A Grade 4/5 class at Muheim Memorial Elementary School are just one of a handful of recipients selected by the British Columbia Retired Teachers’ Association (BCRTA) for the Golden Star Awards.
During June 6’s assembly, Donna Steeves, vice president of the BCRTA, presented the trophy along with a $1,500 cheque to the class of teacher Liliana Pesce. They volunteered at The Meadows retirement home.
Madame Pesce, who organized the buddy activity with her class and the seniors, said the award is an honour and gives them an extra sense of pride.
“We felt pretty good about the work that we were doing in the community and being recognized by the British Columbia Retired Teachers’ Association is a way to acknowledge how important this is,” she said.
The award, which is given to only five programs each year, is for public school programs that feature the interaction of seniors and students which require students to think and work creatively, access and use the community as an information source, require students to work cooperatively with each other and outside sources, and use a variety of media to record and display results.
The buddy activity was hatched in October when Pesce said she wanted to get her class connected with seniors and then an opportunity came about.
“Val, one of the coordinators at The Meadows, came to our school one day and said we need a class who will come trick-or-treat at The Meadows, and I was connected with her and then we just talked about forming a buddy program,” she explained.
Meadows resident Walter Kloeckler said this experience has been empowering.
“It’s totally wonderful to feel included … two of them (students) came to play chess with me and some others and it should be repeated all over.”
The program has formed long-lasting relationships for some of the students and seniors.
“We are friends outside of school now, so now when we see each other we always hug and shake hands now. Then he met my dad and it was really fun!” said student Skye MacLeod.
As student Scotia Lancaster thinks back to the first time meeting the senior she was buddied with, she was filled with different emotions.
“My hands were shaking … when I met her I was so excited,” said Scotia.
Some of the activities that the students and seniors did together throughout the year included going door-to-door trick-or-treating inside The Meadows, arts and crafts, reading stories, and inviting the seniors to Muheim for the Christmas concert. Students also made Valentine’s Day cards and surprised the seniors by delivering the cards to them.
During one of the visits, students brought iPads to show the seniors how today’s technology works. They were searching for one of the senior’s homes when he was a child, but he couldn’t remember what the town was called. That’s when something incredible happened.
“We found a map and we found his hometown. We looked it up, but couldn’t find any pictures that he recognized, so we went onto Wikipedia and he was looking at one picture and … after a while he managed to tell me that was his house when he was a kid, and he started telling me that this was his room and this was his sister’s room and this was his mom’s room … it was really cool and fascinating,” said Catherine DeGisi.
One of Kloeckler’s most memorable moments was when they were singing the national anthem.
“I’m not too good in the French version and one young girl, she was helping me out, it was fantastic,” he said.
The buddy program with Madame Presce and the seniors at The Meadows will continue next year.
“They were just so fun, happy and anxious. They wanted to be with them,” said Myrtle Mcintyre.
