The Blanket Exercise

Understanding can lead to compassion, and it starts by walking in someone else's moccasins, at least enough to squirm a little.

The Grade 7/8's at Beacon spent some time doing just that.

 As part of the Canadian History unit, Steve van de Hoef, a representative of the Christian Reformed Church of North America led the classes in a Blanket Exercise, where the blankets are used to represent the land of Canada.

As historical events occurred, blankets were folded, moved,

 taken or infected with various diseases affecting the First Nations people living on the land. 

Through this exercise students got a better sense of what the Indian Act meant, what residential schools did and what reservations are. 

Using quotes from various First Nations people, students achieved some understanding of the impact of the choices they are studying now in history and its long lasting impact, still felt today.

Click here for more information on the blanket exercise.

Come See What We're All About!

An Evening With the Dogs

In December, the students at Beacon were invited to sing the national anthem at an Ice Dogs game.

 Everyone was also invited to a pre-game skate in the Ice Dogs' ice.

Then the students nevously but excitedly lined up backstage in preparation for their debut!

We were welcomed on the jumbotron. And then it was time!

The students sang their hearts out in an amazing accappella version of "Oh Canada". They did such a wonderful job! Many wonderful comments were made by the staff of the arena and from strangers on the enthusiasm and effort of our singers. What a great opportunity to be a beacon in our local community.

Well done!

A Stupendous Scientific Surprise!

Our students in Grades 1-6 were treated to a suprise visit from "Steve Saturn", a scientist from Mad Science  on Thursday afternoon.

Steve Saturn brought many marvelous demonstrations for our students to observe and experience first hand. And the students were enthralled!

He changed solids to liquids, liquids to gases and gases to solids. He intrigued us with the states and properties of matter. He marveled with us at the amazing order of the world around us.

There is a song that also declares the goodness of God's world around us. We celebrate this every day at Beacon because every inch belongs to Him!

Classrooms and labs, loud boiling test tubes,

sing to the Lord a new song!

Athlete and band, loud cheering people,

sing to the Lord a new song!

(don't you love the facial expressions?)

 

 He has done marvelous things!

I too will praise Him with a new song!

 

A Community of Learners

 What is a community of learners?
 A community of learners is a group of people who support each other in their joint and individual learning.

They are cooperative and can work productively together.

A community of learners can include all levels of learners because everyone is learning.

A school community of learners allows students to teach other students as well as themselves.

Thank you to Mr. V's Grade 7/8 Drama class for sharing their dramatic versions of Alfred Lobel's Fables!
 

 We have learned together as a school again today!

Sharing Joy with Our Neighbours

This morning our Grades One through Five classes walked over to Tabor Manor down the street.

We wanted to share some of the joy of Jesus' birth with those right in our neighbourhood. The students practiced over the last several weeks with Mr. T. during music class.

We were eagerly welcomed by many residents there who gathered to hear us sing. The staff were glad to have us come share some joy with the residents who live there.

 The students did a wonderful job of singing with great gusto! The smiles on the faces of the residents was wonderful to see! Many commented on how much they love seeing the children and listening to them sing. We were glad to be a blessing to our neighbours today!

Remembrance Day Reflections

Remembrance Day Poem

Fighting through blowing dust

It gets nastier everytime I shoot

I try harder but it’s not enough

Tears descend when I lose my group

We never knew how hard it was

We never knew

We never knew

I must keep crawling through the sand dune

With a loaded gun in my hand

The bombers are coming soon

Villagers hide throughout the land

We never knew how hard it was

We never knew

We never knew

I try to keep strong

With my death almost near

But I do know, this is where I belong

I bid you goodbye as I shed my last tear

We never knew how hard it was

We never knew

We never knew

By: Lauren T

Remembering those who fought and died for our peace is something important for us to pass on to our children. We strive to honour our peacekeepers, both past and present, in a meaningful manner.

 

The Royal Canadian Legion holds an annual Remembrance Day Contest. Students can choose to enter posters, poems or essays exploring the theme of Remembrance. Our Grade 7 + 8 students particpated again this year.

The students read stories about all the wars including the ones that involve Canadians today. A moving visit to the cenotaph on Remembrance Day gave new meaning to many of our studets of what it means to remember.

Our students again had some poignant entries and 8 of our students' work was honoured with a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place.The winners progress to the zone level and continue potentially all to the national level.

It started one day in the year September 1, 1939, all different troops from all over the world had come on a long journey, to fight in the war. They didn’t know what to expect. Whether they would live in a trench or not, what food they would eat, and whether they would ever see their family again. They all marched in and the war had begun. From the very first day, the battle field was a disaster.

From the shooting of bullets, to the sounds of bombs, these sounds were normal to the soldiers who heard them every minute of every day. Even though they were hidden, didn’t mean they were safe.
 
As they were fighting, some saw their best friends fall to their death.  As the tears rolled down their faces, cleaning the dirt off their face, they knew they had to keep fighting or they might be next. They would think about all the good memories they had, had. From the time they first met to the last good-bye. And in less than a minute, it was all over.

As families pray that their loved one will be safe, they are out fighting all day and all night hoping that the next day would be the day to go home and see their family!
     
Every year on November 11th, we remember the ones who gave their life for us to live in freedom. We wear a poppy to symbolize our appreciation toward the ones who fighting for us. We take two minutes to appreciate them and all their hard work - Sabrina V.