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Hello SelfDesign Families, Learners, Friends and Community!
Skyler Hicke - Shawnigan Lake, BC age 12
This Winter edition of our community newsletter includes information, news, and more from all our program areas. Several learners also provided the Communications Team with visual, audio and text examples of their work to include in this edition of the newsletter and we hope you like their work as much as we did. Get in touch with these learners in the Village if you want to find out more about their work.
We hope you find the information useful and enjoy the updates from throughout the SD Community. As always, your feedback, ideas, or questions are welcome: communications@selfdesign.org
Wishing you and your families much health and joy over the holiday season!
Office Holiday Schedules
The SelfDesign Learning Community’s administrative offices will be closed over the holidays from December 23 to January 2. Please take care of any business needs you may have outside of these dates.
Note, the Nelson Learning Centre and SelfDesign High, including the VGO will be closed December 17th to January 3rd. Phone calls and emails will be returned after January 3rd.
SelfDesigning a Healing Journey
SelfDesign Community members are invited to visit the website Friends of Brent Cameron where they can learn more about the healing and learning journey of SelfDesign founder Brent Cameron. Brent, who has prostate cancer, has chosen this time to “go public” with his story in our community as an opportunity for us to grow and learn from his healing journey. The website is designed to help others learn more of Brent’s story as it unfolds, and to gain more insights into wellness and cancer treatment options. Leave a comment or share a message if you wish, and check out some of the resources.
As a lifelong SelfDesigner Brent knows that in sharing his story with our community – about which he cares so deeply – we will be a little stronger and wiser, which all of us can use when life presents us with a challenge.
“Hmm… if last month was ‘Mo-vember’,
then this must be Mo-cember’!”
K-9 Village Update
Learners have really brought the Village to life this fall. Some of the popular conferences currently include; 4H Children, Lego Families, and Minecraft Creators, and families and learners are connecting with one another in the Village, online, and sometimes even face-to-face to carry on in fun and discovery.
One of the most exciting things that took place in the SelfDesigning Stories conference this fall was an invitation from Tanya Westby’s family to take part in watching chicks hatch from eggs they had incubated, via live cam online. A number of Selfdesigners watched with baited breath as the little chicks broke free from their shells, and how excited we were on their birthdays! The boys, Kailash and Tamatea, not only showed a lot of care for the chicks and picked names for them (even though they were being returned to the farmer at the conclusion of the project), they also put a lot of time and energy into sharing this story and encouraging others to be part of this process which allowed even more of us to learn alongside them. Thanks!
Village Steward Lori Bender also noted how involved the mentors have been in conferences this year along with the increase in the number of resumes posted. Both of these actions are enabling more and better connections to be made within our community which feels really great. Thanks to all for their participation and warm spirits in the Village.
EOS “Imagine, Think and Do” Mural Painting & Newsletter!
The youth participating in EOS are pioneering a new approach to high school learning, These learners decided to create their own program newsletter to let other youth know about their learning journeys. Please check out their first (November) edition here to learn more about the program.
Do you remember learning about EOS, a new SDH program for high school learners based around ‘theme blocks’ through the year? Depending on the theme block, special mentors and resources are brought in and excursions are planned to give the learners an immersive and thorough introduction to a subject matter. Although this is the program’s pilot year, it has been running fairly smoothly and learners are definitely keen on this unique opportunity to explore and grow.
The year started with a theme block called ‘Imagine, Think, and Do’ and enabled the learners to get to know themselves and one another better, along with discovering the strengths and challenges in working together. You’ll recall that Nelson EOS learners come to the Nelson Learning Centre and Back Alley Studio to learn in community (learners throughout the province participate in EOS online). The Nelson EOS group took on the project of painting a large mural on the building adjacent to the Back Alley Studio where they typically gather. Designing the mural was a collaborative with the building’s owner. The learners then progressed from creating individual sketches to producing a unified theme of ‘skiing in the winter’. Be sure to check out photos of the fantastic mural that was created!
Learning Investment Update for K-9 Families
Learners and families in our BC K-9 program are advised that the second load to their Learning Investment Visas will be available as of January 6, 2012. To receive the second load to your LI Visa it is imperative that you first reconcile all your previous purchases. If you need more information on reconciling your purchases, please look here: http://support.selfdesign.org/checking-your-available-balance/
Our last cheque request extraction for 2011 will be on December 1st, and the next cheque request extraction will occur after the 2nd load has been added to your card. If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with Patricia Minnis at livisa@selfdesign.org
IT & Zendesk Holiday Support
As you heard all about at the beginning of the year, the IT Team’s newly created Community Support Site (http://support.selfdesign.org) has been enormously helpful in having a bunch of practical information in one place for families. It has really assisted in connecting community members specifically to the help they are looking for. And the new community support request system – Zendesk – has a great track record for providing effective and timely help in dealing with support system requests. We are glad this new system is working so well!
Please note that Zendesk support will be on reduced schedule from the Winter Solstice, December 22 until January 2. While many people spend more time in front of the fire and less in front of their computers over the holidays, the IT Team will try to resolve Zendesk tickets within 48 hours.
Do you want to get more involved in your community, meet other SelfDesign High youth, and make exciting projects come to life with others? Then YUM – the youth advisory/planning/awesome-time-having group – might be for you!
If you’re a high school learner with curiosity or interest in topics such as: environmental issues, food security, fair trade & international affairs, peace and social justice, or skill building through meaningful experience, this may be for you! Clara Foulds, a founding member of SDH’s Yum Initiative and now a SDH Youth Leader in Vancouver is developing an opportunity for youth to gather (online and/or in person) to identify what inspires them and to act within a group of motivated youth and supportive mentors to change the world for the better.
YUM is an initiative that supports youth in bringing their ideas to life and in the past this group has:
- planned the TEDx events for SDH
- organized booths and activities for markets and festivals in Nelson, BC
- traveled to San Francisco, CA to participate in the EPIC conference
- prepared and offered 2 workshops at a ‘Local to Global’event in Tempe, AZ
- travelled through the West Kootenays of BC to spread the word about SDH and to meet other learners
- communicated with the media about our work
This spring YUM will be planning the youth component and participating in the GIN conference held at QUEST University in Squamish, BC.
Watch for more information in the new year and in the meantime, contact Clara at clarafoulds@selfdesign.org to express your interest.
Writers Helped in the Literary Lounge
Have you hung out in the lounge yet? If you are a SelfDesign High learner, the Literary Lounge recently launched in Moodle is a place to come and receive guidance and support with your writing. Whether you are wanting feedback on the novel you are penning or just need some tips for passing the English 12 provincial exam, professional writer Bill Metcalfe and University of Victoria Creative Writing graduate Samara Nicoll will be hanging out in the lounge, ready to lend a hand.
Learners shouldn’t come to the Literary Lounge expecting to be graded or looking for ‘the answers’ to an assignment. Instead, when learners use the Literary Lounge before they submit their writing to their mentors they will receive thoughtful advice and feedback. Mentors may also refer learners to the Literary Lounge if they believe the learner would benefit from this help. The door is always open at the Literary Lounge, even if you are just looking for a little inspiration or want to peruse our growing library of resources – stop on by! Check out this video from Bill and Samara to learn more.
BC Ministry of Education Inspection
On November 30 and December 1, SelfDesign participated in a scheduled inspection carried out by the BC Ministry of Education. To be a certified distance education provider in the province we need to participate in these every second year, and though its quite a push to prepare everything as the inspectors want to see it, we see it as a valuable exercise in sharing our approach to learning with the ministry and hearing their feedback and ideas to our work. This year, we were commended on every level from the care and concern we have for all involved, to the valuable records SelfDesign is creating to document each learner’s individual learning path, to the systems we have in place to manage our growth, to the professional growth strategies and our Special Education services. Inspectors were pleased they were able to find the information they needed easily and the whole process was fairly straightforward (after being in this business for so long, we ought to be good at this!). Once again, SelfDesign easily met the inspection requirements and have been encouraged to carry on with our good work. Thanks to all the community members who put in time and effort in prepartion for the inspection – it is much appreciated! As you can see, this was really an achievement!
Launch of Praxis Seed Course
Did you know that in November SelfDesign launched its Praxis Seed course to an inaugural group of contractors? Praxis Seed has been designed and developed by Brent Cameron with support from Darrell Letourneau, River Meyer, and Michael Maser to provide professional development opportunities for those working for SelfDesign. The year-long course is geared at deepening understanding, appreciation, and application of SelfDesigning in one’s life, with a special focus on how contractor experience and then use the SelfDesign approach in their work. Because the course is in its pilot phase, participants are graciously rolling with the technology glitches and swaying timelines that often accompany the launch of such initiatives. As the reading, writing, reflection, and discussion continues throughout the year within the participant group, we will be interested to see if and how our learning community is positively impacted through the learning and work of this group in Praxis Seed.
Nognz Partnership with SelfDesign
SelfDesign has negotiated an exclusive agreement with NOGNZ Brain Fitness, a store located in West Vancouver that enables registered SelfDesign learners and families, LCs/Mentors and Special Education contractors to receive a 10% discount on all products and services. NOGNZ is a walk-in/online retailer offering games, puzzles, software, books and seminars focused on brain health and fitness, and they keep current and familiar with the latest science and behaviours that are complementary to the health of our grey matter. We hope to partner with NOGNZ in the new year to offer brain-fitness seminars oriented to the whole family. Look out for more details on this as they emerge in January! www.nognz.com
SelfDesignHigh’s Fundraising for Peace!
SelfDesign High learners and mentors were very busy in early December as they prepared for and hosted their major fundraising events of the year in Nelson, BC. On December 2 & 3 (and extended through to December 6-8) learners transformed ‘The Commons’ space in the Nelson Learning Centre into a festive and colourful Fair Trade for Peace Holiday Market and Vintage Clothing Sale.
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach in which consumers pay a ‘true’ or fair price for goods made by people in developing countries in support of triple bottom line sustainability (social, environmental, and economical) and better trading conditions. Food items like coffee, chocolate, and sugar, as well as gold, flowers, and handicrafts are the most frequently certified fair trade products. SelfDesign High purchased many unique and special items from artisan producers around the world at fair prices, and sold these products (along with racks of cool vintage clothing that was part of a learning project in the past) at a slight markup to fund youth participation in projects such as Peace Camps each summer.
It was the third year SDH hosted the Fair Trade for Peace Holiday Market in Nelson, BC and attendance of the market and purchases in support of the Peace Camps initiative has grown each year. Thanks to all the community members who have contributed in the success of this venture, and special thanks to EOS learner Kelby who took his learning to a commercial kitchen and cooked delicious vegetarian chili for all market shoppers as an ‘artifact’ of his learning. Way to go!
Cambodia Now
It’s that time of year that many of us, in gratitude for the bounty before us, look beyond and extend ourselves to those in need. On that note, it seems like a great time to raise awareness around a cause that our K-9 administrator Megan Morrison has embraced. In her words: “I began a project called Cambodia Now back in 2004 to help finance education for poor children in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. This year we were incorporated as a non-profit society and, through the amazing support of the board our mission has grown to include:
- Providing tuition, books, supplies, school clothes and shoes for children to attend both Khmer and English schools;
- Supporting the development of life-skills through health training, including reproductive and oral health, as well as nutrition;
- Preparing youth for work through computer skills, financial literacy, employability skills and career planning;
- Creating resources in the community, including parents and teachers to support and develop programs for child and youth development;
- Supporting water and sanitation construction projects and help mobilize communities to provide health and hygiene education.”
Cambodia Now is starting a “kids helping kids” project in the new year and if you are interested in learning more, volunteering or sponsoring a child in Cambodia please go to http://cambodianow.ca/blog/
Gap Theatre Project for High School Credit
This course, facilitated by the West Kootenay Women’s Association, will consist of a ten-week series of workshops based on Theatre of the Oppressed, a form of popular theatre that has grown into a global movement since it’s development in Brazil in the 1960′s. It uses a set of games, exercises and practices that create space for people to name their reality, identify the contradictions, dialogue through theatre, and try out different solutions. It uses movement, storytelling and tableaux to explore how images of one’s personal experience reflect universal issues of power and social transformation. The final result is short scenes that are collectively created by drawing on participants’ life experience in order to engage in discussion of the issues.
At the end of the workshops, participants will have the option of performing the scenes we create for the community, and performers will receive a $100 honorarium. All participants get high school drama credits through SelfDesign High. Workshops will run from January to March, 2012 and performances will happen in April and May. This course has an application process. To apply please contact Marya at marya@nelsonwomenscentre.com, on Facebook at Gender Action Project Theatre, or by phone at 250.352.9949.
Gateways Winter Adventure Planning Underway!
This winter, we are facilitating an opportunity for Gateways learners (ages 13 & 14) from around the province to come together near Kamloops, BC for an exciting Winter Adventure February 22-25, 2012.
The Winter Adventure will offer opportunities to: meet other kids your age * collaborate with peers * cross-country ski * build snow shelters * snowshoe * learn orienteering skills * ice skate * learn survival skills * learn winter first aid skills * play peace-focused games * reflect on and document your adventures * and more…
To sign up… Click here
For trip details… Click here
For Packing List… Click here
If you are a teen, work with a teen or live with a teen learner, bookmark gateways.selfdesign.org to stay up to date with Gateways news and events.
2012 Collaboratory Dates
Have you heard!?! Its official: the 2012 SelfDesign Learning Community’s Collaboratory – our annual professional development for LC’s, Mentors and Contractors – will be held July 4-8 at Quest University in Squamish, BC. Specialty groups like IT and SE will arrive on July 4 and have meetings on July 5, whereas the main gathering will take place on Friday July 6 and Saturday July 7. Information and updates will be sent out SelfDesign contractors as soon as its available, but for now mark your calendars and plan to be on the coast once again in early July to learn and celebrate together.
