POPDHH e-news: Lunch and Learn Oct 31st, POPDHH Postings, OBC 2024

Lunch and Learn

E-learning Webinar for Deaf Education Professionals
Just a friendly reminder that the first session of the 2024-2025 lineup is coming up on Thursday, October 31st, from 11:45 am to 12:30 pm.
Guest presenters from Auditory Outreach and Provincial Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services will join us to provide their program updates.
If you haven’t yet, please register: https://forms.gle/ZMvntMNYfM4AeiMf6
ASL interpretation and captioning will be provided.

POPDHH Postings

Join our Team! Help us build capacity in local districts through professional development, targeted training,  community visits and ongoing consultation with school teams. If you are interested in one of these positions and have questions (i.e., communication modality, FTE, travel expectations), please contact office@popdhh.ca or one of our consultants. Or, just click on the links below to read more and apply.

Outward Bound Canada (OBC) 2024

Earlier this month POPDHH had an opportunity for  another successful collaboration with Outward Bound Canada. Eight high-school students from 5 school districts and the BCSD participated in a 7 day hiking expedition to the Garibaldi Park, joined by Deaf Mentors Terry Maloney (POPDHH) and Hannah Ferm (Deaf Well Being Program), two ASL interpreters Nathalie and Francois, and two intrepid OBC instructors Lia and Tim.

Snow dusted Helm Creek campground with a view
Who better to tell us how the expedition went, than the students themselves!

By Baraa Alabar, Grade 11, Coquitlam (first time participant):
The hiking trip was a combination of amazing and agony. The first day was so exciting because I met many new people and slept in a tent for the first time. We were also able to have a fire at the base camp! On Day 2, I jumped up in the morning because I couldn’t wait to start the hike. I got set up with all my gear and thought “I can do this!” but then they added the heavy stuff and I thought “Okay, please be enough! No more!”.  After an hour or two, my dreams were shattered because we were hiking on such steep trails.  It felt like it was a 76 degree incline the whole way with no downhill parts.  When we got to camp for the night, my dreams were again restored as I took off my backpack and felt relief.  I felt light like a feather afterwards.  The sight of the lake was so beautiful.  It was a greenish blue colour I had never seen before and the mountains were astonishing. For the days 3, 4 and 5 the hiking was not as hard but was still tiring.  One of my favourite parts was skipping rocks across the lake and having hot chocolate while I looked at the view.  All of the people on the trip were awesome! I learned some ASL and made some really good friends over the trip.  On Day 6, we came back down and my hamstrings were stretching and burning.  I lengthened my poles to support me but it still really hurt. I was a little bit sad for it to end but I was ready to be done because the nights were cold and cruel.  At the end of Day 6, we got back to base camp and the sight of the camp was unbelievable.  One of my favourite things I got to do was chop wood with an axe and we had a final campfire with marshmallows. It was soooo good!  I have two tips for anyone going on this adventure: 1) my biggest tip is to be in shape because you don’t want to be behind and if you feel you are already in shape, get in even better shape!  And 2) gather lots of flat rocks to skip, the more the better. I am going to start getting in shape now so I am ready for the next Outward Bound adventure!!


A bridge pic break before the hike
By Shea Jackson (repeat participant), Grade 11, North Vancouver:
Dear POPDHH and the Outward Bound Staff, thank you very much for another year of beautiful and challenging outdoor adventure. I really appreciated all of the work that you put into organizing this trip to ensure that we could all have a memorable, safe and fun time.
Overall, it was great making connections with every single person that was there. I feel like I made new friends from this journey. This experience allowed me to feel more connected to the people I was with, and to nature. I was able to see bright blue lakes, towering mountains, wildlife and the alpine. While the hike was very challenging for me at times, it was also one of the most rewarding experiences that I have had yet. On the first day of hiking, I told myself “I don’t want to be here, I’d rather be cozy in my bed.” However, seeing the determination of those around me encouraged me to continue. After the first day, my enjoyment steadily increased.  By day three, I was feeling amazing and having a great time. Even though early on I felt homesick, there were so many activities that I soon forgot. Hiking, chatting, and working together to carry out the tasks of setting up camp was a great way to learn about everyone and build lasting connections. Another amazing experience was the solo as it allowed me to reflect on many things beyond just the trip and gave me the downtime that I love. Seeing people swim in the freezing cold water was fun because I didn’t go in! It was a very special ending every day as a group admiring the starry sky.
Communicating via ASL every day all day was another aspect of the trip that I loved. It was nice to have the opportunity to practice my signing skills, as this doesn’t come up that often for me.
Thank you once again for having me be a part of the Garibaldi Provincial Park trip. I loved it last year and I loved it even more this year because it was longer. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Happy trails!

Hike along the pristine-blue Garibaldi Lake

Stay tuned for announcement about next OBC trip!

From the Community

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Our mailing address is:
Provincial Outreach Program: Deaf and Hard of Hearing
4446 Watling Street Burnaby, BC V5J 5H3
Voice: 604-296-9062 Fax: 604-296-9063
Text: 778-889-5663 Email: office@popdhh.ca
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