SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Students from schools across the city say they're tired of being locked up inside during most of the winter and want the school boards to seriously consider lowering the temperature limit.
Currently, students in Yellowknife are kept inside at recess when the temperature hits below -30 C with windchill. But ten-year-old Jack Kotaska said he wants the cutoff to be closer to -35 or -40, not factoring windchill.
There could be an option to stay inside for those who want to, he added, but the rest of the students should be allowed to enjoy the outdoors.
"In Yellowknife it's what temperatures it is, so like if you don't want to be in the cold, then you can move south to California or Jamaica or something like that," Kotaska said.
The J.H. Sissons student said one of the main reasons he looks forward to going to school is that he loves going out for recess and playing with his friends.
"It makes you be able to concentrate better," he added.
Kotaska's sentiments were echoed by his brother Luke Kotaska, 9, along with friends Thomas Matesic, 10, and Jack Panayi, 12, who go to J.H. Sissons School, St. Joseph School and William McDonald School respectively. The boys all agreed they would much rather be out in the cold playing King of the Hill, tag and having snowball fights than cooped up in a building reading, talking and playing with Lego.
"It's way more fun to play games outside," said the younger Kotaska.
As of March 20, students at Yellowknife Catholic Schools and Yk Education District No. 1 schools had missed more than a month of outdoor recess due to the cold weather cutoff.
The brothers' parents, Andrew Kotaska and Christine Scott, who are both in the medical field, said they stand behind their children on this issue.
The boys walk to school in -40 C weather and as long as they bundle up, there are no issues, said Andrew, adding they would be fine going outside for a 15-to 30-minute recess, especially with a warm building only a few steps away.
"I think all of us realize living in Yellowknife means you need to be prepared for (-30 C and below) and we teach our kids to be prepared for that," he said.
Still, he added, students should have the option to stay indoors on days colder than -30 C. It would require a little more planning from administration but it's not insurmountable, he said.
Also, a buddy system between the older and younger students could be used to help teachers ensure children are properly dressed. And fundraisers could be done to get face warmers for children who need them, he said.
According to Tasha Stephenson, the temperature cutoff is a problem at more than just the elementary schools.
Last month her daughter's Grade 9 class at Sir John Franklin High School was supposed to make a trip out onto the land but it was cancelled when temperatures hit -40 C. Stephenson said she doesn't believe a one-size-fits-all approach works in that situation.
"I really feel that a lot of those decisions have to be case specific. A Grade 9 class going out for the Dene Kede winter camp is not the same as kindergartens going out for a full day trip, which is not the same as kindergartens going out for a 15-minute recess. So I think there has to be some judgment call," she said.
"The point of the camp was Dene Kede curriculum, which is how the First Nations people lived on the land, they're traditional cultures and values. Well, excuse me, they didn't stay inside when the weather wasn't favourable, they dealt with it."
