The School Community Council (SCC) is trying to bring in a fitness and art pilot project to Davidson School that would bridge the gap between the school and the greater community.
Marcia McIvor, chair of the SCC, said Davidson School staff decided last year they want to focus on physical activity and reading as part of their two-year plan, which is done in conjunction with the Board of Education. She said the role of the SCC is to support the school staff while incorporating members of the community with the school, so to accomplish the plan they came up with the idea to introduce martial arts, yoga, archery and artwork into the school.
“We’re hoping to bring it in as a pilot project in the elementary to middle years in the school just to see how it goes,” said McIvor, noting the SCC has already or are planning to approach members of the community, who are involved with these activities, to come into the school to teach the students. “If it goes well that it is something that maybe we can continue. That’s where we’re going with that, (to) try and bring in yoga and martial arts and archery to just expose the kids to something different and give them a little bit of variety.”
McIvor said introducing art would be a way of bringing the students who don’t excel in sports into the community. She said the SCC is thinking about buying some frames and going to local businesses and asking them if they could hang the frames with the student’s artwork in them throughout the community.
That way “any business you go into you might be able to see a couple different students’ artwork,” she said. “Artwork could be a poem, it could be a picture (or) it could be a (creation) of leaves. It doesn’t have to be a drawing. It’s any form of art that the student feels they can do.”
Laura Willner, a Grade 2 teacher at Davidson School and secretary of the SCC, said these activities were decided upon through conversations around the SCC table between parents, community members and teachers. She said the consensus is that this pilot project is a good opportunity for the kids to experience non-traditional activities while building connections with the community.
“There is no question that kids are open to try so many new things,” said Willner. “It is really key (that) often in the early years (when) exposed to something the more open you are to trying it and it may well turn out to be something you love for a lifetime. The more experiences for kids the better for them and we’ve got great community resources here to access and hopefully cultivate interest in these different things for the kids.”
To read more please see the October 28 print edition of The Davidson Leader.