Burnaby's Rosangela Giacobetti won a Prime Minister's Award for excellence in early childhood education.
Giacobetti learned she won the award in late 2013, but local MP Peter Julian presented the certificate at a special event on March 19.
Giacobetti has run Munchkin Land Family Daycare in Burnaby for 20 years. It's for kids up to age 12, and she uses a lot of open-ended activities where children can explore, investigate and find answers on their own.
"Now I do a little bit more of observing them as they play, so I can provide them with what they are actually curious about learning," Giacobetti said. "It's more child-centered now rather than being teacher-lead."
The award is for outstanding educators who show leadership, exemplary education practices and success in fostering early childhood development and socialization. Giacobetti takes inspiration from ideas and methods developed in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Giacobetti has a long waitlist, especially for children up to three years old.
Repurposing fabric
Congrats to Alpha Secondary students who won the 2014 Go Green Challenge, put on by Banner Bags at SFU. Banner Bags is a student-run program that collects banners, (the kind you see in cities, hanging from lampposts, and takes them into high school sewing classes where they are turned into bags. For the contest, Alpha Secondary textile students took fabric samples and turned them into three-dimensional features for baby books.
"The samples have become a busy book for toddlers," said Kristina Ducklow, a home economics teacher at Alpha. "They are interactive and stylish. I call them the haute couture of baby books."
The contest prize is a pizza party and plaque, and the books will be donated to the students' friends, family and community members with babies.
Scholarships
Kudos to two Burnaby students who were singled out for their integrity and perserverance in overcoming adversity.
Byrne Creek Secondary's Dunya Aziz and Burnaby North's Jialiang Li were both winners of a $5,000 scholarship through the Horatio Alger Association of Canada. Aziz and Li were among 20 B.C. students who received the scholarship, which goes to exceptionally motivated students who overcome difficult circumstances.
Computers reborn
Computers for Schools B.C. has changed its name. The Burnaby non-profit is now known as British Columbia Technology for Learning. The society fixes old computers and sells them to schools at low prices. B.C. Technology for Learning is also launching two new programs: the first provides refurbished computers for low-income families, and the second provides refurbished hand-held devices with wifi to schools. For more info, go to www.ReuseTechBC.ca.
