By Charles Lefebvre

Dr. Roy Wilson Learning Centre students win national contest

Apr 10, 2018 | 2:34 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — It started as a regular school assembly. It ended with news students would be going on the Coolest School Trip later this year.

Grade 8 students at the Dr. Roy Wilson Learning Centre were named the winners of the annual contest hosted by Parks Canada Tuesday morning. This summer, 35 students and their teacher will be travelling to Ontario to visit several national parks and historic sites.

“It was definitely a big surprise for all of us,” said teacher Adele Henderson, whose class won the contest. “We’ve been waiting anxiously since submitting our project to find out if we won.”

During the morning, the entire school was called down for an assembly, where a video from Parks Canada played. According to Henderson, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the wife of the Prime Minister, announced in the video that the class was in the final four, and asked them to come up to the front to find out their actual placement.

It was at that moment Henderson’s class were told they won the grand prize.

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What a reaction! CONGRATS to Adele Henderson’s grade 8 class from Dr. Roy Wilson Learning Centre! You’ve won Canada’s #CoolestSchoolTrip & will be boarding an @AirCanada flight to #ParksCanada places in Ontario! @myparkspass pic.twitter.com/L0AKZoRCKg

— Parks Canada (@ParksCanada) April 11, 2018

“As soon as they said they won the grand prize, the school went crazy cheering,” recalls Henderson. “Students were crying and jumping, hugging each other, it was wonderful.

The Coolest School Trip contest sees classrooms create and participate in a stewardship activity that contributes to the protection of the local environment or presents local history and culture.

For their winning project, the class used the Kenow Wildfire that impacted Waterton Lakes National Park to create awareness of wildfire safety in the region.

The project saw students travel to Elkwater to examine fire risk in the parks, told owners how they could improve their Fire Smart scores and how the park was prepared to handle a wildfire.

The project also saw students invite members of the Siksika First Nation for a powwow in January as part of their project to share their perspective on fire prevention.

Henderson says the students learned about collaboration, celebrating their successes and supporting each other when things got tough during their work on the project.

The trip, which is paid for by Parks Canada, runs June 4-8, and sees students visiting Thousand Islands National Park, Fort Wellington National Historic Site, the Rideau Canal and Laurier House.

“I’m very excited for the students,” said Henderson. “A lot of them haven’t been on a plane before. Just to have them reap the benefits of their hard work, it’s a great lesson that when you’re passionate about something, great things can happen.”

The winning photo essay can be viewed here.