A pilot program developed in conjunction with Hockey Canada will be offered in two schools in the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division, at St. Michael School in Weyburn and Sacred Heart School in Estevan for the 2021-22 school year.
The program promotes well-being through a more active lifestyle, trustees were told in a presentation on the program at their board meeting on Wednesday evening.
The program has been approved by Hockey Canada for Estevan, while the Weyburn program is awaiting final approval, which is expected to come through soon, said Chad Fingler, superintendent of school operations.
“We’re looking for high-energy instruction that will be hands-on, so this is bringing real life experiences to the students,” he said, noting it also involves partnerships with the Weyburn Red Wings and Gold Wings, and the Estevan Bruins.
“This will be an innovative learning environment,” said Fingler. “There will be on-ice training and dry-land training. Our schools are primed and ready to go. … The Hockey Canada philosophy is it’s curriculum-based and a teacher is attached all the way through. This is a classroom-first program. It isn’t a hockey school, it’s a classroom first of all.”
The hockey aspect will be handled by a community operator, in this case, by Mike Weger of Weyburn Minor Hockey, and principal Amber Hilstrom from Sacred Heart in Estevan.
The program is tuition-based also, with the fee to cover expenses like ice time, additional transportation and locker rental. The cost will be between $500 and $1,000, which Fingler said would be about a third of what a family would pay for a child enrolled in minor hockey.
Principal Dean Loberg of St. Michael School said in the program’s inaugural year, it will be for Grade 6 students only, with the hope that with enough interest, in future years it can be expanded to Grades 7 to 9 as these students move on through those grades.
“We have a real passionate hockey community, and we have many students who participate in minor hockey at various levels. We’re trying to use that passion for hockey that’s already there in our families to engage them in their education, and through modeling of deeper learning to really engage them in the Saskatchewan curriculum,” said Loberg.
The aim is for a class of between 22 and 28 Grade 6 students, he said, and added, “Any fewer than that, we’ll have to reconsider whether we can offer the program next year.”
He pointed out they have to balance this class with the other Grade 6 classes at St. Michael, as they don’t want to have just 10 in this class and 40 in the other class.
He also said this will be a Holy Family-first program for those who have been in the system already. If the program has 23 students and has room for more, then a student could transfer in to St. Michael to join the program — but if there is high interest in the program, attendance will be weighted in favour of students who have been in Holy Family throughout their education.
The application will also look at factors like the student’s character, academic abilities, their work ethic and 21st century learning skills, added Loberg, along with a community reference, such as from a coach or a pastor.
“At Sacred Heart, the only difference is we’re going to offer this to students from Grades 5 to 8,” said Hilstrom, adding this program will “build confidence and develop responsible students. This program will provide high-performance training and Christian value-based character development to participating athletes.”
She added their plan for the future of the program is to continue to build a positive learning environment that will promote and enhance skill development of students, “and in doing this, we wish to instill a love of learning at Sacred Heart. We want to be able to continue to offer special programming to ensure this is a positive program.”
She said the proposed schedule for both schools will have the students participate in two weeks of on-ice training, twice a week, and two weeks of off-ice training, and there will be an infusion of religion, along with Phys. Ed and health throughout the program.
Loberg added they are looking two half-days in a six-day cycle of the school schedule.
“While they’re at the rink, they may not all be on the ice at the same time, as some might be doing dryland training,” he said.
Fingler said once this program has been able to operated in the two schools, there could be other minor sports organizations that could look at offering something similar, with such examples as minor football, minor ball or a dance studio.
As the program is tuition-based, they will also look at options for those families who may not be able to afford the tuition fee, such as applying through KidSport, or finding a sponsor willing to put up money to help out a child.
Asked why the program will only be for Grade 6 at St. Michael, Loberg noted that if COVID is still an issue next fall, they can keep this program to just one class as their own cohort.
At Sacred Heart, Hilstrom said, “We have some very passionate families in regard to hockey. We’re not concerned those spots won’t be filled. We feel like we’ll be able to successfully work the program as we have it laid out.”
