Westwood Elementary School has received a Manitoba Grant for Innovation in Citizenship and Education for their community building project in the amount of $1,000 from the provincial government.
The money will go towards supporting the implementation of their various projects. This year, those projects will include a cultural awareness initiative, which involves a play, presented by the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, called Beneath the Banyan Tree, that's all about bullying and tolerance. Hugh Fraser, superintendent with the Mystery Lake School District, says Westwood will also be hosting presentations from members of Thompson's Multicultural Centre on five different countries. The school will also celebrate cultural diversity through film, books, presentations and food during the week of March 21, which is the National Elimination of Racial Discrimination Day.
Westwood Elementary School's sustainability project is also happening this year and will focus on a school-wide recycling program and continued support for the Grades 4 to 6 Enviro Club. Fraser says the students will also continue on with their composting project, which started last year, and the annual community cleanup which takes place in the spring.
Westwood Elementary School counsellor Trish Griffin says the funding from the Province will help to expand programs and provide the school with extra resources. She says one of the biggest things the students will be continuing on with this year is their partnership with the Thompson Homeless Shelter.
Last year the school looked at helping out different agencies in the community to build awareness and education throughout the school, and ended up choosing the shelter. The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) came into the school and gave power point presentations to the Grades 5-8 students. This year, Griffin says the younger students will get a chance to learn about the shelter as well.
"Last year CMHA would come and do a presentation with each individual class. We started off basically covering Grades 5-8, and the older classes had the option of going and visiting the homeless shelter, with parental consent. We would then challenge the classes to come up with a way that they could help the homeless shelter," she explains. "As a result we brought pots of soup and bannock to the shelter, there was a lot of cooking which is one of the things we were promoting. There was a picnic lunch made for the shelter one day, and a barbecue lunch one day. Easter goodie bags were given to shelter residents, along with Christmas hampers. Students even made posters for them to put up in and around the homeless shelter."
This year, Griffin says the students will also be getting involved with the Ladybug Foundation, which was started by 13-year-old Hannah Taylor when she was only eight-years-old. The foundation is a non-profit registered charitable foundation that looks to raise awareness and funding support for frontline charitable organizations across Canada to help battle homelessness.
Westwood Elementary School has a history of contributing to the community. The school's annual Christmas food drive, spearheaded by the student council, collected a total of 1,600 food items for the less fortunate. Staff and students also took part in the Red Cross mittens, scarf and toque drive. The school also helped to build a school in Africa with their Seeds of Hope program, and also takes part in the Rachel's Challenge program, a North American school-wide initiative outreach program that looks to prevent violence and promote kindness.
Griffin says the school is looking for even more student input this year and is considering other organizations within the community to help with.
