http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/2015/03/20/4-h-members-speak-up
KINGSTON — Andy O'Neil hopes all his hard work will make a difference.
4-H members speak up
The Central Plains Area 4-H Council was pleased to host its 4-H communications event on Saturday, March 14, at the MacGregor Collegiate. Each 4-H club in the Central Plains area was invited to send winners from their club competitions to participate in this afternoon event. There were 22 participants in total, representing 8 clubs.
All members participated in a combination of cloverbud, junior, intermediate and senior-age groups in speech and visual presentation categories. The winner of each junior, intermediate and senior category will now move on to compete at the Provincial Communications Extravaganza, taking place in Brandon on April 18.
Through participating in public speaking and visual presentations, members actively learn how to communicate ideas and information with confidence. Skills and comfort levels vary among individuals, but with guidance and practise, members progress in both ability and comfort throughout their time with 4-H.
A speech is used to communicate an idea and give information to an audience, using voice, body language and speech content. All members are required to stay within their category time ranges.
Marissa Gervais, from the Treherne Home Ec. Club, placed first in Cloverbud Speech with her topic, “My Extra Special Cousin.” In the Junior Public Speaking category, Jessica Ramachandran from the Gainsborough Combined Club, placed first with her title, “My Team,” while Colton Wood of the Oakville Beef Club, placed second with his speech, “Farming Simulator.”
Sidney Beef member Adrienne Driedger and Nikki Anderson, from the Gladstone 4-H Handiworkers, took first and second place in the Intermediate Public Speaking category with their respective topics, “Bus Trip to Mexico” and “True Guardian Angels.” Senior member Parker Guy, from the Sidney Beef Club, placed first with his speech, “My First Year of Coaching.” He was followed by second place entry Brendan Doan, from the Gainsborough Combined 4-H Club, who spoke on “How 4-H Has Affected My Life.”
The purpose of the visual presentation categories is to communicate with an audience through the use of speech and visual aids. Gladstone Handiworkers member Darren Carruthers and Erik Olson of the MacGregor club took first and second-place honours in the Junior One Person Visual category, with their presentations, “Walt Disney World” and “Succulents,” respectively. Nikki Anderson, from the Gladstone Home Ec. Club, took home first place honours in the Intermediate One Person Visual category with her presentation “My Second Home.”
In the Two Person Visual category, junior level, St. Claude Home Ec. Club’s Sydney Kiefer Starling and Abby Parvais placed first with their presentation on “Are We There Yet?”
Austin Blazing Saddles members Chloe Anderson and Ryleigh Anderson placed first in the Intermediate Two Person visual category with their presentation “Saddles” and Vanessa and Tyler Theroux of the St. Claude Home Ec. Club placed first in Creative Expressions with their “4-H Puppet Show.”
Special thanks to the volunteer judges – Krystal Nicholls, Amy Sissons, Leona Timmerman, Marie Delf, Kelsey McLennan, and Chris Kitchen – who provided comments on what was well done, tips to consider and encouragement to continue developing 4-H public speaking and presentation skills.
The Central Plains Area 4-H Council congratulates all members who participated in this year’s competition, and thanks to all of the volunteers who made this event possible. We also wish the best of luck to the members representing the Central Plains area at the Provincial Communications Extravaganza.
When in doubt, hug a tree
When in doubt, hug a tree
Quinte West OPP Const. Maggie McCaughen and Emergency Response Team member Const. Matt Raycroft shared those simple tips to Grade 2 students at Bayside Public School Monday afternoon.
The pair have been, for the past three years, visiting local Grade 2 classes sharing the Hug-A-Tree survival program.
The Hug-a-Tree program is a search and rescue initiative that helps lost children survive in the woods. This program originated in San Diego, California, after a nine-year-old boy became lost and died in the wilderness.
The Hug-A-Tree program teaches children invaluable outdoor survival lessons including to always tell an adult where you they are going. Always carry an emergency shelter – a simple garbage bag can be very helpful – and whistle on picnics, hikes and camping trips. Finally, once you know you’re lost, stay where you are and “hug-a-tree.”
The officers told the students the most important thing they can do, once they realize they are lost, is to stay still.
“One of the main things, if you do get lost, you have to remember you are not in trouble, your parents aren’t going to be mad. They’re just going to be happy to get you home,” he told the students. “Of course the most important thing is to remember to stay still.”
Raycroft said it’s important to teach the students, at a young age, simple tips to stay safe if they get lost as GPS and cellphones aren’t always reliable.
A safety whistle, however, makes a loud, distinctive noise and doesn’t use a lot of a person’s energy. Taking note of landmarks along the way can help people realize where they are.
Although ERT members can be called for a variety of emergencies, Raycroft said one of the most important, and most rewarding, jobs is search and rescue.
In the summer of 2013, Raycroft was one of the officers who assisted in the search for two girls who went missing in Bon Echo Provincial Park.
“They kept walking, and walking, and walking,” he said. “They were about four or five kilometres from where they should have been. We eventually found them because we won’t stop looking, especially when it’s a little person.”
He said the girls were found almost three full days after they were reported missing.
“Last fall we had another two little girls north of Bancroft. They were playing a game of man hunt, they lost track of time, didn’t have a landmark, they didn’t stay still and they kept walking because they thought they could find a way out,” he said. “They spent a whole night, morning and afternoon in the forest.”
In a year, he says, hundreds of search and rescue missions are undertaken by OPP officers.
“This program is really important and we want to make sure every little boy and girl gets some information about what to do if they become lost.”
emily.mountney@sunmedia.ca
Students' presentation challenges stereotypes
KINGSTON — Andy O'Neil hopes all his hard work will make a difference.
Andy, a Grade 7 student at Lancaster Drive Public School, along with about 100 of the intermediate students, spent more than a month creating an ambitious multimedia presentation that detailed the effects of stereotyping and bullying on people and called for its elimination both from schools and society.
"It was a really fun project," he said. "It turned out a really cool-looking performance."
O'Neil felt the way the subjects were treated in the presentation and the depth to which the research went could end up changing people's attitudes.
"I think it definitely opens people's minds more and spreads more awareness about it. We all know what it is, but this brings out everything about stereotypes and discrimination."
The entire theme of the presentation was challenging stereotypes, explained Catherine Dudley, a Grade 6/7 teacher at the school.
"They are very much all about fairness at this age, and I think the issue is very important to them."
It is a multi-faceted performance in every sense of the word.
A long banquet table contained almost 30 individual placemats dedicated to a specific figure from present day or history who championed social justice, equality and human rights. At each place setting was a bowl and cup decorated to honour their achievements. The names included John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jackie Robinson.
"It is all meant to symbolize gender equality, sexual identity, racial equality," Dudley said. "It is really wide-reaching."
Posters covered the gym walls, and a soundscape project, produced by artist-in-residence Gary Rasberry, was shown on two large screens. Students talked about prejudice, bullying and stereotyping and discussed how it affects them and how it should be stopped.
Dancers emerged to illustrate the concepts in movement.
The project stemmed from the regular "collaborative inquiry" the teachers take on each year, Dudley said.
"Last year we focused on inclusion, but this year we said we need to dig a little bit deeper into what are some of the reasons that kids are feeling excluded and what are some the things that are being said out of earshot of adults that are making kids feel like they can't be themselves and be respected for who they are?"
The students started out doing individual projects on stereotypes, but then it was decided to share them with the rest of the school, as well as the community.
When it expanded into a multimedia presentation, the students had the choice of what medium they could work in and how they would present their research.
"We are very proud of them because we have 100 students and, when you experience the performance, it is like all of the student voices and artistic contributions are in there in some way."
Dudley said presentations like this are important, since schools in Ontario are becoming more and more diverse.
"We also know the student outcome and achievement is based on them feeling a sense of belonging and feeling safe and feeling they can take risks with their learning," she said.
Children who are at the receiving end of bullying or stereotyping or racism go home worried about what has happened to them instead of thinking about what they are learning, she said.
Presentations like the one they just finished encourage other children to stand up and call out the bullies and those who make improper remarks.
"What if one of those kids that has that social power and influence says, 'That's not OK,' (and) calls them out on that. We can't have silent bystanders because they need to stand up for each other."
Racism and stereotyping are complex issues for young students to tackle, Dudley said, but surveys are showing they are mature enough to handle them.
"Now we feel they have an in-depth understanding of all of these issues. We have lots of conversations with kids ... it's not just about adults."
Dudley said the power is in the hands of the students and she believes things are changing, thanks to the education they now receive.
"I think it has had an impact," she said. "It's not something you can just change like that."
Students of the same age decades ago wouldn't have been exposed to words such as racism or stereotyping, but times are changing, she said.
Social media and the music industry are filled with the worst of examples for young people.
"We have kids saying some very harsh words and we don't even know if they know what they mean. We can't control everything that happens in the whole world, but we can make sure that our school is a safe space and that people are free to express themselves."
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