IOHS welcomes Gifty-Serbeh Dunn today to kick off International Development Week. Gifty is the founder of Shea Butter Market and a board member at Partners for Prosperity, a Shawnigan Lake-based International NGO. Shea Butter Market purchases shea butter from a widows collective in Tapko, Ghana and creates products with it here in Canada. The widows are paid fairly and also recieve 2% of net proceeds.Gifty will be talking to the students about International Development, grassroot initiatives, and sustainable development. She’ll address what works, what doesn’t,and what we can do better. We thank Gifty and the BC Council for International Cooperation for their support.
Classes 11 & 12 are producing an International Valentine’s Day Dinner on Sunday, Feb.12 at 5 pm. The dinner is partially sponsored by the BC Council for International Cooperation and the NGO, Partners for Prosperity. Enjoy international cuisine and live music. $15/ticket, $30/family of four
Island Oak is hosting the Cowichan Folk Guild Youth Jammers Coffee House on Saturday, Feb.4th at 7 pm (6:30 pm for performers). It’s an Open Mike evening with MC Bill Levity. Everyone who plays an instrument, sings, dances or recites poetry is welcome to come on out and share their talents! Just let the person at the door know you are a performer on the way in.
$5/individual, free for performers. Concession.
IOHS students Forest Johnstone, Solveig Lampson, Amber-Lee Bartlett and Eilisha Huston-Schlegel have won arts scholarships through the Cowichan Valley Arts Council. The scholarship includes an initial art opening at Portals, the CVAC hub in the Island Savings Community Centre in Duncan, as well as mentoring, workshops, honourary CVAC memberships and places in the 24th annual Cowichan Valley Spring Arts Show.
IOHS Student Amber-Lee Barlett’s art was selected from an “overwhelming” quantity of submissions, to decorate the Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children’s Jeneece Place, a residence for children and their families while children are undergoing treatment in Victoria. President and CEO of the Foundation, Ron Hewitt, welcomed and congratulated Amber-Lee personally when Amber-Lee and art teacher Simone Luckham delivered the painting. Amber-Lee has been invited to attend the Grand Opening of Jeneece Place on January 20, 2012. Our proudest congratulations to Amber-Lee.
Classes 11 & 12 are studying Parsifal and Medieval History with senior Faculty member Richard Tibbets this block.
We look forward to welcoming new students and old on January 9th. Grades 9 & 10 will be beginning a Chemistry block, with Grade 10 preparing for the provincial science exam on Jan. 26th. Grades 11 & 12 will have Drama for their main lesson.
Annette Lampson leads the IOHS choir at Sunrise Waldorf School Christmas Recital December 9, 2011.
Christmas Swags
Class 12 is making Christmas Swags for $10/each. You can decorate your front door beautifully and economically, and support Class 12 and FINCA Canada at the same time. FINCA provides micro financing for projects in the developing world.
Contact Island Oak to order, or just drop by between 8 am and 2:30 pm. For the same price, you can also make your own swags at Glenora Farm Christmas Fair on December 18th.
In a fast-changing world, it’s important for students to be aware of new career opportunities. Yesterday we had a visit from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) from Georgia, USA, a school preparing talented individuals for creative careers.
We learned about exciting new careers;for example, a brand-new degree in “Service Design”; the profession of designing customer experiences. The curriculum for the program is broad, encompassing such classes as psychology, anthropology, interior design and graphic design.
The school offers 41 programs; majors and minors can be mixed and matched for broader marketable skill sets. Students can travel between SCAD’s campuses at Atlanta, Savannah, Hong Kong and the south of France.
The representative was very interested in our Grade 12 project format because it encompasses many of the writing and presentation skills they foster at SCAD. She said students might consider using their Grade 12 projects as part of an application portfolio. As well, students are invited to get a head start with college credits by taking a SCAD course or two online while they are completing high school (time permitting of course!), or coming for 5-week summer school at SCAD to earn college credits in advance.
There is more information available at Island Oak, or go to SCAD’s website athttp://www.scad.edu/