Students from Sunrise Ridge Elementary School went bike riding with a cause in June.
On their first ever biking field trip, Grade 5 students students Yurim Lee, Ava Demuynck, and Shia Sumra rode around with teacher Stephanie Norris and student-teacher Maria Fawcett to deliver gifts to residents of Zion Park Manor and firefighters at Hall No. 15. Those deliveries included puzzles for the residents of Zion Park and thank you notes for the firefighters.
The brainchild of Fawcett, the field trip started at Zion Park and ended at the fire hall. Norris said because they only had a few in-class students, a biking field trip was easy to organize.
鈥淭he Grade 5鈥檚 were glad they waited until (June 18),鈥� said Norris. 鈥淭hey wanted good weather if they were going to make the deliveries by bike.鈥�
When brainstorming about what kind of projects they could get the students to do, both Norris and Fawcett had originally thought, 鈥淲hat could be done that would encourage student participation and yet keep everything at a social distance? What could 22 students do that could make a difference?鈥�
So they asked all the students, the four in-class kids and the 18 online-only kids, to become photographers.
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鈥淓ach student chose their top two photos and then submitted these online,鈥� explained Norris. 鈥淭he kids were really proud of their photos and Maria (Fawcett) was so incredible, she taught them all the basics of photography.鈥�
Norris said Fawcett recently won UBC鈥檚 Emily Longworth scholarship. The purpose of the scholarship is to promote positive change in a community. So Fawcett decided to use the money from that scholarship to make a difference in Cloverdale.
鈥淭he funds from the Emily Longworth scholarship were used to turn the photos into puzzles,鈥� explained Norris. 鈥� It has been proven that puzzles are good for improving short-term memory and they also improve mental speed and thought processes.鈥�
Norris said her students felt puzzles would be a great gift for the residents of Zion Park because, along with the health benefits, it was something they could continue to use over and over.
鈥淥n the last leg of our journey, we biked to Fire Hall No. 15 to drop off letters of appreciation to the firefighters,鈥� added Norris. 鈥淭he students worked diligently on these letters and they understand the role firefighters have in their community.鈥�
Norris said the kids were greeted with a warm welcome when they finally made it to the fire hall.
鈥淧erhaps, looking back, these students won鈥檛 remember the unsettling school days during Covid-19, but rather the time in history when they made a difference.鈥�
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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