#vplife

RHS Teachers & Students going the Distance

/ Chris Hale / Leave a comment

I am often reminded that I work in a fantastic school with some really special teachers, and it is worth sharing some of this with everybody else. This year one of our teachers, Nadia Gandhi, decided she wanted to be increase her own personal fitness. She was encouraged and supported by another teacher, Marieve Fontaine, and the two of them signed up for a Somersault Events Try-a-Tri. Soon enough both ladies were running at lunch, biking on the weekends, and getting in swims when they could. To say they were proud of their accomplishments is an understatement.

Fast forward to this school year, and both women wanted to encourage our students to become more active, both physically and socially. Marieve, along with teachers Katie McColeman, and Ruth McKeague, started a girls running club with the goal of completing the 5km or 10km Shoppers Drug Mart Run for Women, a race which is focused on increasing awareness of women’s mental health issues.

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Ridgemont Runs for Women 2017

Ridgemont is a school which has students from across the globe. In recent years we have seen an influx of young men and women from Somalia, Nepal, and most recently Syria. Their experiences are varied, but they rarely resemble the life experiences of others. As newcomers to Canada, they also need additional supports in our community. Teacher Nadia Gandhi has partnered with the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISCO) to support a group of student who are entered to run the Ottawa Race Weekend 5k this month. This group started with strength and cardio training during our very cold and snowy Ottawa winter. They ran indoors to begin, and then moved outdoors and ran ran or shine (Ottawa has had a lot of wet days!). As a staff, we are very proud of Ms. Gandhi and her students. Take a moment to read her note about her project:
On May 27th, my ELDCO/DO class will be running a 5km race as part of Ottawa Race Weekend. We are part of OCISO’s team called, ” Running for a New Start – Going the Distance for Refugees”.  
 
Part pilot project/part literacy project in resilience, my students are showing tremendous efforts. Every week since March we have been training and now that the weather ​is warmer we will be tracking our 5km twice a week.
 
As part of our efforts we are fundraising for OCISO. See link below to donate if you are so inclined. 
 
Thanks RHS!
LINK:  https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=756085&langPref=en-CA 
RHS TORW ELD

RHS ELDs going the distance

If you’ve been thinking about supporting a charity, please consider this worthy cause. As we enter one of the busiest times of the school year, these two examples of teachers going beyond the classroom to teach their students life lessons is refreshing and encouraging. Thanks to all of the amazing teachers at my school who make this such an incredible place to work.