VANCOUVER 2010 EDUCATION PROGRAM EXPANDS
VANCOUVER - The web-based Vancouver 2010 Education Program has expanded to include two new initiatives that are designed to connect teachers and students in B.C. and across Canada to the Olympic and Paralympic Movements and to the 2010 Winter Games. The expansion was announced today by Education Minister Shirley Bond and John Furlong, chief executive officer for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).
"Whenever I talk to students in British Columbia, they want to know more about the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games," said Bond. "With the Olympic and Paralympic Games coming to Canada, we want to ensure that students all across the country have an opportunity to learn and be inspired through our Vancouver 2010 Education Program."
The first new program, the Pan-Canadian Paralympic School Week, will be launched across the country on Nov. 3, 2008. The week-long program offers an opportunity for students to learn about the Paralympic Movement, to explore the significance of human interdependence, and to recognize and celebrate wide-ranging examples of Paralympian achievements. The curriculum, developed by the B.C. Ministry of Education in partnership with the Canadian Paralympic Committee and VANOC, is inspired by VANOC’s Paralympic School Day, which engages students and guest Paralympians in Paralympic-style sports, such as ice sledge hockey, cross-country skiing or wheelchair curling. An educator guide is now available online to help teachers plan activities and events at their schools during that week.
On Nov. 12, 2008, the Ministry of Education is launching its Sharing the Dream Webcast Series with its first student-led webcast interview, with Olympic gold medallist Carol Huynh in Coquitlam. Students on-site will interview Huynh while students across the country will be able to log-on to view the webcast and email questions to contribute to the discussion. Following the webcast, discussions will continue through the TakingITGlobal website, which will connect Canadian students with students from around the world to help them all become global citizens.
"The Games have the unique power to positively inspire our youth through sport and culture and we encourage educators and students in B.C. and across Canada to visit our website and get involved in the spirit of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games," said Furlong. "We want Canada to stand as a shining example of what can be accomplished for the youth of a country when a nation learns, plays and grows together."
Source: BC Ministry of Education
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