Educate Poverty
Educate poverty is an opportunity for our students to learn about the effects of poverty in the region in which we live and its effects. Using the ETFO resource "Possibilities: Addressing Poverty in Elementary Schools" our external affairs body of student government will engage in learning about assumptions, biases, and issues around poverty in Ontario and in particular Peel. They will then create workshops to team their peers to "Educate Poverty"
External Affairs will also conduct outreach. One of the projects students will organize is a book drive. But collecting gently used books, we can put them in the hands of families that could not otherwise afford to buy books for their children. As we are a new school, the group, and the needs of our school will decide if the books are circulated within our student population, or to a wider population, like partnering with a community organization. They would also organize school wide food and clothing drives.
External affairs would also do a fill the sock drive. Students can be given a tube sock to fill with toiletries and other small items for teenage girls and boys at Our Place Peel. A Youth Shelter in Mississauga: http://www.ourplacepeel.org/ This is a good opportunity to touch base on the way youth homelessness looks different in Peel then say Toronto but is a real issue. This portion would be targeted to our grade 6, 7 and 8 students.
Update
(June 30, 2015)
Educate poverty took place on a modified level this year, as our school was blessed/stretched in three locations, entering our new school build in January. Although we did not use the funding, we still engaged in activities on a smaller scale.
At our former site, we had the opportunity to be housed with an additional school. Our grade 7 students ran a donations drive for Our Place Peel - a shelter for homeless youth. They filled socks for males and females with toiletries, and made announcements to raise awareness about Our Place Peel.
Being housed with another school, our school also supported a food drive for a local food bank.
In the spring our grade 7 class interviewed Our Place Peel, with an effort to learn more about the organization and continue to raise awareness. Unfortunately fundraising was put on halt by the time in an effort to support needs within the school.