More than 2,500 students

from the LBPSB’s elementary schools participated in the school board’s annual, inter-board track and field com-petition. The competition was

held at Riverdale High School and

PEARSON NEWS June 2011 Volume XIII, No 11 FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL & CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

LBPSB’S ANNUAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TRACK AND FIELD EVENT activities for the students included long jumping, hurdles and relay races.

INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE CENTRE BUILDINGS RECEIVE NEW NAMES The LBPSB’s Council of Commissioners recently voted to rename the current Inter-national Language Centre in Pointe-Claire and voted on a name for the centre’s new pavilion in Dorval. The International Language Centre in Pointe-Claire was

renamed the Interna-tional Language Centre – John Killingbeck Pavilion, in honour of the long-time LBPSB com-missioner who passed away in October 2010. The building is being renovated to meet the

increasing demand of students wanting to be a part of the school board’s interna-tional program. The John Killingbeck Pavilion will have dormitory space for more than 110 students, who come from all over the world to study in the LBPSB’s high schools. The International Pre-Kindergarten Program was housed at the International Language Centre – John Killingbeck Pointe-Claire. The program and the International Studies Program’s adminis-trative team recently moved to the former Bishop Whelan Elementary School in Dorval. The building will be named the

2 DIRECTOR GENERAL’S REPORT

3 TEACHERS AWARDED SCHOLARSHIP

3 RAISING AWARENESS OF AUTISM

3 ST. EDMUND ELEMENTARY PARTICIPATES IN CONTEST

4 QUEBEC ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONTEST

4 GRADE SIX STUDENTS SPRUCE UP PARKING LOT

4 LITERACY IS NUMBER ONE AT LCCHS

5 YOUTH LEADERS DAY 2011

5 A WORD FROM YOUR COMMISSIONERS

6 GORDON ROBERTSON BEAUTY ACADEMY’S NEW WING

6 FORMER STUDENT AWARDED TOP HONOUR

6 YMCA EXCHANGE 2011

7 PRINCIPAL FOR THE DAY AT EDGEWATER ELEMENTARY

7 PEF’S NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND PRESIDENT

7 ADDITIONS TO PCHS’ NEW ART GALLERY

8 DANIELA’S CORNER

8 AUTHOR ROSEMARY DANIELIS VISITS GREENDALE

8 PACC ADULT GRADUATION CEREMONY

8 ST. EDMUND’S SECOND ANNUAL LINGUISTIC EXCHANGE

9 TERRY FOX ELEMENTARY REACHES A MILESTON

9 LEADERS’ RETREAT 2011

10 REPORT FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

10 BEURLING’S INTERCULTURAL AND LITERACY PROJECT

12 PCHS TROJANS WIN CITY BEST 16 BANNERS

12 THE LEADER IN US WORKSHOP

13 A LOOK AT THE 2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR

14 THE STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS

15 UNOFFICIAL NOTES FROM COUNCIL MEETING

16 COMMISSIONERS’ PHONE NUMBERS

16 DATES TO NOTE

11 HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS

IN THIS ISSUE:

International Language Centre – Marcus Tabach-nick Pavilion, in honour of the school board’s former Chairman, who retired two months ago. The move was done to meet the rising

demand of students wanting to be a part of the program, which has more than tripled in numbers since it began two years ago. Located at 244 de la Presentation in Dorval, the Marcus Tabachnick Pavilion will accommodate the three and four-year-old students, enrolled in the International Pre-Kindergarten, a tri-lingual, educational program in English and French, as well as a choice of a third language: Italian, Spanish, Mandarin and new for the upcoming school year, Greek.

Page 2 PEARSON NEWS

demonstrated such concern for them through their years in our care. Peace Tree Day Care and Multicultural Celebration Earlier in the month, our Board Room was transformed very pleasantly with the collection of Peace trees created by the children in our Day Care programs in each of our schools. At the same time, desserts from around the world were prepared as part of the peace celebration and the intercultural celebration. There is no doubt that a great amount of work, thought, and enthusiasm went in to the preparation of both the displays and the food. Our thanks are extended to all involved in our Day Care operation and on the Intercultural Committee for such a meaningful and delightful presentation. Volunteer Reception This annual event was also held earlier this month to recognize and celebrate the invaluable contribution made to our schools and centres by the large core of volunteers who carry out so many essential tasks within our system. We benefit in so many ways from the diverse skills and talents brought to us by our volunteers. Without their dedi-cation and commitment to our schools, we would certainly be challenged to provide the services that they bring. Their presence with us is also a very strong indicator of the support that we require from our parent body and from our communities at large. Again I extend thanks to those who have brought to us such invaluable service. Vacation Wishes To all who constitute the Lester B. Pearson School Board community, Commissioners, administrators, teachers, consultants, non-teaching professionals, support staff, parents and students, I extend my best wishes

The Budget Development Process The major element in the preparation for the new school year is always the receipt and recognition of

the budget parameters as dispensed by the Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sports. This documentation is normally available school boards in the month of April to enable the development of staffing parameters and budget entries for the following year. The delays which we have experienced this year have, of course, made the process exceptionally diffi-cult, particularly when reductions are announced after the parameters for consultation have been received. I must extend most sincere thanks to Senior Director, Carol Heffernan, and her staff for a remarkable job well done! Graduations Viviane Croubalian, Steve Balleine, Carol Heffernan and I have had the pleasure of attending a number of Graduation Exercises in our secon-dary schools and in our adult and vocational education centres. In addition to recognition of the outstanding accomplishments of our students and staff, I am always im-pressed by the degree of organization that has gone into the preparation of the ceremonies. Students are recog-nized for academic success, athletic success and ability, and leadership and student life activity participation. One comes away from such events with a deep appreciation of the talents of our young people and of the contributions of so many staff members to their successes. I extend my congratulations to all graduates and to all staff members who have

DIRECTOR GENERAL’S REPORT

for a wonderful vacation. May the weather be bright, may you have some time to relax and re-energize, may you enjoy family time in comfort and in safety. I thank you for all you have undertaken and achieved during this school year and look forward to your return in August. R.T. Mills - Director General

Strategic Directions in the Pearson News

As you read through the Pearson News,

you’ll notice that some of the

articles have the numbers one through four next to them. These numbers are associ-ated with the LBPSB’s 2010-2015

Strategic Plan and its four main directions. Each month, you’ll see these numbers next to the articles found in the pages of the Pearson

News and it will give you an idea

of what the board’s schools

and centres are doing in line with the new Strategic Plan. You’ll find a legend on page 14 with details on

what strategic direction each number is related to.

On Wednesday, May 11th, students, parents, teachers and

principals gathered at Centennial Hall to celebrate the students’ contribution in the Beaconsfield Historical Soci-

Pierrefonds Compre-hensive High School

participated in a fundraiser walk in support of ATEDM (Autisme et troubles envahissants du developpement Montreal). On Saturday, April 30th, we gathered at Jeanne Mance High School and among nearly 1,000 participants we

Page 3 Volume XIII, No 11

PEARSON NEWS

TEACHERS AWARDED RIVA AND THOMAS O. HECHT SCHOLARSHIP

Two teachers

from the Lester B. Pearson School Board will be tak-ing part in a three week experience as part of the Yad Vashem International Seminar for Educators in Israel. Anne Edgar, from St. Edmund Elementary and David Barbiero, from Beaconsfield High School, were

among seven teachers from Quebec to be selected for the Riva and Thomas O. Hecht Schol-arship. The scholarship provides professional development

for teaching of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism in the classrooms. The scholarship encourages teachers of all faiths and ethnicity from all over Que-

bec to apply. Ms. Edgar and Mr. Barbiero will leave for Israel in July and will participate in a training pro-gram that will give them tools to teach the Holocaust and anti-Semitism to their students. Congratulations to all recipients of the scholarship.

RAISING AWARENESS OF AUTISM

walked through Parc La Fontaine with balloons, hats and noise makers, to in-crease awareness of Autism. Thank you to

our team who enjoyed participating and donated $300 to the cause! Alison Reichert - PCHS Teacher

ST. EDMUND ELEMENTARY PARTICIPATES IN WRITING CONTEST

ety’s Roberta Angell Writing Contest. This award ceremony recognized the work of students from several neighbourhood schools. This is the second year St. Edmund has participated in this project in which students are asked to research a topic (person, place, or event) that has a connection to Beaconsfield. Some of the topics chosen have included: Dave Williams, the Canadian Astronaut; Jean Lemire, the Arctic Explorer; Stephanie Horner, the Olympic Swimmer; D’Israeli, the first Earl of

Beaconsfield; and the history of the street where a student lives. The Grade 5 students of St. Edmund entered this contest, as did the previ-ous Grade 5 class last year. Their well-researched papers were submitted to the Beaconsfield Historical Society where the judges selected three win-ners. Congratulations go out to Marc de Rose for his paper on St. Edmund of Canterbury, Victoria Townsend for her work on Sam Roberts, and Luke Ayoub for his paper on My Street.

Page 4 PEARSON NEWS

A reception was held at the school

board’s Head Office at the beginning of June to honour the 20 local win-ners of the 13th annual Quebec Entrepreneurship Contest (QEC). Students were accompanied by their teachers and families and some displayed their projects. The event began with a few words from the evening’s key-

note speaker, Alan Shuhai-bar, President of BellatRx Inc., who gave the students an inspirational speech on continuing to

hone their entrepreneurial skills. The QEC organization’s mission is to develop Quebec entrepreneurial culture through the start-up and recognition of new businesses and entrepreneurial projects in the schools and community at large. Entrepreneurship projects are done by students in schools or as extracurricular projects and must be completed over the course of the school year. The LBPSB’s schools and centres submitted more than

QUEBEC ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONTEST - LOCAL WINNERS 300 projects this year. Listed are the 20 local winners. Elementary Cycle 1 • The Many Faces of Santa Claus – St. Law-rence Academy Senior • Self Portraits for

Pennies – Verdun Elementary • Des livres en tête! La littératie en

fête! – Forest Hill Junior • Un sac pour un sourire –

Forest Hill Junior Elementary Cycle 2 • Eco-Notepads for the

Environment – Dorval Elementary

Elementary Cycle 3 • Fire Safety Monitors –

Verdun Elementary • St. Anthony’s Jewelry Shop – St.

Anthony Elementary • We believe in Magic – Riverview

Elementary • Knotty Leaders – St. Patrick Elemen-

tary High School – Grade 7 and 8 • Educational Games for Mentally

Handicapped Students – Beaconsfield High School

• Dancing Your Way to Fitness – Lakeside Academy

• TTS – The Techno Squad – Beaconsfield High School

• Lend a Hand – Westwood High School Junior Campus

High School – Grade 9 to 11 • Riverdale Fashion – Riverdale High

School • Riverdale Elementary Links – Riverdale High School • Math Help Services Website – Westwood High School Senior Campus • Beads for Burundi – West-wood High School Senior Campus High School – Special Educa-tion

• “Tray” Chique – Lakeside Academy • Slush and Slurp Toonie Store –

Westwood High School Senior Campus

Vocational Training and Adult • Family Fun Day – Place Cartier

GRADE SIX STUDENTS SPRUCE UP PARKING LOT AT GREENDALE ELEMENTARY Mrs. Grigororpoulos' class turned Greendale Elementary School’s parking lot into a math project. The students measured, drew plans and created lines for the teachers to be able to park with ease. Their project involved area, measuring distance between cars, cre-ating a floor plan, determining how much paint to buy and finally cleaning the lot and actually painting lines. The students with

their teacher had fun with this project on a sunny afternoon. They were very proud to do something exciting for their school that involved math. What a wonderful way to end the school year! Bravo grade 6! Angie Grigoropoulos

LITERACY IS NUMBER ONE AT LCCHS! Ms. Hughes’ Grade 8 stu-dents at LaSalle

Community Compre-hensive High School and the TLC pre-schoolers took part in

a fun and rewarding Literacy Day activity this May. Her classes created stories,

turned them into picture books and read them to the toddlers.

MARTIN SHERMAN – Ward 13 - Dollard-des-Ormeaux Centre West Email: msherman@lbpsb.qc.ca Where did the year go? June is here and another year is over, a year of highs and lows. In October, we lost a good friend and colleague, John Killingbeck. He will be missed

by me as well as all of Council. We are proud to have named the International Language Centre Seigniory building after John, which will be known in the future as, the John Killingbeck Pavil-ion. In April, Marcus Tabachnick retired from the school board after serving 24 years. He too, will be missed for his dedication and strong determination to get things done. In May, Council voted to name the new location for the International Pre-Kindergarten and

Page 5

A WORD FROM YOUR COMMISSIONERS the International Studies Program base of operations in Dorval after Marcus. The building will be known as the Marcus Tabachnick Pavilion, a fitting gesture for someone who spent many hours promoting the International Studies Program. We can look forward to the new school (Birchwood Elementary) in St. Lazare to open in the fall as well as the expansion of the International Studies, John Killingbeck Pavilion. The International Pre –K for four-year-olds has expanded to Dorval and keeps on growing every year. Congratulations to Carol Mastantuono and her dedicated staff for a good job well done. Thanks also to Dona Bianchi for three great years at Greendale Elementary and I wish her the best at her next post at Lindsay Place High School. I also thank Dona for the many invitations to visit Greendale, as this is where I found out what being a Commissioner is really about. I wish you all a great summer and thank you for the privilege to serve you on Council.

Volume XIII, No 11

PEARSON NEWS

In April of this year, a dozen

Leadership students from St. Thomas High School and Lindsay Place High School participated in a Youth Leadership event coordinated/supported by The Table de

Concertation Jeunesse de l’Ouest- de- l’ile (TCJOI). Last year, the TCJOI received feedback on a survey created to find out exactly what issues affected the youth of today in the West Island. The following issues were at the forefront: Transportation, Eating Habits, the integra-tion of cultural communities and urban

YOUTH LEADERS DAY 2011

security. The purpose of the Youth Leaders Day was to present the issues raised by youth, and to have the students be a part of the process in raising aware-ness, searching for solutions and learning how to work collaboratively with other students. Our students had the chance to work in partnership with students from other school boards gaining an increased aware-ness of some major issues that surround the youth of today. Students learned how to work through the many steps involved in the process of tackling an issue that needs addressing. This unique opportunity allowed for a

mesh of students from all areas of the West Island and the surrounding communi-ties to learn together the knowledge required in creating a plan of action. With the support of the animators, students were

able to develop solutions to the issues presented to them by their fellow peers. In closing, each group of students pre-sented their plan of action to members of the TCJOI and submitted a report to be reviewed. A huge thank you to our leadership students as well as all students who partici-pated in the event and lent a hand in the creative process of resolving these issues! Rebecca Binet - Educational Consultant

A WORD FROM YOUR COMMISSIONERS JOSEPH ZEMANOVICH – Ward 14 - Dollard-des-Ormeaux West - Kirkland East Email: jzemanovich@lbpsb.qc.ca If we have goals for children and expectations for schools, it's reasonable to try to find

out whether they are being met. First, of course, are the things we call basic skills- the ability to read and report accurately on what one has to read, to write, and to do elementary calcula-tions. Second, there are all those pieces of informa-tion we want students to pick up: number facts,

spelling facts, grammar, history, biology, geog-raphy, cultural facts, etc. Without these, you can't be an educated person. Third, we want learners to be able to do some-thing with all the facts they've learned. There's not much point in having learned the rules of grammar if you can't put together a grammatical sentence. Fourth, it's very much worth learning the set of skills involved in using one's mind. Intellectual skills and inclinations as weighing evidence, judging sources, making legitimate inferences and distinguishing observations from assump-tions are often minimized and substituted by rote and drill learnings. Then there's a whole different kind of learning that we want our children to acquire. We want

them to grow up as caring, empathetic, compassionate human beings with a sense of stewardship for the land and for one another. The sixth goal covers a lot of territory: we expect a school to contribute to a child's indi-vidual development. We want school to stimulate young minds to grow and expand their capacity, In addition to our six goals, we expect our schools to be successful, welcoming and user-friendly where teachers are fully engaged in their teaching so that they cultivate a receptivity to learning. If you agree that the goals and expectations I've stated are important and desirable, then we must arrive at reliable and credible ways to check how well schools are succeeding at them.

Page 6 PEARSON NEWS

The Gordon

Robertson Beauty Acad-emy recently hosted an event to open a new wing at

the centre. Invited guests were greeted by the centre’s students and had the opportu-nity to listen to a number of guest speakers, including the school board’s Director General, current and former students and Michel Grégoire, President of Sopar Cosmetics, who had some inspiring words about the field of beauty. Guests were then given a tour around the centre’s new wing,

which features: a conference room, lunch room, extra classrooms, all equipped with a Smartboard, a workspace for the centre’s teachers, a media room with state-of-the-art technology for the students and a therapeutic shower and bath. After the tour, those who attended were served spectacular desserts and cocktails prepared by students at the Pearson Adult Career Centre’s Culinary School.

GORDON ROBERTSON BEAUTY ACADEMY UNVEILS NEW WING

YMCA EXCHANGE 2011 - BEURLING ACADEMY AND MIKINAAK ONIGAMING SCHOOL In March of this year, 16 First

Nations students came to Montreal from the Mikinaak Onigaming School, located out-side Nestor Falls, Ontario. They were involved in the YMCA Student Exchange Program, which twins students from two different provinces in order to experience the culture and way of life in the other’s community. On the whole, the program provides an opportunity for the students to learn leader-ship, community and teamwork skills. The students are also expected to participate in an engagement activity where they give back to the community through various initiatives and endeavors. During the students’ week long visit in

Montreal, they participated in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, volunteered sorting food and toys at the Welcome Hall Mission, were chaper-ones for students from Allion Elementary School in a

visit to the Morgan Aboretum, went to Quebec City for the day, toured Downtown, exercised at a circus school and enjoyed French cuisine and culture. In return, eighteen of our students went to Onigaming during the first week of May, where they experienced a very laid back First Nations culture. They engaged in traditional cultural activities,

which included bead and pouch making, participated in a sweat lodge, toured the Manitou Burial grounds, visited Lake of the Woods Museum in Kenora, went boating, played indoor and outdoor sports and participated in a cultural and commu-nity feast. It was a “culture shock” for both communities but one that saw them coming together for two separate weeks of

sharing, learning and laughter. Relationships were formed, memories were made and personal growth occurred. This was education at its finest. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this ex-change possible!

Deborah Dixon and Kyle Rougeau - Beurling Academy

FORMER ST. THOMAS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT AWARDED TOP HONOUR

A former St. Thomas High School and St. John Fisher Elementary School gradu-ate, was chosen as this year’s Valedictorian at Vanier College. Genevieve Zimantas, graduated from St. Thomas High School two years ago and is now a graduate of Vanier’s Liberal Arts Program. Genevieve credits her success in CEGEP

with how well both her high school and elementary school prepared her for college. Not only did Genevieve deliver an inspir-ing Valedictory address to her graduating class and all who attended the ceremony,

but she was also on Vanier’s Dean’s list, received the college’s award for achieving the highest mark in the

Liberal Arts Program and received a tribute award from Vanier College. Congratulations to Genevieve and good luck to her in all her future endeavours!

Page 7

PRINCIPAL FOR THE DAY AT EDGEWATER ELEMENTARY A very lucky Grade 1 student

recently had the oppor-tunity to be Edgewater Elementary’s Principal. Cassandra, won a Home and School raffle that offered stu-dents at the school the opportunity to be ‘Principal for the Day.’

Not only did Cassandra get to send a Connect-Ed message to the entire school,

reminding parents to make sure to protect their children’s skin during the warm weather, supply them with water and make sure they have hats, but she also had the opportu-nity to visit each classroom and say good morning to all the students. As Principal, Cassandra called all students who were celebrating their birthday to the office to wish them ‘Happy Birthday’ and give them a

bookmark. She even received a call from the school board’s Director General, Robert Mills, wishing her well in her new role. Cassandra also decided to give all the students an ex-tended recess and

following recess, she made the decision for each student to be given a ‘Freezie’ as a way to cool down after playing outdoors.

Volume XIII, No 11

PEARSON NEWS

The Board of Directors of the Pearson Educational Foundation is de-lighted to announce the appointment of

Bessie Michael as Executive Director effective June 9, 2011. Formerly a litigation lawyer in Montreal and New

York City, and cur-rently a Lester B. parent, Bessie brings energy, and heart as well as her business expertise to the post. Mrs. Michael hit the road running, managing the last-

PEARSON EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION’S NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND PRESIDENT minute information flow for the elemen-tary school Margaret Manson Learning Awards: the wonderful annual donation by Babar Books of Pointe Claire and Mrenice Holdings of Lasalle of an appropriate book for a special graduating Grade 6 student from every one of our elementary schools. And in her capable hands, the PEF Gala on November 10, 2011 will be one to remember! More information on the PEF Gala will be arriving in the upcoming months, so mark your calendars with the date. Suanne Stein Day, Chairman of the School Board has resigned as president of the PEF but remains an active member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation. Ms. Stein Day’s leadership of the PEF these past five years has been

inspiring and innovative. Under her tenure, many new programs were initi-ated, and the Foundation will forever be indebted to her for the firm footing upon which our exciting new phase is built.

Barbara Freeston, formerly Vice-President, was elected President of the Foundation, and Antoinette Scarano, Vice-President. Look forward to big things from our Founda-

tion in the coming year. Barbara Freeston - President, Pearson Educational Foundation

ADDITIONS TO PCHS’ NEW ART GALLERY The visual art students

at Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School had the opportunity to create very

interesting works of art. The Secondary 2 students finished creating their decorated eggs using the wax, candle and dye

method. Decorating eggs spans many cultures. This was a huge success with all the students. The focus and attention given to this project was outstanding. The Secondary 3 students cre-ated works of art based on Aboriginal artists from around the world. The students' research was evident in their final products. Secondary 5 students

were able to explore Modern Art and then created their own interpretations of Cubism. Hanna Engel - Art Teacher

Do you have an article to submit for the Pearson News? Please send your art ic les and p ictures to your

Pr inc ipa l w ho w i l l forward them to us . Quest ions or comments? Emai l Danie la Scoppa a t dscoppa@lbpsb .qc .ca .

Page 8 PEARSON NEWS

DANIELA’S CORNER With the 2010-2011 school year now over, this will be the final edition of the Pearson News until August. I can’t believe the school year has already come to an end. It seems like just a short while ago, I was

writing a message of welcome in my ‘Corner.’ This year was fantastic, with so many great initiatives and events taking place in the schools and centres. As always, I enjoyed being a part of them

and sharing them with the LBPSB’s many communities through the Pearson News. Congratulations to all of the LBPSB’s graduates, from the Pre-Kindergarten students all the way to the board’s adult students, I wish you continued success and much luck in all your future studies and careers. I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a safe and restful summer. Take time with your family and friends, rest and enjoy the beautiful sunshine each

day because as we all know, the sum-mer months seem to fly by. I look forward to collaborating with you on the Pearson News next year and as always do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments pertaining to communications at the school board. A happy summer to you all! Daniela Scoppa Communications Officer dscoppa@lbpsb.qc.ca

AUTHOR ROSEMARY DANIELIS VISITS GREENDALE ELEMENTARY

Our very own local

author and for-mer parent of Greendale brought "Iris and the Dragonflies"

back to Greendale for a second time. She donated her second version to our Grade 6 class and waited anxiously for the stu-dents’ feedback. The students enjoyed the

book greatly and gave it a thumbs up once again. We were very pleased when Rosemary Danielis came back and the students had numerous questions for her. They wanted to know when her second book would be ready. She told us that it is in the editing phase right now and would be coming out very soon. Our class was excited and they plan to buy

a signed version of the book for their very own. We are proud to have a parent whose children at-tended Greendale become a successful writer. We wish her success and feel hon-oured that we read such a novel that is almost 300 pages and truly enjoyed it.

Bravo Greendale! Angie Grigoropoulos

PEARSON ADULT CAREER CENTRE GRADUATION CEREMONY More than one hun-dred PACC Adult Education graduates gathered to receive their diplomas and celebrate their suc-cess on Thursday, June 16th. The graduates beamed as they walked across the stage to receive their diplomas. Valedictorian Shelly-Ann Green addressed the academic and personal challenges facing the adult learner. She reminded fellow graduates to be proud of their decision to return to school,

and to celebrate the success of graduating de-spite its chal-lenges. Graduate Patrick Fell, inspired classmates by performing a rap

song that he composed, highlighting the importance of education. The song recounted Patrick’s journey from feel-ing invisible without an education to achieving his dream of earning his di-ploma. Graduate Johanne Vaudry, was this

year’s recipient of the Pat Rodler Memorial Award. She exclaimed to her colleagues, “Forty years later but I did it!” In her closing remarks, Centre Director Ann Moran spoke of the diversity at PACC. She congratulated the class of 2011 for the inspiring way in which they supported each other despite cultural, ethnic and age differences. Students and guests enjoyed a reception following the graduation ceremony. More than two hundred students gradu-ated from PACC this year. Maggie Soldano - Assistant Centre Director

ST. EDMUND ELEMENTARY’S SECOND ANNUAL LINGUISTIC EXCHANGE St. Edmund Elementary and St. Remi Elementary (Marguerite Bourgeoys School Board) hosted their second annual Linguistic Exchange. Students in Grades 5 and 6 from both schools participated in a friendly, round-robin, soccer tournament at City Lane Park in Beaconsfield. The goal of the tournament was to have students con-

verse in both English and French with one another. Snacks were served to the students, courtesy of both school boards and parents were on hand to cheer the students on.

Page 9 Volume XIII, No. 2

PEARSON NEWS

TERRY FOX ELEMENTARY REACHES A MILESTONE AND CELEBRATES

Terry Fox

Elementary started its jour-ney with “Free the Children” in October 2009 when the organization

came into the school and spoke to the chil-dren about what kind of difference they could make in Sierra Leone, Africa. It was decided at that time that the students wanted to build a school for children who did not have the opportunities they do. The journey took many different roads with bake sales, Bingo night, a garage sale, themed days, individual family donations,

They got the audience going with all students and staff up and dancing. They even gave the children explana-tions of certain movements in their dance with the meanings. We finished off with cakes for all. We had written on

the cakes “WE DID IT.” We were all very proud but now we begin our next journey with building the water system for this school. Congratulations to all! Theresa Bigland - Community & Spiritual Care Animator, Terry Fox School

building cranes, entre-preneurial grants and a battle of the genders. Peer mediators took a leading role in almost all activities. What great future leaders we have! Finally, in May 2011, we reached the goal of $8,500 and the ground will be broken this summer for this school to be built. On Friday, June 10 we celebrated at school. The day began with a representa-tive from “Free the Children” coming in and thanking the children for all the hard work they have done. The organization, Vues d'Afrique, was here to give a dem-onstration of African music and dance.

Volume XIII, No 11

PEARSON NEWS

LEADERS’ RETREAT 2011 This year, the Lester B.

Pearson School Board hosted a student leadership retreat involving representatives from all twelve secondary schools. The vi-sion of the retreat was for students to learn, develop and reflect on their leader-ship skills. This allowed students to make positive contributions that will benefit their community and the future of society. The student goals were to learn new skills, develop leadership abilities and reflect on how they could integrate these experiences into their local com-munities. Many workshops, such as “Digital Citizen-ship,” “Be here now! Be your word! Speak your mind! Leadership in action!” and “Twitter does not care about your breakfast” were provided for leadership students by professionals and former LBPSB students. The workshops facilitated an environment for the students to learn new skills that strengthened their rising leadership qualities. This year, we were lucky enough to have

two tremendous keynote speakers, Mike Pearse and Elias Makos. Each speaker brought a new message to the students and allowed for further development. Mike Pearse, co-owner and Managing Director of Camp Tawingo in Huntsville, Ontario, and a well known speaker

across Canada, delivered a message of resil-ience, hard work and the priceless importance of integrity. Elias Makos, a CTV News personality, virtually opened the world of digital technol-ogy to the students and taught the students how to use social networking tools such as

Facebook in a proper and responsible way and reinforced the impor-tance of Digital Citizenship in our schools. The Student Mentors on this year’s planning com-mittee collaborated and developed a theme in order to accomplish the

objectives of the retreat. Throughout the School Board, there is strong enrichment and support for the arts. Student leaders were given the ability to use the arts as a form of expression through collaboration with an organization known as EnMasse. EnMasse

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brought to the students’ attention the impor-tance of the various forms of leadership and supported the students in a large group project that encompassed this philosophy by teaching them specific visual art techniques that helped students to transfer their vision onto the canvases. The project involved a total of 14 panels of individual artwork rep-resenting leadership blended together to create one huge masterpiece. These leaders have tremendous potential to inspire positive change. This year’s slogan reinforced the ideal, “No matter who you are...there is a place for you in Leadership”. Through the arts this retreat provided the students with the means to achieve their goals. “GLEE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE” Rebecca Binet - Educational Consultant

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REPORT FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD First and foremost, I would like to welcome Ruth Dangoor, newly-appointed Commissioner for Ward 11 to our council. Mrs. Dan-goor brings experience in community service and

business and is a welcome addition. June is traditionally a month of celebra-tion and this year is no exception. I was honoured to be able to attend many ele-mentary, high school and adult education graduations and share in the successes of thousands of Lester B. Pearson students. I congratulate each and every one of our graduates, wish you the very best for your next steps and join many salutatorians and valedictorians in their tributes and gratitude to their teachers, school staffs and families. Their successes are a wonderful reflection of all that is right in our school board and community. We had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate our volunteers. Many thanks to the Central Parents’ Committee for host-ing another wonderful evening honouring the many volunteers in our schools.

Volunteers do so much to enrich school life. They support the students and staff to add dimension to the daily life in our schools. We are very grateful for their continued generosity. We celebrated our young entrepreneurs this month, as well. Students across the system created unique and innovative projects demonstrating their under-standing of business concepts. Twenty winners joined us at the board on June 8th to present their projects and receive their certificates. 2010-2011 was another strong year for our school board. We launched new initiatives such as our Digital Citizen-ship Program and our board level Green Team. Our first year of the Français Plus program was successful and will be expanded to our new Birchwood School as well as at Terry Fox and Maple Grove elementary schools. We started construction on Birchwood Elementary School in St-Lazare and look forward to a grand opening next fall where more than 400 students will be welcomed.

We’ve received authorization to start new vocational programs and are outfit-ting several buildings to accommodate the programs. Our alternative and work study programs and their students have received special recognitions of their successes this year. The Pearson Educa-tional Foundation had their first gala, Night on the Town, raising funds that go to enhancing the learning opportunities for our students. And within all of this, we are building new partnerships to ensure success. In short, Lester B. continues to meet the needs of more and more students in their paths to successful and fulfilling lives. I am very proud to be a part of this. To the whole Lester B. Pearson community, I wish you a wonderful summer. May you get the time to fulfill some of your desires and dreams. I look forward to greeting you all in August.

On Tuesday, May 24, 2011, students

in Grade 5 from St. Bernadette's school in Rosemount (Commission

Scolaire de Montréal) visited Beurling Academy and met their "pen-pals" who were Secondary 1 Ethics & Religious Culture (ERC) students in the Immersion program. The Grade 5 students from St. Bernadette’s school led by teacher Mrs. Di Fruscia, were learning English as a Second Language and my Junior Beurling students took on the role of “Peer-tutor.” Both groups of students shared their "Flat Stanley cut-outs” which reflected themselves as well as their personal questionnaires. They also shared their crea-tive, personal stories based on the 1964’s Children’s book, “Flat Stanley” by Jeff Brown. The Project provided an opportunity for students to make connections with

students of other member schools who've signed up for the project. It is meant to facili-tate letter-writing by schoolchildren to each other as they document where Flat Stanley has gone with them. Students were treated to a snack and lunch. After their morning session in the library, both groups of students left together to see a movie, "Gnomeo and Juliet. " The Literacy & Intercul-tural Project fostered posi-tive relationships between Francophone and Anglo-phone students. It strength-ened oral and written skills in English as well as in French, as my students sought to communicate with the students from St. Bernadette. Furthermore, all students devel-oped appropriate social skills. Lastly, it enabled students to have an open attitude to Quebec society and to minimize stereotypes of cultural communities.

This initiative was made possible by the Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sports Intercultural Grant, which St. Bernadette received. Furthermore, this event reflected one of the LBPSB’s Strategic Directions, which is to "Maximize

Student Success in a Culture of Learning," with an objective to "increase English and French Literacy." We were very fortunate to have been invited to participate in this Intercultural and Literacy project with St. Ber-nadette's school. We hope that

this is just one of the many initiatives that we will be involved in with the Commission Scolaire de Montreal. Tamara Beach - Cycle 1 ERC Teacher / Student Council Advisor, Beurling Acad-emy

BEURLING ACADEMY’S INTERCULTURAL AND LITERACY PROJECT

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Volume XIII, No 11

PEARSON NEWS STUDENTS FROM LBPSB’S HIGH SCHOOLS TO TRAVEL TO CHINA

Twelve high school students, an educational consultant and a teacher will be leaving for China on July 17th for an educational trip. The students represent all of the Lester B. Pearson School Board’s high

schools. The trip will last two weeks and will have the students and chaperones visiting a number of places, while learning about China’s rich culture and history. The trip is being hosted by China’s Hanban-Confucius School and is part of a long-standing partnership between the school board and the Government of China.

PCHS TROJANS WIN CITY BEST 16 BANNERS! 2010-11 was truly an amazing sports season for Pierrefonds Comprehensive

High School. On top of hosting the RSEQ Juve-nile Indoor Soccer Provincial Championships, the Trojans and Lady Trojans won an incredible 16 Championship Banners, easily the most in its schools storied athletics history and by far the most in the Greater Montreal Athletics Associa-tion. This years’ Championship Teams included: Bantam Boys Soccer. Juvenile Boys Soccer,

Boys Touch Football, Boys Softball, Midget Girls Basketball, Midget Boys Swim Team, Juvenile Boys Swim Team, Boys Swim Team Aggregate, Juvenile Boys Indoor Track and Field, Bantam Girls Indoor Soccer, Juvenile Girls Indoor Soccer, Juvenile Boys Track and Field, Juvenile Girls Badminton, Bantam Girls Touch Football, Juvenile Girls Touch Football and Boys Lacrosse. Congratulations to all team members and coaches. Dan Nathan - Sports Coordinator

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PEARSON NEWS

A LOOK AT THE 2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR IN PHOTOS. HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!

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UNOFFICIAL NOTES - JUNE 27, 2011 MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF COMMISSIONERS Plumbing and Heating Program at Beurling Academy Council awarded the professional services contract for the Plumbing and Heating Program at Beurling Academy to Birtz Bastien Beaudoin Laforest Architectes. Demolition Request – Beurling Academy Annex Council approved that a request be made to the Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sports to obtain authorization to demolish the Annex at Beurling Academy. Windows Project – Lakeside Academy Council awarded the contract for the replacement of windows at Lake-side Academy to the lowest compliant bid, Amro Aluminium Inc., for the amount of $176,136 (plus taxes). Beechwood Elementary – Door Project Council awarded the contract for the replacement of doors at Beech-wood Elementary to the lowest compliant bid, Amro Aluminium Inc., for the amount of $159,110.28 (plus taxes). Nominations to QESBA Board of Directors for 2011-2013 Council nominated Commissioners Frank di Bello, Rosemary Murphy and Suanne Stein Day for the post of Director of the Quebec English School Boards Association for 2011-2013. Three-Year Plan of Immovables 2011-2014 Council approved the establishment, and subsequent transmission, of the Three-Year Plan of Allocation and Destination of Immovables of the Lester B. Pearson School Board for 2011-2012 to 2013-2014. In accordance with the contents of the Plan and with Section 211 of the Education Act, a deed of establishment will be issued to each of the LBPSB’s schools, Vocational Training and Adult Education centres. Ceding of Properties – Disposition of Buildings Council approved that the Lester B. Pearson School Board accept the offer made by the Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys to ac-quire, by mutual agreement, and for their net book value, the follow-ing three buildings: • The former Terry Fox school building, located at 13275 London,

Pierrefonds, for a price of $988,798. • The former Spring Garden school building, located at 175 So-

nata, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, for a price of $392,247. • The former Cecil Newman school building, located at 171 Or-

chard Street, LaSalle, for a price of $843,443. Budget 2011-2012 Council adopted the Lester B. Pearson School Board 2011-2012 oper-ating, investment and debt service budget, showing total combined revenues of $217,252,302 and total combined expenditures of $219,263,913 for a one-year deficit of $2,011,612, which will be bal-anced by using 10% of the frozen June 30, 2010 accumulated board surplus, excluding the book value of land, as permitted by the Minis-ter of Education, Leisure and Sports. Commissioners’ Stipends Council approved that the global amount of remuneration that the LBPSB accords to its Commissioners be as defined or in the provision of Order in Council 236-2000 applicable to school board with be-tween 25,000 and 50,000 students. Council adopted the following distribution of Commissioners: Vice-Chairman of Council 0.75 Executive Committee Chairman 0.10 Standing committee Chairmen* (0.10 x 6) 0.60 QESBA Delegates (0.10 x 3) 0.30 Commissioners (1.00 x 23) 23.00

TOTAL SHARES = 24.75

*(Education, Facilities and Securities, Audit, Governance and Eth-ics, Human Resources, Communications) Council approved that the Chairman of Council will be accorded a responsibility allowance as per the formula defined for that purpose in the provision of Order in Council 836-2000 applicable to school boards with between 25,000 and 50,000 students. Riverview Governing Board composition modification Council approved that the number of representatives on the River-view Elementary School Governing Board be reduced from 14 to 12 members, to take effect for the 2011-2012 school year and to remain in effect until such time as the Riverview Elementary Gov-erning Board requests a change. Committees’ Chairs and Vice-Chairs 2011-2012 Council appointed the following Commissioners to the following Committees in the following capacities, effective July 1st, 2011: Audit Committee Chair - Louisa Bulgarelli-Vero Vice-Chair - Allan Levine Governance and Ethics Committee Chair - Rosemary Murphy Vice-Chair - Martin Sherman Human Resource Committee Chair - Judith Kelley Vice-Chair - Douglas Flook Education Committee Chair - Barbara Freeston Vice-Chair - Daniel Olivenstein Facilities and Security Committee Chair - Ruben Fazio Vice-Chair - Craig Berger Communications Committee Chair - Suanne Stein Day Vice-Chair - Sergio Borja Policy Adoption - Appropriate Use of Digital Communications and Technologies Policy Council adopted the Appropriate Use of Digital Communications and Technologies Policy. Review of Policy for students with special needs Council approved that the responsibility for the revision of the Pol-icy and Administrative Practices for Students with Special Needs be directed to the Education Committee. CROM Agreement Council approved the agreement between the LBPSB and the Cen-tre de réadaption de Montréal for the delivery of educational ser-vices to adult clients frequenting the LaBrosse Centre in Pointe-Claire. Programs Support (Adult Education and Vocational Training) Council approved that the LBPSB support the recommendation of the Provincial Interlevel Table for the English Sector for following programs, to be approved by the Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sports and delivered by the LBPSB: • Provisional authorization for 5270 Boulangerie • Permanent authorization for 5296 Security Systems Installation

and Repair • Permanent authorization for 5314 Sommellerie Assistant Director of Human Resources/Payroll - Appointment Council approved that Viviane Saucier be appointed as Assistant Director of Human Resources/Payroll, effective July 25, 2011.

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(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)

Below is a list of Commissioners along with their home telephone numbers and school board locals.

Home 422-3000 Ward Communities Commissioner Phone # Local 1 Verdun/Nuns’ Island Douglas Flook 514-293-2417 4001 2 LaSalle South Sergio Borja 514-368-1001 4002 3 LaSalle Northeast Ruben Fazio 514-365-1638 4003 4 LaSalle West/Ville St-Pierre Frank di Bello 514-951-5834 4004 5 Lachine Patrick Whitham 514-800-9240 4005 6 Dorval Barbara Freeston 514-636-9315 4006 7 Dollard-des-Ormeaux East Rosemary Murphy 514-620-8012 4007 8 Roxboro/Pierrefonds East Craig Berger 514-421-6570 4008 9 Pointe-Claire East Allan Levine 514-683-6671 4009 10 Pointe-Claire West Conny Held 514-233-5966 4026 11 Dollard-des-Ormeaux Center Ruth Dangoor 12 Pierrefonds/Île Bizard Susan Williams 514-620-4745 4012 13 Dollard-des-Ormeaux Center/West Martin Sherman 514-684-2742 4013 14 Dollard-des-Ormeaux W./Kirkland E. Joe Zemanovich 514-624-2376 4014 15 Beaconsfield North Don Rae 514-697-9878 4015 16 Kirkland West Suanne Stein Day 514-630-9824 2322 17 Pierrefonds West Luisa Bulgarelli-Vero 514-694-0475 4017 18 Ste-Anne/Baie d’Urfé/Beaconsfld S./Senneville Judy Kelley 514-697-7619 4018 19 Île Perrot Susan Bartlett-Lewis 514-453-6650 4019 20 Les Cèdres/Vaudreuil-Dorion Angela Nolet 514-453-5462 2299 21 Hudson/St-Lazare Daniel Olivenstein 450-458-1413 4021 CPC Secondary Representative Nan Beaton 514-713-3892 4026 CPC Elementary Representative Domenico Pavone 514-566-8869 4027

COMMISSIONERS’ PHONE NUMBERS

PUBLIC MEETINGS – JULY/AUGUST 2011

The following meetings will take place at 1925 Brookdale, Dorval (unless otherwise indicated)

Executive Committee July 4, 2011 5:30 p.m. Board Room

Executive Committee August 22, 2011 5:30 p.m. Board Room

Council of Commissioners August 29, 2011 7:30 p.m. Board Room

***Webcast begins at 7:30 p.m. on www.lbpsb.qc.ca

DATES TO NOTE

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UNOFFICIAL NOTES - CONT’D. Coordinator of Human Resources - Appointment Council approved that Donna Marziliano be appointed as Coordina-tor of Human Resources, effective July 25, 2011. Student Ombudsman Report Council approved that the Council of Commissioners will inform a complainant who filed a complaint to the Student Ombudsman on June 13, 2011, that no action will be taken following the review of the opinion made by the Students Ombudsman. Governing Board Membership – Pearson Electrotechnology Centre Council appointed the following members of the Governing Board of Pearson Electrotechnology Centre for terms ending in June 2012:

• Wilson Wong and Ken Elliott (Socio-economic and Community groups)

• Guylaine Boisvert and Brian Deane (Enterprise group)