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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-03-02, Page 15Wednesday, March 2, 2016 • Huron Expositor 15 Local school boards welcome diversity that newcomers bring Steve Rice Staff Reporter New Canadians enrolled at area schools are adjusting well, working hard and learning quickly, officials say. They're also doing their share of teaching. "One of the great benefits is the enhancement to diver- sity that we see in our schools," said Vince Mac- Donald, director of educa- tion with the Huron Perth Catholic District School Board. "The children who grew up in Perth and Huron counties are learning a great deal about the world by interacting with these children:' Families from Syria and other countries have been welcomed with open arms by communities across the area in recent months, and schools in Perth and Huron counties have been doing the same. "It's not just our teachers, it's our whole school com- munities that are stepping up and doing what they can to help the newcomers feel welcome," said Eleanor Salmon, system principal of learning services with the Avon Maitland District School Board. "Teachers are reporting how excited the students are to give tours, have lunch with them, help them with new words. "We can't say enough about how kind and sup- portive the students have been in every school. It makes you really proud to be from Huron and Perth counties." Salmon agreed that the students "are learning from the newcomers just as much as the newcomers are learn- ing from us." One of the lessons might be that an education shouldn't be taken for granted. "They value education and so do their families," Salmon said. "They come along so quickly because they want to. We've been so incredibly impressed with the students' willingness to work really, really hard. They ask for extra homework and they come to school excited and with their homework in hand the next day." Both school boards are doing all they can to give the new students a positive and successful experience in the classroom. Because most of the students have limited or no English, they were all given iPads or other elec- tronic resources with trans- lation apps that they are using inside and outside the classroom. Beyond that, both boards are also providing school administrators and teachers with information and resources to help the stu- dents adjust, with support from the province's Schools Mental Health -Assist program. The Catholic school board hosted a workshop with principals last month on cre- ating positive settlements and looking for signs of adjustment difficulties. "We've trained our staff to watch for areas where they might be having difficulties, to get staff to understand the perspective of families who come from war-torn experi- ences, and what to look for from a mental health per- spective," MacDonald said. "We're used to welcoming families that are new to Can- ada, but these families come with a different life perspec- tive and different needs than ones from some other parts of the world. It's nothing that we can't support, but it is different:' The Avon Maitland board will hold a workshop March 4 where ESL coordinator Coralee Mathews will be working with elementary and secondary teachers at the half-dozen schools who have newcomers in their classrooms. Board psycholo- gist Dr. Anne Robinson will also discuss mental health supports and resources. "While we know that the newcomers have incredible resiliency skills, there are traumas that they may have experienced and teachers should be prepared if they present (signs of struggling with mental health issues)," Salmon said. "We haven't seen any of that but the 3 If��M +.44k if you burn ourself, run gaol water over the wound for several rninuIiia PARK THEATRE .. • CODERICH 529 524 7811 FOR MOVIE INFORMATION... ligko www,rrrawielirikse-a u..d 1-8OR,205 343® III BOTTLES CANS 411) • ■ 1 • • ■ MI • Brodhagen Chamber of Commerce MEN'S NIGHT Pigtails & Ribs Dinner Friday, March 18, 2016 6 pm - 12:30 am Dinner 7 pm $25. 00 each For Tickets: Roy 519-345-2209 Pauline 519-348-0940 Jim 519-345-2248 Advance tickets only by Mar. 12/16 Brodhagen Community Centre www.brodhagencommunitycentre.com ■ ■ • • ■ • CAGED ' DOG$ BILLIARDS Leagues start 'ileRSmg&di 1321EN 7pm evenings SContact Petemore info 5.19-525-2543 9O Main St l Seaforth resources are there to help support the students. "We have an excellent long-standing ESL program and have worked with new- comers. It's not like we don't have the expertise. But with so many arriving with a par- ticular profile and particular need, we just felt it would be appropriate to bring those teachers together and do that training." The workshop aims to help teachers understand what it's like to be a new- comer, what the students' transition to life in Canadian schools is like, and how teachers can help in making that transition as smooth as possible. The Avon Maitland Ele- mentary Teachers' Federa- tion (AMETFO) is also host- ing an after-school workshop on March 1, which will fea- ture Kalpana Malkan of the ETFO provincial office. Mal- kan, a South African immi- grant, helped develop the 1 1 program that's being rolled out in the workshop. "Our members are keen to identify and support the learning needs of children from refugee families and create a welcoming environ- ment for them in our class- rooms," said AMETFO presi- dent Kent Cleland. "This workshop has been well-received across the province and I think it's meeting a need that our members have. The main focus for our teachers is to make sure that the children feel welcomed and to get them acclimatized to their new environment" So far that's exactly what's been happening. As one new Syrian stu- dent in the Avon Maitland board wrote, "I like Canada because of the good people already in the country, and it gave me a chance to study. I salute Canada:' srice@postmedia.com ATTENTION READERS Take adv inlage o our pricing for HAPPY NOTES Includes Birihdays,AIInil.crsaries Wilding., Engagements, Graduations etc. IIIA I1,4 PP'Y Ti fR THD,A Y 1.1 (t i nic P.r,{}IL'I 1 (Dale) Ltivc Niom Thad Only $23.80 Plus .T. 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