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Red & White - Fall 2004/ Winter 2005

Grade 9 Student’s Novel Nominated

 Grade 9 student Thomas Kirkman-Gagnon has had an early taste of literary success.
   With his father Hervé Gagnon, Thomas has co-written three children’s novels, the last of which, 2 Heures du Matin rue de la Commune, was one of three finalists in the 2004 City of Sherbrooke Grand Prix de Livre earlier this year.
   While the Gagnons did not win the top prize, they felt gratified to have received recognition for the writing they have been doing together since Thomas was 9.
   “It was pretty incredible that a kid’s book was nominated at all,” said Thomas.
   The writing partnership began five years ago when Hervé was transforming his thesis into a book. Thomas saw what his father was working on at the computer and said, “This is boring. You should write a Goosebumps book.”
   Hervé took up the challenge, but never having read a Goosebumps, he sought out suggestions from his son. Thomas would take his father’s early drafts, scratch notes in the margins, and before you know it, was writing sections of his own. By the time it was completed, it had become a joint effort.
   Biblairie GGC of Sherbrooke was planning a youth novel program at that time. Already having published a number of books of his own, Hervé was able to get this first collaboration, L’Étrange Monsieur Fernand, to press.
   There followed Le Mystère du Manoir de Glandicourt and the more recent 2 Heures du Matin. With each novel, Thomas took on more and more of the active writing, with Hervé acting more as an editor.
   “I expect one of these days he’ll come in and say, ‘Here’s my next novel,’” said Hervé.
   The pair had hoped to tackle a new project this summer but the months were too packed. Now that the school year has begun, Thomas, a day student, is deeply involved in Stanstead College activities, including his other love, hockey. At some point, he hopes to compile a collection of short stories. And who knows? Writing may be a future career.
   “I do this for fun. If it takes off, fine,” he said.

“German” delegates top team at Model UN
   A six-member delegation from Stanstead College was judged the top team at The Study’s second annual Model United Nations, held last spring at the private school for girls in Westmount.
   Stanstead College’s winning team represented Germany at the conference, which brought together 70 students from 12 Quebec independent schools and representing 21 countries.
Stanstead, the only non-Montreal school to participate, also sent a second delegation representing the United States.
   Each six-member delegation was divided into three, with two members sitting on the Security Council, two on the Rights and Justice Council, and two on the Economic and Social Council.
   For two days the various councils debated current real-world issues: the Security Council discussing the situation in Iraq, the Rights and Justice Council discussing slave trade, and the Economic and Social Council addressing the issue of generic medicine in the Third World. The event also included a General Assembly.
   Participating students were expected to research their topics and represent the actual perspectives and policies of their delegate nations.
   Earning the highest total score from the judges, Stanstead College’s German delegation included two actual German students along with Canadian, American, and Spanish students. Likewise, Stanstead’s American delegation included one American citizen. In fact, with 220 students, Stanstead College is itself a mini United Nations, home to students from Canada, the U.S. and 17 other countries and territories.
   Besides receiving top overall score for its German delegation, Stanstead College’s German representative Hope Hutchins of Georgeville, Qc. won second place for best speaker on the Economic and Social Council, while the school’s U.S. delegate Jeremy Stuart of Ayer’s Cliff, Qc. won second place for best speaker on the Security Council.
   The Stanstead German delegates were Julia Mank, Traviss Dorris,  Piotr Tomaszewski, Hope Hutchins, Ashley Newman, and Guillermo Ducay. The American delegates were Jeremy Stuart, Jamie Elliot, Sarah Hunt, Guillaume Grant, Aaron Gingras, and Lauren Cuenant.

 

Stanstead College Says Adieu to the Ursulines  

    In late May a special concert of appreciation was held for the Ursuline nuns who were preparing to permanently close the local private school and leave the Stanstead convent and community.
   The Ursuline sisters came to Stanstead in 1883 and dedicated themselves to the mission of providing French education to local children. In recognition of their 120 years of commitment to education in our community, the Stanstead College Jazz Band and Choir performed under the direction of Nathalie Roy and Sonia Wells respectively.
   The performance took place in the beautiful Ursuline Chapel and was open to the local community. The sisters were most appreciative and Mother Superior Lise Monroe asked for a choral encore to end the evening, saying she and the 12 remaining nuns were most impressed by the quality of music and songs performed by the Stanstead College students.

 

Faculty Back to School

   Five faculty members, including the Headmaster, the Manager of Information Solutions, the Assistant Heads of the Math/Science and Humanities Departments and a technology teacher participated in Alan November’s conference “Building Learning Communities” at Regis College in Boston July 20 to 22, 2004.

Approximately 250 educators from around the world met to discuss and learn the most effective ways to integrate technology into the curriculum and the classroom. In order to make better use of our Engaged Learning Platform and the arrival of Stanstead’s wireless laptops, they wanted to discover how a 21^st century educator could introduce technology into the four phases of the learning process: assessing current learning needs; creating new understandings; collaborating with others; communicating and understanding.

They were not disappointed. The faculty came back with a vision, ideas and tools, and presented their findings to their colleagues in a three-day workshop from August 24th  to 26th. A major goal of this workshop was to provide evidence that integrating technology leads to fundamental changes in curriculum design and systemic reform. There was a  discussion forum on issues related to education and technology, a process that continues through the teachers’ ideas, opinions and examples of classroom integration.

The end result is the development of a collaborative and cohesive group within the Stanstead College faculty working toward building and enhancing our learning community.

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