Students heading to Ottawa
Grants and sponsors helping pay for trip to sport, fitness and leadership week events
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, October 2, 2014
INUVIK
A group of students from East Three Secondary School are heading to Ottawa later this month to attend a recreation and sports conference.
East Three Secondary School student Baily Simard, left, and Liam Larocque, right, will be travelling to Ottawa for a recreation and sports conference with teacher Colin Pybus, centre. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
|
Colin Pybus, a physical education teacher at the school, is leading the excursion.
"The trip is through a program called Encounters with Canada. Up until this point, I'm not sure if (the Inuvik schools) have ever been a part of this, but it hasn't happened in my time here.
"It's a program I was involved with when I was in high school," he continued. "I made some lifelong friends from it.
"I'm leading a new class this year called Recreation and Leadership, and tying in with this new class is this opportunity to go to Ottawa for a sport, fitness and leadership week. We were fortunate enough that they had enough space to take basically everyone in the class."
The students will pay $200 for the trip, with the rest subsidized by various grants and sponsors.
"The regular cost of the program is $675, and through the grants I'm covering the first $500 of the program for each student. The cost could easily be more than $5,000 for each student, and I hope this opportunity can build through the school."
The programs continue throughout the school year, with different theme weeks, Pybus said.
"Hopefully we'll be able to send more students throughout the year.
"They'll get a full tour of the Parliament buildings and the basic sights and sounds of Ottawa," he said. "They'll have a visit through the University of Ottawa and potentially Carleton (University), so there's the whole post-secondary aspect. I don't have a full itinerary as yet.
"I think it's a fantastic opportunity for the kids," Pybus added. "I at least wanted to get the program up and running this year, and maybe send one or two students. So the chance to send the entire class is a bonus."
Nine students will be making the trip with Pybus.
The recreation class teaches leadership, whether in the school or the community, Pybus said. It introduces recreation concepts and how to develop recreation programs.
"Part of recreation and leadership is that they will be taking an active role in those pursuits here at the school. They're planning our badminton tournament, and then hopefully with Jump Rope for Heart later in the year."
Liam Larocque, one of the students going on the trip, called it a "cool" opportunity.
"I wanted to go to Ottawa and this looks like a good trip," he said.
Baily Simard, another student in Pybus's class, said she was looking forward to "gaining more leadership skills."
The students leave around Oct. 11 and will return from the week-long conference after Oct. 18.
