Category: Events

Minutes: April 12th, 2018

April 12th, 2018

Minutes by Eric

Participants: Eric, Michelle, Yang

Participants first did their presentations. Since there were less participants than usual, the time limit of presentations were raised to two minutes and there were no time limit for topic discussions. Participants talked about the education difference between China and Canada, the school life of students, and book events. Participants then discussed about the chapter of “Living With Neighbours”. You should be friendly to your neighbours and respect their living space. Participants also shared their experiences with their neighbours.

The East and West Learning Club April 2018 Schedules

April 5  Improv Class

6:30 – 8:30 PM

Facilitated by professional actor and acting teacher, Nancy Morrison, the  improv class will fill the night with brain teasers, fun stories, laughters, and good companies in an friendly, welcoming setting.  For more details, please visit Improv Classes minutes.

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Minutes: March 22nd, 2018

March 22nd, 2018

Minutes by Eric

Participants: Aaron, Charlene, Eric, Jackie, Jefferey, Michelle, Shengnan, Yan, Yang, Yong

Participants first did their one minute presentations. Aaron talked about his trip to Forest Valley, he learned and watched how maple syrup is made. Yang talked about the blind book clubs she went to, and what they did. Eric talked about the race for technology supremacy between China and America, how China is surpassing America. Michelle talked about his son and some challenges in his school life. Jacky talked about the school shootings happening in the States and he supports having guns for citizens to protect themselves. Shengnan talked about her trip to Yellowknife to see the northern lights. Yong talked about his tools were stolen and he has to buy them. Yan talked about how she has no interesting things to share and she hopes she can do something interesting.

Then participants discussed chapter 3: Common Courtesies in the book Emily Post’s Etiquette. Everyone talked about some things they didn’t know before reading the chapter and some interesting things that they are not sure about. “Being courteous means taking personal responsibility for the way our actions affect others, showing respect for the space we share and the well-being of those we share it with” is what the book describes how to be courteous. You should always observe and try to make other’s lives easier.

For some more details, please see Yang’s reading notes:

Reading notes: Emily Post’s Etiquette — Common Courtesies

EAWLC Workshop announcement: Explore poetic experience and live in each moment!

Anna Yin is Mississauga’s Inaugural Poet Laureate (2015-2016) and Ontario representative for the League of Canadian Poets (2013-2016). She has authored six books of poetry and her poems have appeared at ARC Poetry, New York Times, China Daily, CBC Radio, World Journal etc.  Anna won awards including the 2005 Ted Plantos Memorial Award, two MARTYs, two scholarships from West Chester University Poetry Conference, two grants from OAC and 2013 Professional Achievement Award from CPAC. Her poem “Still Life” was part of Poetry in Transit featured on buses across Canada in 2013. She read her poetry on Parliament Hill and has been featured at 2015 Austin International Poetry Festival and 2016 Edmonton Poetry Festival.  Anna has been interviewed by CBC Radio, Rogers TV and Talent Vision TV, The Toronto Star and China Daily several times.  She teaches Poetry Alive at schools, colleges and libraries. For more information about Anna, you can visit her website: annapoetry.com

On Thursday March 29, 2018, Anna will come to the East and West Learning Club to facilitate a workshop —

“Beauty is everywhere. What you need is the eye to discover it. This workshop is designed not only to help one to discover the beauty of nature, but also to discover the inner self, and to live in each moment. At the workshop, I will invite everyone to participate in several enjoyable games. Each participant will have opportunities to reflect their daily life and to express themselves. There are also interesting riddles/short poems that will illustrate how much fun it can be with word playing.  We will discuss the various voices revealed in poetry reading and interpretation. We will also learn the beauty of the combination of different cultures. All in all, I hope to help participants explore the world of imagination, and find a way to express their emotions  through words.”

Workshop schedule:

6:30-7:00 PM  Pizzas, dumplings & social

7:00-8:30 PM  Workshop

Cost: Free (including a simple meal).  A donation of a loonie or a toonie would be appreciated, too.

Venue: Iroquois Junior Public School, 265 Chartland Blvd., Scarborough (near Finch & Brimley; free parking available at the west side of the school building.)

Space is limited to 15 seats.  First come, first served.  Please RSVP at: ericliujt@gmail.com.  Thanks.

Let’s learn, and enjoy writing poems through games.  Everybody can do it because we are all poets, writing our lives with actions, words, or both!

Improv Classes

Instructor: Nancy Morrison

Basic improv rules:

* Don’t deny.  Take whatever your partner tells you as true, and add your own story to it.

* You don’t have to be funny. The harder you try not to be funny, the scene might become funnier!

* Don’t ask open ended questions.  Open ended questions like “who are you” put the burden of developing interesting stories to your partner, while you yourself are not  contributing ideas.

* You look good when you make your partner look good.

As a general rule of thumb, what happens in class stays in class.  So we won’t disclose activity details in the minutes.

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