Page Content
Send information about upcoming events to Managing Editor Cory Hare at cory.hare@ata.ab.ca.
Scholarships available
Applications are now being accepted by the Horatio Alger Association of Canada, which is offering $5,000 scholarships for students beginning their post-secondary studies in the fall of 2015.
The program will award 20 need-based scholarships to Alberta students who have overcome significant adversity while demonstrating strength of character, strong academics, a commitment to pursuing higher education, and the desire to contribute to society. Funds can be used for both post-secondary vocational or university studies.
Students are encouraged to send their applications by Dec. 1. The application form can be found on the Horatio Alger Association of Canada’s website at http://www.horatioalger.ca.
Canada Writes
CBC is seeking non-fiction stories about belonging for a Canada Writes contest that will award two $1,000 prizes.
The contest, offered in collaboration with the Canada Council for the Arts, will run from October to November, with a $1,000 cash prize for a writer aged 12 to 18 and another for a writer aged 19 or older.
Writers are encouraged to write a true story of 400 to 500 words around the theme of belonging. Write from the heart about a moment or journey that made you feel like you belonged—or like you didn’t. Whether it’s a group, a new country, a culture, a sports team, or a friendship, we have all experienced belonging and the desire to belong. How have you struggled to fit in? Where do you feel like you belong, or like you never will?
The winning entries will be published on CBC’s Canada Writes and the winning writers will be promoted on the CBC Books website and CBC’s Ideas with Paul Kennedy.
Details are available at www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites.
Ken Spencer Award
How are you embedding real-world learning inside and outside of your classrooms?
Apply for the Canadian Education Association’s sixth annual Ken Spencer Awards for Innovation and inspire us with the way you’re designing teaching and learning environments for a post-Google generation of learners. Seven cash awards totalling $15,000 are available to be won for your school. Winning entries will be profiled nationally—to encourage peer-to-peer learning—in Education Canada magazine, as well as in CEA videos and our blog.
Are you still working under the radar to deeply engage your students while tending to the constant flux of curriculum and assessment requirements? Now’s the time to gain some valuable recognition for the changes you have encouraged in your classroom, among a group of classes, a department or your whole school.
For application details and to view last year’s winning entries, please visit www.cea-ace.ca/kenspenceraward. Complete our online application form by Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. Pacific time.
National Democracy Challenge returns
Voter turnout in Canada is among the lowest in the democratic world. Only 53.8 per cent of adult Canadians voted in the 2011 federal election—the second-lowest turnout in history.
But Elections Canada’s initiative, The National Democracy Challenge, seeks to change the future by encouraging young Canadians to get involved before they are eligible to vote. The challenge is an opportunity for Canadians aged 14 to 17 to submit a creative work using video, image, artwork, or a piece of writing showing why it is important for Canadians to vote.
Entries will be judged by popular political satirist Rick Mercer and championship athlete Rosanna Tomiuk.
Great prizes are available to be won, including a week-long trip to Ottawa, iPads, a Macbook Air laptop and more. The challenge runs until Nov. 30. Visit www.democracy-democratie.ca for entry details and to view the winning submissions from previous challenges.
French for the Future
More than $200,000 in scholarships are available to be won in the national French for the Future essay contest. This year’s theme is, Michaëlle Jean, former governor general of Canada, has said “Sports, culture and arts are necessities that bring together communities and give youth a way to express themselves.” Do you agree with this statement? Why?
From Oct. 1 to Dec. 19, students in grades 10 to 12 from across Canada are invited to submit a 750-word essay in French for a chance to win their share of the $215,000 in scholarships offered by the following post-secondary institutions (in alphabetical order):
- Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta (Alberta)
- French Language Centre, University of Lethbridge (Alberta)
- Glendon College of York University (Ontario)
- Laurentian University (Ontario)
- Université de Moncton (New Brunswick)
- University of Ottawa (Ontario)
- Université de Saint-Boniface (Manitoba)
- Université Sainte-Anne (Nova Scotia)
Essays must be submitted through French for the Future’s website by 11:59:59 p.m. eastern time on Friday, Dec. 19. More information such as the contest rules, an evaluation grid and the registration form are available at www.french-future.org.
Deadline approaches for antipoverty campaign
The campaign is aimed at students in grades 5 to 8. By Oct. 12, students must propose an idea for a classroom-community social action project that addresses the issue of poverty in their community. Small classroom subsidies will be available to facilitate the project. (Students have until June 2015 to implement the project.) As part of the campaign, at least one school in each territory and province will be selected to send, at no cost, two students and one teacher to participate in a student summit in Ottawa on Nov. 18 and 19. To participate in the campaign, teachers must first register online at www.imagine-action.ca.
Stories and photos wanted
The ATA News is always on the lookout for interesting articles, photos and cartoons. Articles should not exceed 500 words and should be accompanied by a short byline, stating where you work and what you teach. Photos of teachers or students participating in interesting activities are welcome, as are cartoons. Don’t forget to include photo captions. Please note: Receipt of material does not guarantee its publication. Send your submissions to Managing Editor, the ATA News, 11010–142 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T5N 2R1 or submit electronically to Theresa.agnew@ata.ab.ca.
