Sharing School Successes

Congratulations to Gordon Head Middle School and Oak Bay High School which were presented with the 2009 Youth in Philanthropy Awards from the National Philanthropy Day Committee! For details, see Gordon Head Philanthropy Day Award and Oak Bay Philanthropy Day Award.

Four Greater Victoria schools were winners in Encorp Pacific's B.C. 2009 School Recycling Program. Schools competed for cash prizes by collecting and recycling beverage containers. The Bottle Depot of Saanich and Victoria matched the money awarded to schools in Greater Victoria this year. View Royal Elementary and Rogers Elementary placed first in their size categories and received an award of $1500 each. Spectrum Community School finished second in its size category and was awarded $1000, while Glanford Middle School placed third winning $500. See the Encorp Pacific's website for more information.

The Sierra Club has named Ms. Dibiase’s Grade 2/3 class from Ecole Quadra School, and Ms. Mead’s Grade 2 class and Ms. Solecki's Grade 1 class from Strawberry Vale Elementary as runners up in their 2009 Action Challenge Contest! Students were involved in garbage free lunches recycling and composting which reduced their garbage dramatically!

The student-led, Oak Bay High Solar Project Team announces that its fundraising and community support project to take two Science labs off the grid has finished successfully! The installation by Carmanah Technologies of ten 208 Watt solar panels began in April. The equipment was lifted onto the roof above the Physics labs and assembled. For project details and a picture, click here.

Congratulations to the Colquitz Environmental Renaissance Group who received Honorable Mention in the Youth Group/School Category for the Saanich 2009 Environmental Awards! This group of 24 students and their teacher-sponsor set a goal of making their school more environmentally friendly. They approached their task through activities which engage their peers on an every day basis. Waste reduction, alternative transportation, energy savings, and habitat stewardship are all issues they have tackled. There is no doubt that these young people will make a big difference to the future of their school and our community!

Congratulations to Reynolds Secondary School students and staff for their hard work and commitment to creating an environmentally friendly school. They received a $16,435 Grant from Trees for Tomorrow, $6,000 from the Green Games and won a Solar Power System worth $65,000! Kudos to Heather Coey who has taken the leadership role in actively moving the school towards sustainability!

Congratulations to the PACs at the following schools: Braefoot Elementary, Craigflower Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, Lake Hill Elementary, McKenzie Elementary, Shoreline Community Middle School, Strawberry Vale Elementary, Sundance Elementary, and to Victoria West School Community Association. These schools are the recipients of 2008/09 Ministry of Housing and Social Development Playground Grants for school playground enhancements. See the Playground Grants website for more information.

The Greater Victoria School District presently has 21 schools participating in the BC School Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program. See List of Participating Schools at the Agriculture in the Classroom website. Welcome to Lambrick Park, Glanford, Tillicum, Rogers and McKenzie. These schools will start the program in September. The Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program is part of ActNowBC, an initiative to improve the health of B.C. children and families. Twice a week for the duration of the program, students receive local fresh fruit or vegetable snacks, at no cost. The goal is to expand the program to include all B.C. public schools by 2010. Ecole Marigold School has been participating since January 2007.

The Healthy Food Fair, held March 12, 2008, was a great success! Hundreds of parents, students, teachers and interested community members sampled food and learned about foods which meet the Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales in B.C. Schools. Click here to find out more and see pictures of this event.

Project Urban Rain Garden, a Leadership Victoria Community Action Project at Victoria West Elementary School, is reclaiming a paved playground and transforming it into a rain garden to be used as an outdoor classroom and community gathering area. It is hoped this project will also act as a model for other schools. For more information, see the Project Urban Rain Garden website or view the video.

From mid-May to mid-June 2007, Cloverdale Elementary School students took part in the Victoria Wellness Challenge. After 30 days of walking, running and hopping, the students collectively walked from Victoria, BC to Grenville, QC near Montreal, accumulating over 5.7 millions steps or 4,631 km. Each student averaged 5.6 km per day! See photos of the challenge and find out more at The 30 Day Victoria School Wellness Challenge website.