NEWS RELEASE
ALGOMA DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
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Algoma District School Board (ADSB) is proud to acknowledge Tracy Reid who is the recipient of a prestigious award recognizing her contribution to the arts. Tracy, department head French Immersion and Core French at Superior Heights C. & V. S., is receiving the Arts Champion Award from Prologue to the Performing Arts, one of Ontario’s largest arts education organizations.
The award, established in 2016, recognizes educators, community leaders and presenters who work tirelessly to ensure that young people have access to performing arts experiences. In her role as FSL special assignment educator for ADSB, Tracy supported Prologue performances in schools for many years, placing a particular focus on bringing in French language productions.
Tracy shared, “The Algoma District School Board has been inviting bilingual and French acts to Sault Ste. Marie and area to promote French culture and oral comprehension through acts like Duffle bag Theatre; Le masque est le message; Fana Soro and Silk Road Music. It has been a wonderful experience meeting and getting to know the various artists through Prologue over the years. Although it takes some effort to coordinate these events, the reward that comes from seeing the connection these artists make with the students and hearing their questions as they learn about French culture first hand warms my heart.”
Teachers, principals and students echoed this sentiment. An FSL student who saw one of the acts brought in by Ms. Reid and Prologue shared, “The presentation done by Fana Soro when I was in ninth grade really interested me in the whole African culture. I found it very interesting to see the different ways of coming together and creating music. This presentation got me really excited about furthering my knowledge about African culture in tenth grade.”
Victoria Burzese, a teacher at Pinewood Public School, shared why she found it important to have a French language production come to her school. “It was a wonderful opportunity to have our students listen to someone (other than their core French teacher) speaking French. It was also very rewarding to see that students responded to and understood what was being presented to them. During the performance, you were able to see students comprehend the show, not only through what was spoken, but also through body language and facial expression. This idea sparked great conversation back in the classroom.”
Frank Greco, Principal at Greenwood Public School, hosted a Prologue production. “A fun, bilingual learning experience was had by all! Our audience jumped into the storyline immediately as they listened to and participated in classic tales presented in French. This is a great way to live and learn a second language.”
The Arts Champion Award is presented annually to up to three individuals who exemplify the vision that Prologue has supported for over 50 years. Tracy Reid received her Arts Champion Award at the Sault Community Theatre Centre on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018 prior to a 2 p.m. community performance by Dufflebag Theatre.
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