Sherkston Visit

Those interested in visiting Sherkston Shores before school reopens, please email me for details.

Thank Heaven for Seven

Helpful neighbours, fresh air and clean water, a decent income, crime-free streets, time for leisure, good health, and toilets that work--some of the features of your dream country.

But how does Canada rank among the countries of the OECD? What is it like to live here compared to living in Australia, the U.S., the U.K., Japan, etc.?


Well, we might not be number one in everything, but here's an article listing seven things we can be thankful for, living here in Canada.

And while we're on the topic of "seven," here's a page on "seven things you can't say in Canada." But it lists only one and doesn't allow you to click beyond (tried it in Chrome and IE!). How appropriate!

Co-op Opportunity from Alumna Daisy: Marketing Assistant

Former classmate Daisy Liang would like to share with you an opportunity for co-op experience:

 

Company name: 360 Wildlife Control Inc.
Co-Op Title: Marketing Assistant
Responsibilities

• Promote productions and brand according to business strategy and guidelines
• Manage time to ensure project goals and deadlines are met

Qualifications

• 3+ years of marketing field experience
• Ability to work with team
• Strong knowledge of SEO and SEM
• Strong knowledge of social media like Blog, Twitter, FaceBook
• Strong verbal and written English skills

If you are interested, please email Daisy right away.

New Eyes, Affordably

It's pretty notorious how much glasses cost in Toronto compared to other parts of the world. Frames with lenses can easily exceed $100, with designer labels heading towards the four-figure mark. Is it possible at all to get yourself, your kids, or other loved ones a pair of eyes without getting blinded by the price tag?

Well, here are a couple of options. I just got this one in my email yesterday:



Notice that it says "Offer valid for TODAY only." Not to worry, however, there are still plenty of deals under $100 at their website.

Be sure to check out this RedFlagDeals' page on prescription eyewear as well, where you'll find other mail-order optical providers. All you need is to send them your prescription.

Canadians may not have many choices locally, but Canadians are smart, eh?

Upcoming Field Trip: August 23 (July 26 and August 2, 15, and 21 done)

August 23 Riverdale Farm

Riverdale Farm is our final field trip destination for the summer session. It's been almost four years since our LINC school made a trip there.

Discover this tiny jewel of agriculture right in the middle of our city! Bring your camera, snacks, water, walking shoes, and maybe an umbrella. If your in-laws, building superintendent, neighbourhood burglar, washing machine, or pet goldfish want to come along, too, you may bring them in tow, by all means.

Those who are going by TTC, let's meet in front of the coffee shop inside Don Mills Station at 9:30 a.m. Remember to get a TTC transfer! As it is a school event, you should not have any difficulty finding the group.

View Larger Map



 

Bleak, dreary, and quite miserable four years ago ... Let's hope we get better weather this time!

August 21 Ikea Lunch

Around 12 noon, we'll be having lunch at the North York Ikea (at Leslie/Sheppard) and taking a tour of some of the interesting offerings there, courtesy of Wendy, Lena, and Katie, our knowledgeable classmates.

Bring along a pocket full of change and a healthy appetite!

Click below for more pictures:

Monday's Assignment

Are you a business starter? Welcome to a week on entrepreneurship!

1. Vocabulary Building: A Business Plan and Being an Entrepreneur
2. Watch this video and write down names and a sentence from three interviewees.
3. List 3 upcoming events by Enterprise Toronto, and explain on your blog which one interests you the most.
4. Role play on Vocaroo: Starting a Franchise Business

Friday's Assignment

Having enjoyed a marvellous field trip yesterday, here are our tasks for today:

1. Write a report about your field trip yesterday, mentioning what you liked best, what could have been done better, and one surprising thing or person you encountered during the trip. If you have corrections for your previous posts, please update them now.
2. Role Play: Differences in Male and Female Friendships, plus 2 more rounds, recorded on Vocaroo.com, and then blogged
3. Leave a friendly comment on three of your classmates' blogs.

Thank God for a Safe and Tasty Journey!

Speaking English--in the subway station, on the train, at City Hall, all along the way and back--that was the great challenge for the day, today. But some had bigger challenges, like getting stuck in the subway elevator for 30 minutes waiting for EMS and hunting for a parking spot in downtown Toronto. Eventually, we all made it to City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square for a tour of the place and a taste of Tasty Thursday!

Thank God for the fine weather, the blessing of abundance, and safety in travelling!

Practising English on the subway

Daisy, Amanda, Annie Liu, Marjan, Teresa, Lily Hua, Lisa, Wendy, Ying, Mary, Ding, Chang, Yoo Lee, Lily Sun, and their loved ones say cheese or something. Glory had to go when his child needed to go.

Ai WeiWei's Zodiacal Animals got there a-head of us (geddit?).



More show up after the visit to the Mayor's Office, Enterprise Toronto, Toronto Public Library, etc. ... new pose shows Ding, Teresa, ??, Marjan, Ying, Shawn, Annie Hu, Kole, Ebrahim, Wendy, Chang, and friends/family.



Murtabak eaters seem happy.

Nice to try out the free drinks in beautiful weather--hey, it's Basma, her kids, and Vahideh! Where's Katie?

Nice to have beaten the lunch crowd!

More pictures--professionally taken--below, from Chang (thanks!!):

Monday's Assignment

Welcome to a week about friendships!

1. Make sure you complete all your blog edits before Suman's Writing Workshop tomorrow morning.
2. Vocabulary enrichment: Friendships
3. Role Play: Having a Best Friend
4. Networking 1: Connect your Facebook to ESLTeach
5. Networking 2: Connect your LinkedIn to your instructor’s
6. Research: Read the .PDF brochure on this Joseph Scriven website. Then try singing his famous song with a partner. Can you find directions to his memorial from your home?

A Tale of True Cities

 
From Town of Merchants the order came to audit the LINC schools in Meeting Place. Or was it Place Where Trees Stand in the Water? This caused a bit of concern in nearby Rugged Land Farm, Unfordable River Town, and Cape of Strangers. Beyond Boar's Head Lake, the news was met at St. Contumacy Falls, Battle Cry, Honouring God, and Goblin with less concern. They didn't think their dependence on LINC Home Study would be as greatly affected by federal concerns.

Check out these funny-sounding towns and their modern names in this article. Put your answers in the Comments below. Who'll be the first?

This Week's Assignment

Here are our tasks relating to our week's topic, Modern Diseases:

1. Update your blog with a report on the latest field trip. Remember to do your homework for Suman's Writing Workshop. Include all the corrections on your Editing Checklist before going on to the 2nd task (below).
2. Reading and Listening about a "Modern Disease": Mummy Study
3. Role Play with a Partner: Being Under Stress
4. Pronunciation: Study the key vocabulary list here, and record it on Vocaroo.com before posting it to your blog.

Participants Play Paupers and Partyers

Please Note: Monday is Civic Day, a holiday; so see you all on Tuesday, bright-eyed and bushy tailed for Suman's Writing Workshop!



Kole, Lena, Katie, Ebrahim, Teresa, Marjan, Wendy, Lisa, Glory, Chang, Ying, Ding, Ming, Silvia, Guoyong, Annie Liu, Yoo Lee, and their families toast to a great summer!

Heading over in several cars from Don Mills Station, Dad's Cookie Outlet (370 Progress), and the Good Will Thrift Store, a whole bunch of us descended upon Thomson Memorial Park for the annual Scarborough Ribfest.

Mary, Lily Hua, and Lily Sun and their family and friends are all smiles.

Despite our best efforts to be thrifty, we may have spent more on this field trip than on previous occasions to the Ribfest. First, some of us were stopped at the entrance and had to cough up the $2 entrance fee. Others sneaked through! But it was all for a good cause--a donation to the Rotary Club, who organized the event. Then we bought and ate more than we did in previous years--some generously sharing their purchases, like Ming, Wendy, and Glory.

In less than an hour, we went from rummaging through rags to living high on the hog!

For most of us, this was our first time enjoying a taste of the great North American outdoors the North American way. What were your impressions of today's field trip? Let's read each other's blogs, and don't forget to leave a comment or two!



Click below to see more.