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Grade 5/6 works to protect vulnerable species
- March 31, 2009
Last term, the grade 5/6 computer studies
class accessed a variety of online databases, including Fishbase.org
and Redlist.org,
to learn more about vulnerable species of fish. After doing
some research, we discovered that there are restaurants and
fish stores in Toronto that still sell threatened species
like swordfish.
Each girl wrote a letter to a different organization to help
them understand the issues surrounding vulnerable species
better, and asked them to make changes if possible. Excitingly,
they are starting to receive letters in reply. For example,
Brie wrote a letter to the Heart and Stroke Foundation to
ask that they include only sustainable species of fish in
their recipes. Here is an excerpt from the letter she received
in reply:
"[W]e have changed the recipe to
read Pacific halibut because of your letter...Thanks for bringing
this to our attention. We try to make sure our recipes meet
the highest standards--and you now have helped us to do just
that."
The girls hope to receive more letters in reply, and are happy
to know that they've made some small difference in keeping
our ocean populations healthy.
Linden's got spirit - March 15, 2009
During the week of March 9, the Olympic
Games arrived at The Linden School a year early for our annual
Spirit Week.
Linden's grade 12 students, the traditional
organizers of Spirit Week, put together five days of Olympic-themed
fun for the whole school. Here's how the week of activities
played out:
Monday: At the Opening Ceremonies
of Day 1, each class was charged with creating a name for
their "country", which they represented throughout
the week, as well as a national anthem. The girls came up
with many creative monikers and songs to match, ranging from
Grade 3/4's "Pajama Land" to Grade 9A's "Suburbia".
The students also learned the first of the week's four costume
themes.
Tuesday: Tuesday's costume theme
was Winter Sports, meaning the school was suddenly dominated
by hockey players, ice skaters and even a downhill skier (complete
with cardboard skis!) The grade 12 students created a candy
hunt for the girls, who worked in teams to scour to school
in a quest to collect more treats than any other country.
Wednesday: On Day 3, Summer Sports
reigned, meaning it was time for students and teachers to
(optimistically) don shorts and t-shirts for the day's festivities.
Today's activity involved searching out the Olympic rings,
each country charged with putting together the complete the
set.
Thursday: Thursday was Flag Day;
whether worn around their shoulders, painted on their faces
or emblazoned on a jersey, students and teachers were encouraged
to wear a flag to school. Though the Canadian flag made a
strong showing, there were many flags in evidence from countries
and causes around the world. Thursday was also the day when
each country competed for the title of Lip Sync Champion,
with each group performing a carefully choreographed and rehearsed
routine for the grade 12 judges. The faculty and staff even
got into the act!
Friday: At Friday's closing ceremonies,
the winners of the week's many awards were presented with
their gold medals. Awards were given out for outstanding costumes,
best lip sync routine and the week's most spirited countries.
The joint winners of this final medal, Team Suburbia (Grade
9A) and Team Camel (Grade 6), shared the honour of lighting
the Olympic torch!
After the medal presentation, students got
to enjoy one final treat before their March Break began: a
carnival organized by Grade 11 in Linden's gymnasium. Among
the games and activities available were a cookie-decorating
station, custom caricature drawings and an opportunity to
take aim at teacher Andy with foam-covered sponges (which
proved to be a favourite, especially with his students!)
Thank to our grade 12 students for organizing
a Spirit Week that everyone enjoyed, to our grade 11 students
for starting off the break on such a fun note, and to all
of our students, staff and faculty for their enthusiastic
participation!
Senior Volleyball team wraps up a great
season - March 10, 2009
Linden's Senior Volleyball players finished
off a season marked by constant improvement at their championship
tournament on Thursday, March 5.
With their level of play and teamwork getting
better game after game, the girls showed off their best play
of the year in last week's playoff. The team gave it their
absolute all; however, competition in their pool was extremely
impressive (two of the four teams made it to the finals),
and the girls missed coming away with a win. Their season
record was a winning one, though, with the team finishing
6-4 after their final game in February.
Lindsay and Deidre had a blast coaching
a group of very dedicated players, and they thank all of the
girls for a great season!
Junior Volleyball team finishes fifth at
championship tournament - March 5, 2009
Linden's Junior Volleyball squad moved up
an impressive three places in the rankings on Wednesday, finishing
fifth overall in their championship tournament.
After making it into the tournament by a
narrow margin (Linden was ranked eighth overall, and only
the top eight teams in the league make it in), the team faced
three schools in round robin play, playing two games against
each squad. Linden's opponents were ranked first, second and
third, and the girls put up a great fight against each.
In playing the second-ranked team in the
North, the girls lost one game (25-23) but won the other by
an impressive margin of 25-13. Unfortunately, they weren't
able to take a game from the third-ranked team, losing both
matches in very close games.
But the girls' most impressive moments of
the day came against Voice Academy, the team ranked number
one in the tournament. Linden lost one game 25-23 but battled
to a 26-24 victory in the other, much to the chagrin of Voice's
coach. "If it wasn't for you," he said after the
game, "we would have been undefeated!"
When all was said and done, Linden moved
up to a fifth-place ranking from their original eighth-place
spot. Elizabeth and Tonja are proud of their team's play at
a tough tournament, and want to thank all the girls for a
great season!
Princesses and pint sized pirates at Junior
Drama Night- March 5, 2009
On Wednesday, March 4, Linden's grade 5
and 6 students presented two plays for their Junior Drama
Night.
The grade 6 class taught a spoiled princess
a lesson in Beauty IS a Beast, a play about a beautiful
girl who learns that true beauty comes from within - with
a little help from her fairy godmother and some kind townspeople.
The grade 5/6 class performed Peggy the Pint Sized Pirate,
showing the audience that you don't have to be big and burly
to be a great pirate - you just need to have smarts on your
side.
Both classes worked very hard on their performances,
both during school time and in Junior Drama Club; Lindsay
Townend, their drama teacher, could not be more pleased with
their productions. Thank you to Alannah, grade 10, and Jenn
Stewart for all of their help with both plays, and of course
to Lindsay for her work in putting together a wonderful evening.
An International Women's Day dance-off
- March 5, 2009
On Sunday, March 8, 54 countries around
the world will celebrate International Women's Day. Whether
it's a political rally, a business conference or a theatre
performance, there are thousands of events held on this day
to celebrate the achievements of women, and to inspire girls
and women to continue fighting for women's rights and making
a difference in their communities. As always at Linden, we
held an International Women's Day celebration at yesterday's
All School - dance-off style.
So You Think You Can Dance?
Our grade 9 students organized this year's
festivities, which took the form of a dance competition called
"So You Think You Can Dance - Linden". Each class
choreographed (well in advance of the day) and presented their
own dance routine, giving their all with challenging moves,
creative costumes and lots of humour. The results were phenomenal,
ranging from a stomp routine performed by the grade 3/4 class,
to a tango that left one grade 8 student dancing with a broom,
to a grade 11 ballet recital gone (intentionally) awry. At
the end of All School, each girl got to vote for her favourite
performance; when the ballots have been counted, one class
will be awarded the title of "Linden's Best Dance Crew".
The Goal
As part of the celebration, each girl brought
in two dollars as an International Women's Day donation. The
proceeds of the event will be passed on to Sylvie, a young
girl living in Rwanda who would not be able to attend school
without outside support. The money she receives from Linden
pays for her school fees at her high school, a boarding school
where she lives during the school year (like most students
in Rwanda with the opportunity to attend high school). When
she is not in school, Sylvie lives with her mother, grandparents
and two other members of her extended family in a small house
outside the town of Butare.
Sylvie is very grateful for Linden's support
with her school fees, and our girls are very happy that they
can give Sylvie the opportunity to graduate from high school,
and thus open the door to a whole new world of opportunity.
Congratulations to the grade 9 class
and Anne Lyden for organizing a great, and meaningful, event,
and to all of our dancers for making it a truly entertaining
hour of performances.
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