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Page 4 EMSB Express Vol. 6 Nº 1 Fall 2004
www.emsb.qc.ca
By Gemma Mendham
Paul Saunders
is a man on a
mission, now
entering his
second year as
a mentor for
principals and
vice-principals
at the English
Montreal
School Board
(EMSB).
Paul Saunders
As the role
of the school administrator becomes
increasingly complex and demanding,
the EMSB saw the need to provide a
network of support and assistance for
those who find themselves in a new
position, a new location or who feel
isolated on the job. Confident and
informed administrators better achieve
the EMSB objective of providing the
best possible education for our children.
By creating this support for the
administrators, the EMSB hopes to
improve the overall functioning and
effectiveness of its schools. With 40
years experience in education, Mr.
Saunders’ first teaching position was
at Herbert Purcell Elementary School,
which, he quips, “was so long ago
trucks were still stopping to pick up
milk at the local farms each morning!”
Mr. Saunders is the first mentor of
this kind within the EMSB, and he is
certainly enjoying it. Primarily, he
provides support and advice to the
in-school administrators. His motto is
EMSB PROFILE
Hannah’s inspiring story
“Be the best that you can be” and he
aims to provide people with the best
services whilst keeping it personal and
professional. He is quick to point out,
he isn’t there to spy.
“I am a member of the Association
of Montreal School Administrators
(AMSA) so my position is the same
as an in school administrator,” Mr.
Saunders said. “If they have a problem
I’ll work with them.”
Mr. Saunders’ other role is with
Pedagogical Services as support to
inner city schools, a topic very close to
his heart having worked in this area
for the past 20 years.
Currently there are 32 schools which
receive funding for the development
of intervention programs for inner
city schools. Mr. Saunders has been
assisting them in the development of
these programs and with the implementation
of “Success Plans” each
school has developed.
Mr. Saunders also has his own
success plan in helping to educate
children.” In order to educate a child
completely you must first fulfil three
basic needs: the belly, the heart and the
brain and only when the first two are
satisfied can one concentrate fully on
the third,” he explains.
Mr. Saunders also wants to encourage
parents to become more involved.
Instead of a “Meet the Teacher,” he
suggests “Meet the Parents” nights.
Mr. Saunders has also already successfully
implemented a number of help
Q & A:
Paul Saunders: a mentor for school principals
and advice workshops for parents
addressing topics like bullying, where
the emphasis is on “How we can
work together to combat violence
in school.” He believes in a “hands
on” approach and wants to encourage
and show parents what they can do at
home to help their children improve
at school.
While acknowledging the work
involved in visiting the EMSB’s youth
sector schools, Mr. Saunders says
he enjoys the challenge. He does this
for the children and feels that human
contact is the most important thing
in schools. “The first thing that a child
should see when they get off the
bus in the morning is a smiling face,”
he says. In fact, his choice way of
starting each day was to sit and have
breakfast with the children each
morning when he was principal at
Westmount Park School.
Mr. Saunders says the turning point
in his career of assisting inner city
schools was the day a young girl came
up to him dragging a small boy,
complaining he had stolen her lunch.
When Mr. Saunders turned to the boy
and asked him why he had taken her
lunch, the child replied ‘Because I am
hungry and have no food’ “From that
moment on,” says Mr. Saunders, “I realized
that I had to do something to help.”
Gemma Mendham is a student in
the Concordia University Continuing
Education Program. Her writing class
recently met with Mr. Saunders.
Working with Down’s Syndrome
By Clarise Samuels
Special Education Correspondent
When Hannah Lusthaus was six
years old, she started school at
Elizabeth Ballantyne Elementary
School in Montreal West. It was 1984
and the Protestant School Board of
Greater Montreal (PSBGM) had
launched a pilot project to integrate
children with Down’s Syndrome into
a regular classroom. Hannah was the
first student in the project, and she
was followed in subsequent years by
two others.
Today Hannah is 26 and she works
one morning a week as an assistant
teacher at Elizabeth Ballantyne. She
works in the classroom of Linda Mahler,
the same teacher who mentored
Hannah from kindergarten to Grade
6 when she was a student there.
“We stayed in touch over the
years,” explains Mahler. “I’m so
close to her that her parents have
appointed me her guardian in the
event that anything happens to them.
They know that I have her best
interests at heart.”
After graduating from Elizabeth
Ballantyne, Hannah went on to
Westmount High School and then a
program at John Abbott College. Now
she works at Concordia University’s
radio station, CJLO, where she is
the librarian.
“I love music,” Hannah declares
with an enthusiasm that is characteristic
of her personality. “Over the
years I’ve taken up drums, piano,
guitar, and the recorder. My favourite
music is rap. I love to listen to it, and
I try to do my own rap songs. But
it’s not that easy to think up the
words on the spot and then make
them rhyme.”
“It feels like I’ve come
back to my past.
I remember my time
here very well.”
In addition to music, Hannah
loves sports. At Concordia, she is the
scorekeeper for the men’s basketball
team. She says that her favourite past
times are traveling, talking on the
phone, and going out with her
boyfriend, whose most distinguishing
trait is his height. “He’s six foot six,”
Hannah remarks.
At Elizabeth Ballantyne, Hannah
comes in on Friday mornings to
Mahler’s class, where she helps the
children and provides assistance.
“I like coming here,” Hannah explains.
“It feels like I’ve come back to
my past. I remember my time here
very well.”
Hannah is extremely independent
and for the past three years has lived
in her own apartment in Lachine.
“She shows us what the possibilities
are for children who have this
kind of disability,” Mahler noted.
“When I worked with her during her
years at Elizabeth Ballantyne, it
became evident that there wasn’t
anything that she could not do. It just
required patience, because it always
took her a little longer than the
others. But eventually she would be
able to do it. There was nothing that
we wouldn’t try. With perseverance,
all the obstacles were overcome.”
One of the three students who
took part in the pilot project became
Hannah’s best friend and has remained
so up until this day. Hannah’s
parents are both professors of education
at McGill University.
“I’ve been to California and
Florida,” Hannah says of her love for
travel. “But I would love to visit other
places like Europe and China.”
In the meantime, she looks forward
to continuing at Elizabeth
Ballantyne in 2004-2005.
EMSB HIGH SCHOOL
OPEN HOUSE
INFORMATION
F.A.C.E.
3449 University, Downtown
November 8, 2004
8:30 a.m. New parents for Elementary
1:30 p.m. New parents for High School
James Lyng High School
5440 Notre Dame West, St. Henri
October 8, 2004 – 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
John F. Kennedy High School
3030 Villeray, St. Michel
By appointment
John Grant High School
5785 Parkhaven, Côte Saint-Luc
April 15, 2005
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
John Paul I Junior High School
8455 Pré-Laurin, St. Léonard
Open House and International Baccalaureate
Information Night – October 6, 2004 – 7 p.m.
International Baccalaureate Middle Years
Program Entrance Examination
October 23, 2004 – 8 a.m.
Note: There is a charge of $40 to write the exam
LaurenHill Academy
Junior Campus, 2355 Decelles,
St. Laurent
October 20, 2004 – 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Laurier Macdonald High School
7355 Viau, St. Léonard
By appointment
Lester B. Pearson High School
11575 P.M. Favier, Montreal North
October 21, 2004 – 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Placement Exams:
November 13, 2004 – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Marymount Academy
4100 Côte St. Luc Road, N.D.G.
October 10, 2004
2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
IBO entrance exam:
Saturday, January 22, 2005 – 9 a.m.
M.I.N.D.
4563 St. Urbain, The Plateau
Thursday, March 17, 2005 – 7 p.m.
Visits to the school by appointment
on the last Thursday of every month
(maximum of two visitors per grade).
Paul VI High School
11575 P.M. Favier, Montreal North
November 10, 2004
10 a.m. to Noon – 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Rosemount High School
3737 Beaubien Street East
Curriculum Night
September 23, 2004 – 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
November 9, 2004 – 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Royal Vale High School
5851 Somerled Ave., N.D.G.
October 28, 2004 – 7 p.m.
Royal West Academy
189 Easton, Montreal West
October 6, 2004 – 7 p.m.
Qualifying Exams: 9 a.m.
October 23, 2004 (for last names A-K)
October 24, 2004 (for last names L-Z)
St. Pius X High School
9955 Papineau
November 3, 2004
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
St. Raphael Center
8735 Henri Julien, Ahuntsic
By appointment
Vincent Massey Collegiate
5925 27th Avenue, Rosemount
October 13, 2004 – 1:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Entrance Exam: November 6, 2004
8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Wagar High School
5785 Parkhaven Ave., Côte Saint-Luc
October 28, 2004 – 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Westmount High School
4350 Ste. Catherine Street West
November 25, 2004 – 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m