The Eagles' Nest

The members of the 2016-2017 School Council were elected this September – if you haven’t had a chance to meet them in person yet, we thought we’d bring them to you through a series of profiles written in their own words.

Here’s the first in the series on our Chair, Andrea Szego.

 

My name is… Andrea Szego

I joined the Earl Haig School Council in… 2014

On the Council I am responsible for… Overall coordination and communication of the year’s fund- and spirit-raising events; arranging and chairing meetings, overseeing minutes, participating on all committees, communicating with Principal on behalf of Council. Plus, plus, plus… 🙂

One thing people don’t know about me is… I am a Sudoku fanatic

One thing I love about being an Earl Haig parent is… How invested and committed the entire community is in having a vital, “successful” neighbourhood.  I’m talking kids, parents, teachers, administration, neighbourhood shops and organizations — everyone pulls together, repeatedly, to consistently make this area better and better

My advice to new parents at the school is…  Get involved! Might seem intimidating or boring, but it is what you make of it. Start small by attending the events and chatting with other parents. Any investment in getting to know your community pays off in spades

Our family’s favorite neighborhood spot is… Definitely East Lynn Park. I have probably logged as many hours there as I have at the school

One thing I’ve done as an Earl Haig School Council member that makes me proud is…  Launching what I hope becomes an annual January Bottle Drive Event. I love how well it syncs with our Eco-school designation. I can’t take credit for the idea (thanks Robin Forbes!) and but I did drive around collecting bottles for friends who couldn’t get out to return them themselves.  And, we have a new picnic table as a result. Save your New Year’s bottles: we’ll need them in early January 2017!

The thing I would most like to see our Council achieve this year is… Definite plans for east yard revitalization. Fun and active recreation time is crucial to all kids’ success at school. And cool stuff to do outside helps kids, even older kids, feel good about going to (and staying in) their school.

My final word… I’m very grateful to the staff, from top floor to basement, who give their best efforts day after day. You are helping to form my kids.  If I can help, or enrich that experience in any way, I’ll do it.

 

 

Moms and dads need to have fun too – so the council is considering a night out for just for us parents. The event would be hosted at one of our fabulous local venues, and would include dancing and a silent auction – sounds like fun to me!

Before we get planning we’d like to know if there is enough interest – tell us what you think by taking this short 2 question survey.

 

Buying milk in bags is not that common throughout the world, and Canadians are sometimes teased about it. But it turns out that when woven, the colourful outside bag is uniquely suited to making sleeping mats that are soft, water-resistant, washable, and quick-drying.  Since 2010, and with the support of volunteers across the country, Canadian charity MILKBAGSunlimited has been sending milk bag mats to those in Haiti devastated by the earthquake.

After learning about the initiative last year, Maeve (Grade 4) was moved to help and decided to kickstart a program at Earl Haig. With the help of her grandfather who built the weaving frame, and guidance of Ms. Laurie Sanderson (Grade 3 teacher and eco-lead), the mat weaving initiative is now well underway at Earl Haig.

The work continued over the summer when Adelaide and Hope of Grade 5 took the frame home and wove a combined total of five mats. This fall they taught their peers in Grades 5 and 5/6 who are enthusiastically continuing the project as a class.

It takes 8 squares and hundreds of bags to make one adult sized mat. That’s a lot of cutting and weaving!

You can help by sending your clean, flattened outer milk bags to school; Ms. Sanderson is collecting them in her mailbox in the office.  Help is also needed preparing the bags for the loom; you can either cut your own bags at home, or contact Ms. Sanderson to help cut bags she has collected. Instructions can be found here.

Congratulations Maeve, Adelaide & Hope on this wonderful project! Let’s do our part to help them reach as many people in need as possible!