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March 7, 2008
For immediate release

Education Minister Launches School Activities to Celebrate Anne 2008

Education

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Education Minister Gerard Greenan visited L. M. Montgomery Elementary School today to officially launch the activities being planned by schools to celebrate Anne 2008, the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables.

“It is fitting that we launch our Anne 2008 activities here at L.M. Montgomery School which opened its doors 25 years ago on the birthday of Lucy Maud Montgomery, our famous Island author and the school’s namesake,” said Minister Greenan.

Minister Greenan presented the school library with new hardcover books which were published to celebrate 100 years of Anne. The Department of Education is providing the three books to all elementary, intermediate and high school libraries on the Island. They include the prequel, Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson, the official 100th anniversary edition of Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, and Imagining Anne: The Island Scrapbooks of L.M. Montgomery by Elizabeth Epperly.

Department of Education staff have been actively involved in planning for the year of celebration. They have developed themes, ideas and activities for schools to use as they celebrate Anne 2008. The school information packages have been posted on web sites and circulated to schools throughout the Island and across the country.

Minister Greenan encouraged teachers and parents to visit the website and use the ideas for celebrations in the classroom, at home and in the community. “Even after 100 years, Anne inspires young readers in ways that no other character can,” he said. “I encourage teachers and parents to take the time this year to engage young people in the timeless story of Anne so that it continues year after year.”

Among the themes suggested for elementary schools are ones where children can compare the differences between the one-room schoolhouse and today’s schools, the similarities and differences in the lives of Victorian children and today’s children, and the power of the imagination yesterday and today.

Intermediate students may choose to explore the meaning of friendships like the one shared by Anne and Diana, the question of whether Josie and Gilbert were bullies, or if they would rather be “divinely beautiful,” “dazzlingly clever” or “angelically good.”

High school students can explore such themes as why the story has remained so popular, what makes the book a characteristically Canadian novel, and whether Anne of Green Gables is really a book for children.

For more information contact Carol Fitzpatrick at the Department of Education at 902 368 4633 or visit www.anne2008.com.

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Media Contact: Jean Doherty
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