St. Thomas More Collegiate is gearing up for a fundraising carnival. The independent school is hosting a day of fun on May 11, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will be carnival games, mini-donuts, face-painting, a cake walk, a bouncy castle, a dunk tank, a magician, a beer garden for the adults, live music and entertainment. There will also be gifts and plants for Mother's Day. Admission is $2, and tickets for games or rides are $2 each. The school is at 7450 12th Ave.
SAVING ENERGY
Students at Burnaby Mountain Secondary recently gave their teachers a lesson on how to save power. As part of the B.C. Hydro workplace conservation program, students were given power bars and received training on how to use them to cut down on "phantom" power use, something they then taught their teachers. The idea is to plug all devices into a power bar, so teachers have one switch to turn off. Devices left plugged into outlets can still draw power, even if they are turned off, something referred to as phantom power.
"The overarching concept is to promote behaviour change," said Josh Munro, energy manager for the Burnaby school district. "This is one small step teachers can take to reduce their consumption."
The district is planning to host the program in nine local schools. B.C. Hydro pitched in money to cover the cost for more than 400 power bars.
LUNCH BREAK
Janet White, president of the Burnaby branch of the B.C. Retired Teachers' Association, sent us this amusing anecdote, following a story we ran about a book she's working on which chronicles the history of Burnaby schools.
"This story takes place in the late '60s or very early '70s, when the magic mushroom fad was at its peak. Three students arrived at the science department during the lunch break with a handful of mushrooms. They said they had eaten some and were they the genuine magic mushrooms? No one in the department was knowledgeable, so we took them to the office. The administration decided to call in the school nurse. Miss Parr was summoned. She was taking her lunch break at Rosser or Gilmore elementary, so she arrived in a very short time. She was rather piqued, to say the least, at having been pulled away from her lunch. She took the students to her office and administered ipecac syrup (an emetic) and left her door ajar so that the gagging sound from the trio would serve as a warning, I am sure: 'Don't disturb Miss Parr during her lunch break or suffer the consequences!'"
LEE WINS AWARD
Congratulations to Burnaby South teacher Amos Lee, who was awarded the Ivan L. Johnson Memorial Award from the B.C. Association of Mathematics Teachers. The award, named after a former Burnaby teacher who recently passed away, goes to a math teacher in the kindergarten to Grade 12 system. Johnson asked in his will that the association give the award to a math teacher to attend a yearly conference held by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
