JB Canada January/February 2018 Newsletter
Editor’s Note Hey JBers! Welcome to this year’s first edition of the JB Canada newsletter! In this issue, you’ll find some updates on a few different chapters from across the country, some information on upcoming events you may want to attend, and some information about a new national project for our newsletter (that we’re going to need your help/participation to make happen)! But wait! Who am I? My name is Ady King, I’m from the Fredericton chapter, and I’m your new Junior Branch Communications Coordinator! I’ve been involved in CISV since the age of 12, I’m also the Jr. LJR for Fredericton, I have lots of fun ideas for this year, and I’m totally stoked to be taking on this position. I had a lot of fun putting together this newsletter and I hope you’ll all enjoy it!
What’s happening in Ottawa? Winter Camp 2018! Toni Cass (CISV Ottawa LJR) CISV Ottawa just had another amazing winter camp! We had participants from Ottawa, Victoria, Waterloo, Toronto, Fredericton and even Jacksonville! Between the hot cocoa breaks and gourmet meals (cooked by participants), we had some really amazing debriefs too! Topics ranged from self reflection to diversity to economy- we talked about a ton! By the end, everyone was very close and no one wanted to go home! We hope to see even more people next year!
What’s happening in Vancouver? Spring Minicamp! Isabel Norville Davie The Vancouver chapter recently held their spring minicamp from January 19th to 23rd. The camp’s activities were all created to increase everyone's knowledge of this year's pilar: diversity. We welcomed 8 new kids to the minicamp and 2 new leaders with the hope that they’ll consider a future in CISV. Our friday night activity with the parents was about stereotyping and if it's ever necessary. On the second day, we started with an outdoor activity about communication and teamwork. That day, there was also a very interesting and relevant series of debates where we split up participants aged 13+ and 12 and under to debate conflicts happening today. An example of a topic would be: “Should you be forced to take off a face covering headpiece in high security plac es such as airports and banks?”. We finished off the camp with an activity where we were split into groups representing a college that had to choose one person for a full ride scholarship. Overall, we had a successful weekend with great activities and lots of smiles!
What’s happening in Waterloo? Brenna Lacey CISV Waterloo has had a few great months! We selected all of our delegates traveling this summer and winter and have had some great JB activities. One of our recent activities that our exec participated in was our first LMO activity of 2018. We volunteered with our local Reception House where we made some food to feed the families that were staying there at the time. Reception house is where any new refugees to the country can go to have a warm safe place to stay until a new house has been found for the family. There were many families and many eager kids for us to play with. When we arrived we got all setup, then the kids pulled many of us into the playroom where we played games with them. Once dinner was all ready we prepared the kids to eat. We made lasagna which many of the residents had never tried before but all loved along with many salads, drinks, and delicious desserts. We had great conversations over the course of dinner but the kids were very excited to get back to playing. Some of our exec stayed back to clean up but the rest of us went to go dance. We danced for a few hours, sweating and having so much fun until it was time to go. The kids were very sad to see us leave, and we felt the same. We definitely will continue with this great organization and are excited to see what will come next. Our upcoming events are our annual Coldest Night of the year and our Cookie-a-thon where the new members can get to know each other!
What’s happening in London? Jazmin Haggarty CISV London has taken on the city this year! We have recently volunteered at the local food bank, gone tobogganing in the parks and are in the midst of planning our annual cookie-a-thon for March! The chapter enjoys meeting regularly on Sundays at a cafe or a hosted location for some good old CISV bonding and planning. We’re also going to be participating in Coldest Night of the Year soon. More to come from Londo Fundo in 2018!
What’s happening in Fredericton? Jenna Im Looking back, 2018 was off to a bit of a rocky start for CISV Fredericton when our January JB activity was cancelled due to weather conditions. However, we didn’t let that slow us down and ended up taking the activity planned for January and adding it to our day-long minicamp in February. The day-long minicamp took place on February 17th and was one of my favourite JB activities I’ve ever staffed. We did 3 activities throughout the day that mainly focused on diversity and conflict and resolution. The first activity was about how diverse perceptions of the same thing can cause conflict when they’re misunderstood, and how we can prevent that conflict and use diversity to our advantage. The second one was a simulation that showed what can happen when people from diverse backgrounds with different values come together and have to make decisions. Lastly, the third activity focused on stereotypes, where they come from and how we can prevent them from dictating our interpretation of people. There was a really good turnout to this activity, including many new faces who we hope to see at our next minicamp in March. Aside from activity planning, the JB has also been working hard with the adult board and four university students to create a long term sustainability plan for CISV. The university students, who are helping us as part of a school project, spent months attending meetings, activities and events to learn as much as they could about CISV, but more specifically CISV Fredericton. Recently, they organized a workshop for both boards, along with CISV alumni to gain a better understanding of what is needed to help CISV Fredericton grow and become sustainable. At this workshop, many ideas for growing our membership and getting more people engaged were brought up and we’re looking forward to finding more opportunities for CISV Fredericton to reach our full potential. Overall, 2018 has been very good to us so far and we’re excited to see what the rest of the year has to
offer!!
Exciting Information about the CanAm Minicamp! CanAm is a minicamp that brings together Canadian and American CISVers for a weekend of fun. In these action packed days, participants will partake in all sorts of activities, make new friends from across the border, explore human rights and have wonderful new CISV experiences! This camp is open to all CISVers ages 11 and up! Our theme for this year is “Magical Mystery Camp”. A reminder: if you are under 18 you must have a chaperone (we will assign you one if you don’t come with a chaperone), and if you would like to be a chaperone you must be 21! If you’re interested in attending CanAm and would like more information, here’s a link to our first precamp (including registration link): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xWcY3BS9CxczM5Wh7CqDPm0oQtFCTJlg/view
Introducing our new newsletter project… “Dear Doris” “Dear Doris, how can the JB Canada executive help chapters with any questions they have anonymously?” Well, we have now created a place in the newsletter where you can ask “Doris” for advice on any issues you may be experiencing in your chapters, with your board, or anything else related to CISV. Please email cisvcommsquad@gmail.com with your dear Doris questions to be included in the next JB Canada newsletter. We look forward to hearing from you!
Save the date! CANEXUS 2018 → Online workshops will be held from March 1st to 30th Americas Junior Branch Meeting→ March 28 - April 1 in Costa Rica National Junior Branch Training → May 17 - 21 in Ottawa, ON. National Camp → August 3 - 9 in Sudbury, ON. Global Conference/International Junior Branch Conference → August 14 - 19 in the Netherlands