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Education taken outside the classroom
Mac Olsen
for South Peace News
Students at Prairie River Junior High and St. Andrew’s schools put the textbooks away March 17 and got a different education outside the classroom.
Known as the Go Girls Go Guys event and organized by the Helping Our Students To Succeed group, approximately 250 students in Grades 7-9 divided into four groups for a series of activities in High Prairie.
“The Go Girls Go Guys program introduces youth to sports and recreational opportunities in their community,” says HOSTS project coordinator Stefani Burosch.
"Hopefully, it opens the kids’ eyes to what’s out there,” she adds.
All the groups converged at the Sports Palace for a pep rally led by the HOSTS group, then went to their activities.
Staff from Alberta Fish and Wildlife held fishing and hunting related activities outside St. Andrew’s School in the morning. Steve Cross showed and filleted several types of fish, Curtis English showed students how to tie fish hooks and Cole Smith demonstrated how to snare squirrels.
At the Royal Canadian Legion, Lt. Verna Ogg of Royal Air Cadet Squadron No. 539 talked about the cadet program. She also explained some of the history of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, such as the uniform.
The students had plenty of opportunities for exercise, such as floor hockey at St. Andrew’s, skating in the Gordon Buchanan Recreation Centre and curling.
In the dance studio above the Sports Palace, Janis Cunningham taught hip hop dancing.
At the Elks Hall, Eric Verstappen demonstrated Shotokan Karate and showed a video of a competition.
The Aquatic Centre hosted an Aquafit program and a swim.
At PRJH, George Isadore and a group of youth from Driftpile First Nation showed how the Aboriginal hand games are played and some of the students played.
One of the biggest physical fitness tests the students encountered was the RCMP’s Physical Abilities Requirement Evaluation. Constables Lee Watt and Ryan Doucette of the High Prairie RCMP Detachment set up an obstacle course in the E.W. Pratt gym, including a staircase, a couple of hurdles and a weight machine. The course simulates an officer chasing a felon through the streets and is part of the entrance requirements for the RCMP Depot in Regina, Sask.
At the end of the day, all the groups met in the Sports Palace for the closing ceremony and some students received prizes.
Burosch thanks the volunteers and sponsors for supporting Go Girls Go Guys. She hopes it will be held again and other groups take the initiative.
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Assura Ajelah finds the weight lifting test of the RCMP’s Physical Abilities Requirement Evaluation a little challenging. Const. Lee Watt balances the device for her.
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At the Elks Hall, Eric Verstappen has Leona Huminiuk help him demonstrate a Shotokan Karate move to students. He also showed a video of a karate tournament.
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Geraldine Badger, a Grade 7 student, runs through the RCMP’s Physical Abilities Requirement Evaluation at E.W. Pratt as Const. Ryan Doucette watches.
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Fish and Wildlife officer Steve Cross explains and fillets several types of fish outside St. Andrew’s School. He also explained and showed the fishes’ vital organs.
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Jacqueline Larson, a Grade 8 student at Prairie River Junior High School, tries her luck at curling. Jocelyn Heyde offered lessons to the students, working one-on-one with some of them.
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