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December 2010 News Archives
Celebrating at the Festival of Lights - December 21, 2010
On Wednesday, December 15, we at Linden held our annual Festival of Lights. This event celebrates the end of the Fall term and the holiday season ahead, and features performances by the Linden Band, several music classes, our homerooms and and our Steel Pans groups. Most importantly, the Festival of Lights provides an opportunity for our students to share their hard work and accomplishments throughout the term with the Linden community.
What was in store for those who joined us for this year's Festival? We'll show you! Check out our video of our Advanced Steel Pans group performing, as well as our Picasa Web Album from the evening's festivities:
Advanced Steel Pans Group Performs "Carol of the Bells"
Ladles and Loans: Grade 5 Kiva Fundraiser - December 20, 2010
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Last week, our grade 5 class tied on their aprons and served up soup as a fundraiser for micro-lender Kiva. Read on to hear about what inspired their fundraising efforts, and how they plan to help with the money they raised.
"We read the book One Hen a couple of months ago and it was about a little boy who helped his family by buying one hen. He used the money he made from selling the hen's eggs to buy another hen and then another and another. He got so busy that he had to hire other people in his community. Soteira told us this was called microlending.
"In November, we went to the Out of the Cold program at the Metropolitan United Church where we helped set up a soup lunch for people who can't afford any food. This gave us the idea of running a soup lunch at Linden because we thought it would be a good idea to raise money to help other people.
"In total, we had 11 soups donated to our project from Linden staff and grade 5 families. We raised $105 and together, chose to donate it to the following Kiva projects:
Cruz Magdalena Montesdeoca Vera (Portoviejo, Ecuador):Señora Cruz is 51-years old, married, and has three adult children. Cruz's husband is a driver. Together they sell all types of clothing. They travel to the town and into the countryside in a small truck that
he owns. We loaned her $25 to buy merchandise for her clothing business.
Ulziiburen Shuher (Sansar, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia):
Ulziiburen Shuher is 37 years old and lives with her husband and two sons in her sister's house in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. Ulziiburen operates both a dairy products and a newspaper trading
business in a rented stall at the grocery shop next to the bus station of Bayanzurh district. We loaned her $25 to buy supplies for her stall.
Francine Nyirahirwa (Kigali, Rwanda): Francine Nyirahirwa is 36 years old, married, and has five children who are between the ages of 2 and 14. She runs a small general store that sells a wide variety of food and other items. Francince has been in this business for about five years; her store is open from 6 AM to 8 PM. We loaned her $25 to buy goods for her general store.
Juana Francisca ( Corinto, Morazan, El Salvador): Juana, 54, is a general merchandise and cosmetics merchant. She lives alone because her children have formed their own families. For 20 years she has sold decorations, cosmetics and clothes. She comes from a very hard working family because both her parents and siblings are merchants. She works all day every day of the week. We loaned her $25 to buy cosmetics for her shop.
"The rest of our funds ($4.48) were given to Kiva for their operating costs.
"In the end, we had a great time and feel proud to be supporting all these women through Kiva to achieve their goals."
Junior Basketball Team are SSAF Champs! - December 20, 2010
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On Thursday, December 2, the junior basketball team repeated as Small Schools Athletic Federation champions!
Here is what coach Elizabeth had to say about their effort at the Final Four tournament:
"Both games were VERY exciting. Our semi final game was the girls' best overall team effort, with fantastic positioning and passing, strong defense, and great execution of plays. It was like watching magic on the court seeing all of the girls play smart, work as a team, and show such heart. Mira and I were extremely proud of the girls, and you could tell they knew how well they each played individually and as a team.
"The final game was a nail-biter against Bond Academy (the same team they played in the finals last year). The game was tied 19-19 with a minute and half to go. The bench was wild with support for the five girls on the court, and the girls playing in that last minute kept their cool and got the job the done. All were thrilled with the results. What a group of girls!"
Congratulations to the girls on a great season!
SNAP'd at the Social Justice Data Fair - December 10, 2010
At our recent Social Justice Data Fair, we had a visit from a SNAP North Toronto photographer who wanted to see this wonderful event in action.
To read what SNAP had to say and to and see some great photos from Social Justice Data Fair 2010, click here!
Grade 8 Students Share Unique Take on Romeo and Juliet - December 10, 2010
Linden's grade 8 class took the stage on Thursday, November 25, to perform their own modernization of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
If Romeo and Juliet were living in today's world, what might their star-crossed love story have looked like? This was the question put to our grade 8 students by their English teachers, Lindsay and Ruthie. The girls worked for several weeks to write and stage their production, collaborating in small groups to bring each scene to life. The result was a unique and engaging spin on a classic tale that, even hundreds of years later, still managed to surprise.
Take a look at our Picasa Web Album to see photos of the performance:
Linden Co-Founder Published in New Story Collection - December 3, 2010
Eleanor Moore, one of The Linden School's co-founders, shares the story of how she came to feminism in Feminist Journeys, the first book to be published by the Feminist History Society. In this collection, women from across Canada explain how they made the connection between their girlhood or womanhood, and what was happening in their lives.
There is another Linden connection to this book - it is edited by Marguerite Andersen, a well-known francophone author and former Linden French teacher. Over her career, Marguerite has published more than ten works of fiction, short stories and poems.
Congratulations to Eleanor and Marguerite on their accomplishment!
