Every year, around the 15th-ish, students from around the world celebrate International Dot Day. You read it correctly! Dot Day is the brainchild of Peter H. Reynolds, and was inspired by his extraordinary children’s book entitled The Dot. In summary, the story begins with nothing but a dot, but the end result is one of self-discovery, creativity and courage!

Over the last few years, Dot Day has continued to grow and this year was no exception. Over thirteen million participants, from 187 countries around the world signed up to take part, and we are proud to say that Mazo’s students were included! How did we celebrate?

Many classes have been reading The Dot, either in class or within the Learning Commons itself. Mme Madeley used the LCD to project the incredibly powerful illustrations as she read the text aloud to classes from Grades 1 through 8. Students watched as a single dot morphed into dots of various colours, sizes, and textures… all while the quick-witted main character unleashed her creative spirit.

When asked: “How might you make your mark?” The students were not too sure how to answer, but upon closer inspection of their table groups, they noticed a variety of dot-making tasks…

• It was amazing to watch them create using just their fingerprints/thumbprints and a bit of paint. With a pinch of creativity, they created incredible frame-worthy art!

• Using QuiverVision 3D, students applied their own artistic vision to a dot colouring page, and watched it come to life in extraordinary 3D augmented reality.

• They dabbled with positive and negative spaces as they tackled a “dot or no-dot” challenge.

• Others enjoyed creating word art using nothing but round, dot stickers.

Throughout our Dot Day Celebrations, students have been reminded of the power, inspiration and importance of ones creative spirit to move the world to a better place.

Thank you Peter H. Reynolds for being such a gifted author and visionary… Long live DOT DAY!