Newsletter - December 1999

Schools focus on the water environment in the New Curriculum

The WEF Water Sourcebooks were a very popular item at the two recent teachers' conferences attended by the WEAO Public Education Committee. Teachers are now fully involved in teaching the 'New Curriculum'. The WEAO has been presenting the Water Sourcebooks to Ontario teachers as resource materials to help them cover topics that they may not have covered well in their education.

Science and related subjects are now receiving emphasis down to the Grade 1 level and even into Kindergarten. Topics included at the elementary level directly related to the water environment are 'Air and Water in the Environment', 'Properties of Liquids and Solids', and 'Energy from Wind and Moving Water' in Grade 2. In Grade 8 'Water Systems' must be taught. Throughout the new curriculum, many other topics can be related to the water environment, 'Characteristics and Needs of Living Things' in Grade 1, and 'Habitats and Communities' in Grade 4 among others.

To support our teachers in their efforts to teach well, the Public Education Committee staffed a display and provided two workshops at the Ontario Association of Geographers and Environmental Educators Mapping the New Millennium Fall Conference at the Hockley Valley Resort in Orangeville in October. Over 450 teachers attended the conference and about 40 attended the workshops.

As well, the WEAO display booth was exhibited at the Science Teachers' Association of Ontario Prelude to the Next Millennium Conference in Toronto, in November. About 1,500 teachers attended. The Saturday workshop provided by Cindy Toth and Elaine Gilliland, was 'standing room only' with about 50 attendees. Many thanks go to those who helped with the conferences, Tony Ho, Francesca Davino and members of the Public Education Committee, Patti Quackenbush, Earth Tech (Canada), Elaine Gilliland, Region of Peel, Ljuba Simovic, MOE, Jonathan Maurice, Great Lakes Environmental Sales, Mano Manoharan, MOE, Yarlene Macabuag, OCWA, Mark Duess and Paulette den Elzen, Metro Toronto, and George Bennett, Frontenac Environmental.

As water environment professionals working in the field, we have valuable experience that can serve as a resource for our local school classes and teachers. Do not forget to become or stay involved in your child's (or any child's) education. Parents and adults can be the best examples that learning is something that goes beyond school and should never stop even when you are OLD (for a child this means being 20). An adult's enthusiasm and passion for their work can be the very spark to motivate a child to learn more about the subject and career.

The Water Sourcebooks make terrific Christmas presents for a school or teacher. They can be ordered from WEF at: 1-800-666-0206 and are available for Grades K-2, 3-5, 7-8 and 9-12. They range in price from $21.95 to $29.95 US and are some of the most reasonable curriculum resource materials around.

Cindy Toth, City of St. Catharines, Public Education Committee Chair

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