December/January 2011

Corporate Social Responsibility

English Montreal School Board Update

With the holidays right around the corner and the spirit of giving in the air, the staff at Meetings in Progress thought it was the perfect time to follow up with the English Montreal School Board (EMSB), to which AVW-TELAV made a massive audio visual equipment donation six months ago.

Coordinated in major part by Pam Ongo, Material Management Coordinator in AVW-TELAV’s Purchasing Department, and Paul Kettner, EMSB Literacy Consultant, Pedagogical Services, the donation consisted of thousands of pieces of fully functional equipment that were no longer being used in the field by AVW-TELAV specialists.

Today, 25 Montreal elementary schools are outfitted with tape decks and an enormous supply of cassette tapes from AVW-TELAV. “The machines are being used as listening centres for our kindergarten and grade one students, allowing them to choose stories and retreat to a cozy corner to hear the stories on tape,” detailed Kettner.

Across town at Westmount High School, “almost every classroom is now equipped with a television and VCR,” says Principal Mike Cristofaro. The faculty is especially happy with the rolling carts, as they provide a means to moving equipment around from one room to another. The school has even found use for our outdated overhead projectors as teaching aids in the classrooms.

The Bancroft Elementary School received many drapes, stage risers and legs. In fact, “they were received just in the nick of time,” said Dorothy Ostrowicz, Principal of Bancroft Elementary School, as her students were preparing for a performance of The Jungle Book. “The drapes were altered by a volunteer parent and set up as a back drop for the musical,” she explained. The students and faculty of the school are extremely thankful, as these materials will also aid in their next production of Alice in Wonderland. As well, drapes and other stage performance materials were donated to FACE, a Montreal school dedicated to Fine Arts.

“We hope this project will indeed be the first of many others, where EMSB can put to good use in our facilities your quality equipment,” noted Mario Tirelli, Director General, EMSB. “Thank you once again for your generosity.”

This donation could not have happened without the help of the AVW-TELAV team, including Martin Reeves, Felice De Santis, Steven Donald, Pam Ongo, Beth MacPherson, Rejean Guy, Patrick Celestin, Vass Tsontakis and Brigitte Dufort.

A special thank you to Mr. Paul Kettner, Literacy Consultant, Pedagogical Services, Mrs. Christine Denommée, Assistant Director, Pedagogical Services, Mike Cristofaro, Principal of Westmount High School, and the students of Westmount High for giving the AVW-TELAV team a hand in unloading and for their great hospitality!