LITTLE CURRENT—Students at Little Current Public School (LCPS) gave their best efforts in honour of Terry Fox recently by raising over $2,300 for cancer research and marching around the block.
In the early afternoon, all 325 students filed into the school gym for the opening assembly to the Proclaimers’ classic ‘I’m Gonna Be.’
Katie Chapman addressed the audience at the gathering. The eighth grader is a member of the assembly committee and said she wrote and presented her speech.
“My grandpa had cancer this summer, so it hits close to home,” she told The Expositor.
Katie called Landen Harasym and Mary-Anne McGraw to the front of the room. Landen, a Grade 8 student, survived acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Ms. McGraw is a teacher at LCPS and survived breast cancer. Katie also mentioned Darlene Green and Sean Coleman, who were not present at the front of the room but had also beaten cancer.
“It increases awareness, especially about our staff and students who are survivors,” said Principal Christy Case. She said LCPS’ event is a bit later compared to the usual September time-frame because it gives students a greater chance to get into their routines, gather pledges and order t-shirts that also count towards fundraising totals.
Everyone in the gym was invited to participate in a warmup dance of the Cha-Cha Slide before heading outside. The older children walked around the block while the tiny tots stayed within the schoolyard fencing.
Landen, Brett Mastelko, Kali Francis, Cat Rose, Lluvia Anaya, Julia Doucette and Alexis McGraw held the LCPS banner at the front of the group and set the pace for the hundreds of students in their wake.
After a short lap, the students returned to the schoolyard and resumed their daily routines.
This year’s fundraising goal was an impressive $2,500, or nearly eight dollars per student. With the final tally being $2,323.35, the school just missed its target but was still up over the roughly $2,100 from last year. In an attempt to hit their mark, the school will extend its fundraising campaign until Monday.
“I think they’ll make it to $2,500,” said Ms. Case.
