Celebration of Learning

Today was our Celebreation of Learning here at Beacon. 

Students at all grade levels have been working on projects related to health education and they are excited to share them with a wider audience.  These projects are our initial attempts into Project Based Learning. To learn more about Project Based Learning, and why we think it is a valuable way to engage student learning, watch this video, put together by the Buck Institute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMCZvGesRz8

What is  a Celebration of Learning?   

Our students are not merely consumers of knowledge, but also producers of meaningful work . By hosting an exhibition of student projects, posters, presentations, and performances about health, the Celebration of Learning will provide the Beacon community with a picture of deep, engaged student learning. 

Why? 

Because we would like to give our students an opportunity to present their ideas for encouraging the health of other students and parents within our community.

  

How?

Students have created:

·  a mental break video that displays aspects of stress as well as a variety of coping skills

·  plates with portion sizes and food suggestions

·  a healthy cookbook filled with locally grown lunch recipes

·  a circuit comprised of seven stations that will challenge their heart and lung function

Who? 

Each student group will demonstrate the product, presentation or poster about health

. 

We Remember

Today, with Canadians across the country and people across the world, we stopped to remember. 

While our Grade 7 and 8 students spent their time remembering at the cenotaph today, the rest of our students and staff assembled.

All of our students made a paper cross and poppy and we hung them row on row. 

Our throughline for this month is Servant Working. How does Servant Working tie in to Remembrance Day?

We remember the soldiers who, over the past many and recent years, have become servants in mission for peace, here and around the world. Their desire to end injustice was an act of servant work. Some paid the ultimate price. 

As well, many soldiers have returned home. Some bear physical and emotional scars that run deep. We need to remember them in our prayers and acts of kindness. 

Furthermore, we wear our poppies today on our left side, over our hearts. We need to serve with love in any opportunity we can find. 

We also watched this moving video, which we followed with moments of silence and a playing in "The Last Post".

We pray for peace. We remember. 

Servant Working

Our program at Beacon Christian School is woven together by ten threads called Throughlines. Throughlines are qualities that we desire our students to develop as God is revealed to them "in all things." They answer the question, "How now shall I live?" This month, we are looking at "Servant Working".

As first written by the Prairie Centre for Christian Education, "We should learn to serve others by working actively to heal brokenness and bring joy and shalom. 'As individuals, we are called to make a difference in the world, not just in private personal behavior. We are also called to the restoration task as communities of believers. As redeemed image bearers we should be making a difference in the culture.' (Donovan Graham)"

Being “salt and light” means our faith needs to be expressed in our work. We all can help to heal brokenness and bring joy. Sometimes this will be a response to an injustice, and sometimes it will be doing good things just for the sake of doing them. Sometimes these things will be easy for us to do and sometimes they will really push us out of our comfort zone – and both are great experiences!

During our weekly chapel, our students were encouraged to think deeply about how and where they can serve. We were encourage in song by our Grade 1 and 6 leaders. 

We were reminded that we are "mutually interdependent" on each other. 

 

Our students were then watched  the first 3 minutes of this video about Rose City Kids mission in Welland, Ontario. 

They were given a challenge to think of how they themselves could earn some money to contribute towards Christmas boxes for Rose City Kids. 

Some of our students have already gotten into action. These two students made flyers and posted them in their neighbourhood. They are are raking leaves to make money for Rose City Kids Christmas boxes. They are being the hands and feet of Jesus to children just like them in our local community.

Our desire is that students will work actively to heal 

brokenness and bring joy to individuals and to culture.