Students from the SJS Ski Club took the Director out cross-country skiing.
Students in the SJS Ski Club at St. John School recently got to show the Director of Education their cross-country skiing skills. Derek Haime was visiting St. John School and brought his skis to Red Lake so he could join the students for some skiing in the backfield.
The SJS Ski Club started three years ago with only a small handful of students participating. Since then, the program has grown to have over 50 students participating.
Early Years Educator, Anna Drystek Anna Mesto-Drystek is the coach for the program and talks about the demand. "The program started with about eight children in Grades 4 – 8 and this year we have over 50 students interested in participating," said Anna. "The students are loving it and picking up the skills very quickly. They especially love practicing on their new skate skis thanks to the Tbaytel for Good Communities Fund. Because of the grant we were able to purchase a new waxing station and a few sets of skate skis for the students."
Grade 8 student, Ben Baranesky, has been involved in the SJS Ski Club since he was in Grade 4 and talks about why he enjoys the program. "The SJS Ski Club is great because you get to be with friends, and it's a good way to stay fit and have fun in the winter."
Students enjoy skiing as part of their SJS Ski Club and they also get to participate in competitions.
In the fall of 2018, St. John School was the recipient of a $1,500 grant from the Tbaytel Good for Communities Fund that helped the school buy additional sets of skis. The school has plans to continue to fundraise and look for opportunities to purchase more sets of skis to reach their goal of having enough sets of skis for all children to be able to participate.