Tag Archives: community

Books, Event, Video

February 14th: Have a Heart Day 2023

This message is from the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada (FNCFCS) website:

“Have a Heart Day is a child and youth-led reconciliation campaign that brings together caring Canadians to help ensure First Nations children have the services they need to grow up safely at home, get a good education, be healthy, and be proud of who they are.

Watch “End the Gap – Fair Funding For First Nations Schools”

Activity Ideas:

  • Spread the word through social media like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Use the hashtag #HaveaHeartDay and/or #JourneeAyezUnCoeur.

Explore the Have a Heart Day website to download Have a Heart Day resources.

Through activities like Have a Heart Day, we are creating a movement where the landscape of Canada is only one of honour and possibility for First Nations children.”

FNCFCS also shared this music video by N’we Jinan Artists “Important to Us”, written and performed by students at Pierre Elliot Trudeau School.

Their message is inspiring:

“No matter where you’re from,

let’s fill our home with colour and love.”

Teachers: More resources are available here

  • Borrow Spirit Bear books by Cindy Blackstock from your school or Siwal Si’wes Library.
  • Follow Cindy Blackstock on Twitter (Cindy Blackstock @cblackst) and/or F.N. Caring Society on Twitter(F.N. Caring Society @Caringsociety)
  • Explore the Have a Heart Day website to download Have a Heart Day resources.
Books, Event

Pink Shirt Day 2023

Mark your calendar: Pink Shirt Day is February 22rd, 2023.

PinkShirt_2023

“Today our diversity is becoming more visible than ever as people continue to embrace their cultures, identities, and true selves in more open and direct ways; making the need to Lift Each Other Up and have greater acceptance, respect, and inclusion for everyone so important. This year we are asking you to join us in celebrating our diversity while raising funds to support inclusive anti-bullying programs for kids in our communities.”  (https://www.pinkshirtday.ca/)

Where did Pink Shirt Day come from?

In 2007 in Nova Scotia, Grade 12 students David Shepherd, Travis Price and a few friends saw that a grade 9 student was being bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of school.

They knew they had to do something to show that this kind of behavior was not okay.

They decided to go out and buy pink shirts and hand them out to other students to wear.

By the end of that week, most of the students in the school were wearing pink shirts to show support for the grade 9 student who was bullied.

On February 23rd, wear something pink to show that we are all working together to erase bullying in our community.

Resources:

Book recommendations:

(Educator/Family guide also available.)

Digital Resources, Event, Media

Veterans’ Week 2022

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Here are some resources that connect with the theme of Remembrance:

Veterans Affairs Canada – Veterans’ Week Poster:

VeteransWeek2021

“This special commemorative poster features a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot settling into the cockpit of a CF-18 jet fighter at an airbase in Eastern Europe in September 2018. The Canadian Armed Forces have deployed to the region for years as part of Operation REASSURANCE to support our North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies.

This Veterans’ Week, how will you remember the generations of brave Canadians who have put their lives on the line in the cause of peace and freedom?”  (Veterans Affairs Canada)

Additional Resources:

national-aboriginal-monument

  • Interactive Activity: (Ages 10+)

Over the Top: An Interactive Adventure

“An activity created by the Canadian War Museum to help students understand the First World War from a soldier’s perspective. The activity’s interactive nature and its animation-based format will appeal to younger students. Includes a glossary of terms. (Recommended for ages 10 and up.)”

Books, Event

Pink Shirt Day 2022

Mark your calendar: Pink Shirt Day is February 23rd, 2022.

PinkShirt_2022

“Today our diversity is becoming more visible than ever as people continue to embrace their cultures, identities, and true selves in more open and direct ways; making the need to Lift Each Other Up and have greater acceptance, respect, and inclusion for everyone so important. This year we are asking you to join us in celebrating our diversity while raising funds to support inclusive anti-bullying programs for kids in our communities.”  (https://www.pinkshirtday.ca/)

Where did Pink Shirt Day come from?

In 2007 in Nova Scotia, Grade 12 students David Shepherd, Travis Price and a few friends saw that a grade 9 student was being bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of school.

They knew they had to do something to show that this kind of behavior was not okay.

They decided to go out and buy pink shirts and hand them out to other students to wear.

By the end of that week, most of the students in the school were wearing pink shirts to show support for the grade 9 student who was bullied.

On February 23rd, wear something pink to show that we are all working together to erase bullying in our community.

Resources:

Book recommendations:

(Educator/Family guide also available.)

Books, Event, Video

Have a Heart Day 2022

This message is from the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada (FNCFCS) website:

“Have a Heart Day is a child and youth-led reconciliation campaign that brings together caring Canadians to help ensure First Nations children have the services they need to grow up safely at home, get a good education, be healthy, and be proud of who they are.

Watch “End the Gap – Fair Funding For First Nations Schools”

Activity Ideas:

  • Spread the word through social media like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Use the hashtag #HaveaHeartDay and/or #JourneeAyezUnCoeur.

Explore the Have a Heart Day website to download Have a Heart Day resources.

Through activities like Have a Heart Day, we are creating a movement where the landscape of Canada is only one of honour and possibility for First Nations children.”

FNCFCS also shared this music video by N’we Jinan Artists “Important to Us”, written and performed by students at Pierre Elliot Trudeau School.

Their message is inspiring:

“No matter where you’re from,

let’s fill our home with colour and love.”

Teachers: More resources are available here

  • Borrow Spirit Bear books by Cindy Blackstock from your school or Siwal Si’wes Library.
  • Follow Cindy Blackstock on Twitter (Cindy Blackstock @cblackst) and/or F.N. Caring Society on Twitter(F.N. Caring Society @Caringsociety)
  • Explore the Have a Heart Day website to download Have a Heart Day resources.
Digital Resources, Event, Media

Veterans’ Week 2021

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Here are some resources that connect with the theme of Remembrance:

Veterans Affairs Canada – Veterans’ Week Poster:

VeteransWeek2021

“Service, Courage and Sacrifice. At home, around the world and across generations.

Canadian military members have a long tradition of defending peace and helping others. This year’s Veterans’ Week poster reflects several milestones that illustrate this proud legacy of service. From left to right:

A Canadian soldier during a reconnaissance patrol in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province. This year marks the 10th  anniversary of the end of Canada’s combat mission in the country in 2011.

A Canadian peacekeeper on patrol in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the beginning of the first large-scale United Nations peacekeeping mission there in 1956.

A Canadian soldier carrying a sandbag to help fight rising floodwaters. Canadian Armed Forces members often help here at home, like 25 years ago during the devastating Saguenay floods in Quebec in 1996.

A Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry soldier helping a wounded comrade get to an aid station near the Kapyong Valley. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean War’s Battle of Kapyong in 1951.

A Canadian aviator at an airbase in Qatar during the Gulf War. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the end of this tense conflict in the Persian Gulf region in 1991.

A Canadian signaler using a spotting scope in the hills of Hong Kong. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Second World War’s Defence of Hong Kong in 1941.

A pair of Canadian soldiers training near the Somme Valley in France during the First World War. This year marks the 105th anniversary of the Battles of the Somme and Beaumont-Hamel in 1916.

This Veterans’ Week, how will you remember all those who have served and sacrificed in uniform over the years?” (Veterans Affairs Canada)

Additional Resources:

national-aboriginal-monument

  • Interactive Activity: (Ages 10+)

Over the Top: An Interactive Adventure

“An activity created by the Canadian War Museum to help students understand the First World War from a soldier’s perspective. The activity’s interactive nature and its animation-based format will appeal to younger students. Includes a glossary of terms. (Recommended for ages 10 and up.)”

Event

Pink Shirt Day 2021

Mark your calendar: Pink Shirt Day is February 24th, 2021.

“This Pink Shirt Day, our focus is working together and treating others with dignity and respect. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected us all and shown the importance of helping one another and advocating for those who need it. Help us “lift each other up” and support programs that encourage healthy self esteem and teach empathy, compassion and kindness.” (https://www.pinkshirtday.ca/)

Where did Pink Shirt Day come from?

In 2007 in Nova Scotia, Grade 12 students David Shepherd, Travis Price and a few friends saw that a grade 9 student was being bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of school.

They knew they had to do something to show that this kind of behavior was not okay.

They decided to go out and buy pink shirts and hand them out to other students to wear.

By the end of that week, most of the students in the school were wearing pink shirts to show support for the grade 9 student who was bullied.

On February 24th, wear something pink to show that we are all working together to erase bullying in our community.

Resources:

“Kindness is……”

Book recommendations:

 

Books, Event, Video

Have a Heart Day 2021

This message is from the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada (FNCFCS) website:

“Have a Heart Day is a child and youth-led reconciliation campaign that brings together caring Canadians to help ensure First Nations children have the services they need to grow up safely at home, get a good education, be healthy, and be proud of who they are.

Watch “End the Gap – Fair Funding For First Nations Schools”

 

Activity Ideas:

  • Host a socially distanced Valentine’s Day party to raise awareness in your school or community. Choose a day leading up to Valentine’s Day that makes sense for your class or community. Click here for a link to a poster you can use.
  • Spread the word through social media like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Use the hashtag #HaveaHeartDay and/or #JourneeAyezUnCoeur.

Explore the Have a Heart Day website to download Have a Heart Day resources.

Through activities like Have a Heart Day, we are creating a movement where the landscape of Canada is only one of honour and possibility for First Nations children.”

FNCFCS also shared this music video by N’we Jinan Artists “Important to Us”, written and performed by students at Pierre Elliot Trudeau School.

Their message is inspiring:

“No matter where you’re from,

let’s fill our home with colour and love.”

Teachers: More resources are available here

  • Borrow Spirit Bear books by Cindy Blackstock from your school or Siwal Si’wes Library.
  • Follow Cindy Blackstock on Twitter (Cindy Blackstock @cblackst) and/or F.N. Caring Society on Twitter(F.N. Caring Society @Caringsociety)
  • Explore the Have a Heart Day website to download Have a Heart Day resources.
Digital Resources, Event, Media

Veterans Week 2020

Leave a comment
Here are some resources that connect with the theme of Remembrance:

Our Freedom:

 

Additional Resources:

national-aboriginal-monument

  • Interactive Activity: (Ages 10+)

Over the Top: An Interactive Adventure

“An activity created by the Canadian War Museum to help students understand the First World War from a soldier’s perspective. The activity’s interactive nature and its animation-based format will appeal to younger students. Includes a glossary of terms. (Recommended for ages 10 and up.)”

Additional Resources:

Books, Event

FVRL 2020 Summer Reading Club

SUMMER READING CLUBS

Explore our universe! Discover the great unknown this summer when you join FVRL’s 2020 Summer Reading Club. There is a club for everyone!

  • Read To Me (0 to Preschool) Share stories, record reading, collect stickers, win prizes and get a medal.
  • Kids (grades K to 6) Collect a reading record, enter prize draws, come to fun shows and earn a medal. Just read every day!
  • Teens (grades 7 to 12) Read. Record. Repeat. It begins when you sign up online for a SRC reading record. Includes chances to win fantastic prizes.
  • Adults Sign up for a reading record and mark your reading to enter prize draws. The more you read, the more chances to win.

How do I join? Sign up starts June 12 and continues throughout the summer.

How does it work? You and your family members can sign up online and download a reading record! Record every day that you read for fifteen minutes or more! You can read anywhere! Once you have recorded seven days of reading, you can enter our online contest for great prizes!

Programs and Events

It wouldn’t be Summer Reading Club without a great lineup of events throughout the summer. We have virtual storytellers, puppet shows, parties, awards ceremonies and more! Check out our spectacular guest performers.

  • Norden the Magician: Norden is back with a magic show full of amazing tricks and wacky gags. Be prepared to join the fun!
  • Puppets with Elspeth: Master puppeteer Elspeth and her puppet friends present rollicking fun stories and songs that will help unlock new discoveries as we explore.
  • Panagaea Arts: Panagaea Arts presents Stories on Wheels. Based on Kamishibai, a traditional form of travelling street theater from Japan. Tales are brought to life by high-energy comic performance, music, and dramatic action.
  • Music with Marnie: Discover the fun of music with Marnie. Sing along and dance as Marnie presents old favourites and new original songs. The music will make you move!

A full list of the SRC 2020 virtual events will be listed on our Events page soon!

Accessible Summer Reading Club

Find accessible Summer Reading Club titles through NNELS. FVRL also has ebook and audiobook formats to better serve customers with perceptual disabilities. Ask library staff for more information. (Source: FVRL, June 2020)

Ready to get reading!  FVRL Express is up and running!

Beginning June 1 you can start picking up library holds using our FVRL Express – Click, Pick, Go. The new contactless service offers customers a physically distanced way to pick up library holds and return items at all 25 locations.

Click on the image below for more information:

Activity, eBook

What’s Growing in the Garden?

It’s spring and a time of plant growth and development.  What’s growing around your home or neighborhood?

Here are some stories, games and activities for some inspiration:

  1. Tumblebooks: (access via Learn75, no password required)

After traveling the world in her fantastic teapot, Rose is ready to put down roots. She sets about planting flower seeds in a neglected corner of a bustling city. And then she waits – through rain and cold and snow. Rose waits, never doubting that the garden she envisions will one day come to be.

Rose’s Garden: Sentence Game (match the sentence with the  picture from the story)

Creative ideas: Make your own paper flowers or take photos of real ones as they grow!

Teachers:

  • K-6: Visit the Environmental Learning page on Curriculum Connections for a wealth of planting resources, shared by Dewdney Elementary School.
Video

Home Learning Resources: Curio

There are many digital resources being released free of charge. This week, we are featuring some spring nature videos published by Curio.  

We might not be able to go outside as much as we like, but these adventures might inspire you to look and listen to the nature in your own backyard.

Nature Mystery:

“The Case of the Quiet Diggers”

Nature Movement Song:

“Frogs”

Nature DIY ideas:

Daisy and the Gumboot Kids: Daisy the mouse loves nature! In each episode she guides children through the creation of a new and exciting nature craft. Daisy brings wonder and imagination to the craft table and encourages children to explore the world outside!

Daisy & The Gumboot Kids

 

 

Digital Resources, Video

Black History Month 2020

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“Black History Month is an opportunity for all Canadians to learn about the many contributions Black Canadians have made to Canada. This year’s theme for Black History Month is “Canadians of African Descent: Going forward, guided by the past”. This was inspired by the theme of the United Nations’ International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024).

Feet forward, head turned backward, the Sankofa bird reflects on the past to build a successful future.” (Government of Canada)

Viola Desmond: 

Additional Resources:

 

Event

Pink Shirt Day 2020

Mark your calendar: Pink Shirt Day is February 26nd, 2020.

Where did Pink Shirt Day come from?

In 2007 in Nova Scotia, Grade 12 students David Shepherd, Travis Price and a few friends saw that a grade 9 student was being bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of school.

They knew they had to do something to show that this kind of behavior was not okay.

They decided to go out and buy pink shirts and hand them out to other students to wear.

By the end of that week, most of the students in the school were wearing pink shirts to show support for the grade 9 student who was bullied.

On February 26th, wear something pink to show that we are all working together to erase bullying in our community.

2020 Focus: Lift Each Other Up

“The theme for this year’s Pink Shirt Day is “Lift each other up”, a simple but powerful message encouraging us to look beyond our differences and celebrate the things that make us unique. When we lift each other up, we see beyond the things that separate us and see instead the things that unite us as people; we can see how our differences are beautiful.

In a world of people tearing each other down, it is more important than ever to focus on being kind to one another. This Pink Shirt Day and every day, let’s Lift Each Other Up.” (pinkshirtday.ca)

“Kindness is……”

Here are some great recommendations for books about kindness.  Visit your school library to find even more!

pinkshirt_kindbooks_2017

Event

Have a Heart Day 2020

This message is from the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada (FNCFCS) website:

“Have a Heart Day is a child and youth-led reconciliation campaign that brings together caring Canadians to help ensure First Nations children have the services they need to grow up safely at home, get a good education, be healthy, and be proud of who they are.

Watch “End the Gap – Fair Funding For First Nations Schools”

 

Activity Ideas:

  • Host a Valentine’s Day party to raise awareness in your school or community. Choose a day leading up to Valentine’s Day that makes sense for your class or community. Click here for a link to a poster you can use.
  • Spread the word through social media like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Use the hashtag #HaveaHeartDay and/or #JourneeAyezUnCoeur.

Explore the Have a Heart Day website to download Have a Heart Day resources.

Through activities like Have a Heart Day, we are creating a movement where the landscape of Canada is only one of honour and possibility for First Nations children.”

FNCFCS also shared this music video by N’we Jinan Artists “Important to Us”, written and performed by students at Pierre Elliot Trudeau School.

Their message is inspiring:

“No matter where you’re from,

let’s fill our home with colour and love.”

Teachers: More resources are available here

  • Follow Cindy Blackstock on Twitter (Cindy Blackstock @cblackst) and/or F.N. Caring Society on Twitter(F.N. Caring Society @Caringsociety)
  • Explore the Have a Heart Day website to download Have a Heart Day resources.
Books, Event

FVRL 2019 Summer Reading Club

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SUMMER READING CLUBS

“Imagine the possibilities! Dream and discover endless possibilities all summer when you join FVRL’s 2019 Summer Reading Club. There is a club for everyone!

  • Read To Me (0 to Preschool) Share stories, record reading, collect stickers, win prizes and get a medal.
  • Kids (grades K to 6) Collect a reading record, enter prize draws, come to fun shows and earn a medal. Just read every day!
  • Teens (grades 7 to 12) Read. Record. Repeat. It begins when you pick up an SRC reading record. Includes chances to win fantastic prizes.
  • Adults Take home a reading record and mark your reading to enter prize draws. The more you read, the more chances to win.

How do I join? Sign up starts June 21 and continues throughout the summer. Visit your favourite FVRL location to join.

How does it work? You and your family members can pick up a reading record at your local library! Record every day that you read for fifteen minutes or more! You can read at home, in the library, on a beach, anywhere! Once you have recorded seven days of reading, come back to the library for stickers and prizes!

Programs and Events

It wouldn’t be Summer Reading Club without a great lineup of events throughout the summer. We have storytellers, puppet shows, parties, awards ceremonies and more! Check out our spectacular guest performers at a library near you.

  • The Great Gordini: Join the Great Gordini for a show filled with magic tricks, wacky fun, and a lot of opportunities to participate.
  • Karima Essa: Experience the magic and joy of dance and storytelling as Karima Essa performs Bollywood dance.
  • Tiffany Stone: Join poet Tiffany Stone for poems and rhymes about flaming flamingos, baaaad animals and rainbow colored clothes.
  • The Well Worn Trail: Discover fascinating facts about Canadian animals and their habitats. Storytellers Rob and Lillian use puppetry, songs and story to kindle the wonder of nature.

Visit our Events page for a full list of SRC 2019 Events!

Accessible Summer Reading Club

Find accessible Summer Reading Club titles through NNELS. FVRL also has ebook and audiobook formats to better serve customers with perceptual disabilities. Ask library staff for more information.

The possibilities you explore this summer are limited only by your imagination when you join 2019 Summer Reading Club!” (Source: FVRL, 2019)

Digital Resources, Event, Media

Veterans Week 2019

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Here are some resources that connect with the theme of Remembrance:

Our Freedom:

Radio Minute: Tommy Prince

Additional Resources:

 

 

 

 

Canadian Encyclopedia Articles:

  • Interactive Activity: (Ages 10+)

Over the Top: An Interactive Adventure

“An activity created by the Canadian War Museum to help students understand the First World War from a soldier’s perspective. The activity’s interactive nature and its animation-based format will appeal to younger students. Includes a glossary of terms. (Recommended for ages 10 and up.)”

Additional Resources:

 

Event

National Indigenous Peoples Day

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2019 Events in Mission:

Information and Resources for National Indigenous Peoples Day:

From the Government of Canada: “June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day. This is a day for all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. The Canadian Constitution recognizes these three groups as Aboriginal peoples, also known as Indigenous peoples.

Although these groups share many similarities, they each have their own distinct heritage, language, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs.

In cooperation with Indigenous organizations, the Government of Canada chose June 21, the summer solstice, for National Aboriginal Day, now known as National Indigenous Peoples Day. For generations, many Indigenous peoples and communities have celebrated their culture and heritage on or near this day due to the significance of the summer solstice as the longest day of the year.”

Additional Resources:

Event

FVRL 2018 Summer Reading Club

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FVRL 2018 SUMMER READING CLUB

Move, groove and prove that you can make a Motion Commotion this summer when you join FVRL’s 2018 Summer Reading Club. There is a club for everyone! Sign up starts June 21 and continues throughout the summer. Visit your favourite FVRL location to join.

 

Read To Me (0 to Preschool)

Share stories, record reading, collect stickers, win prizes and get a medal.

Kids (grades K to 6)

Ready, set, go! Collect a reading record, enter prize draws, come to fun shows and earn a medal. Just read every day!

Teens (grades 7 to 12)

Read. Record. Repeat. It all begins when you pick up a reading record. There will be lots of chances to win fantastic prizes.

Adults

Get a move on! Take home a reading record and mark your reading to enter prize draws. The more you read, the more chances to win.

There are oh so many ways to make a Motion Commotion when you join 2018 Summer Reading Club!