Soon, but not soon enough, they’ll be packing their bags, saying their goodbyes, and departing for a voyage they’ll not soon forget, but for now, they’re fundraising, doing everything they can to make sure their grand plan comes to fruition.
This spring Teresa Oulton’s Grade 4 class, all 24 of them, are off to see the wonders of the west coast: the ocean, its tides, grizzly bears, the North Pacific Cannery, as well as Pike Island, a Tsimshian heritage site.
In other words, not just a cool holiday but one rich with knowledge that nicely fits with their social studies and science courses, as well as an aboriginal culture.
“It’s perfect, you have the tidal pools, the grizzly bear habitat,” Oulton said, adding that’s just a sliver of what the students will learn while there.
But the learning has already begun, Oulton said, whose students are learning how to prepare for the holiday as well. Things such as what you need to pack when going to an oceanic climate (rain clothes), how to plan your itinerary (train to, bus back), everyday life skills that should come in quite handy later.
“We’re definitely learning a lot about aboriginal culture,” student Aiden Pottinger said.
As part of their fundraising, the Grade 4 class will be hosting a salmon dinner, not only served by the class, but cooked by it as well (with parental guidance). It’s important, Oulton said, to keep the students involved.
“I think that in grade four they are quite capable of being responsible for being part of an exercise that will help them,” Oulton said.
Divided into different clans, each group will be responsible for one portion of the meal, consisting of hummous and pita, cornbread, roasted garlic potatoes, vegetables, salmon and berry crisp for dessert.
The dinner, held on Feb. 11, will have two sittings, Oulton said, one at 5:30 p.m. and the other at 6:30 p.m.
Served at Twain Sullivan, tickets are available at the office, Oulton said. At $10 apiece, if they sell all 50 seats, that’s $500 to go towards the trip.
The winning raffle ticket will also be drawn that night. The raffle will have five prizes, one a Dell laptop, $300 worth of gift certificates to local restaurants, a jet boat trip on the Bulkley River, a wooden wishing well and a truckload of firewood. Tickets, which are still available, are available at Twain Sullivan, or at businesses around town.
In the works are a couple more bottle drives, a plant sale for Mothers Day, and hopefully one more raffle.
They’re roughly halfway to their fundraising goal, with approximately $5,000 to go, but one that they’re determined to reach, considering they’ve been actively fundraising since September 2010.
“We’ve been quite busy, and the fundraising events just keep coming,” Oulton said.