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The
Precious Gems Poetry Club ~ Overview
While employed as a primary teacher for the
Toronto District School Board I decided
to share my life-long love of poetry with the
children at Albion Heights Junior-Middle School.
As an extra-curricular initiative, the concept
gave me a unique opportunity
to make a contribution while enriching my own
life in ways I never imagined.
The joy of relating with the children in such a
meaningful activity sustained me in a profession
that seems to be increasingly burdened with
stress. Initially, our club
was called the “Poetry Appreciation League” or (P.A.L.).
Usually I would share a
little snack during the course of our meetings,
until a new idea came to me following
another enterprise.
Having worked with colleagues on the
Precious
Gems concept that I had evolved
as a motivational strategy, it occurred
to me that the little glass gems we were
collecting as rewards had great potential as
symbols for the poetry club. In time
the gems became collector's items that seemed
highly motivating for the club members.
The gems not only helped the children to focus
on elements of poetry, but even
more importantly the gems signified to the
children that each member of the group was,
indeed, a precious gem!
I produced a manual for teachers to help
illustrate one method of teaching a
seven-week program in poetry appreciation.
Occasionally I would be invited to attend
in-service sessions where I had the pleasure of
describing the club to other teachers.
The picture of the sign you will see here was
taken at one such event.
Our club meetings were lively, exciting times
complete with candles and a ceremony that
recognizes the passions that inspire poetry,
honours the wisdom of past poets and encourages
present and future poets to leave their legacy
enshrined in words. As our reputation as poets
began to spread, The Precious Gems Poetry Club
was given opportunities to perform some of my
original poetry at various school and board-wide
functions. Please return to this site often and
watch for examples of some performance pieces as
well as samples of children’s original work.
Currently my manual is being re-printed in a
revised edition and will soon be available for
purchase through my website. My poetry CD for
children (to be titled “Bubbles of Joy”) is
in production.
Following my retirement I had the opportunity to
work in the library system by conducting summer
sessions at The Ruth Hargrave Memorial Library
in Dundalk, Ontario, located in the Municipality
of Southgate. Our program always culminated with
the production of an anthology of original work.
I’ll be sharing some of these wonderful
creations from time to time as my website
continues to grow.
I look forward to expanding the poetry club to
include poets of all ages who appreciate the
power of language to enrich our lives. I
originally described the Poetry Appreciation
League as a group of kindred spirits for whom
words are a master key opening an imaginary
world of infinite possibilities and revealing
our everyday reality to be a
treasure whose wealth we are only beginning to
understand. Let’s start a network
of poets to support and encourage each other on
Life’s journey. Please contact me at
for more information.
I look forward to a long association with you as
the road ahead bends and twists with the tides
of time. |
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Tree
Tall as a mountain,
Strong as stone,
Leaves like a fountain,
Limbs like bone.
How long have you been here?
How long will you stay?
Where will you go when your life fades
away?
Can you sense things around you?
Can you hear what I say?
Do you feel the wind flow as you gently
sway?
Is your life one of silence?
Or do you speak to the breeze?
Oh, how I wish I could understand trees.
Tall as a mountain,
Strong as stone,
Leaves like a fountain,
Limbs like bone.
- written by Matthew Giamou
a
brilliant former student and member
of The Precious Gems Poetry Club.
Matthew is now
attending University
and wondrously I
reconnected with
him recently when we
met quite unexpectedly...
or was
it by Divine intervention?! |
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