Loading...
The Citizen, 2000-03-15, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2000. Australia exchange great experience, says teacher Audrey Bos By Janice Becker Citizen staff While many of us watched as New Zealand and Australia welcomed thd new millennium hours before North America, F. E. Madill Secondary School teacher Audrey Bos experi­ enced the reverse. Participating in an education exchange with Australia from Jan. 22, 1999 to Jan. 28, 2000, Bos watched the sun rise from the land down under, then waited hours to see it come up on New York and Toronto. Bos applied in the fall of 1998 to take part in the Canadian League for Education Exchange program. The organization then matched her with another teacher who taught the same subjects and had a similar lifestyle as homes would be interchanged. “The teaching in Australia was very different,” she says. “It was very laid back. The students are very direct. They don’t do home­ work and they don't raise their hands to talk.” “Both the staff and students are very casual, but it works for them in their society.” However, Bos says she is glad to be back in the Canadian system. Bos says it was also a big change for her to teach at an all-boys board­ ing school where she was just one of five female teachers amongst about 50 men. However, the wives of some of the teachers were also at the facil­ ity. “It was a different society,” says Bos, “Very male-dominated.” In a boarding school, the teachers become like parents to the students, she says. > She also taught a younger age group which was an adjustment. As a math teacher, Bos says the material was fairly similar though taught in a different order so that her class had already covered work done by older students in Canada, but not all work completed by their Canadian counterparts. Though Bos lived at the boarding school, the facility was near the town of Tamworth with a population of about 35,000. “It was very much.like Stratford in the attitude, pace and surrounded by an agricultural area.” Bos also noted the strong impor­ tance placed on agriculture in Australia. “Every school has an agri­ culture department.” Not working all the time, Bos had a considerable amount of time for travel, visiting New Zealand, Tasmania, the Great Barrier Reef and many Australian cities. “It really is a beautiful country. Everything is so far away though. It is the size of the United States, but has only 18 million people.” Not realizing the vastness of Australia, Bos says she also did not realize how small New Zealand is. “It has every geographical feature of Canada, and more, in an area the size of Southwestern Ontario.” Known as a warm country, during her stay, Bos says there were only two days of frost. However, when the temperature did drop, there was no insulation or heating in the school buildings. “It was 15 °C and the students were huddled around an oil heater.” Bos says the weather was really quite boring. “Sunny and fine all the time is fine for the first six months, but after that....” She got thrown back into some real weather on her trip home. During a week’s stay in Fiji, a mild hurricane hit. “About an hour after it hit, the sun was out,” she says. In suggesting the exchange to oth­ ers, Bos says it is definitely worth­ while. “You re-evaluate what is nor­ mal. You see a different society and culture.” “I am so glad I did it.” Steady As You Go keeps seniors healthy, active By Janice Becker Citizen staff It is a program which could be very valuable for anyone in their senior years, whether active or deal­ ing with minor restrictions. The Steady As You Go program, offered through the Health Unit, is aimed at healthy, active seniors to help them assess their risk of falls. A few weeks ago, fitness instructor Nelva Scott and Margaret Sallows facilitated the introduction of the program for more than a dozen peo­ ple in Brussels. Marguerite Thomas with the Huron County Health Unit said the injury prevention program was pro­ vided through Year of the Older Person government grants. The program, pulled together last fall, is one method to assist seniors to maintain mobility, particularly when living at home. “Huron County has one of the worst rates in the province for falls,” said Thomas. “There is a lot we can do to prevent them. Once someone falls, they develop a fear of falling. They cut back on activities which could help them prevent falls (through physical fitness). For many, a fall is the beginning of the end.” Scott said the program is for those with functional fitness. “It is for those who stay at home, can look after their personal needs, do it safe­ ly and do what they want to be able to do.” Using facts based solely on num­ bers reported because of hospital stays, Scott said three out of 10 sen­ iors had at least one fall last year. Those falls are not usually from one cause, but a combination of factors, she added. While 50 per cent of falls occur outside the home, of those in the home, 30 per cent are in the bath­ room or on stairs and 20 per cent are in transition areas such as entry ways and patios. The group also looked at what sen­ iors are doing when they fall. Forty per cent are during necessary activi­ ties for independent daily living while 30 per cent happen when a person is doing something they shouldn’t be or is not paying atten­ tion. Stories were related of climbing on a sofa to straighten a curtain or onto a counter top to get down a dish. In both instances, the senior involved fell. Most falls can be avoided, said Scott, by slowing down or focusing on the activity. Behaviour is one of the main risk factors contributing to falls, such as hurrying, getting excited, lack of attention or taking risks. The strength of the support system (legs) is also key. Strong legs, with good balance and good shoes helps stability. The group was put through an exercise to see how long they could balance on one leg without touching the other foot to the floor. A time in excess of 20 seconds was good. Personal health factors can also add risk. Medications can cause unsteadiness while artificial knees or hips, poor eyesight or injuries can create difficult situations. Home surroundings with stairs, loose mats or lack of hand rails in bathrooms can increase the risk. While the home may be safe, con­ ditions in the community can present problems. Poor lighting, ice, cracked cement or uneven sidewalks can be a hazard. Thomas suggested seniors call Town and Country Support Services or the Health Unit for help in correcting such community prob­ lems. Participants were given a work­ book to review their own risk factors and look for ways to improve safe­ ty- The group will gather again April 4 to determine how well they were able to eliminate hazards and pre­ vent falls. The program has been offered in several centres and will conclude this spring. Brussels school to create Friendly Gardens By Bonnie Gropp Citizen staff To paraphrase an old parable: Show a child a flower and he will enjoy it while it’s here. Teach him how to grow a flower and he will create and appreciate the beauty for­ ever. Cultivating an interest in garden­ ing and nurturing the land and what you grow on it, is the focus behind the Earth Friendly Gardens program, funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Millenium Bureau of Canada, Shell Environment Fund March break music at library Souch & Williamson will be pre­ senting an interactive musical pro­ gram for the whole family at the Brussels Library on Thursday, March 16 at 4 p.m. GOING, ALWAYS GOING’ Inflammatory bowel disease often strikes in Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada Fondation canadienne des maladies inflammatoires de I’intestinWhi couM be at risk for diabetes. I CANADIAN ASSOCIATION ■TQ 1 DIABETES CANADIENNE ASSOCIATION DU DIABETE CALL 1-800-BANTING Support our mission to find the cure. For more information, visit our website at www.ccfc.ca or call 1-800-387-1479 and Heart Health Huron in partner­ ship with the Children’s Aid Society of Huron and Rural Response for Healthy Children. While several area schools have already participated in the project, this spring work will begin at the grounds of Brussels Public School. With a $500 grant, which was matched by the school, students and community volunteers will begin developing three areas of the school­ yard. School volunteer co-ordina- tors are Nanci Ducharme and Trish Clarkson. The two were trained by program co-ordinator Lynda This March break program will feature new songs as well as old favourites. Kim Souch and Roger Williamson will entertain all ages with their music. tceuayers and yotuiq adults. A Rotteau. Ducharme said the project will include raised beds for fruits and vegetables, to be located on the south wall of the primary wing. On the grassy area adjacent to the conif­ erous tree planting at the west end of the property will be the pumpkin and watermelon patch. But the most impressive will be the peace garden to be located at the front of the building between the pri­ mary wing sidewalk and the main entrance sidewalk. Ducharme said this will be a long-term project with four-season plants, shrubbery, but- Everyone is welcome. Admission is free. Anyone wishing to support future children’s programs at the Brussels Library, a donation will be gratefully accepted. terfly garden, trees, birdhouses, feeders and a quiet sitting area. “The hope is that the school com­ munity and community at large can contribute and benefit from the proj­ ect. It will require many hands and green thumbs to get this estab­ lished,” she said. The concept of school gardens is age-old, Ducharme said. “This is restoring a tradition. Apparently years ago there was a garden at every school as part of the curriculum, so that when kids left school they knew how to tend a garden and where the food comes from.” The idea of the peace garden is one that has been established world­ wide. “They are gardens by children, for children,” Ducharme said. In addition to teaching children to nurture the environment, the peace Come and join us for our ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT BUFFET starting Sunday, March 19 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. This will continue to be a Sunday special from March 19 on. STICKERS FAMILY RESTAURANT Auburn 526-7759 gardens, which can be registered with other communities around the world on the internet, are also about nurturing one’s self. “They h ave a calming effect. They are sup­ posed to cut down on problems with students in the schools,” said Ducharme. Though the program is geared to Grade 3 students the co-ordinators are hoping to get everyone involved. “When students plant things, tend them, watch them grow there is pride in what they have done.” Community assistance is also required. The co-ordinators would appreciate donations of time, tools, plant material or money to help this on-going endeavor. Work will be done after school hours. “And,” Ducharme notes, “volun­ teers need not be gardeners.”