Safety earns first place award for St. Theresa of Lisieux
Safety earns first place award for St. Theresa of Lisieux
Richmond Hill
October 09, 2008 12:16 AM
By: Adam Mc Lean
Spirit is important at any school to keep morale high in classrooms and hallways and ensure a safe, positive learning environment.
It isn’t uncommon for students to consider their school to be the best in York Region, but for students and staff at St. Theresa of Lisieux Catholic High School, they now have the award to prove it.
St. Theresa students accepted the Best New School Award for their success in the Empowered Student Partnerships program Tuesday.
The province-wide program em–powers students to work together, promoting a safer environment at school and in the community.
Such endeavours include advertising and presenting school assemblies on topics such as bullying, drinking and driving, prom safety and hosting sporting events between local police and students, MADD day and other fundraisers.
Twenty-two schools in York Region are enrolled in the Empowered Student Partnership and Iolanda Perciballi, St. Theresa of Lisieux teacher advisor to the program, said she believes the messages and examples of safety reach the students.
“Last year was our first year involved with the program and we had 30 students who were a part of the committee,” Ms Perciballi said.
It can be hard to grab the attention of young people by standing at the front of a class and present statistics about drinking and driving.
However, Ms Perciballi said, having students take an active approach to safety has a powerful impact.
“Last year, we had Marshall’s Funeral Home bring in a casket. It produced a strong, but simple message that if you drink and drive, this could happen to you, or because of you,” she said.
Other school activities included a ‘bring your own banana’ fundraiser for MADD, mixing refreshments with a message. Students who brought in a banana got free ice cream from Sobeys to make a banana split, while York Region Police brought in vision impairment goggles to simulate the vision of an impaired individual, and students tried walking a straight line.
This year, St. Theresa plans to tackle bullying and the school will be hosting their Empowered Student Partnership week assembly in November, according to vice principal Lawrence Tavolacci.
With 20 new students on this year’s committee, St. Theresa looks to turn in another award-winning performance on safety education.
“Kids encounter these issues. We are not preaching to them, but rather making them aware of the dangers and educating them to make smart decisions,” Ms Perciballi said.