Algonquin students earn medals in Skills Ontario Provincial Championships

Algonquin Road Public School captured top honours at the Skills Ontario Provincial Championships, the highest level of Skills Canada competitions offered to Canadian elementary students, on Monday, May 1, 2017, in Toronto.

The LEGO Mechanics team faced a challenging event, to design and build a suspended, motorized monorail passenger car. The car had to navigate a curved track and complete full runs going both forward and backward.

The team also had to document their technological problem-solving process, create a backboard, and present their process to the judges. The team earned perfect scores in all categories and captured Gold, placing first in the province.

The Health and Safety team was also tasked with a challenging event. They had to make a presentation on how health and safety has changed over the past 150 years. They also identified hazards and offered remediation in mock scenarios, and conducted on site research and problem solving.

The team of Alaina Charbonneau and Mya Sparling-Labonte earned Bronze in the event, placing third in the province. In addition to a medal, they received a letter and certificate from the Minister of Labour congratulating them on their outstanding achievement.

“With your third-place finish, you have demonstrated that you not only have the talent and skill to succeed as part of our province’s workforce of tomorrow, you also understand the importance of workplace health and safety,” wrote Minister Kevin Flynn.

He added: “As the Minister of Labour, the health and safety of workers in Ontario is one of my top priorities. I am proud that students like you, the future leaders of our province’s highly skilled workforce, recognize the value of contributing to healthy and safe workplace practices.”

“Winning medals in one event is an accomplishment for any school,” says Cathy Nursall, Principal of Algonquin Road Public School. “Having one school earn medals in two events, at the provincial level, is truly remarkable. We are very proud of both teams.”

Elementary students in Rainbow Schools had the opportunity to participate in Skills Canada events with funding provided by the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program.

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Media Contact:

Cathy Nursall, Principal, Algonquin Road Public School
Rainbow District School Board, 705.522.3171