Students across the Lord Selkirk School Division (LSSD) have tied up their shoelaces and headed outdoors for their annual Terry Fox Runs. Schools have been educating, commemorating and fundraising for the Terry Fox Foundation all month long, all while having fun.
Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School (LSRCSS) student Payton Bragg took up the commemoration aspect of the event and organized an “In Memory” wall display for the entire school.
“Students and staff can identify who they will participate in the run in memory of or in support of,” explained Magda Kuber, teacher at LSRCSS.
Bragg set up a stand on Sept. 18 and 19 in the halls of the school for people to fill out a paper to add to the display. She came up with the idea as she wanted to bring personal awareness to showcase how many loved-ones can be impacted by a family member’s cancer diagnosis.
“When students walk past the display I want them to recognize the effect cancer has on everyone and to bring a strong bond of community to the students especially to those in which cancer is currently affecting their life to remind them they are not in this alone,” said Bragg.
Organizing an event of this nature is the norm for Bragg.
“I tend to do a lot of things within the community and school all the time, so this isn’t something out of the ordinary for me. But, this is one of the most important events for me.”
The Grade 12 student has dealt with family member’s diagnoses of cancer herself, with her Uncle, Grandma, and Mema having gone through chemotherapy treatments.
Bragg noted that three students added their own names to the wall.
“It was courageous to see so many people get involved in the project, especially when cancer can be such a personal and sensitive topic for many,” said Bragg.
In addition to contributing to the display, everyone also received a lollipop for putting a name on the wall.
Students from Happy Thought School (HTS) held a week-long fundraiser for the Terry Fox Foundation. HTS collected different amounts of pledges based on the day of the week. “Monday – Dimes, Tuesday – Quarters, Wednesday – Loonies, Thursday – Toonies, Friday – Your choice,” explained Kristy D’Auteuil, a Phys-Ed Teacher at HTS.
D’Auteuil along with fellow PE Teacher, Natalie McConnell gave the students an incentive to help bring in the funds. “If the students fundraise more than $500 then they will get an extra recess and a chance to throw a reusable water balloon at their PE teachers or Principals,” said D’Auteuil.
The students successfully met and exceeded their fundraising target raising $1803.49 and were able to get their extra recess.
D’Auteuil and McConnel also provided classroom teachers with many resources to share with the students about Terry Fox. “From videos, books, and many great lesson plans. The Terry Fox Foundation makes it very easy to learn about Terry on their webpage. They also have a link to a virtual classroom that you have access to videos, books and lesson plans in just one click,” D’Auteuil added.
On Sept. 20, HTS closed off their week with their own Terry Fox Run. Students in Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 ran around the Fitness Trail located on the HTS school grounds, and Grade 3 and 4 students participated in the Church/Strathcona Road Challenge by running throughout the community.
“The East Selkirk Fire dept came out to help keep our students at HTS safe on the roads. They led the run with their side-by-side unit and had trucks out on the roads,” said D’Auteuil.
Students at St. Andrews School also laced up for their Terry Fox Run on Sept. 20.
Before heading out for their run in the St. Andrews community, all students gathered in the gymnasium for a Terry Fox Assembly to kick off the event with St. Andrews School alumni and QX 104.1 Radio Host, Karly Troschuk. Troschuk loved being back in St. Andrews Dragon territory. “It feels so good to be back,” she said.
At the assembly, St. Andrews School also celebrated their 35th year of being involved in the Terry Fox Run.
Deanna Holowachuk from the Terry Fox Foundation had the opportunity to present St. Andrews School with a 35th Anniversary Terry Fox Run banner to commemorate their milestone year. Three students, Tessa Penner, Oliver Berry and Brenna Schellenberg, all of whom are cancer survivors themselves, accepted the banner on behalf of the school at the assembly.
Earlier in the month, Kasha Korchinski, Principal at St. Andrews School provided classrooms with a video on Terry Fox to educate students about his story.
“Fred Fox was a guest at our school a few years ago and talked about the Terry’s mission. He sent in a special video message to the staff and students at our school which we showed at our first whole school assembly this year,” said Korchinski.
The following week, students from Walter Whyte School (WWS) visited Grand Beach Provincial Park for their Terry Fox Run.
“This year we are dedicating our run to “Run for Holden”. Holden is a Gr. 3 student at our school who is currently going through treatments for kidney cancer,” said WWS Principal, Gloria Juvoven.
On Sept. 25, students were given a sticker where they could write down a name in support of someone with cancer. Many staff and students wrote Holden’s name down.
“[Holden] has not been able to start his school year yet as he is in Winnipeg receiving cancer treatment. We want to make the connection for our students that part of the reason Holden is receiving such great care and advanced medical treatment is because of all the research and funding that goes into cancer care, and we can be proud that our school has been a part of that for the past 30 years,” explained WWS Teacher, Robert Simpson.
Following the run, all stickers will be placed on display for everyone to see. Simpson added that he is grateful for the community’s support.” We are a school of just over 100 students and last year we raised over $2600. Each year we increase our fundraising goal. This year we hope to raise over $2800.”
At Lockport School, students and staff came together on Sept. 27 for an afternoon of fun team-building activities and their own Terry Fox Run.
“We are going to have four groups of 60 students going around the school and doing some things for fun,” said Lockport School teacher, Marco Morelli.
The Lockport Lancers participated in a variety of fun-themed activities including — balloon volleyball, tallest house of cards challenge and the Helpful Shoe Activity.
“Terry was quoted as saying helping others was what he believed. We made the quote into a poster and all the students filled in their shoe templates with how they are helpful. The shoes are on display in the front foyer,” explained Morelli.
Lockport School closed off their afternoon of fun with a run around their school.
“We have been celebrating (Terry Fox) for as long as I have been here. The staff and students always really enjoy it,” added Morelli.
Students at École Selkirk Junior High ran for Terry Fox on Sept. 27. They were treated to a healthy fruit snack after their run, provided by Aaron’s No Frills. Staff at the school also set up two slushie machines for the students to buy a frosty-beverage in support of Terry Fox.
Another school that has had large amounts of funds raised for the Terry Fox Foundation is Robert Smith School.
“Our school has fundraised an astronomical amount for the foundation. So far to date, we are just shy of $4000 for Terry. Because our students beat our goal of $500 they have earned a pie throw event happening on Oct. 4 at our school,” said Robert Smith Principal, Kim LeMoine.
The Grade 5/6 class held a unique fundraiser for the foundation.
“Each year, my class and I create a huge map of Canada that we use to help us review and learn the provinces, territories and capital cities of Canada,” explained their teacher Kimberly Cooke.
The money map is able to be used in multiple subjects including English, Social Studies and Math.
Cooke explained that her class collects coins and then places them on the map along Fox’s route.
“My class is still in the process of totalling the money we raised on our Terry Fox Map, but we are estimating around $150 in coins,” she added.
Overall, lots of smiles were to be had across the LSSD as they remembered the Canadian Hero, Terry Fox.
If you are looking to help a school raise funds for the Terry Fox Foundation, donations can be made online at www.terryfoxschoolrun.org by selecting “Donate to a School” and searching for your school of choice.
Record Photos by E Antonio and Katelyn Boulanger
