Yellowknife (Oct 08/03) - Who would ever think that a loaf of bread could help students with their math and help someone in need?

A former teacher at Ecole Alain St-Cyr did and started a bread clip collection project for her Grade 2 and 3 class.

Once a week, students gather clips brought in from parents and other students and laboriously count each one to add to the total.

If the students can reach one million clips, off the clips go to Montreal to be melted down into an artificial limb.

Present teacher Margaret Brunton thinks the project is great and says the kids really enjoy it. "It's good for math. It makes math tangible," she says. Students started counting last Christmas and have gathered 42,435 clips so far. They are still a long way away from their target.

Farah Shoblak claims she can count to a million, so she is prepared for the final tally. "We can help persons if they need some help," she said.

When asked what they would do with the clips if they could keep them once they collect one million, Audrey Pelletier piped up "I would swim in it."