Heather Latter
Robert Moore School students will be involved—in a small way—in the upcoming Pan Am Games (July 10-26) and Parapan Am Game (Aug. 7-15) being held in Toronto.
Some 100 students, including some Grade 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7 classes, were able to send their well wishes to Canadian athletes.
Hue Eldridge, a Grade 1 teacher at Robert Moore, explained her brother’s sister-in-law is one of the organizers of Ontario’s “Celebration Zone.”
“They were looking for students from across the country to fill out a wishing ‘token’ that will be hung on the wishmeluckON wall for the duration of the games,” she noted.
“We . . . would like you to invite you and your students to write the name of someone they want to wish good luck or just wish for good luck in general—Team Canada, an athlete in the games, or a family member taking on a new challenge—on the token which will be attached to a luminescent structure,” Kevin D’Innocenzo, a consultant for the project, wrote in an e-mail to Eldridge.
“Light will reflect and refract through the many colourful wishes creating a remarkable backdrop for Ontario’s ‘Celebration Zone,’” he added.
As more and more wishes are added to the wall, the installation will be lifted higher and higher until over 15,000 tokens cover the entire wall.
“I think it’s a really neat project,” said Eldridge, noting the local classes wrote their messages on the translucent “tokens” last week.
“What a great idea to expose our children, who are somewhat isolated up north, to get them involved in something that is happening nationally and internationally,” she added.
Eldridge said it also was a great opportunity for the students to learn about what the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games are.
“We related it to the Olympics, and talked about athletes and what athletes have to do to become representatives of Team Canada,” she explained.
“But we also talked about the Parapan athletes, too. And having the kids recognize that people with disabilities are just as capable as everybody.”
They even talked about the different sports the athletes will be competing in.
“It was mainly just to expose them to what’s happening in the world—and this being a big thing that is happening in Canada,” Eldridge remarked.
“It’s a great way to connect our children to the world,” she reiterated.
Eldridge was sending the “tokens” back to Toronto so they can be added to the wall.
“All these messages are going to be on there for people to view,” she said.
She also encouraged anyone who might be attending the games to stop by Ontario’s “Celebration Zone” and have a look at it.
