F e b r u a ry 2 0 1 9
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In Conjunction with
A publication to Educate & Communicate with the parents of Surrey School District.
Life skills
Schools to train students in CPR
Ten schools in the Surrey School District to teach CPR every year
CONSTRUCTION: School construction is on a roll in Surrey. Building has progressed on several projects recently – the latest being a brand new South Surrey elementary that broke ground earlier this month. Page C7 DPAC: A message from the president of your Surrey District Parent Advisory Council. Page C3
Aaron Hinks Black Press Media
W
hile holding CPR mannequins, a group of Grade 10 Tamanawis Secondary students said – without hesitation – that they could save a life if they were called to action. That level of confidence and training is what the Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation wants to spread across the province, and country. Thursday, ACT and its partners launched the High School CPR and Defibrillator Training Program in 10 Surrey public secondary schools. More than 3,000 Surrey students will learn the lifesaving skill every year. The ultimate goal of the program, ACT executive director Sandra Clarke told Black Press Media at Tamanawis, is to train every Canadian high school student in life-saving CPR skills. So far in British Columbia, more than 506,000 youth have been trained in the program; 242 schools have established a CPR program; 1,300 teachers have been trained as CPR instructors and 45,800 students are
ALSO INSIDE
ART: Students are learning valuable life skills in a glass works course at Earl Marriott Secondary. Page C5
Tamanawis Secondary students display their CPR skills at a media event in the school earlier this month. trained in CPR by their secondary school teacher every year. “The ACT foundation’s goal is to see all young people graduate from secondary school with the skills and knowledge to save a life,” Clarke said. “We’re fundraising to put defibrillator training units and CPR training manikins into the schools so the schools can train the students.” As recently as last week, Clarke said, the training saved someone’s life.
Clarke pointed to Oliver, B.C., where two high school teachers are being credited with saving the life of a Grade 8 student. The student went into cardiac arrest during gym class. Clarke said Southern Okanagan Secondary School had received training from ACT prior to the incident. Thursday, Tamanawis secondary students gave Surrey-Newton MLA Harry Bains a rundown on how to
AARON HINKS PHOTO
give CPR, though he told the crowd beforehand that he’d been trained years ago. Bains told the students that he believes every person should receive CPR training, but he hopes that none of the students will have to use it in a real-life scenario. “I could not be happier to see the ACT Foundation teaching young British Columbians skills that can save lives,” Bains said.
Science
ROBOTICS: Enver Creek Secondary’s senior robotics team is ranked first in the world for programming skills. Page C3 MATH CHAMPIONS: The Fraser Heights Math Challengers Team recently competed in the 2018 Canadian Open Math Challenge, where they earned first place in B.C. Page C6
Students urged to reach beyond research at revamped science fair The annual district science fair is fast approaching, and this year, is being revamped to encourage students to reach beyond research and experimentation. Scheduled for March 7, the newly named Surrey District Science and Innovation Fair is urging young participants
to advance their learning and strive to design and create solutions to real-world problems. While the science fair has always strived to be fun, educators found that projects tended to be reproductions of popular past projects. Instead, students should be
inspired to incorporate creative problem solving and expanding their thinking beyond a single scientific “event” such as a volcano explosion or plant dying. Kids will also have more choices in what type and style of presentation they display, and teachers will have access to
“problems of the month” to maintain the momentum of science fair thinking throughout the year. The Surrey District Science and Innovation Fair takes place March 7, 4-8 p.m. at Central City (10153 King George Blvd.). Surrey School District