EMPOWERING STUDENTS

EMPOWERING STUDENTS

Developing Student Leaders

For the past four years I have been offered to bring 45 students to volunteer at the Childrens Water Festival, and this year at the Carolinian Forest Festival.
Partnership with UTRCA

EMPOWERING STUDENTS

EMPOWERING STUDENTS
Hi Christine I wish to announce that the first time entry Envirothon Team from Saunders Secondary School under the leadership of Erin Mutch are the Regional Champions of the South Western Region of the Ontario Envirothon. The Saunders team is eligible to represent this region at the Provincial Envirothon Competition next week. Congratulations to the Saunders Team and Ms. Mutch. They also won the Oral Presention Award for our region as well. Saunders is the first TVSBD school to attend the Provincials since 1996 when this Envirothon Region was organized. Thank you for your support the Envirothon Program and I hope to work with you to increase school involvement. Sincerely Yours in the Ontario Envirothon Ron

EMPOWERING STUDENTS

Coordination of student-led clean up of the school yard, and 3 annual Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanups

EMPOWERING STUDENTS
May 26, 2010 Saunders hosted Justin Trudeau in a small assembly to highlight our initiatives in environmental stewardship, celebrating First Nations culture, and special programming for at-risk youth. The assembly was followed with a meeting with our administration and 4 teachers where I had the opportunity to highlight our ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship at Saunders. I want to personally thank each of you as the key teachers who met with Justin Trudeau today on behalf of Saunders ! Through your organization of materials to share, and through your personal interaction with Justin, you have each established his perception of what Saunders is all about. The respect he and his associates held for the Smudging ceremony held by you, James, was enhanced by your explanations and also by the way you had a student involved not only helping you but by being the one to share the sweetgrass with the group. But - as they watched the students join in, they saw that this was not just a ceremony done for their benefit- they could see through the students' familiarity and knowledge of smudging that this is one of OUR cultural habits. This is a valued part of the Saunders' identity. After the assembly, the dialogue that took place Erin as you spoke about students taking personal responsibility and as you outlined our focus on environmental responsibilities, as Kelly spoke to our needs for high risk students - and shared the impact of directly involving them in the Scrooge drive, as Vikki outlined social justice goals and we explored strategies to increase service ( I liked the silent auction idea with community hours not money idea), and as you were able to put a strong focus on our First Nations Coop Terry ( I really liked the way you pointed out the potential of this approach for other schools !) In each case you introduced a special student support at Saunders and by doing so initiated dialogue on meaningful topics - including the potential of building a stronger service model into our SST goals. ! The handout we sent off with Justin is sure to be reviewed not only by him but also by his staff - thank you for the content you submitted for this. Today you have established the Saunders identity for our visitors. So, as the only teachers to have had this one on one opportunity I want to thank you and commend you on your professionalism, warmth and positive involvement today ! We're proud and fortunate to work with you - thank you for making a difference today! Thank you all! Patty