Category: Archive

“I was thrilled with the number of students who were interested in
touching base with you and doing some follow up. We greatly appreciated
the format of Friday’s visit and have now completed the play and book as
a class read aloud and have begun practising dramatic readings of the
play in partners.It has been very helpful to many students who have had
to deal with Alzheimer’s in their family.” Sean Christy, teacher, Grade
4, Perth, Ontario

At 2:00 PM on Saturday, January 19, JC leads a workshop for young poets at the Ottawa Public Library’s Greenboro Branch, 363 Lorry Greenberg Drive.
“February brings the deadline for the OPL’s 2013 Awesome Authors Contest, which is open to short story and poetry submissions from writers aged 9-11,12-14 and 15-17.
“The workshop for 9-14 year-olds will share my 5-top tips about writing poetry that leaves readers with a WOW! Participating poets will also be able to share a poem they have written for feedback.”
Preregistration at the Branch is required.

“Ottawa Woman” celebrates the achievements of women in the region. JC is among a wonderful community of “Women on the Move” featured on the page dedicated to mini portraits (page 18, www.Ottawa-Woman.com).

Along with a photo, the paper highlights JC’s writings, with emphasis on “What My Grandma Means to Say,” the play, the Discussion Guide for teachers, available free from www.jcsulzenko.com, and the storybook, now also in e-book form.

“I am very pleased that “Ottawa Woman” included me in this month’s roster of women on the move. During the holiday season, the challenges that Alzheimer’s disease brings to the lives of families can be lost in all the celebrations. Yet Alzheimer’s causes changes not only to the person living with it but to the lives of those who care for and about them.

“Giving a gift of “What My Grandma Means to Say” is a good way to help families and the children in them build their understanding of dementia and develop their own strengths and strategies for handling relationships now in the shadow of such diseases.”

The book is available at Kaleidoscope Kids Books on Bank at Lansdowne Park, from the publisher (www.gsph.com) and from e-book retailers.

On November 24 at Glebe-St. James United Church in Ottawa, Rob Clipperton read the Dylan Thomas classic, “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” to a rapt audience that filled the sanctuary. The event netted $2000 which was donated to the Acquired Brain Injury Program at The Ottawa Hospital’s Rehabilitation Centre in honour of Allison Woyiwada. For the past four years, Allison served as musical director and co-producer of the event. At the 2012 performance, Allison was a member of the audience as she continues her recovery from brain surgery.

This year’s Welcome Winter featured music from Robert Palmai, Marya Woyiwada, Canterbury High School’s Vocum, and the Canterbury Trebles. The one-hour show was greeted with a standing ovation from everyone who chose to herald the holiday season with this program of fine words and music.

“The 2012 presentation completed the cycle of our commitment to bring this wonderful story to Ottawa audiences. Welcome Winter has benefited over the years from the support of many amazing artists, performers and good people at Glebe-St.James United Church to whom I remain most grateful. I hope another community group will take up the delightful challenge of sharing “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” with Ottawa families for many years to come.”

The annual reading of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” written by Dylan Thomas, returns to Glebe-St.James United Church in Ottawa. The hour-long performance features Rob Clipperton as the storyteller, with seasonal music from Robert Palmai,organ, Maria Woyiwada, soprano, Vocum 9Canterbury High School) and the Canterbury Trebles.

“This is the fifth time I have produced the program which heralds the holiday season in the best possible way,” JC explained. “In the first four years, Allison Woyiwada, retired music teacher extraordinaire and former Music Director of the Savoy Society of Ottawa, joined me as co-producer and also directed the show. Since Allison is recovering from brain surgery, she won’t be behind the scenes this year but hopefully will be in the audience. To honour her, the net proceeds from “Welcome Winter” will be donated to the Ottawa Hospital’s Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation program.

“We’ve raised thousands of dollars over the years for local not-for-profit organizations including Reach Canada, The Ottawa Food Bank, and dementia programs at The Glebe Centre.

“The program has benefitted year after year from the amazing support of Glebe-St.James United Church and from the talents of Rob Clipperton and the musicians and singers who have graced the stage and volunteered their time. I think, with this performance the cycle of our collective commitment will be complete. Perhaps another local group will decide to present “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” and continue to delight Ottawa audiences with its rich language and its magical capture of a boy’s winter holidays in a small town and now long ago.”

The one-hour event takes place at the church at 650 Lyon St. South on Saturday, November 24 at 4:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased from: Compact Music stores, the church and at the door. $15 for adults; children 10-12 enter free (donations will be appreciated.) The show is best suited to children aged 9 and up. For further information: bluepoodlebooks@hotmail.com

What does it take to write a line of poetry a day? Should be an easy task, or so JC thought when she started the line-a-day poetry blog on this website on October 1, 2010.

“I first had intended to write a line each day that would capture the core experience of that particular 24-hour period, much as a diarist would do but in a far more concentrated and focussed fashion. That is not what happened, though. Rather, what suggested itself to me were experiences that could best be captured in the form of Haiku.

“I didn’t resist. As I became more engaged in the process, I realized that the Tanka structure would give me more scope and so continued for most of the two years using the discipline of that verse form.

“What has evolved surprised me. Some stanzas stand alone. Others link to each other by virtue of subject matter or repeated words or phrases.

“What has compelled me to continue for a third year? The discipline of writing such verses so that a line appears each day is the only writing ‘routine’ I have established successfully. I am not ready to give it up. When I read back over the last year’s verses i appreciate how they reflect what influenced my every day. That’s still a novel experience for me.”

September is World Alzheimer’s Month, with September 21 designated as Alzheimer’s Action Day.

To mark the day and the month that increase awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of dementia, General Store Publishing House (www.gsph.com) launched the e-book of “What My Grandma Means to Say,” JC Sulzenko’s storybook for children in grades 3 – 6 and families, in which someone is living with Alzheimer’s.

“The timing is deliberate,”says JC. “By making the storybook available in a form that is accessible across Canada and world-wide, I hope that families affected by Alzheimer’s disease use the story of Jake and his grandma to launch a positive discussion with their children about dementia. Rather than avoiding conversations about challenges such diseases bring to the lives of families and the children in them, I encourage families to take the big step: use “What My Grandma Means to Say” to build understanding and strategies that support the person living with the disease and each other.

“Children often are drawn into the role of caregivers. They need the chance to find their place in the life of their family as relationships change with the progress of the disease.”

The e-book, which can be ordered through Kindle, Kobo, Sony, Barnes and Noble, as well as independent e-book retailers, completes the cycle which began in 2009 with JC’s ten-minute, one act play for children “What my grandma means to say.” The play’s script is contained in the Discussion Guide for teachers, now available in downloadable format FREE from this website, along with FAQS, sources of further information, activities for the classroom and home and a bibliography. A performance of the play by high school students can be screened on this website, as well.

“I still believe the experience of reading “What My Grandma Means to Say” is most effective when family members hold the actual storybook in their hands. Sitting together, feeling the book in their hands, brings them closer as they, through the story, learn about Alzheimer’s and what they can and cannot hope for as they deal with how the disease affects the life of someone about whom they care.

“I’m a realist, though: the e-book has the potential to many more families in such situations than a hard copy of the book. I am thrilled with the way General Store Publishing House adapted the original book for e-readers. I hope families and children benefit from “What My Grandma Means to Say” wherever they are and whenever they find themselves in such a situation.”

The 48-page storybook, first published in 2010 and illustrated by Gary Frederick, is available from General Store Publishing House (1 800-465 6072) www.gsph.com at a retail cost of $12.95. The book includes answers to frequently asked questions and lists sources of further information.

Within the next weeks, the Discussion Guide for teachers and community leaders, which complements JC’s play for children about Alzheimer’s disease, will be available in downloadable PDF form from this website.

“This updated version will be user-friendly and interactive with direct links to organizations and sources  that can be helpful to families, teachers and healthcare workers,” JC notes.

The Discussion Guide contains the script of the one-act, ten-minute play, along with information on how to stage it and how to lead a discussion based upon “What My Grandma Means to Say.” Answers to FAQs, helpful websites and books, as well as suggested activities for the classroom, at home and during visits with someone who is living with Alzheimer’s disease also can be found in the Guide.

“Once the Guide is available on-line, I hope that more people who are facing the challenges posed by Alzheimer’s in the family will be able to make use of such information, ” JC noted.

The e-book of the storybook published by General Store Publishing House will follow by the autumn. Remaining hard copies of the book are still available from the publisher (www.gsph.com)and from Chapters/Indigo and Amazon Canada.