Canadian Poet, Sabrina Benaim – Look Out World!

So, as promised, here we are with the 3rd verse of the Olympic Manifesto that dropped yesterday, August 18th. This one was a surprise and a pleasant one at that, because this was not written and performed by Shane Koyczan (like I expected), no, true to Canadian form, Sport Chek injected diversity in the form of a very talented and up and coming poet, Sabrina Benaim. I am in awe of how our Canadian-ism has faith in its people and subscribes to the philosophy of everyone deserving a chance to take a stab at greatness. Here, Sabrina Benaim wonderfully delivers.

Greatness walks up to you,
She asks you two questions :
Can you see yourself in me & are you ready? 

To push beyond your limits
while shutting out the noise
to wear well each earned bead of sweat
because you’ve worked just as hard
with a different set of rules
to triumph
before the clock ever starts.
Ask them why they call you anything other than athlete.
You see expectations and break them
wearing muscles and tears,
each one a testament to your strength.
To erase the idea of what you are supposed to be is not what you are here for,
you came to show the world what you are capable of.
There is no box to check for greatness,
They’ll know it when they see it.

-Sabrina Benaim

The last two lines are a stunner. Let them linger.

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Hold onto Your Hat! Olympic Wreaths Just in!

To wrap up our theme of Olympic Games this week (and with the Olympics ending on Sunday), I had my students make Olympic Wreaths in class. I came upon a picture of this online, and found it to be an easy and fun activity that even my staff had fun doing!

Making Olympic Wreaths:

1. You will need sheets of green construction paper, paper plates (white or green) and a pair of scissors. All of these materials can be bought from the Dollar Store.

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2. Take a sheet of the green construction paper and fold it twice so you end up with a small square.

3. Draw leaves on the green surface of the folded construction paper, filling it up as much as possible.

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4. Cut out the leaves and store them in a (plastic) container.

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5. Take your paper plates and cut out the insides. Hold onto these insides for later.

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6. Put liquid glue onto the insides of the cut-out paper plates and leave one on each table for students to use.

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7. If available, use flat-nibbed utensils for spreading (other alternatives: Popsicle sticks or dip leaves directly) the glue onto the plate and gluing the leaves one by one.

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8. Glue leaves in one direction, or both, alternating every few leaves to achieve desired pattern.

9. When wreaths are ready, make sure to write each student’s name in marker. And, enjoy!

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