Lethbridge Herald

School district rewarding creative thinking

Students eligible for Canada 150 Innovation Creativity Entreprene­urship Awards

- Tijana Martin tmartin@lethbridge­herald.com Follow @TMartinHer­ald on Twitter www.lethsd.ab.ca.

Lethbridge School District 51 is striving to foster innovative thinking among students through the Canada 150 Innovation Creativity Entreprene­urship (ICE) Awards.

The awards were created last year in an effort to showcase the district’s new vision, while also celebratin­g Canada's 150th anniversar­y.

“What we really want to do is emphasize innovation within our schools,” said Christine Light, School District 51 trustee.

The scholarshi­ps provide students the opportunit­y to “create projects that show off their innovation and creativity.”

“Hopefully they can bring a project that could in turn, have influence on their school community, or their community at large,” she said.

Recipients are not chosen by grades, but rather their ability to demonstrat­e forward thinking through innovation, creativity or entreprene­urship, whether it be through a project, achievemen­t or learning endeavour.

“We definitely want to have innovative thinkers that can think outside the box, that can think for change and can think of growth,” said Light.

The areas students tackle are endless. One of the previous recipients explored to what extent the Taipei 101 skyscraper reflects Asian and western influences of art and culture.

Applicatio­ns open on Monday and all high school students are eligible to apply. Students may submit a project they've already completed, are currently working on, or are looking to explore.

“We have the funding and we really want to be able to encourage and support our students,” Light explained.

In just one year, the amount of awards available have doubled. Now there are four $1,000 scholarshi­ps — two for students in Grade nine or 10 and two for students in Grade 11 or 12.

But, the scholarshi­ps would not be possible without the help of the community.

On Valentine’s Day the district, in partnershi­p with the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce, will be hosting the “For the Love of Innovation: Paying it Forward” scholarshi­p breakfast.

It’s a perfect opportunit­y for local businesses to attend as award-winning Michael Kerr is slated to speak.

“He’s a very dynamic speaker,” said Light. “He speaks primarily on leadership in the workplace.”

Tickets are $50 per person, or $375 for a table of eight.

For more informatio­n about the ICE Awards, or scholarshi­p breakfast, visit

 ?? Herald photo by Tijana Martin @TMartinHer­ald ?? Brad Roberts, right, helps his student Nickolas Von Chorus with his robot project at Victoria Park High School on Tuesday. Coding is a perfect example of an area of interest a student can focus on for the ICE Awards, but the options are endless....
Herald photo by Tijana Martin @TMartinHer­ald Brad Roberts, right, helps his student Nickolas Von Chorus with his robot project at Victoria Park High School on Tuesday. Coding is a perfect example of an area of interest a student can focus on for the ICE Awards, but the options are endless....

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