The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Kelly Carrington Staff Writer Students in the Leadership class at Creighton Community School learned more than just how to boost school spirit. The students, from grades 10 to 12, created service projects for the school and community to raise money for charity. In total, the class was able to raise over $4,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society and Habitat for Humanity. The class split into three groups and created their projects. One group, made up of Grade 12 students Steven James, Jenna Vancoughnett, Melissa Bolme and Evan Cluff, gave new life to an older fundraiser. The group brought back the Creighton 500 as they encouraged students to build carts and push a teacher through a race. Students within the school then placed donations toward the teacher of their choice. 'It was a rebirth of a tradition,' said Bolme. The Creighton 500 was a popular event nearly 10 years ago. This year's event was open to students from grades 9 to 12. In the course of a week, the students were able to raise $178 for Habitat for Humanity. In the past, the Creighton 500 also featured a talent show _ which Bolme and the rest of her group had been a part of. This year, the group went with the just the race to see how much interest there was. 'You need a lot of support,' Vancoughnett said. James said 'the student body is more influential than we thought.' The group found the response to the project was, like many things in the Creighton and Flin Flon area, last-minute. 'Dedication' Nonetheless, 'the dedication was impressive,' said Vancoughnett, noting that some students who may not have otherwise participated in other events were a part of the Creighton 500. 'We're hoping it stays a tradition,' said Bolme. Fellow classmates Mark Linnick, Grade 11, and Shelby Brown, Grade 10, organized a wake-a-thon at the school earlier this month to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society. This was another fundraiser that had been done in the past, and the duo gave new life to an event that hadn't happened at the school in roughly three years. 'We just asked around to see if there was any interest and a fair amount said 'yes,'' said Brown. 'There was a need for it,' Linnick joked. Overall, the two were able to raise over $2,100 for cancer-fighting charity. 'I thought it went great,' said Brown. The two hit the halls after the wake-a-thon and found there were many students who agreed with themÊ_ that it was a great night. Through the wake-a-thon, Linnick said he learned the importance of advertising and making sure everyone is on the same page. 'It's amazing how you can get people who don't talk to each other together in one room and it's like we were all best friends,' said Brown. The overnighting students had the run of the gymnasium, lounge and home-ec room as well as a few classrooms. Throughout the night, the students played some games, watched a movie, and later had a big breakfast. 'It was chaotic, but so worth it,' Linnick and Brown both agreed. The third group of the Leadership class was made of up Grade 10s who also put their heads together to support the Canadian Cancer Society. Jay Donaghy put his hair on the line as he shaved his head after his group collected just shy of $2,400. Donaghy was joined by Ebony Blouin, Brie Phillips, Olivia Gieg, and Kyla Phillips. The idea came to Donaghy with ease. 'I like doing things for people,' he said. Having cancer impact his family, Donaghy thought this was the perfect way to help battle the disease. Sold baking The girls of the group helped create collection buckets and sold baking to add to the donations. 'I was expecting a lot (of work),' said Donaghy, who was prepared for the job. Aside from collecting donations in the school, the group made their way to local organizations like the Flin Flon Motorcycle Association to collect more funds. Looking back on the amount of effort put into the project, Brie said she was expecting the workload, while Blouin wasn't expecting quite that much work to go into it. Raising nearly $2,400, the group agreed 'that's a lot of money.' 'People really are willing to help and give to something like this,' said Brie, while Donaghy added that he misses his hair. Teachers Stacy Becker and Connie Atkinson led the class in their learning. 'This was the most successful year we've had,' said Becker. The Leadership class started three years ago and this year's $4,000 was the biggest success to date. Though none of the efforts were surprising to the students, Becker says she was thoroughly impressed. 'I was impressed with the amount of money that was brought in and I was impressed by how independently they all worked in their groups,' she said. Through completion of the Leadership course, the students will earn a credit toward their graduation. Grade 12 students need 24 credits to cross the stage at the end of June. Becker saw that other schools had a Leadership course with credits for their students and thought it would be a good fit for Creighton Community School.
