Allan Gardens - Paradise in our own neighborhood!

Room 20 visited Allan Gardens to practice planting and to learn the importance of GREEN in our world!



video created by Aisha, grade 4

MiniMag #1

News as it's happening: see it first on "Rising Every Time: The Blog"



posted by Hajera and Hana, grade 5

New Babies!!!

Ms Burton was my grade 4/5 teacher in room 13. She already had a boy name Jake, who is about 2. Recently, she had a baby girl. Her baby was 3 pounds and 14 ounces. Ms Burton is a really nice teacher and we miss her. Now we have a new teacher named Ms Wells, who used to teach room 16, which now has Ms Bryce. (This is not an actual picture of Ms Burton's baby. We're waiting for one of those!)

Also, Ajike, who has had many different teaching jobs at the school had twin girls names Olympia and Grace. This is a picture of Ajike's baby girls. They have a big brother named Ezekiel!

posted by Nadia, grade 4

Jewels For Shelters

Jewels For Shelters is about helping and I'm proud of it because I invented it! It is part of my project for Future Possibilties. I call it a goal because it is. First, I tried to make a idea from nothing and I'm nearly done! Girls and women get bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and sets of jewelry. I work hard to make these pieces that you see in the picture. Then I sell some of them and this money goes to help women, girls, homeless people and hospitals. Please help me in donating bracelets, please.

If you want to know about how you can join Future Possibilties and help other people, just go on www.fpcanada.org

posted by Nadia, grade 5

Good bye, Will

In Room 20 a cool guy came in. I wondered who it was but then he explained himself.

He said his name was Will, and that he was a student who would be here until April 16. He was assigned to us from George Brown College where he was learning to be a Child/Youth worker. I thought he was just some ordinary guy but, when I got to know him better, I started to see how cool a guy he is.

It was great having him around the classroom because he helped people out with their work and shared some stuff with us. He also made some fun activities for us like designing our own chocolate bars. He LOVES graffiti, he also has his own graffiti crew. On the last day he wore his hair in a Mowhawk. That is his usual style.

posted by Matthew, grade 5

Our Officer Frank

Officer Frank is COOL!
Guess what? Officer Frank is back. He told us that bullies are losers. Bullies are always scared. He said that you could get arrested at any age, and you can be charged here in Canada when you are 12. There is no JUVI in Canada, only in the U.S. One thing that sucks is if you get arrested, you cannot do all the things you always wanted to do. There are restrictions on you, like if you wanted to visit the U.S. and you are about to cross the border. The man in the booth would look at your record, and if it said, maybe, "arrested for domestic violence" then you would need to turn around and drive all the way back. You would not be able to leave Canada!

One thing is very important! Officer Frank said if you ever did get bullied, it is not your fault!
posted by Matthew, grade 5

Officer Frank's Important Visit
On April 7th, Officer Frank from 51 division came to Room 13. He talked to us about bullying and that you can get charged when you are twelve if you bully someone. He told us the story about a teacher on yard duty who witnessed a boy push another boy into a fence. The boy injured his face on the fence. The bully was sent to the office where his mom was informed. The principal said that her child was in trouble for assault and that the other boy was going to the hospital. The bully was arrested.

Officer Frank talked about cyber-bullying and verbal-bullying. Bullying isn't just about physical pain. Words can hurt too. He suggested talking to a teacher on yard duty, or another adult who you trust. He said that bullying can affect your future. Any charges will stay on your record and you won't be able to be a teacher, or a judge, or a police officer. You won't be able to have many jobs because of a bad choice.

I think the students learned a lot from Officer Frank. Hopefully students will see the dangers of bullying and know how to deal with it.
posted by Nadia, grade 5

photo posted with permission of Officer Frank!

Let's All Go to the Ball !

We had some wonderful lessons, and now we get to show off the best of our moves on the dance floor in front of the whole school!

Video created in Photostory by Varda and Aisha, grade 4

People's Feelings Can Get Really Hurt!

I think bullying is a serious issue because people are getting hurt and they do not stand up against bullies. I understand how people feel because I had to handle

someone else's problems because they were scared and I sometimes feel scared but we should have courage to handle this kind of stuff. I feel upset that some people cannot tell an adult how they feel if they are in trouble.

Posted by Rafia, Grade 5

Enjoy Your Paperless Paper, here!

Your April issue of your trusty school paper, delivered right to you! Enjoy, and make sure to respond with your comments to the authors who have worked so hard to engage you with their ideas.

Our Band Rocks, Bigtime!!!

Whenever our school has one of our concerts, our band "blows us away!"

Video created in News Club by Nadia and Varda, grade 5

Amazing Evolution

It is inspiring to see how the efforts of our students have evolved into this blog. The topics and issues that are posted are current and relevant to not only our community but the world. I am very interested in the discussions that have occurred on the blog and look forward to being an active contributor. Congratulations to all students in making this blog a meaningful and relevant part of our school community and a positive contributor to our world.

posted by Mr. Malabre, your Principal

Mandela Kids Show Off Their Talent!

Watch this video to see the amazing things our kids can do! Our Talent Show this year was on March 13th. Maybe YOU will be in next year's show?

Created in Photostory by Mandeq, grade 5

YOU DANCE YAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you ever seen ballet dancers dance in big hats and clothes? Well I just saw that on April 2, 2009 at Canada’s National Ballet School.I enjoyed the dance called Giselle; it was sad and romantic. We got a chance to perform our dance too. It was easy when we were performing on the stage because there weren’t many people watching, but when we were performing in front of the dancers, it was hard.I would remember mostly every thing, but the thing I would remember most is the funny dance we watched: there was a girl who was really confident and a boy who was a bit shy. They were in a dance hall. It was really funny… especially at the end when the girl who was confident fell on top of the guy who was shy.After all that I learned that ballet is not just for dancing, it’s also for fun.If I had a chance to change or do something different I wouldn’t because it was so well done that there was nothing to change or do differently. If I had a chance to do it again I would love to. It was so fantastic that anyone would want to see it again.

posted by Shamal, grade 5

I enjoyed dancing because it was a good dance we did and it was really fun. I liked watching the performance by the professional dancers because their dances were very cool.The difficult part was sitting still while I watched room 17 because I really wanted to dance but they still did very good. I learned if you pay attention you will get through it faster then you think. I would like to do YOUDANCE again. The only thing I would have changed would be doing two dances instead of one!

posted by Tiffani, grade 4

Two classes have done YOU DANCE and two more classes are about to do that !!!!

YOU DANCE is a National Ballet group in Canada and you learn some dances and get to watch and meet amazing dancers. I am excited about YOU DANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want more imfomation check out their website http://www.youdancecanada.ca/

posted by Rafia, grade 5

Are you glad you live in Regent Park ?

Do you feel safe in Regent Park ?

I was not born in Regent Park but I am living here now. To me Regent Park is very different.
One thing that is different is that the neighborhood is all closed up. In Regent Park it is easier to get away with crime and do drugs. Regent Park is sometimes very violent. If I could do something about it I would spread out the buildings. Another different thing about Regent Park is that people don't listen to signs like NO TRESPASSING. They get in trouble for it and they don't even care. One more thing about Regent Park is that a lot of people don't put their litter in the garbage and don't
care about the Environment.

When I'm in my school I do feel safe. I go to Nelson Mandela Park. Nelson Mandela is a school where teachers teach students how to behave properly. Some kids don't learn how to behave but most kids do learn not to be violent.

Please leave comments about how you feel in Regent Park!

Matthew, grade 5

photo from iStockphoto.com