Hosting a regional history fair for kids this spring turned out to be a chance lost for Squamish.
After two successful local fairs with the participation of a few hundred kids in 2012 and 2014, this year鈥檚 event in late April was a regional one.
While the event itself went well, the response was not what the organizers hoped in terms of local participation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a shame for the kids. The students in the community missed out on a huge opportunity,鈥� said local organizer and Squamish Historical Society president Bianca Peters.
Typically, they would have a few hundred students out for speakers at the Friday presentations, with many students also putting together events for the Saturday event.
This time, there was only a small number making presentations, and as it was a regional fair, most turned out to be from the North Shore: 26 compared with only a couple from Squamish. Ideally, Peters would like to see at least 60 presentations from local students.
Peters and Cindy Rowell of the 小蓝视频 Heritage Fair Society appeared before the board of education recently to look for a greater commitment from the Sea to Sky School District.
Peters said for the past local fairs, the history society would 鈥減ound the pavement鈥� and approach teachers directly.
This time there was some miscommunication, with the history society getting the message teachers would be contacted through district channels. When this did not happen as expected, the historical society had to scramble.
鈥淲hat happened this year with Squamish was that we didn鈥檛 really get started early enough to get teachers involved,鈥� Rowell said.
Another development was that in North Vancouver, which usually hosts the regional event, there were some complications around the venue, so it was moved to Squamish 鈥� the result being that the community hosted a history competition for students with almost no local participation.
This is when Rowell, a retired teacher from Abbotsford, got involved on behalf of the provincial society.
The organizers were pleased with the presentations of the students who did take part and are optimistic Squamish can still host another regional fair, though organizers have to deal with the reality of grant applications, so local involvement is considered an important factor.
鈥淚 can see things actually growing in the community,鈥� Rowell said.
The fair, itself, went over well, Rowell and Peters say, despite being smaller than hoped.聽
鈥淭he kids that were there absolutely had a great time,鈥� Rowell said.聽
The students dressed in costume and delivered presentations, with the MP, MLA and mayor as celebrity judges.
The students even had a chance to take on the politicians in a version of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? After winning, the students got to wear buttons that said 鈥淚鈥檓 smarter than a politician鈥� while the elected officials had to wear buttons that said 鈥淚鈥檓 not smarter than a 5th grader.鈥澛�
Peters thinks the fair presents an opportunity for schools to work on something in line with the new provincial curriculum.
鈥淲e鈥檙e giving them exactly what the Ministry of Education wants,鈥� she said.
She asked the board for a letter to help with funding applications for future events. As is board practice, chair Rick Price said the board will consider the matter at a later date and also asked for details on the content of a letter of support.
