LEAP 2008!
From our kick-off Big Day on July 1 to the Exhibition and Final Ceremony on July 18, the LEAP team organized classroom visits to 3 schools, and a day-long field trip to historic Sigiriya. Read about the activities and events of the program below. Don't forget to send us your comments or questions!
Program Kick-Off
Big Day: July 1st
The program kick-off Big Day gathered all the Leap 2008 participants together for a day of team-building and orientation. The students were grouped into 15 teams, each led by two prefects: senior students who volunteered as co-facilitators throughout the program. After a scavenger hunt and relay race in the morning, the students watched an episode of Planet Earth, and enjoyed a hot lunch. In the afternoon each student built a work-book, which they would use for the rest of the program.
Team Colours
Scavenger Hunt
Relay Race
Book-Making
Program Underway!
School visits...
For the next three weeks, the LEAP team visited schools to follow up on Big Day with science, arts, and English programming. We spent one day a week with each group, cycling through a variety of educational activities. Each group also worked on a project, which they presented at the Exhibition on the last day: a science project, a family history project, a bridge engineering project or an art project.
Float a Boat
In this activity, students learned about surface tension using tin foil and stones.
Photography
With donated digital cameras, students explored photography. They also learned to operate and look after delicate equipment they had never used before.
Pen Pals
Making new friends in Saskatoon and Asquith, SK, students read and wrote responses to their pen-friends.
Terrariums
Using discarded plastic bottles, students built terrariums by collecting plants and soils from the school yard.
Microscopes
Using hand-made bamboo miniature microscopes, students collected and examined aspects of their surroundings. Favorite items included sand, leaves and insects.
Drama
Dressed in costumes, students were encouraged to produce a short creative drama. Later in the program, they watched their final product as a video.
Care Partners
Older students helped younger students write to their Canadian friends and make paper kites.
Science Olympics
Small groups competed to complete small science investigations, in a race to be Science Olympic champions.
Field Trip!
On July 12th, four buses of students, prefects, teachers and volunteers left Valaichenai for Sigiriya: the site of an ancient kingdom and centuries of shifting cultures. Familiar to the students from their history, art and culture classes, Sigiriya was home to King Kashyapa in the 5th century AD. The very famous paintings which remain from that time are icons of the country. It is a long climb to the windy top!
Exhibition and Final Ceremony
The program concluded with an exhibition of students' projects, and a cultural program and prize-giving ceremony. Each of four groups presented a project in art, family history, science or engineering. In the afternoon, teachers and parents were invited to join a ceremony commemorating LEAP 2008. Students performed cultural songs and dances, and prizes were awarded to exceptional projects.
Science Project
Family History Project
Bridge Project
Sigiriya Art Project
