each number is related to.

AWARD-WINNING QUARTET PERFORMS AT LINDSAY PLACE HIGH SCHOOL

More than 300 music students at

Lindsay Place High School took part in a unique homecoming experience when they attended an exclusive concert in the school’s auditorium on Octo-ber 17th. The Juno Award nominated Chet Doxas Quartet performed for students enrolled in the high school’s music program. The quartet has performed throughout the world and has been recognized with a number of prestig-ious awards. Three of the four members of the quartet graduated from Lindsay Place High School and started their distinguished musical careers in the school’s music program. The concert was a chance for the musicians to give back to their community

and was a true homecoming event for them. The quartet was founded by renowned jazz musician Chet Doxas. The four members have performed at many of Canada’s major music festivals, including a concert at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and at the Vancouver and Victoria International Jazz Festivals. The quartet features Acad-

emy Award and Grammy Award nominated guitar-ist, Ben Charest, bassist Zack Lober and drum-mer, Jim Doxas. The Lindsay Place High School music program has a long and storied tradition of excellence. It was developed more than 30 years ago by George

Doxas, who started the program with very few instruments but slowly built it to become an outstanding music program. The high school’s music department now offers complete orchestra and concert band programs and is the only high school in the West Island to offer students an Art Etude Music Concentration diploma.

CONGRATULATIONS JOHN RENNIE HIGH SCHOOL

Congratulations to John Rennie High School’s Renniesance Program’s students, who under

the guidance of their teacher Brian

Swirsky, collected 160,000 pounds of food for Dans la Rue. The students were attempting to break the Guinness World Record for largest food drive and although they fell short of their goal, the students were elated with the results of their efforts. The food will stock the shelves at Dans la Rue for several years. A number of Lester B. Pearson School Board schools hosted fundraisers and food drives and the West Island communities rallied to-

gether in order to help John Rennie High School achieve its goal.

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PEARSON NEWS

September is a busy month. Teach-ers are busy preparing courses and meeting new classes, principals are setting the tone for the new year and

parents are settling children into the routines for the next ten months. There are new books, students and programs. There are ‘welcome-back barbeques,’ curriculum nights and first meetings for Home and School. The tempera-ture cools, the leaves begin their annual colour change and there is a bustle in the September air. Amidst this craziness, there is time for re-flection, as schools all over our country organize the annual Terry Fox Run. Christmas Park Elementary School has organized such a walk/run for many years. This year it became a walk not just for a national hero, but also for a local one. The name of the event was changed a little. This year’s run was affectionately called the “S.S. Terry Fox Run,” in support and encouragement of Shirley Somma and her fight against cancer. Shirley is a dedi-cated teacher at Christmas Park and a per-son near and dear to the hearts of the school and surrounding community. The event was held on Thursday, Septem-ber 22nd. It began shortly after lunch when all of the students gathered in the gymna-sium to rally their spirit in memory of

A TERRY FOX RUN DEDICATED TO SOMEONE SPECIAL Terry Fox’s courageous trek across our country to raise money and awareness about cancer. The assembly was led by our principal and included a discussion about the qualities we associate with Terry. There was a short, dramatic presentation by students about why we

remember him each year with such a walk. The highlight of this ‘prewalk’ gathering was a phone call to Mrs. Somma. With cell phone in hand, Ms. Lincoln called the beloved teacher during the assembly. Mrs. Somma answered the unexpected call. She was told that every-one was thinking about her today and when the principal asked the more than 300 students “Why are you walking?,” There was an enthusiastic and eager reply, “We are walking for you Mrs. Somma!” This walk was also being participated by Summercroft Primary School in Hertford-

shire, England. This is a school which has been twinned with Christmas Park. There have been exchanges with principals and staff from each school. These visits allow the schools to exchange ideas and share experiences. Mrs. Somma visited this school along with another teacher and the

principal last spring. When the principal at Summercroft learned of Mrs. Somma’s fight with this terrible disease he rallied his school to help. They organized a similar walk and raised $500 which will be pooled with Christ-mas Park’s money and donated to The Terry Fox Cancer Society in the name of Shirley Somma. The threat of rain could not dampen anyone’s spirit. The volunteers and community security all took to their

stations, and the annual Terry Fox Run began through the residential streets sur-rounding the Christmas Park School. There was tremendous enthusiasm and spirit shown by all who participated. The principal, teachers, staff and of course the students from Kindergarten to Grade 6, all joined in the run. There was a water station and upon completion of the course, there was a chorus of cheers led by the principal. The finish line was crossed with smiles of satisfaction and a feeling that maybe if we all pull together, we can make a difference for those fighting this terrible disease.

SUNSHINE ACADEMY DAYCARE WELCOMES TPOC What is TPOC

you ask? TPOC is the acronym for Therapeutic Paws of Canada.

TPOC is a non-profit organization that works with volunteers who take their dogs on visits to either senior’s residences or to schools. The program that is used in the schools is called “Paws to Read.” This is the pro-gram that is now in place at Sunshine Academy Daycare. A volunteer by the name of David Pettigrew comes to the school every other Monday with his two dogs, Willow and Leanne. Dave arrives at 2:30 p.m. and leaves at

4:00 p.m. and during that time several children are chosen to read a book to either one of the dogs. Dave teaches the children how to give the dogs a treat, how to behave toward the dog with gentleness and how to respect the dog while the dog is working. When the dogs have their TPOC vests on, they are working and Dave’s two dogs are wonderful with the chil-dren. Dave also helps the children with some of the vocabulary they might not understand in the books. The volunteers that come from TPOC have undergone rigorous police checks and have references as they are working with some of the most vulner-able citizens in our community: seniors

and children. While the children get to practice their reading skills, we hope that they are also learning values such as empathy and re-sponsibility, friendship and compassion, values which we so desperately are in need of in our classrooms, schoolyards and

community. With the help of these two little dogs at Sunshine Acad-emy we hope we achieve all of these goals, the intellectual ones as well the spiritual ones. Martha Farley - Daycare Educator, Sunshine Academy

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On Sunday, October 16th, sixteen Secondary 5 IB students from

Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School gave up part of their weekend to enrich their learning and take charge

of their education. They accompanied Miss Yannakis and Miss Fournier to the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre, a truly eye-opening experience for all. Secondary 5 students have read Night by Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor and are study-ing genocides around the world. The MHMC allowed these quintessential “IB Learners” to add to their knowl-edge base. The centre provided historical background, displayed arti-facts in its extensive collection, and even videos of survivor accounts that allowed us to understand life before,

during and after the Holocaust. It is our responsibility to bear witness to this terrible event in human history, to remember, and to teach one another. Armed with new knowledge and understanding, these Secondary 5 students have been inspired to promote respect and tolerance in their own communities. Upon entering the ex-hibit, Elie Wiesel’s words are printed on the upper wall: “Not to transmit an experience is to betray it.” Our stu-dents now realize why.

PCHS STUDENTS VISIT THE MONTREAL HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTRE

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WINTER AND STUDENT TRANSPORTATION AT THE LBPSB As the leaves begin to change, the trees become bare and the

temperature dips a few degrees every day, there’s no denying that winter will be upon us shortly. With this in mind, the Lester B. Pear-son School Board’s Transportation Department would like to remind you about the how winter can sometimes affect regular bus routes. As a rule, students are requested to be at their respective bus stops 10 min-utes before their regular scheduled pick-up time. The Transportation Department understands that on some winter mornings, it might not be advis-able to do so, but please be advised that the bus will not wait for stu-dents beyond the official pick-up time. Showing up at a bus stop five minutes ahead of the scheduled time should be suffi-cient on cold mornings. This is to avoid delaying the pick-up of other students. When there is a big snowstorm, the

bus companies contact our Transporta-tion Department as early as 5 a.m. to advise us on the difficulties they may or may not face that day. Ultimately, it is the school board that decides whether or not, it will be a snow day: closing of schools and daycares and transportation services suspended. The school board determines if the schools should be closed based on the condition and safety of the roads for the students as well as its staff. If the school board and schools remain open on any given stormy day, it is the bus company and the driver who de-cides whether to engage on a particular road or not. Therefore, during times of inclement

weather, buses may be late due to traffic or may be unable to proceed on certain streets and a bus route may not be com-pleted as planned. This is why we ask that all parents must make sure that if they leave their child alone at a bus

stop, he/she will be able to return home safely if the bus does not show up. In addition, these students should be told to return home 15 minutes after their scheduled pick-up time on days

with inclement weather. Parents must also insure that their child’s school is kept informed of any changes in the emergency contact information they provide to the school. Should schools be closed for the day, parents will be informed via phone through the school board’s Black-board Connect messaging system. Parents will also be informed through a number of local radio and television stations, including: 105.7 Rythme FM CKOI 96.9 FM 98.5 FM 94.7 Hits FM The Beat 92.5 FM 730 AM RDI Radio Canada CBFT 95.1 FM CJAD 800 AM CHOM 97.7 FM CJFM Virgin Radio 95.9 FM CTV Global TV TVA/LCN CBC Radio One 88.5 FM/104.7 FM CBC Televison

Volume XIV, No 3

PEARSON NEWS

PACC ADULT EDUCATION TEACHER ORGANIZES FIRST EVER MEET AND GREET THE POLICE EVENT AT THE DOUGLAS

Below is an excerpt of the press release

from the Douglas Insti-tute: On September 28, the Douglas Mental Health University Institute (Douglas Institute) and the Montreal Po-lice Services (SPVM) held its inaugural “Meet the police” event. The participants: some two hundred patients living with mental health problems and approximately thirty members of the police force. The goal: to promote a greater sense of trust between the patients and the police officers

in a safe and relaxed at-mosphere. This notewor-thy day proved to be a huge success, thanks in large part to the many informal educational ac-tivities that were organ-ized.

The day began with a presentation to the police on the care programs offered at the Institute. This was followed by a number of social activities, including meeting some of the police horses and their riders, bike patrol units and police cruisers.

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Since school started late August, I have been fortunate to witness a real sense of community in our schools. At the be-ginning of October, John Rennie High School announced

that it had collected 160,000 pounds of food, which will stock Dans La Rue’s shelves for several years. Other Lester B. elementary and high schools hosted food drives or ‘Hat Days’ in order to collect food and money to help John Rennie reach its goal. Members of the school boards communities dropped canned goods off at the school or made monetary donations

towards the cause. This past month, a number of schools also hosted events in which students ran a cer-tain distance in support of the Terry Fox Foundation. Communities once again came together to help the students achieve goals and support a worthy cause. In keeping with that sense of community, I was invited to watch the Chet Doxas Quartet perform for the Lindsay Place High School students. It was heartwarm-ing to watch very successful graduates of the school’s music program come back to perform for current students and encourage them to pursue careers that will fuel their passions and give them constant joy.

It continues to amaze me how the LBPSB’s communities support the stu-dents in the board’s schools and centres. St. Paul Elementary now needs the help of these communities in order to achieve their goal of having an outdoor classroom built. More information about the school’s project can be found on the front page of the Pearson News. The school needs your votes to reach its goal so I urge you to all band together and vote for St. Paul Ele-mentary every day at www.majesta.com. Daniela Scoppa - Communications Officer dscoppa@lbpsb.qc.ca

DANIELA’S CORNER

ST. PATRICK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HOSTS ANNUAL TERRY FOX RUN

On September 30th, students at St. Patrick

Elementary School par-ticipated in the school’s annual Terry Fox Run.

Do you have an article to submit for the Pearson News? Please send your art icles and pictures to your

Principal who wi l l forward them to us. Questions or comments? Email Daniela Scoppa at dscoppa@lbpsb.qc.ca.

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM AT RIVERDALE HIGH SCHOOL Riverdale High School is a real

“International” school where students from over fifty different

countries of origin walk the halls to-gether, grow together, learn together and excel together. We have partnered with

the Tianma School in China and this exchange sets us apart from other programs by allowing our students and teachers a unique opportunity to be part of a truly global community. In addition, Riverdale also hosts the greatest number of International Students in the Lester B. Pearson School Board. Students from overseas have selected Riverdale be-cause we are receptive to all cultures of

the world. This welcoming spirit is re-flected in our diverse student population. We do not simply promote multicultural-ism, we live it.

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LBPSB HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HONOURED AT DISCOVER THE STARS Fifty-seven stu-dents, a number of

which were from eight Lester B. Pearson School Board high schools, were honoured with a Discover the Stars scholarship from the West Island Cham-ber of Commerce. The students were awarded with a $1,000 scholarship to help further their studies in a science or tech-nology program. Kristina Grubb from Beaconsfield High School also received an additional $3,000 from the Aileen Proudfoot Memorial Award Foundation. The Discover the Stars Program provides financial support to graduates from West Island high schools. Since it was estab-lished in 1997, the program has awarded more than $500,000 in scholarships. Congratulations to this year’s winners: Beaconsfield High School Henry Biem Thomas Commerford Ayleigh Farquharson

Kristina Grubb Chase Pitsillides Careau Benjamin Mot Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School Melissa Manganaro Nismah Iqbal Rehka Whyshnavy Raveendrakumar Lindsay Place High School Jai Patel Megan Vincelli Janagan Balakrishnan Annabelle Weitzner Kassandra Spooner-Lockyer Trevor Starick Victoria Randle

Macdonald High School Jasraj Kaur Lara Jenkins Alain-Joseph Po-Déziel John Rennie High School Adamo Mancino Malcolm Watt Rachael Warner

Riverdale High School Szu-Chen Hsu Mehwish Bashir Simone Spencer Lakeside Academy Sarah Marceau St. Thomas High School Lauren Roy Sydney Williams Ilke Geladi Zhuyin Xu Thomas Nodzynski Megan Drupals

Volume XIV, No 3

PEARSON NEWS

WESTPARK TEACHER MAKES SCHOOL PROUD

Congratulations to Peggy Labonté, a Grade 6 French Immersion teacher at

Westpark Elementary. Ms. Labonté put up a good show on September 25th, at the Duathlon World Championship, in Gijòn, Spain. Finishing in 2 hours 12 minutes allowed her to rank first among all the Canadian runners. At the world level, she came in 5th in her category and 24th in the all-around female results. More than 290 women took part in the competition that consists of 10 km of running, 40 km of cycling, and an-

other 5 km of running. The Duathlon World Championship attracts more than 1200 athletes from 35 countries every year. Ms. Labonté had been preparing for this competition for almost a year. She will now enjoy a few weeks of rest before resuming her training for the up-coming season in Québec. She is the Canadian titleholder. In September 2012, Peggy will participate in the half ironman in Las Vegas. Next year, she would like to participate again in the World Duathlon in Nancy, France, but this

is only a dream for now. Westpark is very proud of Ms. Labonté’s accomplishments.

Educators for the Environment Educators for the Environment is a network of educators from the LBPSB who meet seven to eight times a year to

discuss and share information on the environment. Meetings are usually held on Tuesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the school board’s Head Office. The next meeting will be on November 1st in Room 123. The meetings are open to

any school board staff member. For more information, please contact: Julie Belanger – jbelanger@lbpearson.qc.ca

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REPORT FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD To the School Board Administrators and Staff Those who dismiss what you do, you don’t know what you do. We do. We know that it takes more

than a teacher in a classroom to pro-vide an education. The teachers know that too. I believe I speak for this entire council when I say that we value each and every one of you that are based in the board’s head office and recognize the role you play in improv-ing student life for all Lester B. Pear-son learners. From ensuring there are the best available teachers in our classrooms to providing those teachers with the tools they need to teach, from providing clean and safe facilities to providing a plethora of unique experi-ential learning opportunities. To all of you who keep the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed, that keep the bits and bytes of information and knowledge flowing, that get our kids to school safely, keep them safe while in our care, feed them well and get them home just a little bit better off than they were. To all of you, we will continue to fight for what we know is good and right for our stu-dents. Thank you. Registration Numbers Official count day, September 30, has now passed, validating the anticipated numbers we presented in our budget. Our preliminary numbers show that we are down just over 600 students. Again, this year, our requests to Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sports resulted in allowing us to sub-mit our counts from three schools with large Jewish populations on the 28th of September, just before the Jewish High Holidays, which would have resulted in very high absences.

High School Open Houses Open houses have been held in many of our high schools and will continue this week. They have been well at-tended as students and parents get a taste of the variety of programs being offered, from the ever popular IBO programs to Sports Etude, Arts Etude, Discovery Science, Robotics, Ad-vanced Visual Arts and the new Matrix program. Enriched programs are avail-able at all high schools and enrichment exams are being held on November 5. Registration information for the exams is available on our website. McGill Redmen and Martletts Lester B. Pearson and English Mont-real School Boards joined forces for another year of Score with School – this year with the McGill University hockey teams. A successful press conference was held at LaurenHill Academy in St. Laurent and thousands of our students will be going to see the Redmen hockey game on December 2nd. These successful athletes, both men and women, are truly heroes to many of our students and we are so grateful that they are willing to take time to speak to our students about the benefits of staying in school and work-ing hard at something. Central Parents’ Committee Congratulations to Bobbi Brown, Chair of the Central Parents’ Commit-tee and Nan Beaton, Vice Chair on their new roles. We look forward to working with these two committed women to enhance learning opportuni-ties at Lester B. The Leader in Us More than 100 members of our com-munity took advantage of a unique partnership that the LBPSB has had for the past five years with Concordia University. This year, a very afford-

able workshop on defining your leader-ship styles was held at the Pearson Electrotechnology Centre. The work-shop was open to all members of the LBP community and was attended by Commissioners, administrators, teach-ers, daycare staff, support staff, professionals, parents and students. The workshop, facilitated by Concor-dia University Human Systems Inter-vention Masters students under the leadership of their professor, Dr. Raye Kass, was fun, informative, rich and powerful with real take-aways that will help participants lead their own teams at work and at home. Many thanks to Steve Balleine, Ronnie Marin and Claire Giroux who coordinated the logistics from our end. And a special shout out to the maintenance team at Pearson Electrotechnology Centre, Albert, Francis and Keith, who took such good care of the Concordia cohort and all our guests. I Voted for St. Paul Outdoor Classroom This wonderful project still needs everyone’s support for the next two weeks. The second place school is working very hard to catch up and are making gains. We have a large and active community. Please go to www.majesta.com and place a vote every day. St. Paul Elementary needs your support. Follow me on Twitter - @suannesteinday Suanne Stein Day - Chairman

Page 11 Volume XIII, No. 2

PEARSON NEWS CANADIAN STUDENT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE 2011

Volume XIV, No 3

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SUNSHINE ACADEMY PARTICIPATES IN TERRY FOX RUN

Students at Sunshine Academy participated in the

school’s annual Terry Fox Run. Since beginning the fundraiser in 2002, the school has raised more than $100,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation. An assembly has been organized for the end of October, where the students will present a cheque to the Terry Fox Foundation. The amount the students raised this year, will only be revealed at the assembly because students have been asked to guess the amount and

the closest guesses will win a Terry Fox T-shirt. A big thank you to the Parent Par-

ticipation Organization for providing refreshments and snacks and to all the volunteers who helped with this year’s very successful event.

This year’s 27th annual Cana-dian Student Leadership

Conference ,“New Found Energy,” was hosted by Corner Brook Regional High in beautiful New-foundland and Labra-dor. The Lester B. Pearson School Board was privileged enough to bring 40 students to this wonderful event that allowed student leaders from across the nation to collaborate with one another and learn meaningful lifelong leadership skills that will help shape the future of their schools and communities. Throughout the conference, students were given the opportunity to net-work with one another, explore new bounda-

ries of learning, become better listeners and use their critical minds. An array of work-shops created for this unique moment

in time gave way to amazing new cultural opportunities and ideas for students to bring back to their respective schools. The workshops ranged from topics on sus-tainability & citizenship to

survival tools for busy leaders. It didn’t stop there! The Keynote speakers were a plenty and there to inspire! Students were fortunate enough to hear from General Rick Hillier (Canadian Forces), who told stories of his years of service where his leadership skills were most needed. Danny Williams (former Premier of Newfoundland), received a warm welcome from the students and graced them with his knowledge on the important qualities every leader should behold as well as allowing some very lucky

students to personally ask him questions or simply take a picture with him. Dr. T.A. Loeffler (professor of outdoor recreation) created a magical journey as she recapped her two attempts to climb Mount. Everest, shining light on the realities of today’s lead-ers and how each one has the ability to shape their future in a positive way. Each keynote speaker offered a unique quality in leadership that could be transcribed to our young student leaders and whose presence sparked their interest by giving them a new perspec-tive on the important qualities of a leader. By being exposed to such high caliber speak-ers and quality rich workshops, the students and teachers were able to come away with a lot more than just high energy, they left with

tangible ideas that can be implemented in all aspects of their lives. As always, we are very proud of everyone (students and teachers) who partici-pated at this year’s Canadian Student Leadership Confer-ence for the Lester B.

Pearson School Board! Rebecca Binet - Educational Consultant

Page 12 PEARSON NEWS

Page 13 Volume XIII, No. 2

PEARSON NEWS BEACONSFIELD HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ATTEND DAWSON’S ANTI-VIOLENCE CONFERENCE

Volume XIV, No 3

PEARSON NEWS

JOHN RENNIE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT SELECTED AS AMBASSADOR FOR MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY WALK

“Walk, Wheel, Run or Roll“ is exactly what more than 200 West

Island residents did on Sunday, October 16th, during the first annual West Island Walk for Muscular Dystrophy. The partici-pants walked a 5 km route through the streets of Beaconsfield to raise funds and awareness for individuals afflicted with

Muscular Dystrophy. John Rennie High School teachers and school board staff came out to Centennial Park to support Robert Mercurio, a Grade 9 student from John Ren-nie, who had been selected as the ambassador for this year’s West Island MD Walk. A good time was had by all but, most importantly, more than $30,000 was raised for this impor-tant cause, which affects more than 50,000 Canadians. All monies raised will be put towards research, funding education and equipment for Canadians with neuromuscular disorders. For more information or to donate please see Muscular Dystrophy Canada’s

website www.muscle.ca. Kate Sides - JRHS Resource Teacher

Beaconsfield High School students, with their teacher, Mrs. Cochrane attended an international anti-

violence conference from September 29, 2011 to October 1, 2011 at Dawson College, which proved to be inspiring for

all who participated. Four students, Ashley Harrel, Jordon Jennings, Jahdmal Bentley and Anne Blais displayed a poster presen-tation called CARE (creative arts rescue everyone), a project which has published six books to date, with more than 600 students taking part over seven years. Students spoke in their presentation of their concerns as teens and how writing together created a sense of ownership in their world. The students also read poetry expressing their lives, as teens in the year 2011. They impressed all with their awareness of sociological issues relevant to their experi-

ences. Mrs. Cochrane also spoke on Octo-ber 1 of the wonderful talent of her stu-dents and of the years of support for this program from all at Beaconsfield High

School. The students also attended the delegates and speakers recep-tion where they listened to music about peace and to the words of the coordinators of the event. A special thank you to Dawson College for expanding community and for supporting this program in classrooms! Four teens left with a greater

awareness of the world around them. Mrs. Melinda Cochrane – Proud teacher

SOULANGES ELEMENTARY RUNS IN HONOUR OF TERRY FOX Students at Soulanges Elemen-tary participated in the school’s

Terry Fox Run on September 30th.

Page 14 PEARSON NEWS

SUNSHINE ACADEMY ATTENDS LBPSB CROSS COUNTRY RUN On October 18th, 60 students

from Grades 4, 5 and 6 attended the Lester B. Pearson School

Board Cross Country Run. The 1.6 kilo-meter run (3 km for the very enthusiastic) was held at the beautiful Morgan Arbore-

tum in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. Although the day was overcast with iso-lated showers, the spirits of the participants were not dampened at all. In addition to promoting the positive aspects of good heath through physical fitness, the event encouraged participation in a positive environment, and advocated the virtues of friendship, sportsmanship and respect of self and others.

PCHS HOSTS INVITATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY RACE

Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School held their first invitational cross-country race on Wednesday, September 28th at Centennial Park in Dollard des Ormeaux. John Rennie, Lindsay Place, WICC and Bialik supported teams as well as Pierrefonds Comprehensive. Two cour-ses were set up to enable students to test their skills while running through hilly

and wooded terrain as well as train for the upcoming cross-country event on Mount Royal. Medals were presented to the first three finalists and ribbons to the fourth to sixth place runners. Students had a great time and are anticipating a second such event next year!

UNOFFICIAL NOTES FROM OCTOBER 24, 2011 COUNCIL OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING

Financial Statements 2010-2011 Council approved that the Lester B. Pearson School Board 2010-2011 Financial Statements be submitted to the School Tax Management Committee and the Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sports, showing revenues of $253,349,445 and expenses of $252,986,501 for a surplus of $362,944 before the financing grant receivable of $3,165,510 for a net surplus of $3,528,454 only 10% of which, or $352,845, is accessible annually, accord-ing to the Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sports Budget

Rules. Human Resources Committee Mandate Council approved that the mandate of the Human Resources Committee be as follows: • To interact with the Director of Human Resources in order to

promote the principles of effective human resource manage-ment by recommending appropriate polices and giving in-formed advice to the Council of Commissioners.

• To foster open and effective communication with all person-CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

Page 15 Volume X1V, No 3

PEARSON NEWS UNOFFICIAL NOTES FROM OCTOBER 24, 2011 COUNCIL OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING - CONTINUED

nel. • To carry out any other task assigned to it by Council and by

law. • To report to Council on a regular basis. CGTSIM – Buroplus Office Supplies Council approved that the original office supplies contract awarded on April 19, 2010 between the Lester B. Pearson School Board and Buroplus be terminated without sschool board’s participation in the Comité de gestion de la taxe scolaire de l’île de Montréal (CGTSIM) Group Purchasing of office supplies contract, currently with Buroplus. Professionals – Capital Projects for 2012-2013 Council approved that the Lester B. Pearson School Board hire the professionals for the following projects:

Hydro Québec Servitude Council approved that the Lester B. Pearson School Board accept the terms proposed by Hydro-Québec for an agreement to permit a 2-metre wide by 7-metre long servitude on Birchwood School property in Saint-Lazare owned by the LBPSB along Bosquet Street in order to anchor a pole.

QESBA AGM Voting Delegates Council approved that Chairman Suanne Stein Day distribute the proxies for the Lester B. Pearson School Board commission-ers not present October 29, 2011, to those commissioners present, to vote in all matters put to a vote at the Quebec English School Boards Association Annual General Meeting, other than the vote for President of QESBA. Allocations to Governing Boards and other Committees Council approved the following: • The designation of a grant of $2,000 for the LBPSB Central

Students’ Committee. • The designation of a grant of $1,000 for the LBPSB Special

Needs Advisory Committee. • The designation of a grant of $4,500 to the LBPSB Central

Parents’ Committee, and $1,500 for the operation of Re-gional Parents’ Committees to be divided equally according among the three Regions, for a total of $6,000 transferred to comprise the 2011-12 annual grant.

• Funding for the Governing Boards of the school board based on the enrollment figures as of September 30, 2011, according to the following formula:

- Schools: $230 per school plus .50/student - Adult and Vocational Education Centres: $230 per centre plus .50/FTE Entente Spécifique en Réussite Éducative Council approved an agreement aimed at improving school success between the Lester B. Pearson School Board and the partners listed in an agreement outlining a project set up by the Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sports and different minis-tries in order to improve school success for schools of la Vallée-Du-Haut-Saint-Laurent. Organization Chart – 2011-2012 Council adopted the Board-level administrative structure repre-sented in the Organization Chart dated October 24, 2011, to take effect on November 16, 2011. Banking – Signing Officers Council approved that the last paragraph of Resolution 07-11-07 be modified to read as follows: “For the Council of Commissioners, the signature of one of the following: the Council Chairperson, the Council Vice-Chairperson or the Chairperson of the Executive Committee and for Administration the signature of one of the following: the Director General, the Director of Finance or the Assistant Director General C. Heffernan.” This modification will be effective as of November 16, 2011. Student Ombudsman Opinion – October 17, 2011 Council approved that, after reviewing the opinion of made by the Student Ombudsman regarding a complaint received on October 5, 2011, Council is to inform the complainant that no action is to be taken.

PUBLIC MEETINGS – NOVEMBER 2011

The following meetings will take place at 1925 Brookdale, Dorval (unless otherwise indicated)

Executive Committee November 21, 2011 5:30 p.m. Board Room

Special Needs Advisory Committee November 30, 2011 7:00 p.m. Room 219/221

Council of Commissioners November 28, 2011 7:30 p.m. Board Room

***Webcast begins at 7:30 p.m. on www.lbpsb.qc.ca

DATES TO NOTE

Page 16 PEARSON NEWS

COMMISSIONERS’ PHONE NUMBERS Below is a list of Commissioners along with their home telephone numbers and school board locals.

Home 422-3000 Ward Communities Commissioner Phone # Local 1 Verdun/Nuns’ Island Douglas Flook 514-293-2417 4001 2 LaSalle South Sergio Borja 514-368-1001 4002 3 LaSalle Northeast Ruben Fazio 514-365-1638 4003 4 LaSalle West/Ville St-Pierre Frank di Bello 514-951-5834 4004 5 Lachine Patrick Whitham 514-800-9240 4005 6 Dorval Barbara Freeston 514-636-9315 4006 7 Dollard-des-Ormeaux East Rosemary Murphy 514-620-8012 4007 8 Roxboro/Pierrefonds East Craig Berger 514-421-6570 4008 9 Pointe-Claire East Allan Levine 514-683-6671 4009 10 Pointe-Claire West Conny Held 514-233-5966 4026 11 Dollard-des-Ormeaux Center Ruth Dangoor Gdalevitch 514-906-7320 4011 12 Pierrefonds/Île Bizard Susan Williams 514-620-4745 4012 13 Dollard-des-Ormeaux Center/West Martin Sherman 514-684-2742 4013 14 Dollard-des-Ormeaux W./Kirkland E. Joe Zemanovich 514-624-2376 4014 15 Beaconsfield North Don Rae 514-697-9878 4015 16 Kirkland West Suanne Stein Day 514-630-9824 2322 17 Pierrefonds West Luisa Bulgarelli-Vero 514-694-0475 4017 18 Ste-Anne/Baie d’Urfé/Beaconsfld S./Senneville Judy Kelley 514-697-7619 4018 19 Île Perrot Susan Bartlett-Lewis 514-453-6650 4019 20 Les Cèdres/Vaudreuil-Dorion Angela Nolet 514-453-5462 2299 21 Hudson/St-Lazare Daniel Olivenstein 450-458-1413 4021 CPC Secondary Representative Nan Beaton 514-713-3892 4026 CPC Elementary Representative Domenico Pavone 514-566-8869 4027