The Boom Booms, a rock-pop ensemble from East Vancouver, visited Moscrop Secondary last week.
The band played for students and shared their experiences from a recent trip to Brazil and Haiti with social justice and film classes.
The band highlighted concerns about Brazil's proposed Belo Monte dam in the Amazon, which many indigenous groups and environmentalists are opposing.
According to Daniel Tetrault, the Moscrop teacher who invited the band, The Boom Booms also made connections to local environmental issues, like the proposed Kinder Morgan and Enbridge pipelines.
To check out The Boom Booms video for Delivered, go to http: //bit. ly/PhmgQK.
MusiCounts grant awarded
On another musical note, Burnaby's Douglas Road Elementary is $5,000 richer, thanks to a grant from MusiCounts, a charity promoting music education.
Douglas Road was one of 14 B.C. schools awarded grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.
The grants go to schools that need funding to support music classes, and the money is earmarked for instruments and educational equipment.
For more on MusiCounts, visit musi counts.ca.
Alleviating local poverty
Grade 6 students at Burnaby's Glenwood Elementary have been learning about social activism and the United Nations Millenium Development Goals, which focus on poverty, education, health and the environment.
The students picked one of the issues and developed their own non-governmental organizations to raise awareness for their cause, according to teacher Lara Sutton.
They then voted on one overall issue to work on, and chose a group called Poverty Is History, which focuses on alleviating local poverty.
The students organized a coin drive at the school and raised $529 for the United Way.
"I was very impressed with the way my class approached this assignment and with the response from the other kids at the school," Sutton wrote in an email to the NOW. "One of the criteria is that they would be able to run the entire fundraiser without adult support. They independently organized the committee, produced advertising, generated donations, collected and counted all the coins and brought (them) to the bank to be deposited. I am very proud of them and suspect that your readers would enjoy learning about the efforts a small group of children can make to the community."
Teacher nominated
Kudos to Gail Wylie, a Lakeview Elementary teacher chosen as one of 12 finalists in the annual Canadian Family Teacher Awards, from Canadian Family Magazine.
Wylie has worked in the Burnaby school district for 31 years, as a teacher and education assistant.
According to the district, she was nominated for exceptional work, supporting extra curricular activities, instructional excellence and an emphasis on learning through outdoor adventure.
The three teachers that garner the most online votes will receive $2,500 for their school.
To vote, go to Lakeview Elementary's website: lakeview.sd41.bc.ca.
The magazine will announce the winners online on Aug. 2, at www. canadianfamily.ca.
