Four Elm Creek School (ECS) students have been recognized in the National Youth Remembrance Contests.
Each year, the Royal Canadian Legion and the Legion National Foundation host the National Youth Remembrance Contests, which invite youth across Canada to honour the country’s veterans through visual art, writing, and video. Poster and literary works first compete at the legion branch level, with winning entries moving forward through the district level until they reach the provincial level, then the national level.
The annual contest splits entries into three categories: Senior: Grades 10, 11, and 12; Intermediate: Grades 7, 8, and 9; Junior: Grades 4, 5, and 6.
Intermediate essays cannot be more than 500 words, and all poems entered in all categories cannot exceed 32 lines. All posters must be made on standard 8.5” by 11” paper. Students can enter one piece of work into each category. Entries are marked based on their originality of thought, expression, presentation, grammar, spelling, and Canadian content.
ECS Vice Principal Ashley Cook assigned the Grade 7 class the project of creating a piece for the National Youth Remembrance Contests. The students had the option of actually entering their work to be judged. All 27 students created something, but just 10 submitted their pieces. Four of those 10 have moved on from the local zone judging level.
One of those four students was Kinsley Friesen, who wrote the poem “Capital Letters”. The poem, written in a free verse style, was about the soldiers and how they gave up themselves for everyone else, said Friesen. Taking inspiration from a winning poem last year, she added capital letters seemingly randomly throughout the poem, and if you put them all together, they spell out “Remember the Fallen”.
Friesen said the poem took her three entire half-hour classes, and she had no idea whether she would do well in the contest. She ended up winning third at the Carman Legion Branch 18 level and then first at the district level, garnering her $10 and $50, respectively.
Another of ECS’s four winners was Ainsley Richardson, who wrote a 500-word essay on her three family members who fought in the Second World War and First World War. Richardson’s family has all the letters her veteran family members sent home during the war, and she discussed the contents of the letters in her essay.
“One letter was a happy birthday to my great-great grandma because he couldn’t make it home,” said Richardson. “It’s really cool to know what they did.”
Other letters discussed what the men did while on base or in combat, while one mentioned her Uncle Bud winning the 200-metre dash on track day.
Richardson spent four half-hour classes perfecting her essay. She placed third in both the zone and district levels, earning $20 in total.
Cook is proud of her students. She said there are many things teachers and students do throughout the year, so it is important for them that the four students get such positive feedback on a piece of work like this.
“It’s very fun to see them be so excited about something,” she said. “I can give positive feedback, but it’s way more exciting when they win something.”
She added that the topic of this assignment was the main reason for her having the students do it.
“I think Remembrance Day is really important to be observed and I thought it’s easy in this day and age for young people to share a social media post or do some of those simple things but to actually pause and work hard on something gives it more meaning to the students and really emphasizes to them that it’s important.”
Honouring family Veterans
By Ainsley Richardson, Grade 7
Elm Creek School
They sacrificed their lives for us and so Canada could be a free country. There were a lot of soldiers that fought in world war 1 and world war 2. They did not have the option to fight in the wars. The war began when 2 countrys fought those 2 countries were Germany and Poland. There were many important dates in both of the world wars. There were lots of documents that were made in both of the world wars. In one of the world wars my great great uncle Arthur Johnston fough and died during the war. There were many letters sent home from him to his mom. He sent home a letter to his mom wishing her a happy birthday because he could not make it back for this day.
Most of the letters were sent over air because that was the fastest way to get them back to the familys. There is a letter that I still have today and many more from 1943. All the letters that got sent had to get examined then they put them on the plane toget shipped back home to their family or friends. The first event was on September 1 1939 and the last event was on September 2 1945. In wars there are letters given as a promotion to the pilot officers. During the wars the people who went over the seas sent telegraphs to their family and friends. Some ofthe paper was made into envelopes. They had to monitor what people wrote so if it got captured the enemy wouldn’t get a lot of their information or plans.
The pilots would have fun like track day. My uncle Bud said he won the 200m dash in his squad. Then he said they were having a “ Track Day “ with their squads in their down time. Some of them went to London on their time off of work. They even had phew dances or bands in the evenings.
If a person goes missing during the war they publish their name and their rank but leave out their unit and location in case it gets intercepted or tips off the enemy to where the rest of their unit might be. When a soldier or vetern went missing or died they named lakes or pennisulas in a way to remember them for their bravery.
The Royal Canadian Air force trained out of Alberta and many more places in world war 2. They trained out of Alberta until they got called to war. Most of the guys had to do pilot school to know how to do all the things in the plane. The pilots that were in school had to write exams and midterms. All the pilots in school had to fly during the day and during the day. Not all of the pilots train during the day. That’s why the soldiers are important.
What Was It Like
By Eden Lepp
What was it like, I wish I could ask
Great-great Uncle Fred, who’s fighter plane crashed
Was he solemn and sad on
that fatal day
Was he angry and mad at what the war took away.
I would ask if it was scary,
learning to fly
If it was nerve-racking or peaceful,
up there in the sky.
I would ask if he loved the feeling of soaring up high
If he ever became frightened and asked himself why.
What was it like, in World War I
For Great-great Grandpa John, who was still very young
Did he know when he left that things would never be the same
That the terrors of war were
anything but a game.
Did he miss his family dearly and write to them over and over again
Did the tragedies of battle haunt him and did he miss his fallen friends
What was it like to be a hero
when he returned home
I wonder if he knew
I’d be writing this poem.
What was it like,
I’m glad we don’t know
That those terrible wars
were a long time ago
Thanks to courageous people who fought for our freedom
We must not forget,
even if we can’t see them.
And now every day,
not just in November
We need to take time to reflect
and remember
Great-great Uncle Fred and Great-great Grandpa John
And the many brave souls who are now dead and gone.
Dear Fiance
By Alexia Ladouceur
Dear fiance,
I miss you so much. I can’t wait to see you and have this war over. There are so many sick and broken soldiers. The food here tastes disgusting. It is so cold and damp here. I thought this would be way better. How is it over in the front line?
Yesterday a whole truck of evacuated soldiers. Some of them had trench foot, one of them had a bullet in the leg. Two of them had fi ngers missing from frostbite. There were so many of them. One of them died from trench foot. He was one of the nurses’ husbands. She was crying for hours. We were all sad. I hope that never happens to you.
I have been sick for a long time now. I sometimes faint or have trouble breathing. But I pull through. Except yesterday when the soldiers came. I was ready to help, but then I couldn’t walk. I just fell over. One of the nurses came over and helped me up and sat me in a chair. I was so scared because this was the first time that I fell because of the sickness. I hope this stops very soon because I want to help the soldiers. I miss you so much. Love you with all of my heart. Stay safe.
Love,
Elizabeth
