April 28 through May 2 is officially “Education Week” in Ontario, and while many schools will be participating in activities designed to stimulate the minds of young children while educating parents on their children’s progress, one school is taking a somewhat enlightened approach this year.
Alberton School retained the services of Joanne Elvy, a photographic artist from Sault Ste. Marie, to help illuminate the minds of Alberton’s Grade 3-4 students on Monday and Tuesday.
Elvy took the students in groups of six and showed them how light interacts with chemically-treated paper to form lasting images. Of course, the trick to capturing and holding the attention of such young students is to make it fun and that’s exactly what she did.
Using blankets and five-foot square sheets of architectural blueprint paper, Elvy led the students in making shadow images of themselves using sunlight to expose the photo-sensitive paper. The results, she said, were well worth trip.
“This is a really pleasant break for me,” Elvy explained. “I love doing this.”
Elvy normally teaches English as a second language and fine arts at Algoma University College, but for the past 16 years, she has made periodic sojourns across the north to share her skills with young people. This is the third such trip she’s made to Alberton School and the second in the last three years. Some of her work is subsidized by the federal Ministry of Culture and the Ontario Arts Council, including her current project—a photo documentary on literacy in Cuba.
“For the past 40 years, Cuba has had one of the highest literacy rates in the world,” she explained. “I’ve been there 10 times and I’m going back in August to do this project.”
Elvy, who spent several years in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain, is fluent in four languages.
Education Week continues tonight at Alberton School with a Family Math Night/Book Fair beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
