Over the March spring break, Carson Graham Secondary had three different groups travel abroad as they expanded their learning around the world. These included our Rugby girls team traveling to Southern California engaged in some excellent competition, our Drama Improvisation Team qualifying to the Nationals for the first time taking place in Ottawa and finally, our Global Initiatives class traveling to the Dominican Republic as they built a house and an extension to a medical clinic.
Girls Rugby Trip – Southern California
During Spring Break the girls’ rugby team toured Southern California. The trip began with a 3 night stay in San Diego, where the girls trained each day but were also able to experience Sea World and Mission Beach. The first game of the tour was against USA National Champs Fallbrook Rugby Club. The girls competed hard but lost the match to an experienced Fallbrook side. The coaching staff described the atmosphere at the stadium as electrifying as close to 800 people were in the stands chanting “USA, USA” the entire match.
The team moved onto Anaheim where it would be competing in the International Youth Rugby Tournament hosted by Fullerton Rugby Club. This was a two day tournament where the girls would play 5 games over the 2 days. It was extremely hot weather during the tournament with the temperature gage hitting close to 90 degrees!! The girls fought through this and were able to finish 4th place overall. Congratulations to the girls on a great tournament!
Drama Improvisation Team – Ottawa
The Carson Senior Improv Team is a group of ten Carson students from grades 9 to 12 coached by Ms. Coralee Clark and former Carson Graham graduate, Jullian Kolstee. These students have worked exceptionally hard with school performances and competing in the Canadian Improv Games (CIG). In fact, Carson Graham hosted the exhibition rounds of the CIG regional tournament for the Lower Mainland. They later went on to win second place at the finals and were given the opportunity to perform at the Canadian Improv Games national tournament in Ottawa from March 25-April 1, 2013 at the National Arts Centre.
While at the national tournament, they worked with the other teams and participated in activities and tutorials provided by some of Canada’s best improvisers. The workshops included topics such as character building, acting with sincerity and long form improvisation. Additionally, our students participated in forums and shared their voices and ideas with other teams from across the country gaining incredible knowledge of improvisation.
During their stay in Ottawa, students performed with the country’s best teams and placed in the top ten . The coaches described it as:
A huge victory for the Carson team and we are so proud of our students’ success. They listened to each other and supported one another onstage. Improvisation is something that can bring students together regardless of age, gender, race, geography, or economic status. All of the students in the competition share a love of theatre.
Congratulations to our Carson senior improv team for your achievement!
Global Initiatives – Dominican Republic
Carson Graham students working in the Dominican Republic
Our students during their time in the Dominican Republic worked tirelessly to build a home and an extension to a medical clinic for the local community. During their building experience, they also had the opportunity to get to know the community by engaging in activities with the local children and helping families with some daily chores. Another powerful learning opportunity included our students participating in a “In Their Shoes Work Experience” as they experienced working in a garbage dump for a half-day where Haitians support their families by finding recyclable materials to sell. A typical shift at the garbage dump may yield $2 US dollars a day.
Rob Olson, Global Initiatives teacher, explained that the experience for all is filled with hope, laughter and tears. It is an eye opening experience that is life changing for our students who return home even more committed to help others.