Next week, the Richmond School District will host a number of events as part of Education Week. It's billed as a celebration of public education and involves thousands of students showing off their skills and knowledge At Henry Anderson Elementary school is where you will find Grade 7 teacher Glyn Davies, who passes his passion for teaching down to his students.
Davies says his students have taken learning to a whole other level.
"They don't just learn. They create," explained Davies, a 35 year veteran educator, who won a teaching award and class scholarship last year for his science initiatives.
This year he's doing it again.
Davies has harnessed his students' energy to create the Underwater Paradise display, which can be viewed all week at Aberdeen Centre. Students have spent countless hours building the display as well as papier mache animal models. But the most important part of the display is the interaction the students will have with the public as Davies has instructed the students to teach others about the animals they have studied.
Teaching the public "It creates a different dynamic in their learning because they realize it's not just their parents or teachers who are interested in them, it's the public," said Davies.
To build their display, the science class has employed numerous members of the
community, from employees at Home Depot to secondary school shop teachers to other scientists. Davies even tasked a former student, now a radio broadcaster, to give students a lesson on public speaking.
"The children have limitless potential," said Davies. He said procuring help from the community is important as there are always budgetary constraints.
"There is never enough. In my whole career, there has never been enough money to do some of the things we want to do, but by involving members of the community, parents and friends and the dollar store we make it happen," quipped Davies.
Because Education Week is a celebration of public education the News asked Davies how Underwater Paradise relates to such a theme.
"Public education is available to all. The
biggest difference is we have kids of all levels and all different needs. We have lots of kids who've just come to Canada and they're 100 per cent engaged - learning, designing, teaching - I think that's one thing that's special about the public system," explained Davies.
Davies noted that the science project is partly a result of more flexibility when it comes to curriculum and government mandated learning outcomes.
"This new curriculum that is coming out is enabling teachers to be more free. There are less outcomes. The ministry has reduced the number of items and let the children progress in areas that they are interested in," said Davies.
An example of this flexibility is how student Sharon Tu took on studying coral for the project. Davies said she understands more about coral species than he could have imagined.
Another example is how students designed a website to document the project. Initially, Davies told them they couldn't do it in class, but the students took the initiative and did it anyway in their spare time. Now it's an integral part of the project.
Skills training Not far down the road from Anderson is the transportation technology shop class of Phil Read at MacNeill Secondary school where students have been busy building an electric vehicle, which will also be displayed at Aberdeen next week.
The project has students designing and constructing the vehicle from scratch. The long flat aluminium sheets cover a steel frame
body welded by students and a solar panel on the back of the vehicle provides enough power to the battery to run approximately 12 km.
The project is but a mere example of Read's students applying themselves in the skilled trades, something the school district has been heavily promoting over the past few years.
Read said a class like his is a logical answer to the government's growing need for skilled labourers.
"It only seems like common sense that there should be more investment in skills training at this level because lots of kids make career choices at this age. Students need to have an avenue to contribute and for a lot of kids this may be their only avenue," said Read.
One of the largest exhibits for Education Week will be Science Jam, a cluster of science projects from various elementary schools in the district. The public will be able to view students' hypothesis and have the conclusions explained orally. Some of the projects on display at Aberdeen will be interactive.
Students at Hugh Boyd Secondary school will lead the charge at the Skills BC regional competition at Aberdeen, whereby over 100 students from the district will compete in various contests. While there is a public speaking competition, many of the contests relate to applied physics skills such as a gravity car race and a spaghetti bridge. Winners move on to the provincial championships where they have a chance to then move on to the prestigious Skills Canada competition this summer in Toronto.
"These competitions allow students not only to apply their knowledge but also to build their team working and communications skills," said Boyd science teacher Douglas Park.
Jazz night At Gateway Theatre on Feb. 25 student jazz musicians will show off their talents in the annual Richmond Jazz Night.
"Music is a great way for people to interact and gather at one place to appreciate skills that individuals have," said drummer Lucas Estabrook.
Meanwhile, also on Feb. 25 at Aberdeen, the Richmond Multicultural Community Services organization has helped a diverse group of students, including those with special needs, to perform a talent show.
The show will include spoken word poetry, singing, dancing, music and a short play on anti-bullying and selfempowerment.
Another important exhibit will be a display of aboriginal art, created by students, at the Richmond Public Library.
Last year the district reported an above average high school graduation rate (73 per cent) for aboriginal students, who have historically had much lower rates compared to the general student population as a result of systemic discrimination, according to aboriginal support teacher Monique Giard.
For her, art acts as a tool to communicate with students in order to delve into their complex history and understand the wrongs that were committed against First Nations people.
"When students learn about their history they don't feel so isolated and begin to understand who they are. And once they know who they are, and they're proud of it, they start feeling better about learning," said Giard.
There are currently 250 aboriginal students in the district.
Other events during Education Week include an EcoWise display, rolling art boards and a robotics display.
