Two recent awards are cause for celebration and excitement among students, staff and parish education committee (PEC) members at Assumption School.
First, Powell River Community Forest (PRCF) has awarded the independent school of approximately 200 students a grant to upgrade its soccer field and playground.
“Our current field is essentially shot; the structure has basically collapsed,” explains Jamie Kelly, PEC maintenance representative. “It’s unusable for any activity other than the odd kid running around.”
Specifics of the PRCF grant dictate that projects must improve facilities in the community and allow for public access, says Jamie. Providing another field for use by Powell River Youth Soccer Association was pivotal in Assumption receiving the grant.
“We want to have youth soccer using our field again,” says Jamie, “and any other kids who want to use it.”
The PEC is planning for the current field to be removed over a period of two months and to have new turf established in time for light use in September and regular usage by next winter.
“We hope to break ground the first day school is out,” added Jamie.
As for the new playground, it will feature more of a natural park than the traditional model.
“We have an old playground infrastructure, much of it needs replacing,” says Jamie.
A slide on a slope surrounded by rock gardens with interactive, moving parts such as landscape puzzles and chalkboards will be incorporated into the design.
“We’ll include some of the older items that can still be used,” says Jamie. “We still want kids to use their muscles by swinging and climbing.”
As with the soccer field, the playground will be open to the public when school is not in session.
The second round of good news arrived in late 2015. Coles the Book People had adopted Assumption earlier in the year for Indigo’s annual Adopt a School program, which aims to rejuvenate elementary-school libraries across Canada. Prior to Christmas, Assumption was informed it had placed second in BC, resulting in an award of $12,788.69.
“A lot of the parishioners and parents supported us by buying books and voting online and in-store,” says Ann Nadalini, PEC marketing representative. “It was a huge deal for us.”
“We were competing against big areas,” added Jamie. “There were hundreds of schools involved.”
Several weeks later, Indigo gifted the school with an additional $5,000. Staff and library volunteers are hard at work purchasing resources through Coles for the school library and classrooms.
“The school is immensely grateful to Sheila Denholm and her team at Coles for choosing our school to benefit from this amazing program, and to all the people in our extended Assumption family for voting and donating,” says parent-teacher association president Lindsay Zakkour.
Assumption School promotes excellence in mind, body and spirit to all students, kindergarten through grade nine. The school’s vision is: “We strive to be a warm, welcoming, Christ-centred family where all will grow in faith, love and knowledge.”
Peer tutoring offers opportunities for older students to develop mentorship skills by working with young learners.
“We have a lot of kids that finish at Assumption and end up being leadership students at Brooks,” says Ann. “That’s a real positive.”
Although a Catholic Christian school, children of all denominations are welcome. Teachers follow BC’s curriculum in small classes averaging 20 students each.
Preparing for Adolescence: Human Growth and Sexuality, is being offered to parents again this year. The parent-support meeting takes place 7-9 pm in Parish Hall on Wednesday, March 2. Presenters will empower parents with practical suggestions, resource material and a plan of action to encourage good communication with their children.
Also, registration is now open for the school year starting in September 2016. Interested parents are invited to drop by the school at 7091 Glacier Street, call 604.485.9894, or visit assumpschool.com for more information.
