Local French students wowed trustees with their public speaking skills at a school board meeting recently.
The students – Lord Tweedsmuir’s Logan Stimson and Sonia Serai and Glenbrook’s Ethan West and Nisa Reehal – were among 240 provincial finalists in Canadian Parents for French’s annual French-language public speaking contest Concours d’Art Oratoire, which drew participation from 10,000 B.C. students this year.
New Westminster’s high-placing contestant, however, was Glenbrook’s Trinity Armstrong, who placed second in the province in the late French immersion category for her speech “Mon anniversaire à Paris.” Armstrong was not able to attend the May 26 meeting.
Fun fundraiser
Qayqayt Elementary is hosting a community carnival this weekend to celebrate the school’s first year and to raise funds for things like field trips, gym equipment, a simple Lego robotics lab and the school’s playground next year. The event – set for Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Tipperary Park – will feature old fashioned carnival games, a cake walk, face painting, a music stage and more.
Key West Ford will also be on hand for a Drive 4 UR School fundraiser.
For every qualified test drive of a new Ford vehicle, the auto company will donate $20 to the school, to a maximum of $6,000.
Bike week
More kids at Herbert Spencer Elementary are getting to school on their own two wheels after the school’s first-ever bike-to-school week May 25 to 29.
Spearheaded by Grade 4 and 5 students, who promoted, organized and collected data, the event saw 53 students take to their bikes on a rainy Monday morning.
By Friday, the number of kids riding and scooting to school had jumped to 261, and teacher Rachel Sebestyen said the event has encouraged more ridership this week too.
On an average day, there are about five to 12 bikes in the school’s rack, she said. On Monday, there were 21.
The event wrapped up with a bike parade around the school’s playground Friday.
“It brought a real good sense of community to the school,” Sebestyen said.
Scholarship winner
The New Westminster Secondary School student who started ecoFEST – an outdoor festival that showcases environmental volunteer opportunities for young people – has been awarded a scholarship valued at $70,000 from the TD Bank Group.
Annaliese Meyer, whose festival hits the New Westminster Quay again this Saturday, was one of 20 students across Canada to be awarded the scholarship, which recognizes young Canadians who have had a significant impact on their communities.
Meyer started ecoFEST in 2013 and is now expanding the initiative to connect environmentalism with popular student interests, through activities like sustainable food cooking classes and mentorships for budding environmentalists.
She is considering a career in ecotoxicology and wants to pursue research in Antarctica.
