Embrace the outdoors in winter
Hantsport students enjoy a day at the rink
Hantsport School students swapped their gym shoes for skates on Feb. 7 as they were treated to a day at the rink.
Angela Morrison, the physical education teacher at the Hantsport School, said the rink time is part of the school’s outdoors unit.
“We try to structure it so all the grades get an opportunity to embrace the outdoors in the winter,” Morrison said. “We do skating, snowshoeing, some sledding.”
Primary to Grade 3 students were sharing the ice around 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 7. Some were using chairs to help them along, while others skated in groups, playing tag while on skates.
“We’re incredibly fortunate to have this facility just across Julia Newcombe (left), Grade 8, along with Reese Mills, Grade 8 (right) help Madison MacPhee, Grade 2, and Vera Russell, Grade 1, learn to skate.
the road, and they’re fantastic at keeping the ice ready for us so we can get on here as much as we
can,” she said.
All grades at the school had an opportunity to get on the ice on the same day.
“The students are ecstatic, it’s a great opportunity for them and some haven’t even skated before,” she said. “Some of them have said to me ‘I skated without a chair today!’ They’re really excited.”
Morrison said any student that didn’t have their own skates available was provided a pair, thanks to a program implemented by her predecessor, Renda Vandertoorn.
Sophie Allen and Lindsey Atwell, both 13 and in Grade 8, helped some younger students skate around the rink. They’re part of the citizenship committee, which helps to make these types of events happen at the school.
“For the winter carnival, we helped with that, the relay races, that as well,” Allen said.
For Sarah Newcombe, 9, and Mallory Ducarme, 8, it was fun to get out of the school for a bit and enjoy some outdoor physical activity.
“It’s fun,” Newcombe said. “You can play tag and also some other things. My favourite is not running into people.”