WE LIFT AS WE CLIMB THE MAGIC HAPPENED AT C.E. WEBSTER PUBLIC SCHOOL (TDSB) THREE Fabulous Projects - One Great TDSB Toronto School! LOADS OF LEARNING, LOVE & LAUGHTER

 

PROJECT 3 "MEDICINE WHEEL TEACHING: RESPECT May 31, June 7, 2011  CLICK FIRE FOR DYNAMIC SONGWRITING TEAM: CHRIS MCKHOOL & SHANNON THUNDERBIRD & OUR DATE WITH C.E. WEBSTER

PROJECT 2  "SPIRIT THUNDER: ALL ONE PEOPLE" APRIL 5- 16, MAY 11, 13, 2010 SPONSORS: ARTSSMARTS, PROLOGUE AND TELUS MOBILITY - GOTTA LOVE THE HIPPO! Two high-energy, hard-working weeks were spent with the Magic 60 Grade 4-5 classes of 2009-2010. This marks the second year of our collaboration with this very special school. This time there were eighty-four children which consisted of the Magic 60 Choir and the drum group with its snappy new name: DDD - DYNAMIC DIVERSITY DRUM GROUP. This year I decided the students should have an honorary clan. The kids, in a collaborative exercise, decided on the BLUE JAY CLAN, perhaps because it was opening day for the Toronto Blue Jays when they decided or because 84 chattering kids sound just like a cacophony of Blue Jays! The kids thought this was pretty funny. Again, we worked our new crop of Grade 4-5 students and they responded. The project which culminated on May 13, 2010 in a fabulous two show concert included Songs, Drums, Guitar (Sandy), Keyboards (Jeff), Shakers, Two theatrical performances, "An Interview with Anansi", and "Buffalo Caller." The FAB THREE, Teachers, Mrs. Watts, Ms  Wilson and Mrs. De Sousa were invaluable. The three of them should be cloned, never have I worked with better!  They had the Grade 1,2,3 kids make flags of the world which decorated the gym on show day to go along with our "all one people" theme, almost every student in the school made an Inukshuk which was amazing. Their were photo boards of all that we did leading up to the performance. It basically became a school-wide project which fitted into my mantra of "Go Big or Go Home." Parents and Friends packed the joint on show day, standing room only as they enthusiastically supported their kids. It was great.

  

ORIGINAL SONG - CLASS OF 2009-2010 Lyrics: Magic 60,     Music: Shannon Thunderbird "BLUE JAY'S DREAM" (COPYRIGHTED) Peace is the way to go Peace is the one to show the world Singing makes us free When we sing we sound beautiful We won't give up our dreams We can be all we want to be Because we are one family The World embraces me We are the Kings and Queens on the Medicine Wheel When we are smarter We'll go farther in the world It we show empathy We're walking in someone else's shoes Drumming is very cool That why it rules our Hearts We are important as everyone else We are who we'll always be We can make everything better by being a team Call and Response: We Will: "Stand Together" We will: "Conquer Hate" We will: "Make a Difference" We know: "It's not to late"

Sandy & the DDD	Me, Sandy & a few Singers	Magic 60 Choir	Me and my Boys
Dynamic Diversity Drummers	My Gorgeous Children	Sandy & Invaluable Tyson	Webster's Maestro

PROJECT 1: C.E. WEBSTER - JUNE 8-12, 2008 MEDICINE WHEEL MAGIC C.E. Webster was one of six schools selected from across Canada for a special environmental, character education project sponsored by Evergreen and ArtsSmarts, national non-profit organizations that brings "Green", artists, teachers and students together in collaborative artistic endeavours. Other sponsors included: Prologue to the Performing Arts,  Toronto District School Board (TDSB). I was asked to design a week-long program for sixty Grade 4-5 students that included character education and environmental issues. We built a permanent forty stone medicine wheel on school property.The first of its kind. Sandy and I personally selected the Grandfathers (rocks) and they were driven to Toronto by our friend, Chris. The wheel was anchored by an Inukshuk that represented humankind.  Evergreen cleared the space and laid gorgeous red calcite in a twenty-one foot circle. The first part of the week included character education and environmental teachings; nothing is random and eventually students were assigned specific teachings. Each stone represented both an environmental & character education teaching. Sandy and I were blessed with assistance from some great people, starting with 'Tony the Tiger', the school's fabulous caretaker. Susan Habkirk (from Prologue) and teachers: Mrs. Catherine Watts. Mrs. Jenny Schaffenberg, Mrs. Brenda Mennie, Ms Nellie Ledonne, Mrs. Dianne DeSousa, Ms Xana Duncan, & aide Ms Janet London, Mr. Tony Tamburro & aide Mrs. Maureen Clark. The students engaged in small group work about what the character education words & phrases meant to them. For example: Courage, Being Good Enough, Imagination, Trust, Honour, Respect, Self-Worth, Humbleness, Honesty and on and on. At the end of the session, the group leaders (teachers) recapped the discussion for everyone to hear.    Susan Habkirk, former Executive Director, Prologue to the Performing Arts recapping her small group discussion My big board Medicine Wheel Chart showing all the teachings and their directions. The board was gifted to the School as a teaching resource.

 

MEDICINE WHEEL BUILD DAY The different Cultures worked seamlessly together, as they  read aloud their teaching and laid their stones. Carefully placing their stone as Sandy watches Reading their teaching after laying stone Cultures working together

OTHER SPECIAL PEOPLE & GUESTS: C.E. Webster total Fabulous Planning Committee: Principal, Troy Sotiroff, Catherine Watts, Jennie Schaffenburg, Brenda Mennie and Tony the Caretaker (Sandy & I could not have functioned without him, he was the greatest!) Evergreen: Samara Newman (also part of the planning committee) ArtsSmarts: Executive Director: Annalee Adair Prologue to the Performing Arts: Susan Habkirk, Pat McCarthy (also part of the planning committee); Mary Beth MacMillan, Ann Harper. Canadian Education Association: Penny Miller, CEO J.W. McConnell Family Foundation: Lyn Baptiste, Trustee York University: Michael Greyeyes, Faculty Member, Department of Fine Arts, Choreographer Last but not least: Thunderbird's  husband, Peter, who hung in for most of the week, helping Thunderbird and Sandy build the Inukshuk and assisting the kids on 'build' day with laying their stones.

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