GemStar Circle of Excellence Program

09/23/2024

Join us in this upcoming online question-and-answer session to provide the public with information about our 3rd year of the Gem*Star Circle of Excellence scholarship & internship program—tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 24th at 7:00 PM with Latoya John, Akil Alleyne, and more!!! 🙂

09/20/2024

The founder and President of the Playmas Montreal Cultural Association, Ms. Gemma Raeburn-Baynes, was interviewed on Global News on September 18th about Playmas' 2 initiatives this year, the GemStar Circle of Excellence Program (now entering our 3rd year!) and the Roots of English Black Arts & Culture Program. The Roots Program celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Quebec's English-speaking Black community through 2 *free* 8-week workshops—"Griot Night," which focuses on teaching the arts of storytelling, spoken word poetry, and calypso music; and "Crafting Connections," which explores traditional arts like quilting, beadwork, and Carnival costume headpiece design.

Both programs are currently accepting registrants/applicants. Don't miss out on these great opportunities in Montreal's Black community!!! 🙂

09/19/2024

The Montreal Cultural Association, which hosts the GemStar Program, is approaching its 24th anniversary, which makes this a great time to learn more about the vital role this organization plays in our community. Longtime community leader and founder and president of Playmas Montreal Raeburn-Baynes joins Global News Morning’s host Laura Casella to talk about both GemStar and another important new Playmas initiative, the "Roots of English Black Arts and Culture" Program.

Watch Playmas Montreal Cultural Association announces two key programs Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

06/12/2024

The most esteemed founder of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Program, Mrs. Raeburn-Baynes, participated in this CBC TV news report last Friday in anticipation of our 2nd annual GemStar Graduation Ceremony later that evening. Congrats again to all of our graduates—and stay tuned for next year! 😊

05/20/2024

This is Part 1 of a "Shark Tank"-inspired entrepreneurship workshop we offered our GemStar students during our Weekend Retreat in Val-Morin, QC last November. In this introduction, the Chair of GemStar's Selection Committee, the incomparable author, publisher, educator, and entrepreneuse Latoya John, showed our students the ropes of how to come up with a viable business idea and how to put together a solid business plan. Stay tuned to learn what ideas our young Black budding entrepreneurs came up with! 😊

03/23/2024

Part 3 of our recent financial literacy workshop, in which Brian Smith, Vice-President of the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE), broke down the basics of sound money management for our GemStar students. Stay tuned for more of his money mangement advice! 😊

03/14/2024

The introduction to our most recent monthly Zoom workshop for our students, in which Brian Smith of the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education schooled the GemStars in basic principles of financial literacy. Stay tuned for more! 😉

03/01/2024

03/01/2024

GemStar Circle of Excellence Program Manager Akil Alleyne briefly summarizes the Program at our recent gala, held in conjunction with Bmo Bankofmontreal and with the support of Boutique Espace Urbain 🙂