Given the fact that I have known since I was twelve that I would become a French teacher, it is no surprise that I love school and pretty much everything about school. (I'll give you one guess what I like the least.) On the top of my list of things I love about Back to School season, aside from a regular pay cheque, is shopping for school supplies. Even if it's something I don't really need, I can't help but pick up a fresh pack of markers or a new set of pens. One of my favourite brand of colours is Crayola. They have become a yearly must-have not just for my kids but for me as a teacher. I love colouring and providing examples of art work for my students so a personal set of Crayola colours always comes in handy. This year, Target sent us a lovely selection of school supplies that included the Crayola colours and scissors as seen above, just in time for Back to School!

Also included in our Back to School package were several highlighters, markers, erasers, rulers and 2-pocket portfolios by Up&Up brand. Look at all the pretty colours!

Dictionaries, craft glue, and Hilroy school essentials, Target seems to carry it all. Even Marvel branded pencils - only $1 for a 4-pack! And if it's savings you enjoy, their current flyer shows 50% off select school supplies. 

If you're looking for new fashion items for the kids, Target has all that and more. Not only did they send over a pair of new jeans for my son and a pretty dress for my daughter, they totally made my son's day by sending over a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hoodie. Cowabunga, dude!

Math is sometimes a dreaded subject with complicated number sentences and algebraic equations. But there are no unknown variables when it comes to the following equation:

TARGET CANADA + PATHWAYS TO EDUCATION = HEALTHY MINDS

This afternoon, at an event held in the heart of Toronto's Regent Park, Target Canada Senior Vice President of External Relations Derek Jenkins announced that they will be contributing $250,000 to support the Pathways to Education program. 

A charity designed to help youth in low-income communities graduate from high school and successfully transition into post-secondary education, Pathways to Education believes that where you live shouldn't determine your success in school. For the past 13 years, Pathways has given youth the academic, emotional and financial support that other young people can take for granted by poviding the following:

It was only fitting that the event take place in the Regent Park Community where Pathways first began. Since then, the program has installed sites in 13 communities across Canada. As Pathways President and CEO Vivian Prokop announced in her opening remarks, the results from the Pathways program have been outstanding.

   'Graduation rates more than doubled.' @VivianProkop @PathwaysCanada President & CEO @TargetCanada #GraduationNation pic.twitter.com/n6LjY6fWEW
— Diana M. (@TeacherMomOfTwo) January 23, 2014

Thanks to Pathways' efforts and through the support of Target Canada and the Ontario government, there has been a reduction in dropout rates of over 70% as well as an increase in youth attending college or university of 300%! This is Pathways Vision - to create a Graduation Nation by "fueling a movement that levels the playing field so that all youth have an equal shot at a rewarding future." And Target Canada shares that vision. Through their investment of $250,000, Target Canada is helping to fund food and nutrition programs for all Pathways sites across Canada. This includes healthy snacks and/or meals for tutoring and mentoring sessions, as well as nutrition and healthy-eating education support and meals for community celebrations.

On hand to host the event was the one and only Michael "Pinball" Clemons. During his remarks, he spoke about his own pathway as a youth, one that, contrary to popular belief, was not rooted in football but rather in education. He credited a large part of his success to his mother and her unyielding dedication to keeping him focused on his academic journey. He concluded by affirming the importance of healthy nutrition and the role it plays in developing a healthy mind.

@PathwaysCanada & @TargetCanada chefs with Pinball Clemons #regentpark #Toronto #graduationnation #client pic.twitter.com/g39KDrx8od
— Sybil Eastman (@SybilEastman) January 23, 2014

In celebration of the exciting news, Target Canada executives and Pathways students teamed up with chefs at cooking stations to create nutritious foods for the attendees. Fellow blogger Kate of Little Miss Kate joined Mr. Jenkins at the turkey meatball station and I teamed up with Raj and a couple of Pathways students at the chicken station. While it was a little nerve-racking at first trying to come up with a recipe and a creative name for our sandwiches, we managed to work together to create garlic aioli chicken sandwiches and butter chicken sandwiches. We had hoped to make two additional international-inspired sandwiches as an ode to the cultural mosaic that is Canada but we ran out of time. All in all, it was a heartwarming (and stomach-filling) event. It was an honour to be a part of it and to be able to work with such wonderful students. May the partnership between Pathways and Target continue to grow and contribute to the bright futures of our youth for years to come.

Now, having heard about all the fuss over the new Target stores, I had shied away from the busy parking lots and long lineups I had previously read about in my Twitter feed. So imagine my surprise when I learned that Target, contrary to my initial and utterly erroneous belief (*hanging head in shame*), carries much more than just clothing. Please don't shun me.

Lo and behold all of the wonderful back-to-school necessities to be found at Target:

Fun and funky Sharpie markers, decorative adhesive tape, paint sets, scissors, erasers... my heart is racing.

In a couple of weeks, I will be attending a symposium on 21st century learning. These are definitely exciting times full of endless possibilities and I am eager to learn more. It seems that shortly after I had entered the teaching profession we were introduced to smart technology and now we are talking about augmented reality. The next thing you know we will be living like our fictitious Star Trek counterparts in a world of holodecks and replicators. In the meantime, we can give our children a glimpse of what is waiting for them in the future by introducing them to Cypher Kids Club Augmented Reality Cards.

As part of the Cypher Kids Club campaign, I made a trip to one of select Walmart locations where they carry the learning cards and picked up one of each set: Letters, Numbers and Wild Animals. You can view my #CypherKidsClub album on Google+ for more photos detailing my shopping experience. I knew even before opening the box that the animal cards would be the most popular set but my son and I also enjoyed the letters set, especially when it came to the letters in his name.