Interested in volunteering with Story Planet creative arts programming? Join us for a fun, informative, out-of-this-world orientation on Monday, February 1st at 5:30 pm. The orientation will take place at Story Planet (1165 Bloor Street West). Before confirming attendance, we do ask that interested volunteers fill out a volunteer application on our website www.storyplanet.ca. This is a great way for us to learn more about you and your experiences and can get in contact with your 3 references. Finally, because we work with children on a daily basis, we do require an updated police check for all volunteers. All forms will be provided at Story Planet but we do ask that participants bring $20 for the processing fee. If you are interested, contact Michelle and Sally at volunteer@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca.

Please note we will check your references before inviting you to the orientation. If you miss the deadline, email us anyway so we can invite you to our next orientation event!

Our Adult Colouring and Wine nights are getting popular! Merci, ICI Radio-Canada!

These events help fund awesome arts and literacy programming for kids and teens like our Lift Off after school program, which focuses on arts-based literacy and homework support for students.

If you’d like to join in on the fun, click here to get tickets for our next event is on Friday, January 29 before they sell out!

Parent-Child Mother Goose
Our Parent-Child Mother Goose Program is officially in motion, and it’s a soaring success! Participants are having fun singing songs, learning, sharing favourite rhymes, and reminiscing about their childhoods. We’d like to extend a big thank you to all the adults and of course, our fun loving babies who made this program a great success! The Parent-Child Mother Goose Program is currently at capacity, but if you would like to be added to the waiting list, contact Michelle at volunteer@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca.

Our Story Planet Afterlight Book Club is officially one year old this month! Since starting out, we’ve read all kinds of books from non-fiction explorations of psychopaths and Scientology to a weird, trippy sci-fi book about vociferous flora. As a fun addition, we’ve established a strong thematic snack game, creating dishes, and treats that fit the book we’re discussing. So, basically, it’s the most fun ever. All are welcome (even if you don’t finish the book!).

During our next meeting on Wednesday, February 6 at 6:30 p.m., We’ll be talking about Frog Music by Emma Donoghue. Click here to find out more about the book and RSVP on our Meetup page!

Our Lift Off after school program is going back into orbit next week with a whole new day added on! Starting Wednesday, January 27, we’ll be providing free after school homework help to students in grades 2-6 on Wednesdays too, from the time school finishes for the day until 5:30 p.m.

Registration is determined by a needs-based lottery system. Email noorin@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca for more information and to sign up!

Saturday Storytelling Workshop

Starting January 23, kids in grades 4-6 are invited to join storyteller Sage Tyrtle in twisting their favourite folktales into original stories that they’ll eventually perform in front of an audience. Through fun and high-energy games and lessons on storytelling and editing, students will learn a whole new approach to storytelling and connecting with their audience.

This workshop will run every Saturday from January 23 to March 5, 2015 from 10:00-11:30 a.m. Cost of registration is pay-what-you-can. Contact Sage at sagetyrtle@gmail.com to sign up!

In case you missed it… Our Lift Off After School Program will be on pause until January 12, 2016, but there are still lots of events and programs to sign up for in the meantime. We hope you’re enjoying your winter holidays!

Parent-Child Mother Goose Program

We’re hosting a Parent-Child Mother Goose Program to help parents, relatives, and caregivers bond with the babies in their lives using rhymes, songs, and stories. Participants gain the skills and confidence to use rhythm and oral storytelling to help interact with and soothe their babies and forge strong bonds. If you’ve got some of your own, you’re welcome to share traditional rhymes and stories with the group.

This FREE program runs Monday mornings from 9:30-10:30 a.m. from Monday, January 11th to Monday, March 7.
Doors open at 9:15am.
The program is open for adults and babies (newborn to 18 months old).
Email Michelle at volunteer@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca to sign up.

We hope to see you there!

Thanks to your support, ALL of our upcoming Adult Colouring and Wine events are SOLD OUT.

These events help us raise money to support our awesome literacy programs for kids like our Lift Off After School Program, so we’re over-the-moon grateful to everyone who’s been coming out to draw and place bids on our silent auction items. If you haven’t managed to get a ticket in time for one of our past events, don’t worry! We’ll host more similar events in the new year. Keep checking back to our blog, Twitter, and Facebook page for announcements!

Play in a Day Workshop with Judith Thompson
Judith Thompson is coming by this Tuesday, December 22 to write a play in a day with students in grades 3-7. Participants will write an entire play and find out what it takes to put on such a production!

The workshop will run from 10-4 p.m. on December 22. We can’t wait to see what the students come up with!

Our Next Story Planet Afterlight Book Club Meeting
Looking for a last-minute holiday gift for the reader on your list? The Quick by Lauren Owen is the gift that keeps on giving. The book is a great read AND it comes with a sweet hangout with the Story Planet Afterlight Book Club crew!

Our next meeting is on Wednesday, January 6 at 6:30 p.m. Click here to find out more about the book and to RSVP on our Meetup event page!

Space travellers, don’t forget! Starting next week, our Lift Off! after-school programming will be pausing for scheduled maintenance over the holidays. We’ll get back on course on Tuesday, January 12, 2016!

Adult Colouring and Wine
Are you a creative type looking for a different night out? Come to our upcoming Adult Colouring and Wine event on January 15, 2016, and let loose with some colour therapy! We’ll have art supplies for you to use, and there will be wine, beer, coffee, and lots of snacks available at the Intergalactic Travel Authority. Take a load off, mingle, colour, and support our awesome children’s programming all at the same time!

This fundraiser starts at 7:30 p.m. The cost of admission is $11. Follow this link to get your tickets before they sell out!

Twisting the Folktale with Sage Tyrtle
Starting Saturday, January 23rd, kids in grades 4-6 are invited to get creative and twist their favourite folktales into their very own stories! With the help of storyteller, Sage Tyrtle, students will learn a whole new approach to storytelling by using high-energy activities to help spark their imagination. At the end of the program, participants will have the opportunity to perform their original stories in front of an audience. The workshop runs every Saturday starting from Saturday, January 23rd until Saturday, March 5th from 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. The cost of the event is pay-what-you-can. Contact Sage at sagetyrtle@gmail.com to sign up!

Hey space travellers, thank you so much for supporting our Adult Colouring and Wine fundraisers! Our first two events were a blast and the tickets for the next three are already sold out.

We’ll keep you posted on future events. If you can’t come but want to donate to Story Planet, follow this link to send an online donation.

Play in a Day Workshop with Judith Thompson
Judith Thompson will be coming by our space on Tuesday, December 22 to lead a playwriting workshop for students in grades 3-7. Spend the day writing a play from start to finish with an award-winning Canadian playwright and find out what it takes to put on such a production!

The workshop will run from 10-4 p.m. on December 22. Click here to sign up!

 

It’s an exciting time to be part of the Story Planet team! We’ve got lots of fun events coming up and there’s always an opportunity to learn a new skill.

Do you want to learn more about coffee? Email us at volunteer@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca to join our team of awesome intergalactic baristas. We’ll give you the training you need to be able to make out-of-this-world peppermint mochas in time for the holidays!

Adult Colouring and Wine This Tuesday
Don’t forget, ticket holders! Our next Adult Colouring and Wine fundraiser is coming up on Tuesday!

This event is sold out. If you didn’t get a ticket in time, click here to make a donation to our literacy programming and keep checking back to our blog to find out about future events.

Story Planet Afterlight Book Club
Speed readers, our Story Planet Afterlight Book Club meets this Wednesday, December 2 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson.

Don’t have enough time to read this month’s book? Check out our Meetup page to find out what we’ll be reading in January!

Earthlings, we’ve got some great news! Following the initial success of our first-ever Adult Colouring and Wine event on November 10, tickets to our next three colouring events are already SOLD OUT!

Thank you all so much for your ongoing support. We’re really looking forward to colouring with you again. If you weren’t able to get a ticket in time, keep checking back to our blog and Twitter page for announcements about similar upcoming events.

As a reminder, ticket sales go toward our free literacy programming that help young people discover and develop their voices. Our innovative programs ignite students’ imaginations, fuel their curiosity and equip them with the tools they need to launch their stories. Most recently, our students learned how to make their own puppets! How cool!

If you’d like to donate to Story Planet’s literacy programming, click here to contribute online. We’ve also got great colouring books for sale at the Intergalactic Travel Authority (the cafe in the front half of our space), and markers and pencil crayons too!

If you’d like to help out around our space, we’ve still got lots of fun volunteering opportunities available for everyone from colouring enthusiasts, to writers, to video editors. Check it out!

Online Store
We are joining the intergalactic web of wares! Story Planet is launching an online store, and we are looking for two to four volunteers to take turns processing orders, uploading and placing pictures, and collaborating on other maintenance work surrounding the website. If you have experience in managing a website, and/or online merchandising, we would love for you to join us!

Kickstarter Campaign for Reggie Rainbow
Continuing the support for our illustrated storybook Reggie Rainbow, the Story Planet community is organizing a Kickstarter campaign to raise publication funds! We are looking for up to four volunteers, ideally with experience and at least with passion, for fundraiser organization, outreach, and bringing the voices of Story Planet participants to fruition!

Email us at volunteer@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca to find out more!

Story Planet Afterlight Book Club
For the readers in the universe, you’ve still got time to read the book for our next Story Planet Afterlight Book Club meeting! On Wednesday, December 2, the group will be reading The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. Check out our Meetup page to find out more about the book and RSVP to our event!