“Character — What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us!”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Those words are written on a plaque in the foyer of the Rossburn Collegiate Institute (RCI), a school that encourages students to take advantage of the education and extra-curricular opportunities provided for them in a safe, structured and supportive environment.
And that is exactly what a group of students has done in creating a calendar full of safety tips, which qualifed for a $2,000 Safe Schools Grant.
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Rossburn Collegiate was among 10 schools across the province to receive $2,000 grants for their proposals on keeping workers safe. Other schools earning a grant were Tec Voc High School, Children of the Earth High School, and John Taylor Collegiate in Winnipeg, Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School in Brandon, and Stonewall Collegiate, Carman Collegiate, the Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre, and one grant to be shared by the Frontier School Division’s northern schools and another by its southern schools.
“The Safe Schools Grant contest was launched to encourage and educate students and youth on safety and health,” said Jennifer Howard, minister of labour and immigration. “The grants will help the participants complete innovative projects to incorporate safety in the classroom.”
The contest invited students, classrooms and schools to submit videos, songs, posters and ideas and proposals to promote “safe” work. Entries were reviewed in consultation with the minister’s advisory council on Workplace Safety and Health and the Workers of Tomorrow Safety Centre.
“As a teacher with a diverse group of learners in my class, I am looking for ways to grab students and bridge their knowledge from the theory of the classroom to the practicalities outside the classroom. This was a way to create the bridge and motivate students with an extra-credit project. Receiving the contest information through email, it was presented to these five students, who were excited about the possibilities and started generating ideas,” said Bill Legge, the teacher responsible for facilitating the project.
Legge, and RCI principal, Bob Ploshynsky, said it was exciting to see a small rural school recognized, and praised the five Grade 9 students for their fun and interesting project. Ploshynsky said Legge also deserves recognition as a teacher who not only recognizes the potential of his students, but also continues to challenge them.
“Taking the project to this level of success were five amazing kids — Bailey Salyn, Erin Schaworski, Kadie Sidoryk, Marianne Sytnyk, and Shauna Rubeniuk — who shared their creativity to put together a 2012 calendar titled Health and Safety in the School,” said Legge.
Though it was time consuming, they all agreed the outcome of their project was remarkable.
“Hoping to promote safety in the schools and workplaces, I would have to say that we achieved that through creativity,” said Sytnyk.
Schaworski said the calendar doesn’t contain all serious matter, but also humorous, to help younger students grasp the concept.
The girls said the most challenging part was putting all the details together by covering six-plus lists, researching the website and coming up with the photos. The project took between 30 to 40 hours to complete. They illustrated hazardous situations through acting out various situations themselves, and those hazards are front and centre in the calendar along with question-and-answer segments, and tips.
“I’m proud of the girls’ initiative in creating a wonderful, informative and funny calendar that students can use day to day, as well as teachers,” Legge said. “Some of the grant money will be used to promote health and safety in the presentations we provide, while the rest of the money will be put forth to a health and safety initiative in the school, which presently options are being looked at.”
Projects will be shared with other schools to increase awareness of safety and health among Manitoba’s youth and showcased during the 2012 Day of Mourning. This is an annual day of remembrance for workers who have been killed or injured on the job in Canada. The aim of this day, to be recognized on April 28, is to publicly renew the commitment to fight for the safety of the living, as well as mourning for those workers who had died. Although it began in Canada, the Day of Mourning is now commemorated in more than 70 countries.
“Encouraging young people to think about workplace safety and health while in the classroom will educate them about the importance of safe work practices,” said Education Minister Nancy Allen.
