Our neighbourhood cares

James Bay Community School

By Darcy Topinka

Our neighbourhood cares. James Bay residents proved once more that giving back to the community is a priority.  On behalf of the children, parents and staff at the James Bay Community School, we collectively acknowledge the generous support from anonymous individuals, local groups and business organizations, who were instrumental in making the holiday season more festive. We are all familiar with the financial burden the holidays can bring therefore it is extremely helpful for any kind of support offered up over the holidays.

This December was the 16^th consecutive holiday season our students were recipients of support in the form of monetary donations made to the school through an annual giving campaign.  South Harbour Partners is a collection of condominium owners in James Bay who have reached out each year and given generously to the school. The donation offsets the costs of some amazing learning opportunities for our students. 

Annually, new books are purchased for the library, updated technology equipment is added to our class rooms, opportunities for students to explore their community are created and invited guests bring knowledge, experience, and life skills to the students in their classrooms.  In addition to these extremely helpful educational based opportunities, each child in the school received a holiday treat in the form of a grab bag, and some lucky students and their families were recipients of Thrifty Food Gift cards.

The centre would also like to acknowledge Thrifty foods for their donation of poinsettias, making our holiday dinners appear that much more festive.  We served over 250 dinners to community members, seniors and volunteers in the weeks leading up to Christmas. City Councilors and community leaders lent a hand to ensure our community dinners were a huge success this year.  To everyone who pitched in and gave selflessly, your community school salutes you! 

The newly formed James Bay Community School PAC book club is attacking its first book of the New Year. Grade five Teacher Joy Nugent will lead the ongoing book club discussion. Participants will read and discuss the brilliant parenting book called Parenting from the Inside Out, by Daniel Siegel.

Here is a brief synopsis of the book and a description of the Authors background.  "How many parents have found themselves thinking: I can't believe I just said to my child the very thing my parents used to say to me! Am I just destined to repeat the mistakes of my parents? In Parenting from the Inside Out, child psychiatrist Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., and early childhood expert Mary Hartzell, M.Ed., explore the extent to which our childhood experiences actually do shape the way we parent. Drawing upon stunning new findings in neurobiology and attachment research, they explain how interpersonal relationships directly impact the development of the brain, and offer parents a step-by-step approach to forming a deeper understanding of their own life stories, which will help them raise compassionate and resilient children.

Born out of a series of parents' workshops that combined Siegel's cutting-edge research on how communication impacts brain development with Hartzell's thirty years of experience as a child-development specialist and parent educator, Parenting from the Inside Out guides parents through creating the necessary foundations for loving and secure relationships with their children." If your parenting style needs a tune up, because of the challenging little people in your life, maybe pick up a copy and learn some new strategies and start the new year off with a more effective communication plan that can be applied to many of your relationships inside and outside the home.