Media.Knet.Ca

Last week, Robert Munsch video conferenced from his hometown of Guelph with First Nation young students from four First Nations gathering together at the Eel Ground First Nation school. The entertaining one hour session is available online on the K-Net streaming server. Click here to watch this entertaining presentation by Mr. Munsch.

ABC Canada (www.abc-canada.org) press release:

Children's author Robert Munsch and families get ready to celebrate ABC CANADA Family Literacy Day, January 27

TORONTO, Jan. 19 - Robert Munsch, renowned Canadian children's writer and this country's best-selling author, joins families across Canada next week in celebrating ABC CANADA Family Literacy Day(R), January 27. Family Literacy Day, now in its ninth year, is the national initiative created by ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation and made possible by Founding Sponsor Honda Canada Inc. It celebrates families reading and learning together on a regular basis, engaging in numerous activities that help boost literacy skills in a fun way, including making up stories, singing songs, playing word games and puzzles, and measuring out ingredients for a recipe.

Robert Munsch, Honorary Chair of Family Literacy Day, will appear at a number of media and public events. "We're so pleased to continue to have Mr. Munsch's support in raising awareness of the importance of regular family literacy activities," says Margaret Eaton, ABC CANADA President. "He's a wonderful ambassador for creative and fun learning." Munsch will lead public-school children in Toronto in a storytelling time on January 23, and will appear for a public reading at the Port Moody Public Library in British Columbia on January 27.

Kids share ideas and read along with Robert Munsch
New this year, Munsch will be interacting with children and families across the country through two Corus Entertainment websites. In the weeks leading up to January 27, kids can post on the message board on www.ytv.com their own ideas for stories. Mr. Munsch has been reading their story ideas and will post his comments on the site on Family Literacy Day. Also, parents can submit audio clips of their children reading Mr. Munsch's story Mortimer on the www.treehousetv.com website. On January 27, the site will post a special compilation of kids reading the story, along with Mr. Munsch.

As a fitting end to a busy week of activities, Mr. Munsch will visit the home of the Blackley family in Port Moody, BC, where he will enjoy a Family Literacy Day party put on by the family and also attended by neighbouring parents and children. The Blackley's won the visit from Mr. Munsch in the national Munsch at Home contest, where families across the country who submitted descriptions of what they were doing for Family Literacy Day could win a visit from the author. "I really enjoy being a part of Family Literacy Day," says Munsch. "It's a natural with what I do, and this is an issue that makes such a dramatic difference in a person's life."

Hundreds upon hundreds of events across the country
While Robert Munsch is ABC CANADA's ambassador for Family Literacy Day, a legion of people in libraries, schools, literacy organizations and, of course, families participate in parties celebrating the day. Throughout the week leading up to January 27, these events are as wide-ranging as the imagination.

Consider these events:

- A roster of guests at the Regina Family Literacy Network, including Premier Lorne Calvert, Deputy Police Chief Troy Hagen and Saskatchewan Roughrider Matt Dominguez, will be reading children's stories throughout the day, and a city-wide 'Read-in' encourages people to register and read with a child between 1:30 and 1:45 on the afternoon of Saturday, January 27;

- The Dollard-des-Ormeaux Public Library on the west island, Montreal, is hosting separate English and French screenings of films from the National Film Board's Talespinners series, targeted to children age 4 to 8;

- Vancouver-based Literacy BC will host, at the Vancouver Public Library, its annual week of literacy-focused seminars and events leading up to the day, when there will be an afternoon of literacy activities for children age 5 to 12 featuring writers Bob Heidbreder and Melanie Jackson;

- Port Hope Public Library in Ontario will have the Victorian Operetta Society, cast of next spring's production of Into the Woods, read fairy tales, and will promote a collection of hockey books by having a pick-up hockey game in their parking lot with members of the Predators hockey team;

- Toronto Public Library features a number of storytelling and book-reading events in its many branches;

- Aboriginal storytelling in the Cree language for Inuit and Metis families and children at the Minwaashin Lodge in Ottawa includes activities such as families painting T-shirts with native images; and

- Wolfville Memorial Library in Nova Scotia is holding its 4th annual Library Sleepover for families with children age 6 to 11.

"We encourage all families to read and learn together," says Eaton. "The 15 minutes or so that you take each day to read go a long way to preparing your child for the challenges ahead, and for a lifetime of reading enjoyment."

Fundamental to ABC CANADA Family Literacy Day's success is the financial contribution made by its Founding Sponsor, Honda Canada Inc.

ABC CANADA also acknowledges the generosity of numerous corporate and media supporters enabling, among other things, the distribution of materials and public service announcements that bring literacy and learning messages to millions of Canadian families.

For information on FLD events in your area - Check with your local library, school or literacy organization. There are also a number of events posted at www.abc-canada.org/fld.

---------------------------------------------------------------
ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation is the national charity committed to promoting family, adult and workplace literacy to the general public and to the private sector. ABC CANADA's focus is on public awareness programs, providing promotional support to local literacy groups, and conducting research to further the development of a fully literate Canadian population. For more information, visit www.abc-canada.org.

For further information: Media, please contact: Jim Pollock, Director of Communications, ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation: (416) 218-0010, ext. 126, or 1-800-303-1004, ext. 126, cell: (416) 524-8267, jpollock@abc-canada.org.

Kwayaciiwin Education Resource Centre is hosting a conference for Immersion teachers and Native language teachers and it will be taking place on Feb. 13, 14, and 15 at the Sunset Suites in Sioux Lookout.

Day 1 of this conference will be a training session on how to use the Phraselator P2 Language Companion. The Resource Centre is purchasing a number of these units and two trainers will be coming from California to do this session. For more information on the phraselator, check out the Thornton Media website at http://ndntv.com 

Click here to also read the CBC news about these devices being used in Alberta on KNews.

Day 2 and 3 of the agenda will focus on assessment.

Please call Charlotte at 807-737-7373 or 1-866-326-1077 ext 21 if you would like to register for this conference.

Margaret Angeconeb, from Kwayaciiwin Education Resource Centre, reports ... We are purchasing 10 phraselator units (7 to go to our Immersion schools, and 3 for our Centre).

From http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2007/01/18/language-device.html

First Nation uses translation machine to save language
January 18, 2007 - CBC News

A translation device developed for the U.S. military after the Sept. 11 attacks is helping an Alberta First Nation and other aboriginal groups across North America preserve their languages.

The Phraselator (http://www.phrasalator.com/products.aspx), used by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, translates English phrases into the language chosen by the user. The hand-held device, about 10 by 18 centimetres, is programmed with thousands of phrases deemed to be useful in a specific situation.

When a person speaks English, it repeats the phrase in the programmed language.

A teacher at the Siksika First Nation just east of Calgary said young people in particular could be helped by the device.

"Siksika is one of the languages that is decreasing. It's not being taught at home anymore," said Herman Yellowoldwoman. "The only people that are teaching the language are the schools, and very little is being taught at home."

Developed by VoxTec International of Maryland for military use in Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, it has now been adopted by U.S. law-enforcement organizations and aboriginal groups.

Thornton Media of California, owned by an American Indian, has worked with more than 40 tribes in the U.S. and Canada to help them control their own language destiny, the company website said.

"If your kids aren't learning the language, it doesn't matter how many speakers you have. If your kids aren't learning it, then your language is in trouble," Don Thornton said.

Most Siksika speakers older 

On the Siksika reserve, about 40 per cent of residents are fluent in the language, but most of them are over 45. Yellowoldwoman said even teachers have a hard time giving lessons to students.

"One of the biggest things is the sounds. When you write and read the Siksika language, the sound is not correct. And the only way they can ever get the correct sound is by listening."

The Phraselator has the sounds. And the machine can be programmed.

"You can also enter songs or words," Thornton said. On its website, Thornton Media promises the hardware, software and training so users can program "in YOUR language" — at $3,300 US a unit.

On the Siksika reserve, teachers want to use the tool one on one with students. They like the idea.

"It's [the language] a very important part of our culture. We want to keep it alive before it slowly disappears," said Larissa Calfrobe, 18.

Staff at the medical centre will also use the Phraselator so they can better communicate with patients who are more comfortable using their mother tongue.

Algorithms key to device

The Phraselator uses speech recognition algorithms, but is based on a different concept from most machine translation systems, the VoxTec website said.

Most efforts over the past 50 years of intense research have been based on the problem of recognizing phonemes — the smallest phonetic units that convey a distinct meaning, such as the "b" in bat — and universal translation.

Progress on the phoneme front has been slow, but VoxTec went at the problem by looking for a way to deal with phrases, recognizing that for most situations, there is "a specific lexicon that can effectively be communicated using a pre-defined, well-organized set of functional phrases."

Phraselator uses modules, groups of phrases in a given language designed by experts for specific uses such as disaster relief, the military or law enforcement, and then translated by linguists from the region where the language is spoken.

The modules advertised on its website range from Albanian to Vietnamese.

Don Thornton (and his wife) will be at our office on Monday, Feb. 12 to show us how to use the units and to start recording voices. We have invited a couple of elders to join us and we will be getting them to input some phrases.

Ontario Native Education Counselling Association

23rd Annual Conference May 28th, 29th, 30th

Water Tower Inn, 360 Great Northern Rd, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

 “Leaders of Today – Standing Strong”

Who Should Attend?

The conference is designed for Education Counsellors, Social Counsellors, Directors of Education, Student Support Workers, Teachers, and anyone who works with First Nation Students in the education field.

What to Expect?

The conference theme is “Leaders of Today – Standing Strong.”  As Counsellors and Front line Workers, you are the people who make the difference.  The conference presentations will focus on topics that will provide relevant information, resources, and tools to assist you both in job performance and your own personal growth. Areas of particular interest in the conference include:

Tools for Teachers, Parents and Counsellors, How to get parents involved, Early Identification, Transitional Year, Finding Balance, Character Development, Addiction Workshops, Two Spirited, Language, Motivational Speakers, Motivating Students, Drugs/ Crystal Meth, Gangs, Bullying, Special Needs – Learning challenges, styles, and available tools, Gambling, Cultural Workshops, Special Education, Advocacy Strategies for parents, Student Identification Process, Student Success Strategies, Professional Boundaries for Teachers and Counsellors, Learning Styles, Effective Communications, Building Rapport, Learning to find personal strengths to help cope with lack of support, Building Effective Working Relationships, Retention – dealing with dropouts, Exploring ways to work with younger students, Effectively, How to be more organized to be productive, Building s Support System, Networking,

What is the Cost?

Member fee before April13, 2007 - $200.00

Member fee after April13, 2007 - $325.00

Non-Members - $375.00

Elders and Students - $150.00

Group Rates Available if a group has 5 or more paid ONECA members inquire.

What is included in the Registration Fee?

May 28th, Breakfast and Lunch, Coffee Breaks

May 29th, Breakfast, Lunch, Coffee Breaks Banquet and Entertainment

May 30th, Breakfast, and Lunch, Coffee Breaks

I Want More Information - A complete program will be posted on our website once all facilitators have been confirmed. You can find this information at www.oneca.com under events/conference 2007, or contact the ONECA office at oneca@oneca.com bbor phone (705) 692-2999

The traditional water routes used by the people from across Nishnawbe Aski Nation for thousands of years are now popular canoe routes for people from around the world. A new canoe route atlas that is a combination of close to 100 years of travel by the two authors is being published in this spring describing this special part of Canada.

Over the past 40 years, Tom Terry travelled thousands of miles by canoe with family, friends, community members and guests through this special part of Canada. Tom and Carol operate a local canoe outfitting operation along with all their other activities.

This region was originally known as the "Little North" by the fur traders who were travelling these routes from the Hudson Bay and the Great Lakes in order to reach central Canada. Thus, the title of the new atlas is simply, "Canoe Atlas of the Little North" by Jonathan Berger and Thomas Terry.

The new atlas is reviewed on the Ottertooth.com web site at http://ottertooth.com/Otter-misc/littlenorth.htm with a link to the publisher’s promotion of the atlas available at http://ottertooth.com/Otter-misc/images/atlasinfo.pdf (1.4M PDF).

Conference announcement and Call for presentations ...

Promising Practices in the North Workshop 2007
with a focus on: 
Behavioural Difficulties and Early Intervention & Screening

Goal: 

The workshop will provide an educational and networking experience for caregivers and professionals who support youth living in northern and rural Canada.

Focus of the Workshop

• Behavioural Difficulties
  Examples:  conduct disorder, aggressive & disruptive behaviour, juvenile offenders, substance abuse, and behaviour management strategies
• Early Intervention  &  Screening
  Examples:  development milestones, small and large motor, nutrition, speech and language,  social development and healthy development

Anticipated Audience
·             Families/caregivers
·             Community service providers
·             Education providers
·             Health care providers
·             Early Childhood Educators
·             Remote, rural and Northern community members

Workshop Date:  March 22 & 23, 2007 at the Valhalla Inn, Thunder Bay. 

Hours:  Thursday 9am to 4pm & Friday 9am to 3:30 pm

Workshop Displays/Posters:

Vendors and service providers will be invited to have a display or poster presentation.  Please complete page 2 to register (see attached).  

How to submit your proposal (deadline January 22, 2007).

1. Complete page 2 (see attached) and submit via fax or mail to the contact information listed below.   
2. Please attach a 150-300 word summary of your presentation to this application.

Videoconferencing:  It is our goal to have the workshop sessions presented to remote and northern communities through video conference and online (webcast) technologies which will archive sessions to be available for viewing at any time.   Currently, our team is negotiating to have  videoconferencing available for the first time.  Details will follow.

Presentations should:

1. Provide access to evidence-based information.
2. Promote culturally appropriate theories, models, and strategies. 
3. Reduce isolation by increasing networks of rural, remote and northern resources. 
4. Educate the audience about interventions that can be immediately implemented.
5. Initiate dialogue and exploration about the unique needs of families in the North.

Please contact Jodi with further questions.

Jodi Kurzhals, Site Coordinator
Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs
Learning and Communication
955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, ON  P7B 5E1
Phone:  807.343.8196
Fax:  807.346.7956
Email: jodi.kurzhals@lakeheadu.ca
Website:  www.lcnorth.ca  and www.coespecialneeds.ca

From The Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada (AHRDCC) conference web site at http://www.ahrdcc.com/HRconference/index.php 

Unlocking Aboriginal Potential in the Workforce - National Aboriginal Recruitment, Retention & Advancement Conference

Conference Dates:

April 3, 2007 - Pre-conference Workshops
April 4 & 5, 2007 - Conference

Location: Fairmont Château Laurier, Ottawa

About the Conference
Unlocking Aboriginal Potential in the Workforce is the council's first national Aboriginal recruitment, retention and advancement conference. The conference will bring 250 human resource and Aboriginal diversity professionals from the employer, Aboriginal education and career development communities together for two-days of learning and networking in the eloquence of Ottawa's premier hotel, the Fairmont Château Laurier. The conference answers the call from Canada's employers and Aboriginal communities for an opportunity to advance new solutions toward Aboriginal workforce development and employment inclusion strategies in Canada.

Who Should Attend: Employers, Aboriginal employment practitioners, human resource & diversity managers, educators, and the career development community.

Call for Presenters
Deadline for submissions: January 26, 2007
Read the complete submission guidelines for workshop topic suggestions and details on submitting a prosposal.

Call for Presenters Guidelines - Deadline: Friday, January 26, 2007

The Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada (AHRDCC) invites submissions for conference workshops that highlight promising strategies/case studies/research and workforce partnership strategies that may generate creative new workforce solutions about:

• human capital leadership initiatives
• the implementation of Aboriginal workforce inclusion strategies
• innovative concepts for recruitment, retention or advancement strategies
• new methods to reach and engage the Aboriginal labour market.

Workshops should be concise, dynamic and interactive presentations that provide participants with resource tools and concepts that can be put to practical use in the workplace. Presenters are asked to focus on the lesson that needs to be delivered.

Workshops will be approximately 1.5 hours in length and as interactive as possible. Space is available for up to 50 delegates to attend each workshop. Some workshops may be offered more than once.

To show our gratitude to presenters we will provide each presenter with one complimentary conference registration. Presenters will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs.

Suggested Workshop Topics

• building a workplace strategy upon the business case for Aboriginal inclusion
• how to recruit the best Aboriginal talent
• Aboriginal people with disabilities
• overcoming barriers to employment
• addressing social issues through employment
• labour market trends and Aboriginal people
• engaging and retaining an Aboriginal workforce
• emerging human resource issues and trends in corporate Canada
• communication and protocols for effective collaboration
• marketing Aboriginal talent to employers
• effective networking and business relationship building tips
• employment law, legal issues, legislation, policies
• partnership solutions among industry, education and Aboriginal Human Resource Development Agreement holders (AHRDAs)
• organizational development and employee investment for success
• strategies for lifelong learning and Aboriginal employee advancement
• overcoming the cultural divide in partnerships,
• workplaces and training
• matching training to industry demands
• growing trades opportunities
• preparing the Aboriginal candidate for apprenticeship
• retention of Aboriginal learners in secondary and post-secondary contexts
• results and lessons learned from pilot projects in Aboriginal workforce development

Submitting a Proposal
Workshop presenters are encouraged to focus on one or two quality submissions rather than proposing a large number of presentations. The conference committee will consider a submission based on its appeal to a wide range of conference delegates and its relevance to the conference theme. You will be notified by email by Friday, February 9, 2007 if your presentation is selected.

Please provide the following:

• a description of your workshop (approximately 100 words)
• a brief description of what participants will learn and target audience
• how your workshop addresses the conference theme
• why your proposal should be selected
• a brief biography/curriculum vitae or up-to-date resume including your experience as a speaker/presenter

Please forward the above information by email to the conference organizers before
4:00 p.m. PST, Friday January 26, 2007.

For more information, contact:

Unlocking Aboriginal Potential in the Workforce
c/o First Nations Training & Consulting Services
PO Box 5000
Saanichton, BC  V8M 2C5
p - 250.652.7097
f - 250.652.7039
e - fntcs@telus.net
w - www.firstpeoplescanada.com

From http://www.nfb.ca/enclasse/doclens/visau/contest/en

One Drum, Many Hearts Contest - A contest for Canadian High School Students from the National Film Board (NFB) and their sponsors

DEADLINE: February 22, 2007

If you haven't had a chance to visit the fascinating world of ABORIGINAL PERSPECTIVES, now's a great time! Until February 22, you can enter the One Drum, Many Hearts Contest and win great PRIZES!

Four simple questions, one mini-essay on what's special about your community. That may be all there is between you and a new computer, an iPod, or a trip with friends and family to Edmonton for the Aboriginal Achievement Awards and Gala presentation March 16, 2007!

Have you ever watched the building of an igloo? The making of mukluks? The ritual drumming and dance of sacred ceremonies? Have you seen the arrival of Jacques Cartier through the eyes of the Cree? Or the coming of black-robed Jesuits from a Huron-Wendat perspective?

ABORIGINAL PERSECTIVES offers a treasure trove of film excerpts, short fiction and interviews, arranged by theme. Take a trip through the site. Hear the drums. And share your heart and voice with us, for a chance to win!

Prizes will be awarded to the 10 best works in two age categories:

• 15 years of age and under
• 16 years of age and over

Please visit http://www.nfb.ca/enclasse/doclens/visau/contest/en/ for more information.

Every now and then a newsletter comes out that provides a list of online resources that connects to additional valuable web sites. The recent UNBC Task Force on Substance Abuse, Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs e-bulletin provided such an opportunity to create a list of online resources for parents and children support systems. 

Upcoming Conferences & Workshop 

* January 31 & February 1, 2007 - Attachment & Healing Conference in Regina - This conference has a special focus on child welfare trends and issues facing aboriginal children and families. For information, visit: www.ehrlo.com/conference/ConferenceTitlePg.htm   

* March 7-10, 2007, The 2nd International Conference on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Victoria - This year’s conference is called “Research, Policy and Practice Around the World.” For information, visit: http://nearbc.ca/documents/FASD2007.pdf

* April 11-14, 2006, Community Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Toronto, Ontario  For information, visit: http://www.ccph.info/  

* April 20-22, 2007, 2nd International Meeting on Indigenous Child Health: Solutions, Not Problems in Montreal, Quebec  For information, visit: http://www.aap.org/nach/2InternationalMeeting.htm 

Interesting Online Resources   

* Internet Resources for Special Children provides links to a range of useful resources: www.irsc.org 

* Be Drug Wise helps youth make smart choices about alcohol and drugs: http://drugwise-droguesoisfute.hc-sc.gc.ca/index_e.asp  

* ActNow BC offers an information page for people with physical challenges:  www.actnowbc.gov.bc.ca/EN/406 

* BC Reproductive Care Program is intended to optimize maternal and infant health: www.rcp.gov.bc.ca 

* American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research: The Journal of the National Center focuses specifically on American Indian and Alaska Native populations: www.uchsc.edu/ai/ncaianmhr/journal_online.htm   

* The Doll Revolt: A Digital Exhibition of Girl-Made Artworks, sponsored by the US National Women’s Studies Association’s Girls and their Allies Caucus: http://www.dollrevolt.org 

* Preventing Substance Use Problems Among Young People: A Compendium of Best Practices:  www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/alt_formats/hecs-sesc/pdf/pubs/drugs-drogues/prevent/young-jeune_e.pdf

* Physicians for a Smoke Free Canada, dedicated to the reduction of tobacco-caused illness through reduced smoking and reduced exposure to second-hand smoke: www.smoke-free.ca 

* Mother of All Blogs, a blog about pregnancy, motherhood, writing and parenting  and parenting by book author and mom of four Ann Douglas: http://anndouglas.blogspot.com/  

* FAS World, an international alliance of parents and professionals who do not want to see any more children, teenagers and adults struggle with birth defects caused when their mothers drank alcohol in pregnancy: www.fasworld.com 

* GURL, an interactive web-thing for teen girls with information about life, choices, and abilities: www.gurl.com

* The Aboriginal Children’s Circle of Early Learning (ACCEL)  clearinghouse on Aboriginal early childhood development (ECD) for review, research and discuss best and promising practices; to exchange with a highly engaged network of Aboriginal ECD practitioners and researchers; and to keep in touch with the emerging needs of communities across Canada: http://www.accel-capea.ca/index_en.php

* Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development - Improves knowledge of the social and emotional development of young children by developing and disseminating scientific knowledge, and making recommendations based on that knowledge: http://www.excellence-earlychildhood.ca

* Child & Family Canada - Over 60 Canadian non-profit organizations have partnered to provide quality, credible resources on children and families: http://www.cfc-efc.ca/

* Early Learning Canada - Site supports Trainers and Workshop Leaders of a family literacy/healthy child development program designed for parents and other adults working with young children: http://www.elc-apec.ca/

* Healthy Spaces - Provides practical information to support environmental health in children’s day-to-day activities: http://www.cfc-efc.ca/healthy-spaces/

* Work Family Tips - Families help other families by finding tips and leaving tips on a variety of topics that offer strategies to help achieve better work life balance: http://www.wft-ifb.ca/

* Campaign 2000 - 55 partners working together to end child poverty in Canada: http://www.campaign2000.ca/

* Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children - 60 national & provincial organizations working to make children’s rights known and understood: http://www.rightsofchildren.ca/

* Canadian Health Network, Children's Health Affiliate - Offers links to hundreds of practical, credible web-based documents that support children’s health. Organized by topic area: http://www.canadian-health-network.ca/1children.html

* Canadian Partnership for Children's Health and Environment - an affiliation of organizations working together to protect children's health from environmental contaminants: http://www.healthyenvironmentforkids.ca/english

* Centres of Excellence for Children’s Well-Being - Federal initiative whose mandate is to disseminate advanced knowledge on key issues of children's health to those individuals or groups who need it most. There are five Centres: child welfare, communities, early childhood development, special needs, and youth engagement: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/dca-dea/allchildren_touslesenfants/centres_main_e.html

* Child & Family Canada - Over 50 Canadian non-profit organizations have partnered to provide quality, credible resources on children and families: http://www.cfc-efc.ca/

* Coalition on Physical Punishment of Children and Youth - A national coalition of organizations concerned with the well-being of children and their families which has launched a joint statement on the physical punishment of children and youth. The statement presents research that shows the physical punishment of children and youth plays no useful role in their upbringing and poses only risks to their development: http://www.cheo.on.ca/english/1120.html

* Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network - A venture that brings leading scientists, clinicians, students and educators together with public and private partners. Its mandate is to generate, integrate and disseminate bias-free scientific research and knowledge that is focused on improving and sustaining children's language and literacy development in Canada: http://www.cllrnet.ca/

* National Children’s Alliance - 60 national organizations supporting a National Children's Agenda: http://www.nationalchildrensalliance.com/

* Association of Day Care Operators of Ontario - Promotes the interests of independent child care operators in Ontario: http://www.adco-o.on.ca/

* Association for Child Care International - Promotes and supports the optimal education and development of children, from birth through early adolescence, and influences the professional growth of educators and the efforts of others who are committed to the needs of children in a changing society: http://www.acei.org/

* Canadian Paediatric Society - Provides both CPS members, other health care professionals and parents with information they need to make informed decisions about child health care: http://www.cps.ca/

* Centre for Families, Work and Well-Being - Promotes individual and family well-being, responsive and productive work environments, and strong, sustainable communities through research and teaching: http://www.worklifecanada.ca/

* Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada - Promotes accessible quality, publicly funded child care: http://www.childcareadvocacy.ca/index.shtml

* Child Care Connections – Nova Scotia - Promotes quality child care and connects child care practitioners, organizations and other interested individuals with information, resources and support: http://www.cccns.org/

* Child Care Sector Council - Portal to access information about human resource issues in the child care sector: http://www.ccsc-cssge.ca/

* Childcare Resource and Research Unit - Focuses on early childhood care and education research and policy to advance a publicly-funded, universally accessible, comprehensive, high quality, not-for-profit early childhood care and education system in Canada: http://www.childcarecanada.org/

* Children’s Rights Centre - Supports children's rights through research, public education and monitoring of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Canada. Offers online children’s right curricula: http://discovery.uccb.ns.ca/children/

* Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC - Promotes and supports quality community-based, non-profit child care services that benefit children, families and the public and the best interests of society: http://www.cccabc.bc.ca/

* EnableLink - Links people with disabilities to a world of resources and includes a section on family life: http://www.enablelink.org/

* Institute for Child Rights and Development - Promotes innovative research and education for implementing and promoting the Convention on the Rights of the Child in less-developed countries: http://web.uvic.ca/iicrd/

* Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care - Creates public awareness about the benefits of early childhood education and advocate for high quality non-profit, accessible child care services in Ontario and nationally: http://www.childcareontario.org/

* Ontario Network of Home Child Care Provider Groups - Provides caregivers and caregiver groups with information services and a provincial voice for home child care: http://www.geocities.com/ottawachildcare/onet

* Parent Voices - Works with and unites parents to make the case for the quality, affordable and accessible child care services they need in their communities: http://www.parentvoices.ca/

* Partners in Practice : Mentoring in Early Childhood Practice - Provides information, support and resources for mentoring in early childhood practice: http://www.partnersinpractice.org/

* Reaching IN...Reaching OUT - Adapts and evaluates the Penn Resilience Program (PRP) school-age model for use with children six years and younger. This program helps children learn to reach in to think more flexibly and accurately and to reach out to take on new opportunities: http://www.reachinginreachingout.com/index.htm

* Rural Voices - Looks at how government policy impact on the development and delivery of rural child care in Saskatchewan and Manitoba: http://ruralvoices.cimnet.ca/

* SpeciaLink: National Centre for Child Care Inclusion - Expands the quality and quantity of inclusion in child care for children with special needs in Canada by putting researchers, policy makers and parents in touch with the best inclusive practices: http://www.specialinkcanada.org/

* Talaris Research Institute - Discover how children think, feel and learn -- and what parents and caregivers can do in the first five years of life to support their healthy development. This website provides useful research-based tools and helpful parenting tips: http://www.talaris.org/

* The Information Sidewalk - Hosted by Senator Landon Pearson, supports public knowledge of children’s rights and legislation affecting children: http://sen.parl.gc.ca/lpearson/

From http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2006/12/07/aboriginal-education.html

Most aboriginal youth not finishing high school: analyst
Thursday, December 7, 2006 - CBC News

Seventy per cent of young aboriginal adults living on Manitoba reserves have not completed high school — the highest dropout rate among on-reserve youth in Canada, a senior analyst said Thursday.

In a report released in October, Michael Mendelson, senior scholar with the Caledon Institute of Social Policy in Ottawa, found the problem extends across the country, but is especially acute in Manitoba.

"Aboriginal people, particularly on reserve, are failing to complete high school. Not only failing to go on to post-secondary education, but not even getting through high school," Mendelson said Thursday.

"About 70 per cent of young adults on reserve do not complete high school in Manitoba. That's the highest rate on reserve in any province."

Mendelson's research also found that nearly 50 per cent of young aboriginal adults in Winnipeg haven't finished high school. Overall, he said, aboriginal education should be one of the most serious issues facing the province today.

Economic repercussions

"How can a province like Manitoba be prosperous economically if 10 to 15 per cent of its labour force essentially can only be employed at very low skilled jobs that don't even require a high school graduation?" he said.

"There's fewer and fewer of those jobs all the time. Both socially and economically, this is kind of [a] long-term tsunami that's facing Manitoba."

Mendelson said he believes part of the problem is that reserves do not have educational supports, or even a school system. As well, remote communities do not have curriculum development, teacher evaluation or superintendents, he said.

As part of the solution, Mendelson said the federal government should create a new national education act to allow First Nations to create their own school boards and systems.

Related Links:

Low aboriginal graduation rates a concern for all Canadians: report - http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2006/08/10/aboriginal-graduates.html

Caledon Institute of Social Policy: Read the report - Improving Primary and Secondary Education on Reserves in Canada
Michael Mendelson, October 2006 - http://www.caledoninst.org/Publications/PDF/608ENG%2Epdf

In his report Aboriginal Peoples and Postsecondary Education in Canada (Caledon Institute of Social Policy, July 2006), Michael Mendelson found that a very high percentage of Aboriginal students were not completing high school, especially those who lived on reserve.  In this commentary, Mendelson sets out proposals for improving primary and secondary education for residents of reserves.  He argues that many reserve schools are organized on the ‘village school’ model that prevailed in rural Canada before the creation of modern consolidated school boards.  He argues for the creation of a First Nations-owned and  -controlled school system.  Mendelson proposes that a First National Education Act replace the current education sections of the Indian Act to provide a legal framework enabling the evolution of First Nations school boards that reflect the characteristics of each region.