Carlyle’s Curriculum Fair “Amazing” This Year

As people walked through Carlyle School’s annual Curriculum Fair last Thursday evening, the more often heard comments made by parents and school officials were “amazing” and “wonderful.”

This year’s theme was “Let’s Celebrate” which was appropriate on a few levels. Principal Itrat Ahmad said the fair not only celebrates the learning that takes place there, but also the bringing together of the whole school community – students, teachers, parents, support staff, and school board officials.

For her part, Mayor Vera Danyluk recalled that the parents’ successful effort to keep Carlyle open for at least another school year was a cause for celebration. The students’ projects on display this year are “really very impressive,” she added.

Perhaps forgotten was the fact that it was also the 20th fair held at the school. It began as a traditional science event, focussing more on individual achievement. However, it has evolved into a rather spectacular fair that displays projects worked on by entire classes or cycles.

The fair is also an intrinsic part of the “new curriculum” that Quebec first initiated a few years ago that stresses student-centred “inquiry-based” learning. “It’s the curriculum reform in action,” said Ahmad, that encompasses science and nature, language arts, math, and social studies often combining two or more at the same time.

The Cycle 1 students (Kindergarten to Grade 2) showed off they have learned about the scientific method, celebrated literacy with stories about New France explorers and governors as well as with various fables, and demonstrated various artistic styles (Cubism, Fauvism, and Pop Art) using fruits and vegetables.

Inspired by Robert Munsch’s “MMM, Cookies” book, Kindergarten students made “cookies” out of clay and assorted small items such as metal nuts and paper clips. Along with the pre-Ks, they made beautiful penguins and small igloos for miniature polar bears as well as researched and wrote stories on orcas.

Cycle 2 students (grades 3 and 4) focussed on “Montreal – Yesterday and Today.” They obtained old photos of our city’s streets, markets, trams, and sleighs as well as building houses from various eras out of hundreds of popsicle sticks. They also contrasted various institutions (McGill University, the Botanical Gardens, and the PSBGM building) with past and present photos.

The theme for Cycle 3 students (Grades 5 and 6) was “Celebrating Diversity.” One class put up a display of famous historical figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Terry Fox, and Anne Frank. Another did a photo/art collage of Canada’s prime ministers – each with descriptions of what they were best known for.

Through drawings and writings, another class showed what our country means to them, including one imaginative work with a Mountie, a hockey player, the official seal, the Parliament buildings, and a West Coast totem pole.

Combining short essays and photos from a class-trip to the Montreal Neurological Institute, another class showed what they had learned about the human brain. Others showed off their computer skills with PowerPoint presentations on Picasso and “Media Literacy – Techniques of Persuasion.”

Still another class stressed biology. Students collected larvae from bushes along with leaves and watched them change themselves over several weeks. “They had butterflies flying all over the classroom,” described Anne Greenberg, mother of 10-year-old Matthew. Besides creating a small-scale model of a garden, each also created their own new type of “insect.”

Two years ago, the NDG resident brought her son to Carlyle after hearing that it was an “outstanding” school with teachers who helped children to learn in new and exciting ways.

“As long as the school is here, we’re here,” she concluded. It’s sure than most parents, who live in nearby areas, also feel lucky that Carlyle is such an innovative school.

<@BV>Carlyle's curriculum fair this year was once again a panoply of colours showing off the student’s various projects - both individual and classes - done at the school. (Photo: Wayne Hiltz)

At the recent curriculum fair, cycle 1 Carlyle students showed their knowledge of the scientific method through the use of various liquids and powders to produce something new and interesting. (Photo: Wayne Hiltz)