Our 2009-2010 school year has come to an end, as students prepare to embark on a new journey in their middle school years, please continue to live with respect, dignity and pride. Know that throughout your ventures you have a choice, and though some choices are more difficult than others, they are YOURS to decide upon. Choose wisely, be safe and have a wonderful summer :o)

Silverbirch Reading Club

The purpose of the Silverbirch Club Blog is to engage students in reflection and dialogue of the books they are reading during the next few months. This year we have been pleasantly surprised by having more than 50 students (65% boys) within the Junior Grades signed up for the Silverbirch Reading Club and we realized that hearing their thoughts, feedback and reflections on a regular basis would be challenging. This blog forum not only provides students a voice but encourages peers to provide constructive feedback, making further connections to their reading experiences and asking questions along the way. Students write about what they are reading and will include reading strategies such as inferencing, making connections, summarizing and/or evaluating the text.

The blog designed by Grade 6 students also features short video clip highlights Skype interviews students conducted with several authors (7 of the 20) nominated for the Silverbirch Award. Students will also have the opportunity to interview the authors who won the award:

Fiction
Zorgamazoo by Rob Weston

Non-Fiction
At the Edge by Larry Verstraete

Black History Month Guest: Deputy Minister Hope

Today, Deputy Minister Hope, along with an OPP Sergeant and a Corrections Officer, joined us to share his story about growing up as a young black youth in Scarborough, a community where he found very few other children who looked like him. Growing up with the support from his parents who enstilled in him the importance of a good education but more importantly, the importance of a strong personable and approachable character he developed a strong sense of pride. As a young man, Mr. Hope developed his people and communication skills allowing him to build on friendships and strong working relationships with his collegues in the police force. He has achieved many accomplishments and he has been recognized with many awards, and though he is proud of his achievements he looks forward to new challenges. Listening to the stories our guests shared with us today, what might you reflect on your own future goals? What type of character would you describe yourself as and how would you like others to perceive you when they think about you as a person?

"More Than A Game" Submissions

Designed by
Cameron
"designing a new shoe, to make it stand out from the rest is a work in progress"
"the same is true for a player to stand out when they are part of a team"

Poster design by
Morgan, Tevye & Sam

"the basketball is just a ball. Only a team of players can bring value to the game"

Poster design by
Marc, Leo & Alex

" no matter how good you think you are, there is always room for improvement... we are not unstoppable"

More Than a Game is a movie about Lebron James who was a part of the Fabulous 5. In the Fab 5 there was Willie, Dru the 3rd, Lebron, Romeo, and Sian. They had something about them when the Fab 5 play their game. Fab 5 played the game that they were born to play. Fab 5 had good sportsmenship and they stayed together as friends and as teammates on the court and off the court. It was a life for Lebron, to play basketball. But then they became ‘monsters’ and wanted everything, didn’t practice and thought no one could bring them down. Then they realized that they went too far when they lost an important game.

I think this movie is about how the Fab 5 stayed together and were a family. Dru’s dad, Dru the 2nd was their coach for their two last years at high school. This was good because he was their coach when they were kids. He really knew the Fab 5. Dru 3rd and his dad Dru 2nd relationship was falling apart. The coach (Dru’s dad) thought that being in the same family and working together was going to be hard but they worked it out. My mentor is Phil Kesel because he is brave, smart. He sticks to it and never puts down anyone. As a hockey player, he is the best at it and I am inspire by him. Written by Jacob

Martinsday Celebrations at Roy Thomson Hall

Today, the students in Rooms 206, 203 & 210 were members of the Freedom Choir who performed with various schools at Roy Thomson Hall honouring Martin Luther King Jr. All members of the Boys2Men were present and represented themselves with pride and respect. I am very proud of all of you! Today's message "Keeping the Dream Alive" has a strong connection to many people. What was your connection to the message? What can you do to further promote the message that Dr. King shared with the world so many years ago?

"More Than a Game", LeBron James

15 of our 22 Grade 6 boys who are a part of Boys2Men were invited to attend the screening of "More Than a Game", highlighting LeBron James and his friends. "More Than a Game" tells a story that focusses on resiliency, "friendship, loyalty, triumph over adversity, trust and the benefit of hard work".

The boys who attended the movie are encouraged to show their response to the themes of the movie through art, writing or media forums. Submissions of their responses are due January 29th, 2009. We will begin brainstorming and planning ideas through the comments section within this post and then continue in the new year during our meetings.

Pride, Respect and Dignity

October 2, 2009 the Grade 6 Boys attended a conference at HoopDome, Downsview Park brining boys across the TDSB together to celebrate themselves as an individual and as a group: Pride, Dignity & Respect. Each of the boys were greeted by our Director of Education, Dr. Chris Spence and "Pinball" Clemons.

Read more about it at the
Boys2Men launch brings positive role models to TDSB students on the TDSB website.