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Save Our Penguin Fundraiser brings out Sense of Community
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
Save Our Penguin fundraiser was met with positive response by folks who took in the May 11 fundraiser in the Village of Innisfree which also included an open air market, classic car show and community-wide garage sale.
Curtis Serben, one of the event organizers, remarked, “We had a great turnout and so much fun. The atmosphere was festive and had a strong sense of community. We had dozens of folk from here and neighbours from surrounding communities. We are so grateful to see so many so many like-minded people come together and share the day with us in raising funds in order to give Ernie a bit of a facelift.”
Shirley Wonsik, who organized the classic car show, was pleased with the event. She enjoyed all the smiles, hugs and meeting new and old friends. She was also pleased with the support from all the surrounding towns, from Clandonald to Vegreville to Vermilion to Ranfurly.
Debbie McMann organized the community-wide garage sale. There were a total of 15 garage sales in the Village of Innisfree and reported that activity was steady throughout the day.
Just over $1,800 was raised during the fundraiser with donations continuing to trickle in. Repairs on Ernie the Cut Bank Penguin are expected to begin shortly.
Impressive Array of Crafters at Ryley Spring Market
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
A total of 30 vendors were selling a wide variety of crafters and goods during the Ryley Spring Market on May 11.
Teacher and Event Coordinator Colin Bennion stated that rent from the tables would go back into the junior high options program which includes woodworking, food science and art. He said there are about 40 students who participate in those programs.
Grade 7 student Gabby Romaniuk said they participated in a skills competition in Edmonton on May 9 and that it was a great event to participate in.
Because of a recent donation from Clean Harbours, Bennion said they will not have to charge any school fees, sports, field trips, swimming lessons, school supplies, etc.
Around the World
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
Students’ faces wore expressions of interest at the A.L. Horton School Cultural Night on May 8.
At this event, people of all ages learned a few facts about the featured countries of Nigeria, Colombia, France, Greece, Ukraine, China, Philippines, India, Mexico, Indigenous Canada - the Cree, Italy, Japan, and South Africa.
Principal Keri Busenius explained, “Our objective for hosting this event was our school includes students from countries all around the world, and over 20 languages are spoken by our students and their families. As a result, we wanted to celebrate the different languages, foods, music, clothing, games, and cultural events from students' countries of origin while also highlighting our many similarities. This open house brought families together to play, learn, gather, eat, talk, and enjoy each other’s company. With lots of conversation and many smiles from over 250 people in attendance, we accomplished our goal!
We chose many countries of the ancestry of our students and families.
Students created the display information of the countries and sometimes parents who had a certain country as their ancestral home assisted with ideas. In our LINKS-1 class, staff assisted students with autism in creating display information.
There were demonstrations of food sampling at the canteen featuring Ukraine, China, and Mexico. In the LINKS-1 class families could make a pizza "in Italy" with favourite toppings. There were also some foods to taste in classrooms, traditional cultural games, voting stations for favourite songs in different languages, and other cultural customs to try.”
