Youth Making a Difference at John Pritchard School

On May 30, 2008 students at John Pritchard School embarked on a Famine for Freedom, depriving themselves of food for a 30 hour time period so that they could experience hunger from a real perspective. They wrote letters through the RESPECT Writing Campaign and participated in a simulation game run by the Manitoba Council for Intercultural Cooperation. The process of learning and experiencing the famine was a phenomenal event for many. Beyond this learning, the 47 students who participated in the Famine also raised a little under $2000 to support their cause. The following week, John Pritchard students held the final fundraiser of the year, raising over $1000 in a school BBQ. Funds raised from both events will be donated to Free the Children.

Raising $3000 in less than a month is not a simple task yet at John Pritchard the task seems effortless. The commitment of students to get involved and make a difference seems to be more the norm than the exception. This is a school like many other schools in Winnipeg with students from varied socio-economic backgrounds and cultures, all having various needs. What is different at this school is the commitment that both staff and students have to “educare” – education that promotes the ideas and values of action oriented caring. Accordingly, John Pritchard is a UNESCO Associated School. UNESCO stands for United Nations Education Science Cultural Organization. As an Associated School, John Pritchard is committed to the four pillars of learning within the Education realm of UNESCO: learning to know, to do, to be and to live together. Both in and out of classes, these pillars are consistently emphasized.

UNESCO promotes student participation in action oriented learning through a variety of means. Students Without Borders is one such student group in the school that focuses on issues related to UNESCO, both locally and globally. Brick by Brick is another student group that has focused on creating awareness and raising funds for the purpose of building a school in Africa. To date, over $4000 has been raised solely for this purpose.

Unity in Diversity Day is a day on which the school participates in a celebration of our differences as individuals and how these differences bring us together to make a stronger school. This day provides students and staff the opportunity to learn from each other and be introspective on how our personal perceptions and actions impact on others both positively and negatively. Students at John Pritchard School are not “waiting on the world to change” they are learning to “be the change!”