Feeding Community Spirit at Park Avenue - SD68 School District ...

A Magazine for the Families of the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District
Winter 2011
Feeding
Community Spirit
at Park Avenue
page 8
SD68 Introduces New Superintendent Swiss Student Teachers at Georgia Avenue
Going Tech In Our Schools and more...

A Magazine for the Families of the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District
Winter 2011
395 Wakesiah Avenue
Nanaimo, British Columbia
V9R 3K6
www.sd68.bc.ca
ConnectED is published quarterly by
School District 68 (Nanaimo-Ladysmith),
in partnership with Sloan & Co.
Publishing. Approximately 10,000 copies
are distributed through all SD68
schools and several community locations
four times per year. SD68 is grateful
to all the advertising sponsors and
supporters who have made this issue
possible. Proceeds from advertising
have paid for the production and distribution
of this issue. Remaining profits
have gone to SD68.
Publishing Partner:
Sloan and Company
Editor:
Donna Reimer, dreimer@sd68.bc.ca
Layout/Design:
Sloan and Company
lotte@Sloanandco.ca
Advertising:
Andrew Sloan, andrew@Sloanandco.ca
604.889.6397
Special thanks to the following who
helped with this issue of ConnectED:
Pete Sabo, Erin O’Reilly, Karina Younk,
Anna Dodds, Dave Hutchinson, Shelley
Green, Tammy Reynolds, Val Martineau
Shelley Gvojich, Diane Goodman and
Shauna DeBodt.
EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING AND CONSULTING
604.889.6397
6603 Balaclava Street
Vancouver, BC V6N 1M1
www.sloanandco.ca
By Donna Reimer
SD68 Introduces
New Superintendent
This school year, the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District welcomes a new Superintendent
of Schools, Dave Hutchinson. He replaces Mike Munro, who retired in July
after 31 years in education.
Mr. Hutchinson comes to Nanaimo-Ladysmith from Regina Public Schools where
he was Superintendent of Instruction and School Services.
“As a newcomer to the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District and British Columbia’s
education community, I realize that I have much to learn,” he said. “Since arriving,
I have discovered excellent staff at all levels, both at the district office and in our
schools. Everyone has been welcoming and supportive.”
“I have also very much appreciated the encouragement I have received from the
trustees on the Board of Education. Overall, it is clear that our trustees and district
staff have a strong interest in pursuing goals that focus on the improvement of student
learning.”
One of his priorities this year is to establish strong connections with students, parents
and the general public. He has already launched a blog with a Twitter feed in an
effort to regularly communicate on educational matters. Parents are invited to check
in from time to time and to participate in the dialogue at http://daves-corner.com.
Mr. Hutchinson’s work in education has been broad-based and includes classroom
teaching, curriculum consulting and development, teacher education and secondary
school administration. Throughout his career he has been a strong advocate
for ensuring that all students have equal access to high quality learning and teaching
and he has been instrumental in the implementation of specialized programs that
meet students’ unique needs.
One area of particular interest for Mr. Hutchinson is the most recent research
in neuroscience and the things that we now know about human learning. Take, for
example, the topic of self-regulation, which Mr. Hutchinson has been discussing recently
on his blog. Neuroscientists who have studied the conditions that best lend
themselves to healthy brain growth and development have concluded that caregivers
who help infants and children self-regulate (i.e. calm themselves when they are
upset, focus on interesting experiences, explore ideas creatively, plan an activity etc.)
are helping children learn the skills that will provide a solid foundation for their educational
futures.
In the months ahead, Mr. Hutchinson looks forward to meeting the parents of
SD68 in a variety of ways, to discuss their hopes and aspirations for the education
system that is serving their children.
Grade 4 and 5 students from Georgia Avenue were happy to spend some time with
Superintendent Dave Hutchinson on a recent visit to the school. Students from left,
Jeffrey Ng, Josh Parkin, Codi Storch, Daisy Parks, and Kymberli Pindar.

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inside:
This spring, the excitement was evident as parents and
students volunteered to build garden beds, distribute
garden soil and plant seeds as part of the Garden Roots
Project at Park Avenue Community School.
p. 2 SD68 Introduces
New Superintendent
p. 4 Maintaining District Buildings
p. 6 Schools Foundation Student
Support Fund Gives Help to
Students in Need
p. 8 Feeding Community Spirit at
Park Avenue
p. 10 SWISS STUDENT TEACHERS:
Expanding Community at
Georgia Avenue
p. 13 Going Tech in
Our Schools

By Donna Reimer
Maintaining District Buildings
Thanks to a grant by Tree Canada and Golder Associates, Ladysmith Secondary School received $3,000 towards a school beautification
project. This fall the Green Team, a group of students under the leadership of teacher Shelley Gvojich, converted part of the school parking
lot into a beautiful garden space. School District 68 maintenance staff assisted with the preparation and the planting of the garden,
which features all natives species of plants – a condition of the grant.
If you are a home owner, you know only too well the ongoing
work needed to maintain your house - repairing that pesky
dripping faucet; keeping the exterior painted to protect it
from the elements; making sure the heating system is in good
working order; and every 25 years or so, installing a new roof.
Now, imagine that you are responsible for the equivalent of
1,000 houses. And those houses are used daily by about 17,000
people, 14,000 of whom are active children and teenagers.
That scenario describes the job that School District 68’s Facilities
Department faces in maintaining the district’s 40 schools
and various other buildings. Not only is there the daily work of
cleaning and maintaining grounds and playfields; there is also the
ongoing process of repairs and updates to the buildings.
A team of about 120 people work to keep schools and grounds
cleaned, repaired, updated and in good shape – safe, warm and
secure for students. That team includes about 40 grounds workers
and tradespeople and 75 custodians, along with planners and
managers.
Director of Planning and Operations Pete Sabo said that it is a
team that takes great pride in its work. He noted that the importance
of having a good school building is sometimes forgotten.
“I had an employee point out to me one day that the first thing
you do when you want to help a third world country is to build
a school. Providing students with a roof over their heads and a
safe environment for learning is a concrete way that we demonstrate
that we care about our children and their futures. Without
a building there is no education system.”
Maintenance projects carried out at schools fall into two categories.
There are routine maintenance items such as repairs to
4 - ConnectED - Winter 2011
the building envelope (roof, walls, floors), plumbing, electric and
heating systems. There are also the larger ticket items – new roofing,
new heating and ventilation systems, exterior painting and
general renovations.
Routine maintenance is funded through the district’s operating
budget. This year, that budget totals approximately $14
million, which provides for over 40 tradespeople, materials and
contracts, and many other staff.
The larger projects, which are deemed to be capital improvements,
are funded by the Annual Facilities Grant (AFG). This
year, that grant was approximately $2.6 million for School District
68.
While it is the tradespeople who carry out the repairs and
projects, Sabo noted that they are backed up by the other people
who work in the Facilities Department.
It starts with the custodians who make sure schools are clean
and carry out the routine projects such as annual waxing of floors,
thereby prolonging the life of those floors. It includes the staff in
the Facilities Office who plan, schedule and assign work. And, it
extends to the Transportation Department and the professional
drivers and mechanics, who make sure students get to school in a
safe, well-maintained bus, as well as maintain the district’s other
vehicles.
This work is carried out at a time when there is a drive to ensure
that the district’s operations are as environmentally friendly
as possible – using green cleaning products, using less energy and
finding innovative ways to reduce the district’s carbon footprint.
For this reason, the Facillities Department also has an energy
manager, a position funded by B.C. Hydro. &

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Schools Foundation Student Support Fund Gives
Help to Students in Need
By Erin O’Reilly
Mary has changed schools five times in three years as her family moves around to find
cheaper lodgings. Her single mother struggles on below poverty line wages. Johnny would
like to train for the cross-country race with other kids at school but his running shoes are
several sizes too small and there is no money for new ones.
Casey works two jobs after high school to feed his siblings.
Kate studies hard and wants to go to university but has no idea
how she can pay her grad fees let alone afford the first year tuition.
Every year, many families in our community face overwhelming
and, often times, unpredictable challenges. And those challenges
Thanks to a partnership
between the Nanaimo-
Ladysmith Schools
Foundation (NLSF) and
Breakfast Clubs of Canada
(BCC) school-based fullservice
breakfast programs
are up and running in
five schools in Nanaimo
– Brechin, Fairview, Park
Avenue, and Forest Park
elementary schools and
Nanaimo District Secondary
School. BCC is providing
$110,000 over three years
for NLSF to launch, expand,
and sustain full-service
breakfast programs in the
schools. Seen here, students
in the Skills for Life class
at Brechin Elementary
preparing French toast for
their fellow students, while
continuing to support the
school's lunch program.
that raises funds and works in partnership with teachers, administrators
and counselors in School District 68 to deliver support
programs that better the lives of students in need. The foundation
is run by a volunteer community Board of Directors who
are dedicated to helping students empower a better future for
themselves. The foundation relies on donations from service
clubs and individuals in the community to make the programs
a reality.
6 - ConnectED - Winter 2011
have a huge effect on their children. If you look around, chances
are there is a family nearby who needs help—but who are reluctant
to ask for it.
That is where the Nanaimo-Ladysmith Schools Foundation
(NLSF) comes in. NLSF is a non-profit charitable organization
Child poverty is a very real issue in our community. The
Nanaimo-Ladysmith district still ranks among the highest in
British Columbia in terms of poverty-stricken students. Unemployment
rates are higher than the provincial average, food bank
usage and social assistance rates are also high and this has an impact
on families in our community in a very serious way.
The foundation recognized this need and the Student Support
Fund was created to assist vulnerable students.

A foundation board member remarks that, “before we had
the Student Support Fund teachers and school staff didn’t have
a way to help students besides paying for supplies themselves
and they were only able to help a limited number. Now more
students can be helped with everything from school supplies,
clothes, food, bus passes or grad fees.”
The Student Support Fund is a direct-to-student fund that
allows teachers and staff to confidentially and anonymously
provide vulnerable children with shoes or coats, more school
supplies if needed, to cover band or athletic fees, bus passes and
other necessities to help keep them in school through the remainder
of the year. The program started in the district’s secondary
schools three years ago and was extended to the elementary
schools two years ago.
The foundation office receives on average 15 calls a week
requesting assistance for a student in need. From the Grade 10
student in need of shoes to a Grade 12 working three jobs and
trying to keep up their grades, the need is diverse and very real.
Recently, the foundation okayed the use of Student Support
funds for a student who had a painfully infected tooth but no
family dental insurance. The fund was able to pay for the dental
trip, x-rays and prescriptions. The student is reported to be doing
fine and the family is extremely grateful to the donors who give
to the Student Support Fund.
A story that an education assistant at the local secondary
school hears very frequently is the need for personal hygiene and
proper clothes. As students go through puberty their hygiene
needs change and students who don’t have enough food to eat
at home don’t have money for razors, deodorant, shampoo and
other products.
The foundation works with the teachers to provide these
products and proper fitting clothes to students in a discreet way.
Fitting in for a student living in poverty is all about looking like
everyone else and the last thing a student wants is to stand out
ConnectED - Winter 2011 - 7
because of their situation at home means they can’t take care of
their appearance.
The Student Support Fund monies can make a huge difference
in a student’s life. Whether it is putting shoes on their feet,
food in their stomachs or allowing them to participate in extra –
curricular activities they may not have been able to – it can truly
be the difference between their success and failure.
The foundation also runs a very successful Scholarship and
Bursary program through community support. In June 2011, the
foundation was able to award almost $290,000 to 332 graduating
students in Nanaimo-Ladysmith. Without the assistance of our
generous community donors, many of our graduating students
would not be able to pursue their post-secondary dreams! &
The goal of the Nanaimo-Ladysmith Schools Foundation is to
empower students to create a better future so they can create
their own success story. If you are interested in learning more
about the foundation or how you can help please visit www.nlsf.
ca or call Executive Director Erin van Steen at 250.753.4074.

By Jackie Barker
Feeding Community Spirit At Park Avenue
The entranceway to Park Avenue Community School is sporting a dramatic new look, and
the school community is delighted. Adorning the former west-facing lawn is a series of
raised vegetable beds as well as burgeoning herb, berry and native plant gardens which
were established last February. A brand new cedar garden shed standing proudly at one
end proclaims to the community that this area has now become a working school garden.
Working in the garden
This spring, the excitement was evident as parents and students volunteered to build garden beds,
distribute garden soil and plant seeds as part of the Garden Roots Project at Park Avenue Community
School. The school has partnered with Nanaimo Foodshare and received a grant from Toyota Evergreen
to help offset some of the costs.
The garden project took shape over the course of the last
school year. In September, Park Avenue’s new principal
Karina Younk conferred with Nanaimo Foodshare’s
School Garden Coordinator Anna Dodds about beginning a
school learning garden. Nanaimo Foodshare is an organization
committed to helping people develop the skills they need to increase
food security. As part of its mandate it partners with John
Barsby, Fairview and Georgia Avenue Community Schools to
run their school food gardens.
In October, the garden idea was presented to Park Avenue
School’s Parent Advisory Council. “They were really excited
8 - ConnectED - Winter 2011
about passing on the environmental spirit to their kids,” says
Dodds, who is an organic master gardener and holistic nutritionist.
She subsequently met with students and their families to
discuss what their vision might be for a garden. The front lawn
area seemed to be the best location, not only because of its sunny
exposure, but also because access to water was simplified by its
existing irrigation system.
By November, the project had the support of school district
staff and the school applied for a Toyota Evergreen grant.
After submitting the application in December, Park Avenue was
thrilled to receive a $3,000 grant.

The following project goals were identified for the garden:
to create a food garden that acts as an outdoor classroom so
students can learn to grow and appreciate fresh food and learn
more about the natural environment to create an avenue for
community involvement in the school, and to create shade at the
front of the school and in the school’s inner courtyard.
In February, hundreds of students and parents participated
in a one day work party to build eleven raised beds and prepare
areas for planting. Enthusiasm was high as evidenced by a group
of 15 students who volunteered to stay late after school to complete
the bark mulching.
In March three fathers, along with other volunteers, built the
garden shed in one day. Materials were purchased using money
donated by Mid-Island Coop, which supports the school district’s
other garden projects. In the spring, the native B.C. plant
and berry section was completed.
As part of the project plan, the school bicycle racks were relocated
from the back of the school to the front of the garden. This
unexpectedly resulted in a resurgence of bike-riding as students
now see that many other students ride to school.
In late May, to celebrate the importance of locally grown
foods, a farm to school luncheon buffet was run by the Parent
Advisory Council.
Initially it was thought that four classes in the school would
take on the long-term planting, watering, weeding and harvesting
of the new garden, but due to the excitement generated, four
additional classes signed up.
Dodds is excited about having the chance to provide weekly
hands-on gardening lessons for students. “I have found that just
talking about what people should do to take care of themselves and
to eat healthily does not produce change,” she notes. “When students
get to walk through a garden, picking and tasting the kale and
spinach as they go, you see changes in attitudes towards fresh food.”
As students begin to develop gardening knowledge and skills,
she often hears them say they want to have their own garden at
home. Dodds has also observed that when students feel ownership,
this kind of school garden is not vandalized.
When a Toyota grant representative toured the school in the
spring, Younk was pleased to observe the Grade 4 tour guide
displaying newly-gained knowledge about plants and obvious
pride in the garden. “I have also seen students smoothing out
pawprints in the soil and picking up nearby litter,” she says.
ConnectED - Winter 2011 - 9
Reaping the benefits of the garden
During regular visits from Nanaimo Foodshare’s Anna
Dodds, students learn about products grown in the garden.
This fall, students enjoyed the garden harvest, baking
chocolate zucchini muffins and kale chips.
As the garden matures and areas such as the inner courtyard
are developed, Dodds will teach students more about planting,
harvesting, composting, bird feeders, mason bee houses, hanging
baskets and greenhouses.
Dodds is thrilled at how students and teachers are embracing
the garden as a learning opportunity. Kindergarteners are learning
how a garden contributes to a healthy life and how seasons
affect the garden, while students in Grade 5 use the garden as a
place for experiments. Concepts such as natural food systems,
plant families and the study of insects with a focus on pollinators
are reviewed with all students.
This fall, the school’s cooking program and the new breakfast
program benefited from the addition from the garden of
strawberries, spinach, oriental greens, peas, beans and lettuce
into the menus.
Tremendous community spirit is a hallmark of Park Avenue,
so it is fitting that parents are invited to attend the weekly
gardening classes along with students. As more parents are becoming
involved, Younk senses that interest in the garden may
result in the establishment of a future community garden. Although
Dodds acknowledges that gardening can be hard work,
she emphasizes to those involved that it is also fun. ”The students
are just so excited about it. We all enjoy picking things
from the garden!” &

By Jackie Barker
SWISS STUDENT TEACHERS:
Expanding Community At Georgia Avenue
Last May, several schools in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District hosted student teachers
from the University of Teacher Education of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
The program was arranged in conjunction with the Faculty
of Education at Vancouver Island University (VIU) and is part
of the Swiss University’s requirement that teacher trainees travel
to an English speaking country to gain in-depth experience in a
school context.
While in Nanaimo, the Swiss students are billeted with families
living close to their sponsor schools. The home stay program,
organized by the International Department at VIU, is designed
to provide students with opportunities to make good neighbourhood
connections. During the weekends, students have a
chance to visit other Island places such as Coombs and Tofino,
experiences which often elicit comments about black bear and
deer sightings.
At Georgia Avenue Community School, the three student
teachers admitted they were drawn initially to Canada because
10 - ConnectED - Winter 2011
of the beautiful pictures they were shown of the country. Once
here, they were delighted to discover an inclusive society and educational
system dedicated to meeting the needs of all students.
Elisabeth Stieger, who did her practicum in Cindy Haack’s
Grade 5 class, said, “I think coming here was a good choice.” Michaela
Eckerle, placed in Melody Botten’s Grade 4 class, was impressed
with the openness of Canadians and their willingness to
help whenever she did not understand something.
According to Principal Shelley Green, the staff at Georgia
Avenue has appreciated the opportunity to provide this unique
experience for their students over the past two years. The $200
stipend allotted for mentoring each student teacher is a welcome
perk for use in the host classrooms.
“One big positive about this program is that it allows our
students to hear about a completely different world,” observes
Last year, three Nanaimo schools hosted student teachers from the University of Teacher Education of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Seen here, student teachers, Michaela Eckerle, Melody Botten, Elisabeth Stieger, Stefanie Dschulnigg, Cindy Haack and Chris
Pagan at Georgia Avenue.

Green. She believes that Georgia Avenue expands the perspective
of the student teachers as well as it is an eye opener for them
to discover that few students at the school have travelled very far
beyond Vancouver Island.
“The St. Gallen’s students have not had experience with
poverty in schools, and our breakfast and StrongStart programs
were something new to them. Also, they could not get over the
level of adaptations used for the kids to be successful.”
Although the Swiss students must already have an advanced
knowledge of English before coming to Canada, a major goal of
the program is for them to learn more about the pedagogy in
English. According to Stefanie Dschulnigg, who did her practicum
in Chris Pagan’s Grade 6 class, this was not difficult as she
found our Canadian dialect easy to understand because it is
“clean and good English.”
During the half dozen lessons the Swiss students were required
to teach, they presented lessons about Switzerland, which
included studying maps and flags. They also taught some French
and German, a Swiss song, Swiss games, helped make kites, assisted
at a track meet and worked with students on math and
spelling.
“It was just a wonderful experience for our students,” says
Haack. “The student teachers fit in right away and were willing
to try to do anything they could.”
At the end of their stay, the student teachers were eager to
comment on their observations about the similarities and differences
between the Swiss and Canadian educational systems.
“We begin at 8 a.m. each day and at 12 noon students go
home to eat and stay for two hours, coming back later,” said Eckerle.
“I prefer the lunch program that happens here at school,”
she added.
Stieger noted that in Switzerland there are different subjects
every day, but here each day begins the same, with only music
and PE providing change.
“Also, the educational assistants here are really good,” she
said. “We don’t have EAs or the StrongStart program at home.”
Education in Swiss schools is also structured differently, with
Swiss students attending two years of Kindergarten, six years of
primary and three years of secondary school.
Dschulnigg and Eckerle both commented on the integration
of children with special needs into classrooms, concluding that it
gave them the same chances in school as other children.
One significant difference the student teachers noticed was
the future job prospects for student teachers in Canada.
“If you want to have a full time job in Switzerland, you will
get one,” said Dschulnigg. “It was hard to hear that there are so
many problems for young teachers to get a job here.”
Haack notes that the evaluation of this practicum experience
differs from that expected for B.C. student teachers. The
Swiss student teachers participate in classrooms to observe general
classroom management strategies and classroom interac-
ConnectED - Winter 2011 - 11
tion. Operating more like an educational partnership, students
are encouraged to have professional conversations to compare
and contrast Swiss and Canadian educational systems. Sponsor
teachers are asked to provide a written summary of each student
teacher’s performance, and that, combined with the summary
provided by the student teachers themselves meets the requirements
of St. Gallen’s.
The idea for the local program was generated three years
ago when VIU Dean of Education, Dr. Harry Jantzen, met his
counterpart from St. Gallen’s at an international conference in
Ontario. When Jantzen found out that the Swiss university was
sending out thirty student teachers to Toronto schools, he suggested
the university consider including the Nanaimo area in its
program.
As a result of that discussion, John Phipps, VIU’s Field Experience
Coordinator in the Faculty of Education contacted the
principals at Fairview, Park Avenue and Georgia Avenue community
schools to see if they would be interested. Their positive
responses resulted in nine Swiss student teachers being placed in
their schools for three weeks beginning at the end of May 2010.
The program’s resounding success led to a second round of
student teachers visiting last May. Phipps is pleased to note that
more than forty Swiss student teachers have already expressed
interest in coming to Nanaimo in the spring of 2012. As St. Gallen’s
students have their choice of doing one of their seven practicums
in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Los Angeles, the
eastern United States or Canada, their growing desire to come
to Nanaimo is a testament to the positive experiences provided
here for them.
“This program is also a fine example of VIU’s very strong
partnership with School District 68,” Phipps observes. &

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By Tammy Reynolds and Val Martineau
Going Tech in Our Schools
Mobile devices such as iPods, iPads, Netbooks and eReaders are finding their place in today’s
classrooms. With new technology tools transforming our digital landscape daily, there
is more and more evidence pointing to the value of using these tech devices in our schools.
Our children are growing up in a technology laden era and turn to it as naturally as we once did pen and paper. Jason Ohler
(2010), an educational researcher advocates that parents and teachers are “on the front line of trying to negotiate a path with the
future of technology and learning that is socially, educationally, and ethically sound” for our children. So what can parents do to help
children become not just tech savvy (as many are already way ahead of us in this area) but tech aware and tech responsible?
1. Awareness – be aware and ask questions about the technology
and programs your child is using considering the pur-
A
pose, ramifications and trends of their use.
2. Balance – set comfortable limits of screen time vs. non-screen
time creating a healthy balance for your child and your
B
family. Consider a “disconnect” time for the whole family
to turn all screens off.
3. Combine Playing with Learning - Pair your child’s interests
and learning needs with just the right digital app or pro-
C
gram to help them build their skills, think critically, gather
information and showcase their learning in a new way.
Teachers in School District 68 are currently considering not
how technology replaces traditional learning, skills and projects;
but rather how it can be incorporated to deepen and broaden the
learning opportunities for our students. Students at Coal Tyee
ConnectED - Winter 2011 - 13
Elementary spent some time last school year exploring how
Apple’s iPods and iPads apps could be used to enhance learning
for all students. The students used the devices individually,
with partners and small groups and were engaged in meaningful,
creative learning endeavours. Students at Fairview Community
School spent time exploring apps on iPads during their summer
reading challenge. Here are a few of the educational uses of free
or inexpensive apps we discovered that you may want to consider
trying with your own children. (Please note: our experiences are
with Apple’s mobile devices, we are by no means intending to endorse
Apple over other companies in terms of educational value).
iTalk:
iTalk is a built in free recording app available on iPhone, iPod
& iPad and is appropriate for students of any age. By simply pressing
the big red record button students can easily create their own
continued→
Students at Coal Tyee Elementary worked in small groups, with partners, and individually last year to explore how iPads and iPods can
be used to enhance learning.

voice recordings. All recordings are conveniently stored and easily
deleted. iTalk proves itself to be an excellent tool to improve
reading fluency and accuracy. When students hear themselves
reading aloud, using the playback feature, they receive immediate
feedback about what they did well and how they might improve.
At home, consider having your child record themselves
reading aloud, saving their ‘best one’ to celebrate and share with
family and friends. Older students will find iTalk invaluable when
practicing and preparing for oral presentations.
StoryKit:
Story Kit is a free story building app available for iPhone, iPod
& iPad and is appropriate for students of any age. Story Kit invites
students to create their own digital books by either typing text
or recording their voices. Images for each page can be drawn using
the program’s paint program, photos taken by the devices
built in camera or found on the Internet. Completed stories can
be uploaded and sent to family and friends via email. Story Kit
proves to be an excellent tool to foster creativity, storytelling and
engagement. At home, consider making a family story together
... take some pictures of a family event and with your child tell
the story behind each of the images.
Doodle Buddy:
Doodle Buddy is a free drawing app available on iPhone, iPod
& iPad and is appropriate for younger students. Doodle Buddy
allows a sudent to draw using a variety of colours, textures, tools
or stamp images. At first glance, this program appears simple and
a fun doodling app, which it is, but it also can be used as a nonintimidating,
motivating way to practice printing letters, numbers
and spelling words. A shake of the device and mistakes simply
vanish. The stamp feature, very popular with children, can be
used to create number stories that deepen their understanding
of the process. At home, consider creating real life story problems
for your child to first stamp and then solve. For example,
“What if we had two plates of cookies with four cookies on each
plate ... how many cookies would we have altogether?”
iChoose:
iChoose is a free mathematical based app available on iPhone,
iPod & iPad and is appropriate for students of all ages. It enables
users to participate in games of chance using features like flip a
coin, roll the dice or rock/paper/scissors and strengthen addition
and subtraction skills. This app has endless possibilities allowing
children to explore probability or play games that traditionally
use dice, cards or coins. At home, consider playing a game such
14 - ConnectED - Winter 2011
as “pig” ... take turns rolling the die as many times as you like,
adding the total of die as you go, but roll a one and you receive
no score for that round, roll doubles and go all the way back to
zero. First player to a 100 wins!
Puppet Pals:
Puppet pals is an iPad app that allows students to create their
own animated story. The free version offers one theme (western)
and the upgrade for $2.99 allows multiple themes including using
pictures of yourself in the story. Students can choose characters,
props and backgrounds. They create a story and record their
voices while moving the characters in and out of the story. It is a
creative way to focus on the beginning, middle and end components
of the story. Great for all ages.
Sock Puppets:
Sock Puppets is a free app for iPod or iPad allows you to tell
stories using sock puppet characters. Up to 4 characters can be
used in each story. Like puppet pals, students can choose characters,
background and props (in this case they can be moving
props – clouds flying over, or stationary props like trees, books or
a house). What differentiates Sock Puppets from Puppet Pals is
each character has a set voice so when the student records their
own voice it is transformed into the characters voice. This app
is very easy to use and can produce a fun, creative product for
students. We recommend this app for students K-4.
iBook:
iBook is a free app on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. You can
download this e-reader within seconds to your device. The iBook
creates a bookshelf for you to choose books either by borrowing
them through the library option or purchasing books. Be sure to
take advantage of the free books available to download. Many of
the free downloads are classics such as The Adventures of Alice
in Wonderland, Pride and Prejudice and Around the World in 80
Days. By pressing the sync option iBooks syncs up with all your
devices. If you have book marked a page on your iPhone when
you open the book in your iPad it is marked to the same page.
There are a variety of e-readers on the market from Kindle, to
Kobo, to Nook and many others. Before investing in an eReader
be sure to try a variety of styles and see which features you prefer.
eReaders provide another viable option for reading. They are
portable, cost effective (many of the books are significantly less
expensive than the paper versions) and store many books at one
time. These devices enable readers to highlight, take notes and
access a dictionary or thesaurus.
Like all technology, playing with it and discovering what works for each student, parent and family is the
best way to understand it. Using technology in our schools provides an opportunity for our students to connect
school to what they are doing in the rest of their lives. &

Spend your Winter Break with Parks, Recreation and Culture!
Winter Break Camps:
*XPloreSportz Camp
*Winter Chill Camp
Winter Break Programs:
*Santa Elves & Holiday Fun
*Mud Pies - Holiday Art
*North Pole Workshop
*Cupcake Queens Christmas
*Wrap It Up
Winter Break Training:
*Home Alone
*Babysitter Training
PARKS, RECREATION & CULTURE
Winter
COME ONE! COME ALL!
The Frank Crane Arena will be
transformed into “Rockefeller Centre”
with loonie skate sessions!
*Mon, Dec 26
-11:45am-3pm
*Tue, Dec 27 through Fri, Dec 30
-11:45am-4:45pm & 7:45-9:30pm
Finale 2011
Nanaimo’s BIGGEST & BEST
Family New Year’s Eve Party!
Sat, December 31
5-10 pm
Beban Park
$25/family of 4 or
$10/individual
*Swimming *Skating
*Live Entertainment *Crafts
*Food *Much More!
www.nanaimo.ca 250.756.5200
ireg.nanaimo.ca

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JM-SchoolLifeFlyerNanaimo-8.5x11HR.pdf 1 11-11-23 2:09 PM