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Robson school runs for Terry

Students at the Robson Community School participated in a Terry Fox Run Sept. 28.
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Primary students ran around the perimeter of the schoolyard during the Terry Fox Run. (Chelsea Novak/Castlegar News)

Students at the Robson Community School participated in a Terry Fox Run Sept. 28 and showcased their knowledge of Canada’s provinces and territories at the same time.

Primary and intermediate students each ran their own version of the run.

In the morning the primary students circled the schoolyard, where a table had been set up for each province and territory. When the students arrived at the tables, they were able to stamp their Terry Fox Run passports and check out a poster with information about the province or territory where they stopped.

The posters were created by the intermediate students at Robson Community School.

Hanna Waskul and Sophie Vietch, both in Grade 5, created a poster for Newfoundland and Labrador.

“We learned stuff about the flag and some of the symbols Newfoundland and Labrador, and we also learned a lot about the animals,” explained Vietch.

Tyson Leonard, in Grade 7, is a former Saskatchewan resident and did his project on his former home province.

“Mostly [I learned] about Mac the Moose, because I used to live in Saskatchewan so I know a bunch about it,” he explained.

Students also learned about Terry Fox leading up to the run.

“We learned a lot. That he was only 22 [when he died]. I didn’t know that,” said Vietch.

“And when he was in Newfoundland he dipped his foot in the Atlantic Ocean,” added Waskul.

“He got cancer in his leg and his goal was to run across Canada to raise money for cancer [research], but when he got halfway done his run, his cancer spread to his [lungs] and he died,” said Leonard, when asked what he learned about Fox.

For the intermediate students’ Terry Fox Run, the tables were set up around the neighbourhood surrounding the school. The students covered approximately two kilometres during the run.

Sheena Stienstra, a Grade 5 teacher at Robson Community School, organized the Terry Fox Run for the first time this year and said she wanted to incorporate some of the curricula into the event.

“I had this big plan to incorporate the curriculum and for the kids to learn a bit about their province and their country, and so they did the research and they built the poster boards,” she said.

The primary students were also able to learn about Canada’s provinces and territories by reading the posters as they did the walk.

“This morning I saw the little kids were actually spending some time looking at the posters, so it’s not just a decoration,” said Stienstra.

The primary students seemed to enjoy the format of the run. One even came up to Stienstra toward the end of the event to tell her how much he’d enjoyed it and to thank her for putting it on.

Overall Stienstra felt the event was a successful learning opportunity for the students.

“They seem to be having a lot of fun, which is awesome, but they also seem to be learning and getting fit, and we spent the last two weeks talking about Terry Fox and his dream,” she said.

And for many of the students and teachers at Robson Community School, it’s a dream they can connect with.

“There are a lot of families that are affected by cancer and cancer victims. I myself survived cancer; my husband has cancer right now. There’s a child in my class whose dad has cancer,” said Stienstra. “So it’s really forefront in our minds, for a lot of us.”

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Primary students ran around the perimeter of the schoolyard during the Terry Fox Run. (Chelsea Novak/Castlegar News)
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The intermediate students at Robson Community School started the Terry Fox Run in the schoolyard and made their way around the surrounding neighbourhood. (Chelsea Novak/Castlegar News)
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Sophie Vietch and Hanna Waskul (two girls to right) created a poster for Newfoundland and Labrador. (Chelsea Novak/Castlegar News)
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Tyson Leonard made a poster for Saskatchewan. (Chelsea Novak/Castlegar News)
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