Project enhancement funds awarded to Belleville schools

By Sarah Yannetta

Prince Edward Collegiate Institute and Quinte Secondary School have both won awards of $5,000 for offering new innovative enhancements to curricular requirements in the county.

Prince Edward Collegiate Institute staff will lead an aboriginal awareness day and Quinte Secondary School will host their anti-bullying/self esteem leadership symposium’.

Directors of The Hastings and Prince Edward Learning Foundation have announced the 2011/2012 grant winners.

Prince Edward Collegiate Principal Shelley Mackenzie-Coates said in a news release, “The PECI Aboriginal Awareness Day would be a day to promote awareness of local Aboriginal Communities as well as celebrate the diversity and contributions of Canada’s First Nation, Inuit and Metis cultures. A variety of elders and guest speakers from Aboriginal communities and organizations would be invited to deliver workshops for our students.”

Lisa Vincent, principal, and Maren Edgett, a teacher at Quinte Secondary School, said the Symposium will be a one-day event for 35 student delegates representing all grades from each secondary school in the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties. The event will start with a speaker and students will participate in four workshops. At the end of the day students will make plans as to how the information will be used at their home school.

Quinte Secondary School said in a press release, “Our collective vision is for this significant event to send strong messages, to provide capacity for school teams, and to have a lasting and measurable effect in the lives of our students.”

Awards for $2,500 were given to Centre Hastings Secondary School for their ‘girls retreat’, North Hastings secondary school for “StEEDS’, Prince of Wales, Sir John A. MacDonald, and Stirling Seniors public school for ‘All I’s on Learning’, and eight schools collectively for ‘HPEDSB Science Olympics’.

Grants for $1,000 were given to Bayside public school, Prince Charles public school (Belleville), Bayside secondary school, College St. public school, and Moira secondary school.

Executive Director of The Hastings and Prince Edward Learning Foundation, Maribeth DeSnoo said in an interview, “It really offers a fantastic opportunity to the students of the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board because it allows staff working with students to provide opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.”