Approximately 90 Grades 7 to 12 students from 13 Bluewater District School Board (BWDSB) schools attended this year’s Multilingual Learner (MLL) Student Forum on Friday, November 14 to celebrate the diverse languages, stories, and experiences that newcomers bring to our school communities. Hosted by the Learning Services – Program department at the BWDSB Education Centre in Chesley, students had opportunities to share their voices through writing, art, and music, with an option to contribute their work to a new book showcasing student creativity.
Co-authors Islay Graham and Jiya Kukreja of the student written book,
Pencilling It In: 27 Stories of Success Achieved by Grey-Bruce Newcomers, joined virtually to share their experience and helpful tips with attendees regarding the book creation process. Other guests included Living Hyphen, an organization empowering hyphenated Canadians to share their stories through writing workshops, a music instructor who guided the students in expressing their ideas and emotions through GarageBand on iPads, and a BWDSB secondary art teacher leading a creative session on book cover design and title creation.
The forum provided a unique opportunity for MLL students to connect, create, and celebrate their identities with their peers from other schools. Among the students in attendance, as many as 29 different languages were spoken! Each school was also represented by a teacher who supports or teaches MLL students.