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Wednesday, December 29, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER B1 FO U RTH LIN E AU TO OFFICIAL M EDIA SPO N SO R O F TH E OAKVILLE W ATERFRONT FESTIVAL Focus 8 4 5 -3 8 2 4 For Ali Your Car's Needs 559 Speers Road Drive Clean Emission Testing Government Safety Inspection Tune-Ups · Brakes · Exhaust · Cooling Systems CAA Approved Shop In Business in Oakville Since 1979 8 4 2 -3 0 0 1 Oakville Beaver Focus Editor: WILMA BLOKHUIS (Extension 250) Fax: 3 3 7 -5 5 6 7 >6. tm &dliackr of By C la u d ia D 'S o u za 'liar SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER / f Mother Nature could talk she'd thank Bill Menzo. Honoured as Teacher o f the Year for 1999 by the Kiwanis Club of Humber Valley last month, the Bronte resident is hardly speechless. His win gives him a perfect opportunity to talk about two of his favorite things - teaching and the environ ment. Nominated by principal Barbara Wright and staff at Etobicoke's Silverthome Collegiate where he's taught geography for the past 11 years, M enzo's hearty enthusiasm for his work and more importantly, his students' work, is con tagious. "My claim to fame is environmental work," he explains. `T h e program at Silverthome is sec ond to none. It's trend-setting. My goal is to empower my students to go out there and make a difference." They accomplish that through a variety of hands-on projects that first took flight when the award-winning, student-run and directed Silverthome Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) formed 10 years ago at the high school. The SEPA web site (www.pathcom.com/~scilib) is now one o f the most visited environmental sites on the web. Student accomplishments include creating two naturalized areas on school property, orga nizing outreach projects that take younger stu dents from other schools on field trips and annu ally cleaning up the Etobicoke and Renforth Creeks. They've raised funds for a variety of organi zations both locally and internationally, and last year SEPA raised money to send two students to Costa Rica to work on a rainforest regeneration project. This year, 12 students have signed up for the trip and Menzo will accompany them during March Break. "You can't do this extracurricular stuff by yourself," he notes. "You have to have an administration that says `go for it.' I'm fortunate to be a part of an outstanding team." Plus, he has the support of his family, wife Diane and daughters, Lauren, 10, and Christie, 12, who share his love of travelling and explor ing exotic parts of the world. Politically active to boot, during the last provincial election, Menzo's students created their own environmental platform and presenting it at all-candidates meetings. They collaborate in writing letters to the Minister of the Environment expressing their concerns and pre senting ideas and suggestions. Menzo continues to make significant contri butions to the school's curriculum design, pro gram development and outreach programs. Each year, he takes his students to a field centre to give them practical hands-on experience. For instance, at Lake St. George Field Centre, they constructed a beaver by-pass, planted trees as part of a reforestation program and completed river bank improvements at Boyd Field Centre that allowed the Humber River to again support brown trout. "It's important to get kids out of the class room setting," attests Menzo. `T he environment is a wonderful subject and there's something happening all the time. It lives and breathes, is meaningful and relevant to all our lives." Menzo's lively teaching style and techniques are memorable and began taking root when he first decided to become a teacher at 11 years old. "I didn't really like how people were teach ing me," he laughs. "It wasn't inspiring. I'm a frustrated entertainer, really, and I know the minute my students are bored." (See 'Students . . . ' page B2) Bill M enzo stan d s on th e rocky sho re of L ake O n ta rio behind his B ronte home. H e's been nam ed Teacher of the Year fo r his environm ental w ork w ith students. Photo by Peter J. Thompson ' * WELCOME TO THE / YOUR GREATER TORONTO AREA MAZDA DEALERS HE V The Q u alco m m Q CP 2 7 6 0 HI 1* · Slim and lightweight design · the newest dual band thin phone on the market M «69 9 $50 Rebate Applies to New Activations Only. 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