CM Magazine: CM Volume 2 Number 4
Table of Contents
From the Editor
In Remembrance
Book Reviews
-
Toni and the Dandelions.
- Vivian Hitchman. Illustrations by Steve Pilcher.
Music composed by Mark Ferguson
- Review by Brenda Partridge.
- Grades K - 2 / Ages 4 - 8.
-
In Flanders Fields: The story of the Poem by John McCrae.
- Linda Granfield. Illustrated by Janet Wilson.
- Review by Lorraine Douglas.
- Grades 4 and Up / Ages 8 to Adult.
-
The Night Voyagers.
- Donn Kushner.
- Review by Ted Monkhouse.
- Grades 6 - 9 / Ages 11 - 14.
-
War.
- Drama by Dennis Foon.
- Review by Jennifer Sullivan.
- Grades 11 and Up. / Ages 16 to Adult.
Video Review
-
If Only I were an Indian.
- John Paskievich
- Review by Charmagne de Veer.
- Grades 7 and Up / Ages 11 - Adult.
Features
-
No Man's Land: The Battlefield Paintings of Mary Riter Hamilton
-
Index of War related Book Reviews
-
An interview with filmmaker John Paskievich
-
The Little Math Puzzle
-
The Great Canadian Trivia Contest
From the Mailbox
-
More indexes
CM
Editor
Duncan Thornton
e-mail: editor@mbnet.mb.ca
CM
Executive Assistant
Peter Tittenberger
e-mail: camera@mbnet.mb.ca
From the Editor
In remembrance.
This Remembrance Day is probably the last occasion to mark the fiftieth
anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Titles have been
published to mark that anniversary for some time -- starting long before
the electronic CM got up and running -- and they're still coming out. So
there'll be more reviews treating the subject appearing in the magazine
for a while yet.
This issue contains some Remembrance Day content -- a feature on a special
touring exhibit; a review of a new book about the writing of the classic
poem In Flander's Fields; a modest index of the titles we've
reviewed that touch on the Great Wars and Canada's role in them. And
there are also reviews of two titles -- Night Voyagers and
War, that are about the violence and terror that remain to
trouble those growing up today.
But while I wrote a piece in this space for Halloween, there's no
Remembrance Day editorial. A long time ago I was a pretty
good history student, but the two World Wars we remember tomorrow, wars
that ushered our country into this prosperous modern world on the arms of
limitless tragedy, are beyond the scope of two hundred words in
CM, or my understanding.
But I offer as an epigraph the `moral of the work' from Winston
Churchill's The Second World War:
In war, resolution; in defeat, defiance; in victory, magnanimity; in
peace, goodwill.
As always, if you have comments or suggestions on anything published in
CM, send e mail to the address beneath my name.
-- Duncan Thornton, Editor
editor@mbnet.mb.ca
Book Review
Toni and the Dandelions.
Vivian Hitchman. Illustrations by Steve Pilcher.
Music composed by Mark Ferguson.
Oakville: Grassroots Press, 1994. 36pp, cloth.
$19.95 / $25.95 with cassette / $34.95 with cassette and Teacher's
Activity kit.
ISBN 0-9695997-1-4 (book).
ISBN 0-9695997-2-2 (cassette).
ISBN 0-9695997-0-6 (book and cassette).
ISBN 0-9695997-3-0 (teacher's kit, book, and cassette).
(CIP).
Distribution by Addison-Wesley Publishers.
Grades K - 2 / Ages 4 - 8.
Review by Brenda Partridge.
excerpt:
Toni loves dandelions. Every spring, Toni and her pet cat, Roop, play
with the dandelions in the orchard. Toni serves dandelion soup, dandelion
salad and dandelion tea. She makes dandelion bracelets, necklaces and
flowery crowns. When the dandelion flowers turn white, Toni blows the
fluffy seeds into the air. As they float away she whirls and twirls,
dancing the dandelion twirl.
"A weed is just a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
As spring emerges into summer and the lawns and fields fill with golden
dandelions, young children spend much time picking and presenting the
colourful weeds to their favourite adults. When the golden heads turn to
white fluff , those same young children delight in blowing the dandelion
seeds into the world. To provide a permanent recollection of such
memories, Vivian Hitchman has written a delightful, fanciful adventure of
a young girl called Toni.
Toni becomes quite concerned about her springtime fun when her dad
tells her that he is going to "mow down the dandelions in the orchard."
As she lies in bed, gazing at her ceiling mobile of golden lions and
contemplating the fate of the dandelions, the mobile-lions come to life
and start singing a tune. They invite her to follow them through the
window and into a jungle of giant green and yellow and white dandelions.
Toni's journey into the land of giant dandelions allows her to meet
Simon, king of the lions -- king of the dandelions. Together they do the
dandelion twirl until Toni remembers that her dad is going to cut the
dandelions. Simon assures her that she need not worry, and the surprise
ending proves him correct.
Dandelions are familiar to most young children. In this large picture
book, Vivian Hitchman has used this common-place weed to create a
fantasy even the very young will understand. She uses a minimum of
vocabulary on each page to allow the very simple and effective illustrations of Steve Filcher to clearly convey the story to the reader or
listener. I am impressed with the section at the back of the book that
gives the historic origin of dandelions and tells where and why they are
grown. Also included are instructions for three different ways to create
an indoor dandelion garden -- a marvellous idea for a science-fair project!
Grassroots Press tells us that Vivian Hitchman is a commercial
writer and photographer from Oakville, Ontario, who specializes in
producing corporate newsletters and brochures. This multimedia package is
her first project for children. Illustrator Steve Pilcher, from Toronto,
won a silver award in 1991 for his work on Norbert Nipkin and the
Magic Riddle Stone. Composer Mark Cassius Ferguson wrote the
score and Hitchman herself narrates on the tape. She is accompanied by
the St. Andrew's Children's Choir, and several actors who play the
various parts.
The teacher's activity kit, prepared by the author and Sharyrn
Panchuk, teacher of Mathematics and Design and Technology for the City of
Hamilton, provides 63 pages of activities and blackline masters in the
areas of: Arts; Language; Mathematics; Science, Design, and Technology;
and Self and Society. Of particular interest to Ontario educators is that
all activities are based on the Common Curriculum.
You can download a 26 second 
audio
exerpt of Toni and the Dandelions in aiff format (198K).
Recommended.
Brenda Partridge is a Library-Resource teacher at Percy Centennial
Public School in Warkworth, Ontario.
Book Review
In Flanders Fields:
The story of the Poem by John McCrae.
Linda Granfield. Illustrated by Janet Wilson.
Toronto: Lester Publishing, 1995. 32pp, cloth, 16.95.
ISBN 1-895555-65-5.
Grades 4 and Up / Ages 8 to Adult.
Review by Lorraine Douglas.
excerpt:
Ypres, a fourteenth-century town encircled by a moat, had been the home of
a beautiful medieval cathedral and Cloth Hall. By the time John McCrae
arrived in Flanders, however, the town, called "Wipers" by the soldiers,
was ruined and refugees streamed from it. Troops were camped not far from
the Yser Canal, where they cooked meals, wrote letters to loved ones, and
strengthened friendships that, in some instances, began back in their homeland.
This beautiful tribute to one of the most popular poems ever written
presents the story of its creator against the background of the First
World War. John McCrae was an idealistic Canadian doctor who wrote the
poem in 1915 shortly after his friend Lieutenant Alexis Helmer had died
at Ypres. The text of the poem and accompanying paintings are interwoven
through the book. The artist visited Flanders and has recreated the dark
landscape of the war in oil paintings filled with expressive brushstrokes.
Linda Granfield includes numerous interesting details and
reproductions from archival sources in her well-balanced and thoughtful
text. Her writing is clear and easy to understand, but does not treat
the subject simplistically. The controversy of McCrae's call to arms in
the poem is discussed in the context of the times in which he wrote the
poem. The continuing symbolism of the poppy in remembrance of war is
explained. Endpaper maps bordered with scenes from the war show the
geography of the major battles in France. This elegantly produced book is
a valuable resource.
Highly recommended.
Lorraine Douglas is Youth Services Coordinator for the Winnipeg Public
Library.
Book Review
The Night Voyagers.
Donn Kushner.
Toronto: Lester Publishing, 1995. 220pp, paper boards, $16.95.
ISBN 1-895555-69-8. CIP.
Ages 11 - 14 / Grades 6 - 9.
Review by Ted Monkhouse.
Many of us recall the stream of political refugees fleeing the death
squads of the U.S. supported, right-wing regimes of Guatemala and El
Salvador. Many of us recall the "underground railway" to Canada, set up
by the sanctuary movement of predominantly American churches and
synagogues hiding these refugees from U.S. immigration authorities, who
feared they might be left-wing extremists or Communists. Many of us will
recall newspaper accounts of these refugees holed up in church basements
and safe houses awaiting Canadian immigration hearings. Some of us will
also recall their deportations, having been tricked into signing
"deportation" documents. Most of us will recall this as an era of
soul-searching over the immigration issue.
The Night Voyagers is a fictional account of one
family fleeing their Central American homeland after the death squads
have claimed the father, a "disappeared." The story is seen largely
through the eyes of the traumatized younger son (ten years old at its
beginning) as he, his mother, and older brother flee northward through
Mexico and the U.S. To Canada.
The story also paints a picture of civil disobedience practiced by
morally outraged citizens, thwarting a harsh immigration policy and those
who carry it out. However, the author also incorporates the cultural and
mythological heritage of these refugees into the story as they adjust to
their new conditions. It is a sad story with a happy ending -- but filled
with hope throughout.
Kushner, an eminent microbiologist at the University of Toronto, is
also the award-winning author of The Violin Makers Gift
(CLA Book of the Year) and Book Dragon (IODE Book Award), as
well as a picture book, Dinosaur Duster. However,
The Night Voyagers presents the reader with difficulties.
The language, though technically correct, is not as easy flowing and
natural as one might hope. In addition, the mingled reality and
supernatural imaginings of the young hero are confusing to the reader,
and require some perseverance to sort out.
Kushner perhaps is as zealous as his protagonists in trying to
integrate too much culture, mythology, and symbolism -- as well as
inconsequential detail -- so that the story gets bogged-down
unnecessarily. The publisher suggests an interest level of age eleven and
reading level of grades six to nine. I don't believe many youngsters of
that age would stick with it, voluntarily. A glossary and listing of
sources help only slightly. This story will probably be read to achieve
specific purposes but, I suspect, infrequently for pleasure.
Recommended for use in discussion about immigration and multicultural issues.
Ted Monkhouse is a retired teacher-librarian in Guelph, Ontario.
Book Review
War.
Drama by Dennis Foon.
Winnipeg: Blizzard Publishing, 1995.
58pp, paper, $10.95.
ISBN 0-921368-53-4.
Ages 16 to Adult / Grades 11 and Up.
Review by Jennifer Sullivan.
excerpt:
The wannabe comes up to us, grinning. Pulls out this long bread knife,
one of those flimsy things from a dollar store with a long plastic
handle. Like ooo we're scared man, we were cracking up. The kid was
laughing too, nervous like. . . And then he slides it into my brother's gut.
Dennis Foon, author of New Canadian Kid and Skin and
Liars, gives us a violent jolt into the world of adolescence with
his new play, War. Growing up to be a man is not easy in a
society where brutality and aggression are a means of survival and dreams
are held at knife-point.
And Foon's teens do have dreams. Their hopes are voiced in
soliloquies that are often lyrical and powerful. There's seventeen-year-old Andy
who wants to be an actor because Eastwood and Seagal are tough and
impenetrable. Brad will do whatever it takes: gouge your eyes, kick,
spear, smash noses into jelly to become a hockey player; violence is his
passport to a better life. Shane, who dreamed of a king whose touch
turned everything to gold, watches everything he touches blow away. Foon
suggests that dreams are the sacrifices of war, flickering flames of hope
that are violently extinguished.
In contrast to the dreamy soliloquies, the dialogue is sparse. The
teens use slang; their words cut through the air like knives. The rhythm
of the play is fast-paced, and the fragmented sentences convey a sense of
urgency -- there's no room for discussion or emotion on a battlefield.
Images of war are interspersed throughout the play to reinforce its theme
of violence.
Foon makes excellent use of stark black and white photographs to
emphasize the bleakness of the landscape and mirror the emotional
isolation of the teens. There are no parents or women in this play. Women
are talked about, talked over, but they do not have a voice. Only Sheila,
Tommy s girlfriend, can inspire some unguarded feeling, but Sheila is a
shadow, an ephemeral spark of humanity who is rubbed out by a violent rape.
This is a powerful play that should not be overlooked. In
War, Dennis Foon allows his characters to speak freely;
there is no moralizing narrator to guide or censure them. Perhaps it is
this lack of intervention that makes the play so effective. Foon wrote
War as a warning, hoping that the profane language, the
bloody images, and the disturbing climax would reinforce the power and
importance of his message: the Hurt we put out comes back
on us. It would be possible to study this play in a classroom setting if
the mature subject matter and themes are taken into account. Having
students take on the actor's parts would be an excellent and provocative
way to explore the role and glamorization and violence in our society, as
well as its treatment of women.
Recommended.
Jennifer Sullivan has a Master's degree in English Literature and
works within the Children's Literature Service of the National Library of
Canada.
Video Review
If Only I Were an Indian
Directed by John Paskievich.
Winnipeg: National Film Board of Canada, 1995. 80 minutes.
Currently in theatrical distribution; contact the NFB for pricing and
availability.
Grades 7 and Up / Ages 11 - Adult.
Review by Charmagne de Veer.
excerpt:
"The prophecy stated that our people would suffer under this domination of
the white people. And at that time the world would have been in such a
state that a lot of things were destroyed, that white people would come
to the Indian and learn about the ways of our people. . .
A group of Czechs and Slovaks, disenchanted with both communism and its
aftermath, gathers in a field to build and live in teepees, create and
smoke peace pipes -- to get in touch with the North American aboriginal
way of life and live it. When three aboriginal elders from Manitoba go to
visit them, a film crew documents the trip and thus If Only I Were
an Indian is born.
At the start of the film (which kicks off its commercial
distribution with a launch at the Winnipeg Art Gallery November 10th),
the sight of 150 pale, pasty Eastern Europeans -- clad only in thongs,
whooping and dancing around in a pastoral valley -- is amusing to say the
least. But director John Paskievich's sensitive handling of the
situation turns it from a joke to a deeply touching tribute to aboriginal
culture.
He begins the film from the perspective of a Cree couple and an
Ojibway woman, all from Manitoba. They are, naturally, shocked by the
sight of these Europeans mimicking their culture. But, focussing on the
teepees (and not the Europeans) that dot the hillsides, the man remarks
on how real the setting appears.
Paskievich quickly takes us to a series of up-close interviews with
the Czechs. They discuss, without irony, how Russian communism left them
lacking any sense of community, able to trust no one but their immediate
family. One man describes how the "Indian" way of life has given him
trusted friends and taught him that "human beings exist as part of a
larger whole and only then does life have meaning." As the film moves
along, their clothing and near-nakedness become less and less absurd.
Paskievich gives some historical perspective to their situation:
well known throughout Europe are the novels of Karl Mays, which portray a
cowboy hero who is helped by aboriginal peoples. And even more popular
are the works of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century naturalist
Ernest Thompson Seton (many of whose stories were set in Manitoba's
Carberry Hills, where he once lived). Seton predicted ecological disaster
if Westerners did not adopt a harmonic acceptance of nature, and he even
encouraged children to attend camps teaching aboriginal ways of life. One
of the Czech "Indians" delivers a touching speech:
As a child, I didn't want to be an astronaut . . . but neither did I want
to be a world record breaking potato sorter . . . we had no role models
except from the Indians of those stories.
By the end of the film, when Paskievich returns to the perspective
of the aboriginals, the humour of the movie becomes touching rather than
mocking: the Czechs demonstrate their version of aboriginal dance for one
of the elders but it is so sloppy and a-rhythmic that he can't join in.
But he doesn't laugh. Instead he says, "it must be hard to learn
traditional dances from a book . . . you need a teacher. That's not
something these people have access to." He even discusses raising funds
so he can fly some of the Czechs to his reserve in Manitoba to teach
them. His comments reveal the film's greatest irony -- that the Europeans
who once crossed the ocean to conquer a culture, now see that same
culture as their only salvation.
Teachers may find the film's sound quality to be inadequate in a
classroom setting, and its nudity (while not gratuitous) to be
potentially distracting to young students. But in the classroom, If
Only I Were an Indian will spark discussion about cultural issues.
Highly recommended.
Charmagne de Veer is a freelance writer and editor who currently
writes for Herizons magazine.
An interview with filmmaker John Paskievich appears in this issue of CM
Feature
No Man's Land
The Battlefield Paintings of
Mary Riter Hamilton
Angela Davis and Sarah McKinnon
Six months after the end of the First World War, Mary Riter Hamilton undertook a "special mission" for the War Amputations Club of British Columbia. Her task was to provide paintings of the battlefields of France and Belgium for publication in a veterans' magazine, The Gold Stripe. She subsequently stayed in Europe for seven years, producing over 300 battlefield paintings during the years 1919 to 1922. A number of the first series of pictures were exhibited in Vancouver and Victoria in 1920 and reproduced in The Gold Stripe in the same year. Exhibitions were also held in England and France in 1922 and 1923.
Mary Hamilton gave some of her sketches and paintings to war veterans in Vancouver, but she never offered any of them for sale. Instead, when she returned to Canada in 1926, she donated 227 works to the Public ( now National) Archives of Canada. In one of her letters to the Dominion Archivist, Dr. A. G. Doughty, she said, "It is a great honour and privilege to know that the work done amid the inexpressible desolation of No Man's Land has been considered worthy of a place among the Memorials of our Canadian men, the survivors, and the fallen."
Some of these paintings have been seen in exhibitions in Canadian galleries over the intervening years, but the majority remained in the care of the National Archives. The forty works seen in No Man's Land: The Battlefield Paintings of Mary Riter Hamilton have been chosen from that collection.
In cooperation with the War Amps of Canada and the National Archives of Canada, CM magazine is proud to bring you reproductions of selected works from No Man's Land: The Battlefield Paintings of Mary Riter Hamilton.
The following images are in jpeg format, file sizes are in brackets:
No Man's Land: The Battlefield Paintings of Mary Riter Hamilton
Exhibition Schedule:
- Previous
- University of Winnipeg Gallery 1C03; Winnipeg, Manitoba -- Nov. 5th to Dec. 8th, 1989
- National Archives of Canada; Ottawa, Ontario -- March 24th to April
25th, 1993
- Acadia University Art Gallery; Wolfville, Nova Scotia -- Nov. 2nd to Dec.
2nd, 1994
- Current
- Moose Jaw Art Museum - Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan - Oct. 24th to Dec. 3rd, 1995
- Future
- Thunder Bay Art Gallery - Thunder Bay, Ontario - Fall 1996 (dates to be
announced)
For more information about the exhibition or the War Amps of Canada send email to Canada's War Museum.
Feature
Canada and the Wars
1995 has seen many titles published that relate to the First or Second
World Wars, and Canada's role in them -- in fact, the titles are still
coming in, and so there will be more reviews yet to appear in CM. But
this is a brief list of the what we've covered so far:
- Almost a Lifetime
- John McMahon
- Review by Neil V. Payne
- Grade 9 - 13 / Ages 13 - Adult
- Blackouts to Bright Lights:
Canadian War Bride Stories
- Edited by Barbara Ladouceur and Phyllis Spence
- Review by Grace Shaw
- Grade 9 - 13 / Ages 13 - Adult
- In Flanders Fields: The story of the Poem by John McCrae
- Linda Granfield. Illustrated by Janet Wilson
- Review by Lorraine Douglas
- Grades 4 and Up / Ages 8 to Adult.
- No Man's Land: The Battlefield Paintings of Mary Riter Hamilton
- Sarah McKinnon and Angela Davis
- The Old Brown Suitcase: A Teenager's
Story of War and Peace
- Lillian Boraks-Nemetz
- Review by Janie Wilkins
- Grades 5 - 10 / Ages 11 - 16
- One Village, One War: 1914-1945
- Douglas How
- Review by Neil V. Payne
- Grades 10 - 13 / Ages 14 - Adult
- SADAKO Teachers' Guide
- Naomi Wakan
- Review by Elinor M. Kelly
- Preschool - Grade 1 / Ages 3 - 7
- The Ship That Voted No and Other Stories
of Ships and the Sea
- Tony Keene
- Review by Neil V. Payne
- Grade 7 - 13 / Ages 12 - Adult
Feature
Interview: John Paskievich
director of If Only I Were an
Indian
CM interviewed award-winning director John Paskievich
November 9th, the night before the launch of If Only I Were an
Indian at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
CM: During the movie the view of these Europeans who dress up as
Indians changes, from seeing them from the outside, as somewhat absurd,
to seeing them more sympathetically, more as they see themselves. Did
your perspective change while you were making the film?
Paskievich: It changed, but not so much when I was making the
movie, as when I was doing the actual research. I went over there on
Aeroplan points, actually, just to see what these Czechs and Slovaks were
about -- I thought I might just make a novelty piece on a bunch of
eccentrics. But while I was researching them, I found there was a lot
there, and that these individuals were incredibly articulate and
knowledgable about the world, and my attitude changed.
When I told the natives in Manitoba about this, their attitude was
pretty much like mine at the start; they assumed these people were just
eccentrics. And I didn't argue otherwise; I wanted them to experience
what these people were about on their own.
CM: How would you sum up the attitude of the native elders?
Paskievich: At first they were sceptical. They had an open mind,
but still a sceptical attitude. But then they really liked these people,
they liked what they saw and the hard work the Indian activity involves
-- everything over there is done by hand; here often the native artifacts
are made in a much more commercial fashion. Even bead-work is something
that relies on industrial goods. But the Czechs and Slovaks use only
quills, rather than beads, for decoration. Though they have to use
hedgehog quills, because there aren't any porcupines.
The elders were also impressed by the European's spirituality; that's
something they weren't expecting. So the elders liked them. There was no
animosity at all, just some scepticism at the beginning -- it would be
like a Scotsmen visiting the Orient and finding this group of Asians who
played the bagpipes and wore kilts . . .
CM: What did you take away from making If Only I Were
an Indian?
Paskievich: I learned that all things are possible in human
affairs in terms of sociology or anthropology. That all things are
possible and too often we use boxes when we talk about issues like
racism, for example. That to me is always a stupid issue; there's no
such thing as race; people all blend together. But people in power seem
to want to box people in, whether it's to keep power, or to help people,
or to fight oppression. The whole issue of cultural appropriation has to
do with boxes. I find the box thinking clumsy, and it doesn't make any
sense. For instance at the Art Gallery opening (on November 10th), a
company run by natives in Manitoba is supplying the soft drinks --
they've adopted white business culture. I wanted that because it seemed
to me to parallel what these Czechs and Slovaks were doing in adopting
native culture.
All these lines we've drawn are artificial. Talk about race doesn't
make sense; you have to deal with specifics. I've always felt
that, but this film made it immediate to me. Individuals can make
themselves anything they want to -- Grey Owl was an Englishman, but he
wanted to be an Indian, and I don't find that scandalous; why not? But at
the same time of course, individuals and nations and groups do exploit
others; that is so.
But I think the age of ideology is over. One of the horrible things
about our century is that it has been the age of ideology. Political and
cultural ideology, and even things like psychology, which was almost an
ideology. It's all positivism, all-encompassing systems that profess to
hold the truth, and it turns out everything is more complicated than that.
CM: This is a film about culture; I have to ask what your own
cultural background is.
Paskievich: I grew up in an ethnic, working-class culture; I
emigrated as a boy, after the war, in the fifties. My parents were
illiterate refugees. The were victims of an ideology as well. From
Ukraine. That's where some of my perspective comes from.
CM: Your film couldn't help but remind me that in North
America, thousands of people try to recreate European medieval history in
the Society for Creative Anachronism; and here were Europeans trying to
recreate North American history . . .
Paskievich: I think you're going to see more of that; you're
going to see all kinds of people seeking a kind of cultural intimacy of
their own. In a way, we don't have a culture anymore. We have high
culture, with the opera and the symphony; and we have low culture, with
things like hockey and baseball; and then we have pop culture, which is
different from popular culture -- pop culture is all business. What we
don't have is a culture where all people get together and have rituals.
Churches used to provide that, but I think most people now, that great
middle class, are culture-less. Nobody knows how to dance or sing at
ritual events . . .
What keeps the mass culture we have going is novelty, and money. But
if we ever have a society with less money, I'm not sure what's going to
happen, because we're kind of a culture-less society. We have a culture
of work. Even people with lots of money put in eighteen hour days at
work. . . It's all kind of strange.
A review of If Only I Were an Indian appears in this issue of CM
Feature
"The Little Math Puzzle Contest"
Tom Murray, the coordinator of the The Math Puzzle, has been kind
enough to give CM permission to run the weekly Little
Math Puzzle Contest (inspired by The Great Canadian Trivia
Challenge.)
Royal West Academy (a high school) in Montreal, Quebec
is sponsoring a little math puzzle contest.
This contest is open to all participants but is designed for students in
grades five through ten. English will be the language used for all problems
and if their solutions relate to a language, the language will be English.
Contest Format:
Each week a new puzzle will be presented and the answers and winners from
two weeks earlier will be posted.
Answers are to be received by 8:00 a.m. eastern time the following Friday.
The answers will then be judged, and a correct answer along with the
winners' names, will be posted with the puzzle two weeks later.
Both individual students and entire classes are welcome to participate.
Do not to send your answers to CM. Instead, please send
all answers to Andrea Pollock and Alex Nazarov at the following
address:
math_puzzle@rwa.psbgm.qc.ca
With your solution please include your names, school, grade, and
e-mail address, and your city.
Answer #8
Question #8 from 2 weeks ago was the following:
What are the next two integers? 21, 20, 18, 15, 11, 6, __, __
Subtract 1, then 2, then 3,..from a number to get the next number
so the last 2 integers are 0 and -7
Winners Who Correctly Solved #8
- Joshua McNorton Grade 7
St. Andrew School: Windsor, Ontario
- Corey Brezinsky, Jesse Meyer, Kelsey Whyte Grade 5
Hastings School: Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Megan Clear, Shannon Toshack, Aron Houssin, Jesse Johnson, Danielle Rodych,
Serge Couture, Keith Giroux, Christian Leclerc, Greg Anderson, Andrew
Matthes, Kristina Head, Max Marak, Suzanne Walker, Claude Mousseau, Drew
Dushnicky, Erin Knight, Lindsay Ashley, Alex Gajardo, Alea Goodmanson, Ginger
Talbot, Kevin Fawley, Geoff Moen, Megan Jerlo, Reymi Ricard, Jill Somers,
Lise=Anee de Rocquigny, Chantelle Denny, Stacey Ashley, Anne Bergeron, Joseph Chincheong, Lindsay Currie, Shelley Garvin, Bradley Hartmann, Christopher Lim, Jonathan Marsh, Benjamin Sanders, Adam Saurette, Jeffrey Sewell, Allyson Adams, Kyle Bodnarchuk, David Clarke, Dale Furutani, Melissa Gauthier, Kristel Horvath, Michael Jackson, Derek Kostenchuk, Eric Manraj, Natasha McKay, Holly McManus, Jeremie Piche, Christopher Vermette. Grade 5/6
Ecole St-Germain: Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Russell Beswick, Ashley Douglas, Fraser Moore, Grade 6
John MacNeil School: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
- Jerry De Quetteville
Pilgrim Wood P.S.: Oakville, Ontario.
- Jane Scaplen's Grade 6 French Immersion class
Marystown: Newfoundland
- Matthew Gignac, Sylvia Maniscalco, Bryan Banka, Stephania Spagnuolo,
Mr. Ratushny's Grade 6 class
St. Andrew School: Windsor, Ontario
- Edgar Lee
Lakewood Academy: Glenwood, Newfoundland
- Laura Dyck, Chad Friesen, Monica Friesen, Lori Hepner, Jonathon
Letkemann, Steven Locke, Caleb Reinink, Amanda Schmidt
Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute: Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Peter Jewer and grade 5 class
Lakewood Academy: Glenwood, Newfoundland
- Kelly Swift and Amanda Holding, Grade 4
Gregory Hogan School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Jill Houlihan Grade 8
Cunard Junior High School: Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Ashley Parise and Kristen O'Donnell
Mrs. Hamilton's grade 7class
Florenceville Middle School: Florenceville New Brunswick
- Kyle Hobin, Melissa Kelly, Shannon Trainor, Paul Murray, Jessica Buss, Laura Grundy, Christopher Laycock, Tara Myny, Grade 6
Sacred Heart Elementary School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Hedges School Grade 8 Math class:
Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Amanda Ladanchuk
Gregory A. Hogan School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Chris Machado, Grade 8
Gregory A. Hogan School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Grade 8 Math Class
General Vanier School: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- Edmond McRae, Matt Hoekstra, Kelly Maheu, Dana Falsetti, Grade 4/5
Mrs. Harris' class, St. Margaret's School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Nick Humber and Brian Chartrand Grade 8
Mr Garbaty's class, St. Margaret's School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Sarah McCormack and Anjali Helferty, Grade 7
Gregory Hogan School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Ms. Laudonio's Grade 5
Gregory Hogan School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Steven Weerdenburg, Grade 3
Mrs. Robertson's class, Gregory Hogan School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Rob Ruffilli, Grade 4
Gregory Hogan School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Mrs. Quinn-Vaillant's Grade 8 Class
Our Lady of Mercy School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Denese Paradis Grade 6
St. Margerets School, Sarnia, Ontario
- Derek from St. Margaret's school:
Sarnia, Ontario (11 years old)
- Jennifer King, Grade 6
St. Margaret's School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Mrs. Ralph's Grade 5 & 6 class
Mr. East's Grade 7 class
Mr. Robb's Grade 7 and 8
Sinclair Public School:
Roger Harris Kingston, Ontario
- Justin Levigne, Clinton Theissen, Dustin McLeod, Kaitlin,
Kamron, Natasha, and Tiffany all in Grade 5
Mr. Enns's class, General Byng School: Winnipeg, Manitoba.
- Megan Smith, Grade 6
St. Margaret's School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Holly Falsetti, Grade 6
St. Margaret's School: Sarnia, Ontario
- Halina Waverchuk's Grade 9 Math Class (Group 3)
Venture High School: Montreal, Quebec
- Theresa Burke
Gregory Vandenheuvel
Melissa Le
Noah Glover Gr. 6 Age:11
Please include names and schools ..... whoever you are
Puzzle #10
This week's Question #10 is the following:
What are the next three letters in this set?
B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, __, __, __
Please remember to send your response by 8:00 am Friday, November 17 to:
math_puzzle@rwa.psbgm.qc.ca
Andrea Pollock and Alex Nazarov
math_puzzle@rwa.psbgm.qc.ca
Royal West Academy, Montreal West, Quebec.
Feature
"The Great Canadian Trivia Contest"
Steve Caldwell, the coordinator of the Trivia Contest, has been kind
enough to give CM permission to run his weekly Great
Canadian Trivia Contest, a great way to motivate students to
spend some time in the Library.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR USERS OF THE VILLAGE
For those of you access us by way of The Village in Ontario please note that
we're having a lot of difficulty with The Village. We have been able to only
intermittently receive the Village and cannot send or reply to it.
Therefore we might have missed some correct answers this week and they will be
recognized when we receive them. In light of this could respondents please use
the
Steve_Caldwell@colby.on.infoshare.ca
address.
We apologize to those who use The Village to receive the weekly question for
any inconvenience.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR USERS OF SCHOOLNET
Apparently Schoolnet was offline for a time recently and as a result some
participants had difficulty finding last week's question. Hopefully everything
will be back on line this week. If you ever do not receive the question by
Thursday then please contact me.
OCTOBER 23th's Question:
This is a "Who am I?" type of question. From the clues identify the famous
Canadian.
- I was born in Ontario in 1879 and moved to New Brunswick.
- I made a fortune in finance in New Brunswick and moved to England at the age of 31.
- In England, I was elected to Parliament and purchased or founded a series of newspapers that became a newspaper empire.
- I was made a Lord and became a Cabinet Minister during World War I.
- During World War II, I was an influential member of Winston Churchill's war cabinet. My initial job was to look after aircraft production.
- I retained close ties with Canada and in particular my native province.
ANSWER:
This well known, influential, Canadian was Max Aitken, perhaps better known to history as Lord Beaverbrook.
WINNERS:
- Stephen Powell, Colonel By Secondary School: Gloucester, Ontario
- S. Wells, Sussex Junior High School: Sussex, New Brunswick
- Mrs. Manzerolle's Gr. 5 class, St. Andrew School: Windsor, Ontario
- Mr. Yeo's Gr. 9 class, Goose Lake High School: Roblin, Manitoba
- Josee Bisonette, Gr. 7, Ecole Lagimodiere: Lorette, Manitoba
- Nadine Gagnon, Gr. 7, Ecole Lagimodiere: Lorette, Manitoba
- Valerie Bohemier, Gr. 7, Ecole Lagimodiere: Lorette, Manitoba
- Brandon Okorofsky, Yorkhill Elementary School: Thornhill, Ontario
- Mr. Dingee's Gr. 7 class, Florenceville Middle School: Florenceville, New
Brunswick
- Jane Scaplen's Gr. 6 French Immersion class, Sacred Heart Elementary
School: Marystown, Newfoundland
- Shaun Lougheed, Mr. Bishop's Gr. 8 class, St. Peter Canisius School:
Watford, Ontario
THIS
WEEK'S QUESTION:
When we hear the name Ottawa we generally think of the capital city or the
river but there are also the Ottawa Islands.
In what body of water are the
Ottawa Islands found?
DUE DATE FOR THIS ANSWER: November 18, 1995
SEND IN YOUR ANSWERS:
Remember, don't post your answers to CM. Instead, send your
answers to Steve Caldwell at the following e-mail address:
Steve_Caldwell@colby.on.
infoshare.ca
In addition to your e-mail address, please send your school's
name and the grade and/or class that you are in, as well as your
postal address.
Mail
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
The paper version of CM organized reviews of non-fiction
material by
broad subject areas and by grade level. Could you do something like
this, especially in accumulations of back issues?
Also I think you need to put the advertising so that it is in the
reader's face, so to speak, otherwise the advertiser will not get the
exposure they need to justify the money spent. It's crucial for your
future solvency to make sure your adverizers get maximum exposure, but
most people won't bother to click on to the advertising link just to see
what advertisers have to say.
-- Louise Shah, Brandon, Manitoba
As you suggest, we will be making our indexing more
ambitious as our backlist grows larger. We are also considering more
effective ways to present our advertising, perhaps with banners at the
top of a page, or, in the e-mail version, before the article the
ad accompanies. -- DT
We welcome all feedback -- just send e-mail to editor@mbnet.mb.ca
Copyright © 1995 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364