A look at what the 2018 Alberta Winter Games is all about. By Aidan
On February 16 the opening ceremonies will kick off the 20th biennial Alberta Winter Games. People all over Alberta ages 11 to 17 will be able to compete. Next year the AWG will take place in the Wood Buffalo area. It’s a great experience for anyone interested in archery, alpine skiing, artistic gymnastics, badminton, biathlons, boxing or any of the other 15 sports. “It’s a great opportunity and it’s cool” said Olivia Winczura a returning archery coach for Calgary. The opening ceremonies are a spectacular sight to see. They take place on February 16 at 8:00 pm at the Shell Place Baseball Stadium. Tickets are on sale now so get them while you still can. Competitions start on the 17th and end the 19th when the winner will be decided. The amount of volunteers needed to run this event is a tremendous 2000. During the 2014 AWG there were more volunteers then there were contestants. The economic impact of this event is huge. Approximately 2.7 million dollars were spent by visitors participating in the AWG in 2014, most of it for accommodations. Anyone can enter if they are between the ages of 11 and 17 as of December 31 the year of the competition. For more information on the Alberta Winter Games go to https://albertasport.ca/alberta-games/winter-games/.
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Connect Charter 6.1 and 6.2 students go on a 3 day trip to a rural campsite near Calgary Written by Bianca
Are you a person who craves adventure and has a lust for the great outdoors? Looking to escape from the bustling metropolis of the city? If so, Camp Sweet is the place for you. Just on the edge of Olds, this serene campsite will make you want to stay longer than you’re welcome. This past September 6th to 9th, these fortunate grade 6 students from Connect Charter school visited Camp Sweet. At Camp Sweet these students had the chance to swim in the river, have hot chocolate, snacks between almost every meal, campfire, forest time, building forts in the forest, night hike, animal game and much more! Something truly unforgettable about Camp Sweet was campfire. It was a special experience that could easily be one of the best activities during Camp Sweet. For the first half, the kids would sit outside in an open-roofed tipi in the light of the lowering sun. They would sit there until their warm fall wear and a fire could no longer keep them from shivering, and the sun was too low for light to peer out. They would sing songs that had dances or required them to get rowdy and leave a ringing echo throughout the forest. In contrast, for the second half they sang tranquil, mellow songs in the shelter of a warm closed-roofed tipi to start winding down for the night hike. Even the kids who would silently mouth the lyrics at the beginning of campfire would eventually sing until their voices refused to make noise. Once the kids calmed down after campfire, they would go to have hot chocolate and a snack. To nurture the kids’ peaceful and subdued state, they went out on a night hike in the forest. The kids held lanterns and flashlights to brighten the path of the forest. They walked in silence until they reached the Grandfather tree; the oldest and the thickest tree in the forest. They laid down on the forest bed and gazed at the stars through a clearing in the trees’ canopy. As for after star-gazing, they howled and hollered to mimic the noise of a coyote or coyote pup in hopes of getting a response from the real coyotes. For the experience of interacting with nature and star gazing, the magical night walks at Camp Sweet are not to be missed. Overall, Connect Charter has some of the luckiest students for them to be able to attend such educational and experiential over-night trips. If you feel the urge to take a rural getaway, Camp Sweet is highly suggested. To enrol your child in Connect Charter or to learn more about Camp Sweet, visit www.connectcharter.ca. To explore more about the Camp Sweet experience, visit www.connectgrade6162.weebly.com. Grade 6’s first time experience at Camp Sweet. By Michael
Grades 6.1 and 6.2 students and teachers visited Camp Sweet for a fun and exiting 3 days and 2 nights adventure. With the vast area and forest, many activities can happen. Such as Fort Building, Campfire songs, and more. This Camp ground is an entertaining time for the young and elderly. Camp Sweet is located 10 miles west, and 2 miles north of Olds. Camp Sweet has been a traditional school trip for over a decade, and according to the students, they LOVE it. Grade 6’s had lots of fun building forts in the vast majority of the forest. They were given 1-2 hours of playing time per day. With the gathering of sticks and stones, grade 6’s were successfully able to construct sturdy forts. “At first we were all getting settled with our forts, but after a while it all went down hill when everyone thought it was like a stealing spree” , quoted Michael from 6.1. “It was like the purge almost, but without the actual violence”, quoted Evan from 6.1. But luckily came Mr. Fawcett (teacher of 6.2) who was able to straighten the situation out. When night fell, and the coyotes started to howl, the students got the chance to go on a night hike and respond with an ear piercing howl. After the students and teachers got back from the hike, they blew out their lanterns, and headed towards the gargantuan Ti-Pi where a glowing fire awaited for the group of students. They sang songs and told stories until the night was over, it was time for them to go to there tents and sleep peacefully until a new day came. When the students woke up to a delicious breakfast the parent volunteers prepared for them. After the students ate there breakfast, they were taken on a quick walk through the forest just to pass some time until the weather got a tad warmer. After there hike, they dressed in there swimsuits and headed towards the river. Some students went to the big body of water where they worked on a dam. It blocked off the water from the sides which made all the water rush to the middle that worked like a slide. While the other students decided to stay in a calm little pond where they caught Minos. And that was the end of there river rushing time. But slowly realized there journey was coming to an end. The students woke up the next day, the scent of dew and pancake filled the air. To the grade 6’s surprise, they realized it was there last day of there Camp Sweet adventure. When the bus rolled up, all grade 6 student had there bags and sleeping bags packed and ready to go. They sadly said there goodbyes to the damp campground and go up on the bus. As the students and teachers were coming home. They were provided snacks and an entertaining movie to watch. When the bus arrived at the school, parents and guardians were waiting for there children to come and greet them. And that was the end of the Grade 6’s Sweet Camp experience. All interviewees and grade 6 students thought that there’re Camp Sweet experience was an amazing time, and think Camp Sweet should live on for many centuries and for future students to come. What an expo trip has become By Lachlan
Grade 6 students from connect charter school try to solve a case about a stolen car in the community of Ogden. They started going through the case in early November in their classroom. They were giving the case by the police Interpretive centre. Each kid has a detective notebook to write down information about the case. The students learn about footwear impressions and even fingerprint types. On November 16th, the kids headed down to the police interpretive centre. Once there, they were split into three groups. Each group had their own guide to lead them through. The three groups were named K9, Hawks, and Tactical. Once there, the grade six students would look at a mystery fibre. The students also participated in fun activities like a scavenger hunt. When they were doing a scavenger hunt they had to solve things like what kinds of dogs are in the K-9 unit. The kids were even lucky enough to go inside a real police car! They got to see a lot of simulators while they were their like the hawks helicopter and riot officer uniform. one of the main reasons the students came there is to solve the case. They looked at who's shoe prints were at the scene of the crime and even who's fingerprints were there. These young students have learned about drug Safety and what healthy and unhealthy relationships are through a presentation. They had a lot of fun learning about safety and common sense. They even had a fake botfly larva container that you could stick your fingers in and feel them. Botflies are small wormlike creatures that burrow into dead body's. They also are used as fishing bait. Kiera Gibson thinks it helped the s figure out the case more. Kiera also likes how we focused on other topics. Kiera thinks this field trip is a 9/10 because we got to look a lot of fun things. Why do parents volunteer for kids hockey pros and consBy Jack
Kids hockey has been one of the most, if not the most, popular sport in Canada. Who coaches all of this hockey? It is commonly coached by parent volunteers. How does a parent coach benefit from the time they put in? Does it benefit the kids and the game? What are the down sides of of being a parent coach? To answer these questions a few experts have dialled in. There must be a reason all these parents are volunteering so much time. Derek Mendham a parent hockey coach says “I volunteer because it’s very important to me to spend lots of time with my kids. Also I get to meet other great kids and it’s a lot of fun.” Mathew Braun a player on Derek’s team agrees, “parent coaches get to spend more time with their kids.” He makes a good point by saying “they get to learn more about the sport they coach and get to learn how to work as a community.”Derek’s wife Kathy is fine with her husband volunteering to coach because she then gets to spend one on one time with he other son. For a final opinion from The Hockey Life: the pros and cons of parent-coaches (http://www.stateofhockey.com/news_article/show/705889?referrer_id=1949540) also says that parent coaches get to spend more time with their kids. They also stated on “how the parents can get a inside look on how the team is built” and “how it’s nice for the kid to have a coach that always knows your name. It can’t always be unicorns and rainbows there must be a down side. Derek Mendham said that it is hard to “find enough time in your schedule, to learn how to motivate each kid on the team and to deal with kid or parents that are difficult.” Mathew also added “getting there on time and being prepared could be a challenge” he also added “that it might be hard to not be biased toward your own kid.” From the Hockey Life article they indicated that sometimes parents favour their kid with more hockey time but the kid can also get less from the parent coach. Now what do all of these opinions add up to? Well the benefits are quite extraordinary and could make some parents volunteer right away. However the challenge could out weigh the benefits for some other parent. So why do parents bother volunteer coaching for hockey? I guess they think the benefits out weigh the challenges. I know my Dad dose because he has coached in almost all of my sports! The 15th annual 18th scout group canoe trip By: Matthew
On Saturday, October 28, the 18th scout group packed the vans full and hit the road to the Red Deer River for the scout canoe trip. During the trip the scouts will canoe roughly around 20 kilometres to the camp site. Later in the day, they will eat and go to bed. After a long night they will take the long trip back to home. They got to the start of the trip and they unstrapped the canoes and put on life jackets. 20 minutes later they are out on the river waters and heading to the camp site. The trip was supposed to be 6 hours long from 12:00pm to 6:30pm, but it turned out their estimate was way off. After 2 and a half hours they went 4 of the 20 kilometres and they decided to cut it short, so they cut it to 13 kilometres. On the last stretch Matthew Downing and his canoe buddy, Chase flipped into the freezing waters of the Red Deer river, quickly escaping to the shore. “It really sucks to see happy scouts flip into the river” said scout leader Paul. The scouts pulled up under a bridge and waited for the vans to come from the original site. Looking down from the bridge it looked like a bunch of tramps standing by a fire. The vans came 3 hours later because 2 of the leaders had to paddle hard for hours to get the vans and drive back. The scouts piled in and headed for the camp to get some much needed rest. In the end 2 kids fell in and they ate turkey jerky for dinner. The ride back was pretty smooth and all of the kids were happy to see their parents after a long weekend. To register your child with Scouts Canada go to: www.scouts.ca Connect gets an upgrade with unique educational field trips and experiences.Written by: Keira
This year connect charter students were introduced to a new program called EXPO. The program is scheduled for 4 consecutive days approximately every 6 weeks and is designed to compliment the “in-class” learning with “hands-on” experience. Expo, which includes in-school and field trip activities, brings our learning alive and allows students to experience what other people do everyday in the community. Connect students get a full week of EXPO during which they do trips and sometimes people come in and teach them what they do for a living. Students in our school have different experiences than other schools because EXPO gives them more knowledge about what they are learning in class. So connect is a great way become inquirers. EXPO is a way to get more experiences like when students and a professor from MRU (Mount Royal University) came in to give them tips on how to write a good article. The people from MRU told the students 8 things a good article has and how long it should take to write an article. Or when a detective came in and taught them what he did for the Calgary Police Service. The detective worked in homicide. This is where people get killed by accident, suicide, natural or homicide . Those are some of the people that came in and taught the students what they do. “We get to do a lot of learning outside of the school not just in a desk. Also it is nice to just be at school” Ruth, a grade 6 student, stated. With EXPO we get to do some in-class field trips so we can stay in a desk but we also get to go out of the school field trips to so it is a mix between in and out of the school trips. Another student, Teni, said “kids get to learn in a new way with people coming to our school and when we go to them. Like how the grade 6 kids went to a sawmill and not just reading about it. Also the schedule is not always the strongest”. So when they go a bit deeper into EXPO things will start to smooth out and EXPO will become part of the schedule. Connect is a place of inquirers. U13 cricket league starts By: Maaz
Last summer there was a u13 cricket league in many different cricket grounds in Calgary. Their was 8 teams participating in the league. These teams made it to the league because they worked hard to be in the league and practiced a lot . There was matches that players showed a lot of grit, those people who showed grit was one of the best players in the league. This U13 cricket league was so exciting to see who was going to be the best. The team that won would get medals. A team called St Johns won the league winning 5 of the matches and losing 2 of them, after they won the league they did a pizza party. In the finals St Johns were against Glenmore cricket, both of the teams showed grit. Before the cricket league started most teams started practising 3-4 months before the league their even was winter practice. Most people that started joining cricket teams wanted to be in a team to have fun and never knew about the league and other people joined because their are good at cricket and wants to get better to be in a league. Most people said that is in a team" I worked hard to be in this team and helping my team to win". If you are interested joining a cricket team come to these websites: http://www.sjcccricket.com/default.aspx and http://glenmorecc.com/default.aspx Fun fact: Did You know that cricket is the 2nd most popular sport and North America and South America is the 2 continents that is not interested in cricket yet. “Whether it's a house or a skyscraper I love seeing his work and designs” said Kim Davie By Brianna
Wade Gibbs, a father of two and a former Calgary architect, designed some of the famous buildings in Calgary when he was a managing partner of Gibbs Gage Architects. His most recent project is Antler Ridge, a community of modern mountain architecture. The show home in this community in Invermere BC just opened and lots are finally for sale! This didn't happen overnight though. In 2004 Gibbs assembled all of the land and brought it to the market in the fall of 2008. The project took a turn for the worse when the market collapsed. Gibbs was forced to halt the project for a decade, bringing it back to the market in 2017. The construction wasn't going as planned. “I would say it's typical valley time, it's slower than I would've liked” said Gibbs. The workers in Invermere are taking much longer than expected to build the houses. In addition Gibbs faced other challenges. Before the construction of the show home, conflict arose with the neighbouring community Lakeview Meadows. “It was a classic NIMBY case” said Gibbs, meaning not in my backyard. “We were successful in getting our zoning application approved so they've resolved in their mind that they are going to have to live with us. This conflict was never resolved, but they will have to get used to the idea that they lost and we won.” “I think we have a very unique project” said Gibbs. “The combination of a great view with mountain modern architecture has been extremely successful.” Why Calgary Soccer Coaches prefer Futsal over Indoor Soccer. By: Deegan
The game of Futsal and Indoor Soccer have many similarities and differences. Some of the differences of Futsal are that it is played on a smaller non-boarded field, it has four players plus a keeper versus six, kick-ins versus throw-ins, it is a faster paced game, and the ball is heavier. A few similarities are the, skill is important, and the goal is to win by scoring in the net. When a team plays Futsal they aim to enhance the players foot skills, ball control and decision making. Foot skills and ball control improve in the Futsal season because players want to keep the ball in the field lines on a smaller field with a heavier ball. The ball is harder to control. With the small field, you cannot “kick and chase” as much if you want to be successful. When a soccer team commits to playing Futsal for indoor, they believe the players will develop faster to help them become more skilled outdoor players. Two of the Futsal fields in Calgary are The Calgary Soccer Club and The Calgary West Soccer Club. The Futsal season runs approximately November 1 to March 1. If you watch the professionals play Futsal, you will likely notice that they play on a gym floor. The first Futsal game was played on a basketball court in Uruguay in the 1930s. In youth leagues, Futsal players play on a indoor soccer field, just like an indoor soccer game. “I think that futsal is a far more skilled game, in terms of the players ability to control the ball and the strategy involved. I find it far more interesting instead of just banging the ball off the boards and chasing it down the field. You have to control the ball, pass the ball and be in constant motion to be able to get open for the ball”, said a Foothills Soccer Club board member Jeff Edwards. “I prefer Futsal because it shows off technique better, the players have to work a lot harder to control the ball. Also the thinking process in futsal is a lot more demonstrated because it is a faster paced game. For example you only have four seconds to kick the ball in.” Said the manager of the Foothills 06 girls team Kelly Koppang Edwards. She then added that her favourite part of futsal is “ when a player is on a role and has amazing foot skills, then dribbles through lots of the players even if they are bigger then them. I love foot skills!” Said Kelly. Kelly later added that there is some cons about futsal like “because the ball is heavy and the surface is hard it is a lot harder to control the ball. The ball rolls out a lot and the game has to stop constantly. That is my current non-desired a Futsal spect of the game.” Kelly then said her main reason to enjoying futsal over indoor soccer. “ it’s a smarter game, it’s a faster passed game the ball control and the skill level is much higher. My favourite though is to passing aspect. Due to the reasons the interviewees have discussed, and the information in the first paragraph it is a clear conclusion that Futsal is helpful in developing more skilled players. |
Fawcett News NetworkA collection of news articles written by students of 6.1 and 6.2 Archives
February 2018
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