New Canadian Olympic School Program

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) has launched its new Canadian Olympic School Program.

This new program includes learning resources for students in Grades 2 to 12, and a new website for teachers and students that provides lesson plans, athlete videos, polls, puzzles and information surrounding the Beijing 2008 Olympic Summer Games.

The new elementary curriculum features a series of Olympian stories that focus on the Olympic values of excellence, fairness, personal growth, respect and leadership. Each story is written at three different reading levels (Grades 2 to 3, 4 to 5, and 6 to 7), and includes language arts-focused learning activities for each level.

The secondary curriculum comprises cross-curricular project packs where students solve real-life Olympic Games problems. Each project pack contains background articles, handouts, teaching tips, an evaluation rubric and a list of links to provincial learning outcomes.

Several Canadian Olympians are featured in this year’s program: Jennifer Botterill (hockey), Alexandre Despatie (diving), Daniel Igali (wrestling), Silken Laumann (rowing), Lawrence Lemieux (sailing), Gary Reed (athletics) and Beckie Scott (cross-country skiing).

Visit olympicschool.ca for more information and downloadable lesson plans.

For samples of student work based on the COC’s new lesson plans, please visit /EDU’s Students section.

Vancouver 2010 Paralympic School Day

In May 2008, 15 more schools in and around the Lower Mainland area and the Sea-to-Sky corridor will have the opportunity to host a Vancouver 2010 Paralympic School Day. Each Vancouver 2010 Paralympic School Day will include:

An appearance from a Paralympic athlete, highlighted by a motivational speech and time for questions and answers from students and teachers
A multimedia presentation, including PowerPoint and video clips to excite and educate participants about the Paralympic Games and athletes
Activity sessions during which Paralympic sport equipment will be available for students to “give it a go” with their peers and the Paralympic athlete guest
Information/educational material will be available pre- and post-visit for teachers and students

To apply, please complete the Application Form and e-mail it to paralympicschooldays@vancouver2010.com, or fax it to 778.328.2011 by April 15, 2008. Approximately 15 schools will be selected on a first-come-first-serve basis taking into account our ability to reach as many school districts as possible during the month. Once the tour schedule has been established, each participating school will be contacted with more detailed information about the visit.

For more information, please contact Greg Wamsley, Coordinator, Paralympic Games: 778.328.6448 or greg_wamsley@vancouver2010.com.

Check out Talmey Elementary School's Paralympic School Day in /EDU's Schools section.

Resources For Teachers:

Canadian Olympic Committee
Vancouver 2010 Paralympic School Day Application Form
Canadian Paralympic Committee

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