NEWSLETTER: NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
2008
*** Coming in the new
year workshop for teachers on Restorative Practice
Twenty-seventh Ontario Secondary Peer Helping &
Leadership Conference, 2009
‘The Amazing Race to Freedom: Let’s Build a
Better World’
April 22, 23, 24th
2009
OPHA NEWS!
rd
Congratulations to Tracy Berry & Joan Macklin for their workshop at the
Ontario School Counsellors’ Association conference in November.
Approximately 50 teachers attended this session on Restorative Practice. Tracy
& Joan gave some very practical ideas on how the process could be applied
at elementary and high school and also showed some user friendly resources
including OPHA’s two workshops. Joan and other OPHA workshop presenters
will continue to assist teachers in implementing restorative practices by offering
a workshop/inservice. This will be available
in our local area (Oshawa, Peterborough, Belleville)in January and from March onwards in other areas of the
province.
Planning has
already started for the April secondary leadership and peer support conference.
Inspired by the work of the ‘Free the Children’ the conference will
centre its workshops and activities about helping children through education.
It will promote an awareness of the state of children especially in
impoverished and war torn nations and explore ways to help. Some information
can be found on page 4 of the newsletter and more detailed information will be
available in January.
Be
kind to your neighbour
He’ll
pass on the favour
And
before you know it everyone will too.
There’s
no longer “me”
“I”
becomes a “we”.
All
together we can build community.
Soon
the world is peaceful,
All
the happy people
Living
altogether in harmony!
( Song of
Peace)
The October
elementary conference was a resounding success with exciting activities and
workshops. The organizing team was phenomenal in creating and running the
conference on peace. The staff at the Ontario Educational Leadership Centre are
to be commended for providing such a warm and friendly environment for our
conferences. Join us there for the secondary conference in April.
Couch Express to Peace, Elementary Conference
21 schools sent teams to
board the Couch express and experienced great peace activities and workshops.
We were pleased to welcome a new school, Island Lake Public School, to the peer
helping and leadership conference. To
help run the conference was an amazing group of senior student facilitators
from Cobourg West, Cobourg East and Bowmanville high schools. Some of them had
helped with the 2007 conference and others had helped with it and the previous
secondary conference. Their enthusiasm, dedication and sense of responsibility
helped the students and organizing team. What a great group of young people!
D’Arcy Lichti and his students
from Laurelwoods set the scene for this conference by performing their play on
Martin Luther King . D’Arcy followed this up with a workshop based on
activities from the Bully Free Week he runs in his schools. Students created
banners which were used in the 1960’s style peace rally which took place on our final morning.
Fitting in with the 60’s Tracy Berry had everyone tye dyeing their
Ontario Educational Leadership Centre t-shirts. 186 shirts were tye dyed
– what a Herculean effort from Tracy!!
Michelle Robinson presented a fantastic activity
called ‘Couch Soup’ Every house/family was responsible for a
section of it. Some groups sang, others played musical instruments and others
chanted, After an hour of preparation
the groups became part of an amazing production based on the story of Stone Soup.
Bert Gibson and Joan Macklin, presented a
workshop on ‘Talking Peace.’
They ran activities from the OPHA workshop and introduced different ways
of resolving conflicts, including using Restorative practice. Students were
given the set of restorative practice questions they can use at school or at
home.
Heather Gibb ran a workshop on
creating songs of peace. She gave them a simple tune and students wrote words
to fit. Some of these songs are included in this newsletter. Heather also
taught the students the song, ‘Don’t Laugh at Me’. This is
taken from the book of the same name written by Steve Seskin and Allen
Shamblin. This is a wonderful picture book
and comes with the cd. It’s also possible to get the
teacher’s guide for Grades 6-8. ( OPHA has a few remaining copies of
book, cd and teacher’s guide $15 + shipping) Heather had the participants present the
songs later in the day.
Philip Palmer joined the organizing team this year
and inspired everyone with his power point presentation on ‘Free the
Children’. Everyone was very impressed with the efforts of Dr Ross Tilley
school which raised enough money in 2 years
to build a school in Kenya. One
hundred percent of the schools at the conference planned to fundraise for that
organization. $158 was fundraised at the conference and sent in to Free the
Children.
Julie Dowling, Cameron Tattrie, Michelle Robinson and Sandy Philp organized
fun activities for the students on the Thursday. These were activities on
PROPS, a scavenger hunt, sound colouring and music.
At the same time the advisors shared these
resources:
‘Pittance of Time’ – a very moving dvd suitable for Remembrance
Day www.terry-kelly.com
‘Character Counts– http://charactercounts.org This gives ideas for a week of activities
that Rob Potter of Cameron Street and Brenda MacNaughton of Dr Ross Tilley
organize for their schools.
Another website mentioned was www.storyofstuff.com This is an
interactive site by Annie Leonard which shows
global crisis of a materials economy and ways to deal with it.
For more information on D’Arcy’s Bully Free Week or for copies of ‘Don’t Laugh at
Me’ contact the OPHA office( peerhelping@hotmail.com)
.
I am
just myself.
Sorry,
but it’s true
You
can not change anything
That
I might do.
I
stand up for my friends
And
everything they do
‘cause
everybody knows that
Bullies
are not
We
all stick together
Friends
are for ever.
‘Cause
everybody knows that Bullies are not
OPHA Workshops
The OPHA workshop presenters
have been kept very busy this Fall. Up
to this date they have presented 5
workshops with 12 different schools being represented. They’ve enjoyed
working with peer helpers and student leaders from St Paul’s Norwood,
Port Credit Secondary School, Courtice Secondary School, Sacred Heart School,
Wingham and Alcona Glen school, Innisfil.
The
elementary schools have been getting great ideas from the ‘Making Peace
‘workshop which suggests many ways to deal with conflict. Restorative
practice is one of the ways and this gives the workshop participants an
introduction to it. They receive the
Restorative Practice questions and shown how to use them. With these skills they can reduce conflict at home, in
school or in the community.
The two secondary schools
requested different workshops to deal with conflict, harassment etc.
Bert Gibson and Cynthia Zander presented the Restorative Practice workshop in
Port Credit. This workshop explores the principles, the process and gives the
workshop participants a chance to apply the skills thy have learned. Two
leadership classes at Courtice Secondary school
spent the day learning peer mediation skills. Sandy Philp and Bert
Gibson led the students & teachers
through a series of communication and mediation skills.
Let’s
spread some kindness
Everyone
together.
We
can make a difference
If
we all sing along.
Help
include the new ones,
Don’t
leave them alone.
We
can make a difference
If
we all sing along.
No
discrimination.
Peace
throughout the nation.
We
can make a difference
If
we all sing along.
Twenty-seventh
Ontario Secondary Peer Helping & Leadership Conference, 2009
‘The Amazing Race to Freedom: Let’s
Build a Better World’
Fundraiser: Free the Children
Where? Ontario Educational Leadership Centre,
Longford Mills, near Orillia, Ontario
When? April 22, 23, 24, 2009
Conference Registration
Wednesday, April 22nd, 12:00-2:00pm
Conference Closing:
Friday, April 24th, 11:30am
Lunch is not included on
Wednesday or Friday.
Why? Opportunity to integrate & brainstorm with leaders- province wide
Getting recharged through
fun activities & workshops
Collect valuable knowledge
and resources to take back to school
Who? High School Peer Helpers, Student Leaders,
Advisors.
Minimum of
1 advisor per 12 students. ( 1 free advisor for groups of over 15)
Fee: Early Bird Fee: $150 per student, $120
per advisor, if registered & paid
before March 27th, 2009
Registration Fee: $160 per student;
$120 per advisor
Advisors’ fee includes 1
year’s free membership to OPHA
1 free advisor for 15+ registered and paid
students
Organizing team: Laurie Stacey & Scott
Field—O’Neill Secondary School, Oshawa
Rebecca Turner & Rhonda
Story—Bowmanville High School
Tammy Polan– Elmvale District High
School
Ryan Hawes– Bear Creek Secondary
School, Barrie
OPHA directors—Sandy Philp, Joan
Macklin & Maureen Weekes
More information coming in January
FOR MORE
INFORMATION CONTACT OPHA AT peerhelping@hotmail.com
" TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE"
For
more information on this program contact O.P.H.A.