SCAP kids live outside the box

By Ken Johnston
Editor

Wow!
That is all one can say when they see what the grade 4-8 students of Sturgeon Creek Alternative Program school (SCAP) did in Stratton recently.
As part of a Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU) program called Live Outside the Box, Step Inside the Community, students were encouraged to increase the amount of time they and their families spend being actively involved in their communities.
In a series of ads in local papers throughout the NWHU catchment area students were given ideas that ranged from helping at community events, do random acts of kindness, help the homeless, shovel snow for a neighbour, read for the visually impaired, etc.
Students at SCAP did all of those things and much much more. In fact they cleaned up in the volunteer challenge put forth by NWHU. They won for the classroom with the highest participation, won for the school with the highest participation and won for the individual student with the most volunteer hours.
Teacher John Loewen’s grade 6-8 class won for the most active classroom. For their efforts they received a trophy and t-shirts with the winning Live Outside the Box logo on them. The logo was designed by area students in another contest last fall.
As a school, SCAP won a huge trophy plus $200 in gift cards for Canadian Tire to purchase healthy activity equipment.
Grade 4 student Ben Mast of Rainy River, won the individual student achievement award for doing 74 community volunteer hours since last fall. He won a plaque plus a $25 gift certificate for an Eat Smart restaurant. Mast helped out with the humane society, worked on the new RR Covenant Church, helped with church suppers, did yard work for neighbours, visited people in the hospital, etc.
NWHU’s Heidi Ivall was very pleased with the program and said, “SCAP’s participation was just amazing.” She gave the students a great deal of credit but said teachers John Loewen and Elizabeth Husser deserve a real pat on the back for keeping the lengthy program going.