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Students at Namao School, in Namao, give a thumbs-up to the school’s “Celebrating Diversity” project, which won this year’s School–Community Relations award.
Alberta schools and teachers win community relations awards
A school with ties to its community that go back 126 years and a teacher who spearheaded charitable projects are the 2010/11 award of excellence winners in the Alberta Teachers’ Association School–Community Relations Awards.
Established in 1885, Namao School, Namao, has a long-standing relationship with its community. Currently, the school provides kindergarten to Grade 9 education for more than 375 students.
In 2010/11, the school adopted the theme “Celebrating Diversity,” with a focus on planning and organizing activities to highlight the diversity within the school and community. The program was supported by lesson plans, guest speakers, student projects and numerous activities, such as wheelchair basketball and sledge hockey.
Grade 9 student Charleigh Kondas says, “This year has been more than life-changing.” Kondas was involved in a Grade 9 activity where students wrote thousands of positive messages on Post-it notes and placed them throughout the school to surprise younger students. They also made an award-winning video about the activity (view the video at MyAlbertaSchool.ca).
“This project displays how we are all unique, yet perfect,” says Kondas. “Our differences, imperfections and hardships make us who we are.”
Parent Carrla Cowley is impressed that her son attends a school that “encourages students to love themselves, treat others with respect and look at the world in a positive way.”
School staff are pleased with the project’s success. Teacher Thomas Holmes says this year’s program galvanized support in the community. Principal Vernice Pollmann is proud of the students’ knowledge, empathy and caring, “We all have something to offer our school and each other.”
The judges commented: “Great letters of support.” “Liked the wheelchair obstacle course.” “This program deserves full marks—it’s amazing!” They commended Namao School for its use of Google Analytics to measure the program’s success.
Russ Snoble, a religious education consultant for Grande Prairie Catholic School District, is the award of excellence winner in the teacher category. Paul Sévigny, president of Grande Prairie and District Catholic Teachers Local No. 42, nominated Snoble for his project, Five Days of Service to Christ.
Snoble asked staff, students and parents to help others over a five-day period, with each day of service based on a specific theme: clothing, education, shelter, food and faith.
Sévigny provided examples of the project’s success in the form of a newspaper clipping showing students at St. Mary School with more than 60 bags of groceries for the local food bank in Beaverlodge. An article from Embrace the Spirit, the ATA’s Religious and Moral Education Council’s journal, discussed how students and staff across the district raised $20,000 to help students whose parents cannot afford school fees, fieldtrips, sports equipment and eyeglasses.
Henri Chauvet, principal of École St. Gérard in Grande Prairie, says Snoble’s project brought the entire community together. “All of our families, Catholic or not, worked together to bring happiness to local charities and families in need. For our students, these five days of service created a sense of ownership and civic responsibility.”
“The response to the project has been overwhelming,” says Snoble. “Our biggest challenge is how to follow up next year. So many people are telling us they don’t want to look back—but how can we do more than we did this year? What a great challenge and opportunity to face!”
The judges said that Snoble’s goals and objectives were communicated clearly. They found the project innovative and creative, and were pleased to see supporting documents, such as letters of support, news releases, news articles and a partnership with the local radio station.
In addition to the awards of excellence, Arlene Purcell, of Coalhurst High School, received a merit award in the teacher category, and the following schools received merit awards in the school category: G.R. Davis Elementary School, Fort Macleod; Lochearn School, Rocky Mountain House; Sheldon Coates Elementary School, Grande Cache; A. Blair McPherson School, Edmonton; École Mountain View School, Hinton; and Colonel Macleod School, Calgary.
The School–Community Relations Awards competition is sponsored annually by the ATA to recognize excellence in public relations.
As part of his award-winning project, “Five Days of Service to Christ,” Russ Snoble, a religious education consultant for Grande Prairie Catholic School District, coordinated a district-wide food drive.
