Education and Health Communique #7

Submitted by: Nancy Simms

Dear Sisters in the League,

BC Ministry of Education

I recently received the following two emails from the BC Ministry of Education. I encourage you to visit these sites and keep members updated.

1. The Curriculum Implementation Schedule is now available on the curriculum website at:  http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/imp_sched.htm
2. The summary to the needs assessment conducted on the Grades 8-12 Social Studies curriculum is now posted and can be found at: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/reports/ss8-12_exec_summary.pdf

I am also enclosing an attachment of Review of Making Space, Giving Voice produced by The Catholic Civil Rights League.

Bursaries

(I know I wrote this in my last communiqué, but to date I have only received one Molly Boucher Bursary application from the entire BC/Yukon, SO…) Please encourage members to apply for the National and Provincial bursaries. The National bursary deadline is May 31, 2008 to be postmarked and sent to the National office.  The criteria and application forms are on the national website under form and supplies. The Provincial Molly Boucher Bursary criteria and application forms can be found on our provincial cwl website and the deadline for all applications to be sent directly to me is March 31, 2008.

MaterCare

A reminder to mail your Canadian Tire money to MaterCare International where they can turn it into cash. Some old Canadian Tire money is now collectible and sells on eBay for far more than its face value. Let’s continue to help this worthy cause and send your Canadian Tire money to:

MaterCare (Canada)
c/o Joe Winchester
785 Aztec Ave.
Orleans, ON   K4A 4Y7

Monthly Canadian Health Awareness

A motion is before the House of Commons to officially recognize September as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. For the motion to pass it must be accepted by every Member of Parliament. Let’s join in the campaign! Send messages to your MP asking them to support motion M-427. Go to website www.ovariancanada.org to learn more.

March is National Epilepsy Month. Since my husband developed epilepsy in his late thirties, this is a health issue that hits close to home for me and I believe many of us need more education on.   For more info. Visit www.epilepsy.ca

Health & Environment

Our National Education & Health Chairperson, Judy Lewis reminds us in her latest communiqué that scents from shampoos, hairsprays, fabric softeners, etc. can create numerous health problems for people that are sensitive to scents. Judy reminds us that;

“Valuable members, with potential for becoming leaders, are being lost from League meetings and activities. There are reports of members being unable to attend functions due to health related issues from scents.”

“Following are some suggestions for member actions. Be sensitive to members’ needs. Be aware of what ingredients are in the products used. The telephone numbers on the product labels can be called to ask if the product is fragrance free or unscented and if a masking agent has been added to hide scents. Signs need to be posted stating members are sensitive to scents. Never state a room or building is scent free because that is impossible to guarantee and councils can be held legally liable for someone who gets sick from scents.”

Other topics from Judy Lewis are:

Outdated Mixes
A website to check for dangers that may be posed if outdated dry mixes are used is http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/pancake.asp.

Canadian Health Network
Eighty per cent of the 15 million Canadians on-line seek health information on the Internet. Canadian Health Network fulfills the federal government’s commitment to individual engagement and responsibility for health and supports organizations building healthy communities. It is used by 395,000 people monthly, 40 per cent of whom are health professionals sharing information with clients. It has more than 20,000 quality, peer-reviewed resources in English and French, and in-depth information on 25 health topics and population groups.

Environment
The following information was obtained from the Island Waste Management Corporation. For additional information visit their website at www.iwmc.pe.ca.

Glass can be recycled forever! Glass is 100 per cent recyclable. The same glass can be recycled a million times over to produce bottles and jars of the same high quality every time. A jam jar today could be a juice bottle next month, then a salad jar, a ketchup bottle, and so on.

Original glass is made from three main materials: sand, silica, and limestone. These materials are melted in a furnace at a heat of about 1500 degrees Celsius. Once liquefied, the molten form is dropped into moulds; blowing air into the moulds creates the shape of a bottle or jar.

At recycling facilities, glass jars are sorted into colors, and crushed into a product called “cullet”. Cullet is often mixed virgin glass materials to produce new products.

Making new glass from cullet saves energy because recycled glass melts at a lower temperature than virgin raw material. Less heat required means that less energy will be used in manufacturing which helps to conserve the use of resources such as oil and coal. Each glass bottle recycled keeps valuable non-renewable resources such as bauxite, iron-ore and sand in the ground. And above all, saving energy reduces acid rain, global warming and air pollution.

Not all glass products can be recycled. Items such as dishes and mirrors cannot be recycled because they contain material that would contaminate the recycled glass bottles and glass containers and damage the glass making machinery.

May Our Lady of Good Counsel continue to guide you in your work for God and Canada.