Introducing the recipients of the Outstanding Big Brother or Big Sister in the Meet You In School Program award.

The end of the year signifies that there are several matches that have worked very hard over the school year, learning new skills and trying new things, in short - having a great time.  The end of the year also means that the Outstanding Big Brother or Big Sister awards are given out to the Meet You In School Bigs.  This year there were fifty Bigs who participated from Colleges and High Schools around Ottawa, of those fifty; there were three recipients of the Outstanding Big Brother or Big Sister award.  Here are some of the qualities that are required to be recognized as an Outstanding Big Brother of Big Sister:

• The Big makes a consistent effort to ensure that the activities planned are creative, interactive, and fun for the Littles. The Big uses materials from a wide variety of sources.
• The Big has developed a visibly close, respectful relationship with his/her Littles. This can be measured through observations of the Big and Little at the school, as well as feedback from the Big, the Little, school staff, and/or parents.
• The Big consistently seeks to improve his/her performance by taking the initiative to maintain regular contact with his/her supervisor and asking for feedback. Among his/her Littles, the Big fosters a concern for the well-being of others.
• The Big consistently demonstrates that he/she is passionate about the work that he/she is doing by exemplifying a caring and respectful attitude towards his/her Littles.
• Since meeting the Big, the Little(s) have made significant progress socially as per Post-Program Evaluation feedback provided by the Littles' teacher and/or the School Liaison. The Big's level of energy, enthusiasm, and creativity are an inspiration to other students and BBBSO staff.

The recipients for the 2008-2009 school year are Sophie Szuster, Jennifer Christie, and Shari Pustil.

Sophie was a Big Sister from Algonquin College who was matched with two Little Sisters. To commemorate their match, Sophie and her Littles made board games that signified some of the fun things they did over the semester.

Jennifer is a Big Sister from St. Patrick High School who was matched with eight Little Sisters. Jennifer consistently introduced her Littles to new things, and commemorated their matches by creating a video that captured their time together.

Shari was a Big Sister from John McCrae Secondary School who was matched with four Little Sisters and two Little Brothers.  Through her initiative and creativity, Shari was able to support each one of her Littles in attaining every goal that they set out at the beginning of the year.

Each of these Big Sisters demonstrated to their Littles, to their Elementary Schools and to their Mentoring Coordinators that they were willing to give one hundred and ten percent.

If you would like more information about the Meet You In School Program, or you would like to see if this is a COOP option for you please contact us at myis@bbbso.ca.