Marching to a positive drummer

Before heading out to the Tubie races on Sunday, August 4, drop by the Morrisburg beach to watch one of the most unique duck race experiences around.

At 10 a.m. five dogs will take to the water, one at a time, to retrieve a duck from the pool of 1200 floating in the water, and return it to their owner.

The five ducks retrieved by the pooches will be the five prize winners of the Morrisburg and District Lions Club Duck Race.

One thousand dollars worth of prizes will be handed out, with top prize being $500 cash, second is $200 cash, third is $100 cash, fourth is a $100 Riley’s Valumart gift card, and fifth is a $100 Canadian Tire gift card.

This year the canine retrievers include Finnegan, Katie, Floyd, Cocoa and one dog yet to be determined.

Finnegan is a 3.5 year old black lab, who likes to dress up. 

He was a Tootsie Roll for Halloween.

He is the canine companion of Sunnie Cantin-Locke, Robin Cantin-Locke and Dominic Worthington.

Finnegan came to live with this family when he was one. “He loves attention and hands everyone his big paw for love,” said his owner. 

Katie, a two year old German Shepherd Alsatian, live with Leanne Casselman. Katie has service dog lineage, so she is definitely up to the task of helping out the Lions Club, because they too ‘serve’. “She’s a super all round dog! Intelligent loyal and great with kids,” said Casselman. 

Hopefully, Katie will be good with ducks too.

Floyd is a friendly nine year old Labradoodle, who is still a puppy at heart. 

“He is an all around good sport when called upon to render a service,” said his owners. Floyd comes from Montreal with Jean, Wendy, Nelson and Myles Landry but is here visiting his summer home, the Graham’s on Lakeshore Drive.

Floyd is obsessed with balls, but may give the ball a break for long enough to fetch a winning rubber duck from the St. Lawrence, Sunday.

Cocoa is described as a charming, flirtatious and stubborn six year old Shih-Tzu Cavalier Spaniel mix. He is a veteran of the duck races, returning to the task for the third time. “What he lacks in swimming speed is made up with his precise retrieving skills, some of the time,” said Juli Strader of Cocoa. “If you want to get his attention, all you have to do is say any of the following words: peanut butter, chicken, cheese, car ride or nap.”

Like all Morrisburg and District Lions Club fundraisers, the proceeds benefit the community. 

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Karen Bryan, new vice principal at Seaway District High School, was able to come to Iroquois in July, getting to know many of the school’s teaching and support staff and learning how the grades 7-12 school works. 

That opportunity has gone a long way towards making her feel comfortable and welcome at SDHS as the 2011-12 term begins.

“Students have been very welcoming, creating a friendly atmosphere,” vice principal Bryan said. “And the staff here is wonderful, student focussed and student centred. Since I arrived, I’ve also had a lot of communications with parents, and I am very pleased with the level of parental involvement at Seaway.”

Mother of three boys, Bryan, who shares administrative duties with Seaway principal Terry Gardiner, enjoys the idea that she is working in a multi-generational high school.
“Many of the parents of our children have also gone to Seaway, and many have played on school teams and worked on projects with the school. As a result the school is a vital part of this entire community.”

A graduate of General Vanier in Cornwall, with an honours degree from Queen’s University and teacher training from the University of Toronto, Bryan began her career with UCDSB, prior to 2004, in the (no longer) capital region. 

“I worked with teachers from grades 7-12 on instructional practice and curriculum design in all subject areas. In 2006, this job moved to the board level where I began working with all board members in the areas of literacy and numeracy mandates. The focus was on classroom instruction and success initiatives.”

After 2007, she served as a learning resource coach at St. Lawrence and C.C.V.S. “We worked with teachers in helping students meet I.E.P. requirements by examining learning mod-ifications. We essentially trained teachers to go back to their classrooms and carry on what they learned.”

Before her involvement in these fields, Bryan served as a classroom teacher in Toronto and at North Dundas District High School, in the fields of mathematics and physical education.

“I always wanted to be a teacher,” Bryan said. “I think it was the influence of some of the awesome teachers I had growing up. I think I experienced early on  examples of what a good teacher can be in a child’s life.”

Some time spent teaching at R-O, a kindergarten to grade 12 school, has, Bryan feels, prepared her for the combination of intermediate and high school. 

She is getting a feel for the needs and priorities of Seaway. But there are some programs she hopes may be introduced at the school down the line.

“I would like to introduce after school programs, especially for grades 7-9, which combine a literacy and numeracy component, but also offer fitness and nutrition experiences for the students. Many kids wouldn’t mind staying after school for interesting programs they could benefit from.”

She senses a good feeling at Seaway built on strong connections between 7-9 teachers spanning programs and procedures. “I want to keep both high school and intermediate panels working together. 

We are working with teachers as ‘instructional leaders’, not as ‘managers’, which is a board wide initiative. I am an authority figure in the school, but I am also a teacher. I see a lot of willingness in this staff to collaborate in this approach.”

Bryan strongly feels that public education must be maintained as accessible to all children. Every child can learn and brings skills to the table. “We must value all the paths our children choose whether they choose to go on to higher education, or to learn in the world of work. Each path must be valued equally.” 

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