Classrooms encouraged to enter national Earth sciences contest
December 12, 2011
(Toronto, Ontario) – Teachers from Manitoba and Alberta nabbed the WHERE Challenge’s ‘2011 Teacher Recruitment Challenge.’ WHERE Challenge organizers are pleased to congratulate Amanda Tetrault, a grade seven teacher at River Heights Elementary School in Winnipeg, and Rumana Haque, a grade six and eight teacher at Calgary’s Almadina Language Charter Academy. Tetrault won $250 for her school by recruiting the greatest number of teachers to this year’s WHERE Challenge. Haque won $250 for her school in a random draw of all ‘‘2011 Teacher Recruitment Challenge’ entrants.
The WHERE Challenge’s ‘2011 Teacher Recruitment Challenge’ kicked off in September 2011 and closed December 2, 2011. The contest urged teachers to recruit their colleagues to take part in the WHERE Challenge.
As a grade seven teacher steering a class through the WHERE Challenge for the fourth year running, Tetrault encouraged all the other grade seven teachers in her school to participate.
“I convinced, lured, enticed the other grade seven classes to try it out because the WHERE Challenge links up really well with our grade seven Earth sciences curriculum,” says Tetrault. “It also allows for students to show creativity and understanding in a unique way. The fact that the entries are showcased outside of the school really increases the motivational level.”
Haque, who teaches at an ESL school, is looking forward to having her grade six and eight classes participate in the WHERE Challenge for the first time.
“English is a second language for these students, so this project will educate them about Earth sciences and help them learn a new vocabulary,” said Haque.
Launched in September 2011, this year’s WHERE Challenge runs until March 1, 2012 and has more than $10,000 in national and regional prizes up for grabs. The country-wide Earth sciences contest is endorsed by the Canadian Earth Sciences community and led by Mining Matters. It asks students aged 9 – 14 years to discover the answers to these questions: What on Earth is in your stuff and WHERE on Earth does it come from? Students are encouraged to use their imagination to create an educational story about non-renewable Earth resources found in an everyday item.
For more information about the WHERE Challenge, please visit www.earthsciencescanada.com/where or contact:
Jennifer Lyall / Phone 403.818.8984 / Email lyalljennifer@shaw.ca
Or
Laura Clinton/ Phone 416.863.6463 ext. 324 / Email lclinton@pdac.ca / Website: www.MiningMatters.ca
