With St. Patrick’s School no longer receiving field trip funding as part of the Northwest Catholic District School Board, Grade 8 parents have launched a fundraiser to save the most anticipated field trip of all–the Toronto trip.
The ‘Reach the Top of the Tower’ project will this year be the school’s major trip fundraiser through the sale of pieces of a CN Tower displayed in the school’s foyer and designed by Grade 8 Art students.
The goal is to fill in the tower with sponsor’s blocks and cover the trip’s transportation costs—money that for 33 years the former St. Patrick’s Separate School Board provided to take students on a week-long excursion to Ontario’s capital.
At the beginning of the first year as part of an amalgamated board, St. Pat’s learned that North West Catholic DSB policy does not fund class field trips, which left teachers, students, and parents stunned, said Grade 8 teacher Kelly Herbert.
“The kids were super-concerned; they were asking me every day about their Toronto trip,” she said.
“Initially, it caused some concern because our previous board [St. Patrick’s Separate School Board] did fund in the neighbourhood of $11-12,000 towards various field trips,” said principal Guy Durand. That money allowed for excursions off school property for swimming class, Quetico Park day trips for all grades, and visits to a Devlin farm for Grades 1&2, Thunder Bay’s Pioneer Village for Grade 3, Old Fort William for Grade 7, culminating with the Grade 8 graduating class to Toronto.
At present, Durand said is hopeful that he will be able to move some money from this year’s school budget into funding for field trips, but until he receives the budget he won’t know if, or how much, money will be available for extracurricular trips.
“As the process is being rolled out, it is my understanding that there may be some dollars within my own school budget, depending on my priorities, that I might be able to put towards field trips, so what the total impact is, I’m not sure at this point.”
In the meantime, families of Grade 8 students have not wasted time in ensuring that at least the voyage to Toronto–the crowning class trip for graduating St. Pat’s students–goes ahead in June.
Plans for the ‘Reach the Tower’ project solidified quickly at last Wednesday’s parents’ meeting–attended by both students and parents—where Herbert and fellow Grade 8 teacher Shawn Minor polled students about the possibility of choosing an alternate location—somewhere closer and less costly.
“They decided they wanted to go to Toronto because they have looked forward to it since they were in Grade 1,” said Herbert, adding that many of the class of 18 have never seen Toronto, but the same may not be said for a city such as Winnipeg that is only a day’s drive away. As well, the class qualifies for a provincial ‘young travellers’ grant if the destination is the capital city.
The Tower project concept was introduced at the meeting and quickly galvanized students and parents into action, said Herbert.
In past years, students fundraised for sightseeing expenses through a White Elephant Sale and bi-weekly hotdog sales at the school, with the school board covering the transportation costs (that portion is in the neighbourhood of $7,000.) New board policy permits only two major fundraisers for the school, meaning that in a year without any guarantee of trip funds, there are now also limited avenues for fundraising.
Herbert said they hope to see a similar level of support from those two traditional fundraisers, while keeping their fingers crossed that the Tower project will cover the almost $7,000 shortfall in Board transportation funding.
Yet by focusing efforts on one new project, organizers say it may be easier for donors to make a one-time donation to the cause, rather than through numerous smaller fundraisers.
Students went home from last Wednesday’s meetings with pledge forms in hand and a goal to garner at least 15 pledges each, she said. As an added incentive, Herbert and Minor have added an incentive for students: the highest pledge-earning student will win a pizza lunch for the individual and three friends.
Organizers have now mailed out donation requests to over 100 businesses and organizations within and outside of the community.
Herbert said that many parents who are working outside of town are also sending letters to their employers as well.
“Anyone who has a connection to the school is firing out letters to make sure kids get the trip they were promised,” she said.
For those wishing to fundraise, letters are available at St. Patrick’s school office and both electronically and hard copy for mail and email. Blocks can be purchased at the St. Pat’s school office (597-2633 for more info), through a Grade 8 student or parent, or by mailing in a completed donation form.
Sponsors can purchase bronze ($10), silver ($20), gold ($50) or platinum spaces on the tower and will have a block bearing their name, or that of their business or organization, (although donations can also be anonymous). Businesses can include a business card with their donation to have their logo and contact information displayed on the tower throughout the year.
The response from sponsors has also been positive, said Herbert. Students had excitedly reported that sales were good and “We already have one platinum [$100] sponsor,” Herbert reported Thursday morning.
Durand said that while he is still hopeful some discretionary money can be found in the new school budget, he is impressed with the enthusiasm of Grade 8 families “who have really hit the road running to make sure this trip takes place. This is a very energetic group, and we definitely appreciate their efforts.”
Durand chaperoned the TO trip for 13 years as St. Pat’s teacher and vice-principal, and said the opportunity for young people from such a small town to see the province’s capital, and tour the Science Centre, Royal Ontario Museum, Parliament buildings—and of course the CN Tower—was an invaluable learning opportunity. “For our students, it’s just fabulous because students in southern Ontario take this for granted, but for our students, this is not an opportunity they may not have otherwise. I’ve had parents that chaperoned on the trip that still remember their Toronto trip. It was just the highlight. It’s a very valuable trip.”
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