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2- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 11, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com St. Lucia Learning Project reaping dividends Continued from page 1 their students, and were excited about what they were seeing their students doing," she said. She said the kids were really getting engaged. "It's been positive. It's been frustrating and it's back to square one in some ways," she said. Brown said the kids responded to new teaching tools like the learning carpet. "When I was using the learning carpet, you could just see the lights going on in some of their faces." Brown said the kids were challenged by the math activities, but were anxious to learn. The teachers noticed that, too. Brown hopes the workshops will show the teachers how much the kids enjoy different methods of teaching. "I'm hoping that they will see that the kids get turned on by a different way of teaching. You know, by positive reinforcements and making the kids feel good about themselves. Allowing them to have fun and let them see that they can learn," she said. SABRINA BYRNES / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER ALL SMILES: Mary Ann Hutchings shows the kindergarten kids in Canaries Infant School how to make a happy face in a piece of clay. Brown is a retired attachment to St. Lucia and teacher, who got involved in the learning program. the program from the begin"I love the people. I love ning. She used to visit Anse St. Lucia. I love to see the La Voutte and has seen many kids learn in a different way." of the children grow up. Brown said many of the She has an emotional teachers are very rough with the kids, and she thinks it's important for those teachers to see the way the volunteers treat the kids. Brown and Anderson visited Fond St. Jacques Combined School Monday Celebrating CANADIAN QUALITY · Durham · Gibbard · Bogdon & Gross · Brunetti · Vogel · Superstyle/Trendline · Villageois · Leda · Dutailier · Leathercraft · AP Industries · Reflections · Bühler · Canadel · Artage · Ferretti and more! Canadian Sound is Oakville's exclusive dealer of Sony BRAVIA XBR3. The BRAVIA XBR3 Flat-Panel Television delivers outstanding home entertainment. Its beautiful piano black finish and floating glass construction adds elegance and sophistication to any room. Your home deserves the best 217 Lakeshore Road East Downtown Oakville Since 1953 www.swissinteriors.com Summer Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 9:30-6 · Fridays 9:30-9 Saturdays 9:30-5 905.844.3530 morning and were pleasantly surprised by the co-operation and enthusiasm from the teachers. Anderson said they were greeted with hugs by the students when they arrived, and she was a little overwhelmed. Monday afternoon was the first workshop for the teachers at Canaries Infant School, and all the teachers from the new schools were invited. The volunteers were amazed at how many teachers attended -- nearly three times last year's total of 12 participants. "We actually did run out of resources, which is a good thing because lots of teachers want to come and learn, and it's a shame that they don't get this from their own system, from the educational system," said Jennifer Higgins. She thought that the workshop went quite well. She said the teachers they dealt with in the past were excited, but teachers attending for the first time didn't know what to expect from the workshop. Anderson said they are pretty much starting from scratch with the new teachers. Herb Goodhoofed opened the workshop with a web game that has the teachers standing in a circle introducing themselves and throwing a ball of string across the circle, leaving a web of string. Higgins said Goodfhoofed did a great job in reminding everyone about the shared goal to build a partnership. At first, some teachers were hesitant to participate, but once they were feeling more comfortable they were laughing and joking with each other. I met Simona, the principal at Canaries Infant School, who was pleased to have all the teachers joining the workshops. "I feel blessed that everybody is coming to my school," Simona said with a smile. "It's an opportunity for them to see what the St. Lucia Learning Project has done for us." Simona says the St. Lucia Learning Project has been beneficial for the teachers and students. Positive proof of this arrived Monday with the release of the results of the minimum standardized testing. Her students did remarkably well, especially in math and language arts. "We actually did run out of resources, which is a good thing because lots of teachers want to come and learn, and it's a shame that they don't get this from their own system, from the educational system." Michelle Anderson, St. Lucia Learning Project The students scored an average of 86 per cent overall. The highest individual score in language was 84 per cent and 90 per cent in math -- a remarkable achievement for a school that had one of the lowest test scores. Simona said the teachers have greatly benefited from all the resources given to them from the St. Lucia Learning Project and were able to fill the library with books. "We have lots more books, and the children are hearing more and more stories. Stories that they have never heard before, and they love stories so much," she said. "They're having fun learning." I was able to experience the kindergarten class at Canaries before the teacher workshops started. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces. They just gravitated to the camera. They loved to have their picture taken and they know that they can see themselves at the back of the camera and were excited to see themselves afterwards. All the kids were dressed in uniform, and from first glance, you would never imagine some of these children are underprivileged. Mary Ann Hutchings showed them how to make a happy face in a piece of clay. It was rewarding just to see the smile on their faces when they were able to accomplish something that we would find so simple. Next, I will be involved in helping with arts and crafts during the children's workshops in the morning. For daily updates on my experiences volunteering with the St. Lucia Learning Project, visit our website at oakvillebeaver.com. For more information on the project visit www.stlucialearningproject.ca.