September Issue
Watch for the September issue of Canadian Teacher Magazine which will be arriving at schools across Canada in mid September. All schools in Canada receive a free subscription, so if you are not seeing a copy in your staff room, email us so we can check our mailing list. (dmumford@canadianteachermagazine.com)

You Have Made A Difference
While you browse our website enjoy the music and lyrics of "You Have Made A Difference'" by Brian Asselin and Eric Disero (click here to listen). Brian has dedicated this song to all those who have inspired him to take the path he is on today. "If I can be half the teacher to my students as my teachers were to me, I would have felt that I have made a difference." Brian Asselin
www.youhavemadeadifference.ca.

News

The Toshiba Exploravision Awards Program
For the past 19 years, thousands of classrooms across the U.S. and Canada have received a creative boost in important STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education) thanks to the ExploraVision Awards Program, the world’s largest K–12 science and technology competition. In ExploraVision, students discover the wonders of science and the potential for technological advancement while using their imaginations to contemplate a better future. Applications for next year’s competition will be available online at exploravision.org starting August 30 and are due by February 2, 2011. Teachers can learn more about ExploraVision and how to use it as a tool in the classroom through a series of Web Seminars at The NSTA Learning Center. Join the first Web Seminar, “What is ExploraVision and How Can I Use It?” on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.

High School Video Contest Focuses on Environmental Issues
The environment took centre stage for many Canadian high school students over the month of May as they worked collaboratively with educators to document an environmental issue close to home and propose solutions for a greener community. Through ECO Canada’s first annual video contest, four Canadian schools have been awarded $2,000 each for their video submissions. The schools include: École Secondaire Lacombe Composite High School, Lacombe, AB; Holy Cross High School, Saskatoon, SK; Lester B. Pearson High School, Gloucester, ON; Holy Trinity High School, Torbay, NL. The funds received will go towards implementing environmentally friendly projects within each school. Participants in the contest proposed practical and creative solutions to reduce consumer waste, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy consumption, and lessen the impact of rapid population growth. All videos submitted to the contest can be viewed online at www.eco.ca/videocontest. ECO Canada will be accepting applications for next year’s contest beginning in September 2010.

International Year of Biodiversity
The United Nations has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity to help draw attention to the significant role biodiversity plays in our future and to the alarming trends in biodiversity loss over the last few decades. For online resources to help you and your students learn more about biodiversity, visit USC Canada's webpage dedicated to this issue: http://usc-canada.org/biodiversity/

The Story of Food
USC Canada’s new short, animated film will get you thinking about our broken food system. It identifies what’s gone wrong, and what we can do to rebuild it. Watch it here.

Canadian School Calendar
The Canadian Education Association prepares a school calendar each year, which is free online at www.cea-ace.ca/pub.cfm?subsection=sch. The School Calendar provides all opening and closing dates for primary and secondary schools in every Canadian province and territory.

ScrubClub.org
NSF International, a not-for-profit public health organization, has developed a web site scrubclub.org that teaches children how to properly wash their hands. Interactive games, including the one that features the evil villain “Influenza Enzo – Stop Fluin’ Around,” teaches children how illnesses are spread and how to prevent them. “With the cold and flu season already in full swing, hand washing is more important than ever,” said Cheryl Luptowski, NSF Public Information Officer. "By teaching children proper hand washing practices, we can make a difference in preventing the spread of the flu and other serious illnesses.” Materials, such as a Scrub Club® membership card and educational materials for teachers and parents, can be downloaded directly from the site.

Resources for Rethinking
One year ago, thirty teachers came together with Learning for a Sustainable Future to launch “Resources for Rethinking,” an online database of teacher-reviewed, curriculum-matched classroom resources that promotes the development of an environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable society. “Resources for Rethinking” can now connect teachers at no charge to more than 500 quality resources, each one having met rigorous evaluation criteria and offering excellence in both sustainability education and pedagogical principles. “Resources for Rethinking” allows users to search its inventory by sustainability issue, subject, grade or Province/territory, in both English and French. Not only does the database address a range of topics relevant to sustainable development, but each resource has also been reviewed by an experienced classroom teacher. Visit www.resources4rethinking.ca and discover tools for active, relevant, and interdisciplinary teaching and learning. Get involved in the project by sending in your favourite resources for The Resources for Rethinking team to review.

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