ATHABASCA — Aspen View Public Schools (AVPS) trustees were treated to their first delegation from a student voice representative during their latest meeting at Edwin Parr Composite High School (EPC), and trustees said the message was received loud and clear.
Grade 11 student and EPC Interact club president Maya Zimmer took to the front of classroom 203F on Jan. 25, before trustees gathered around the U-shaped tables to speak on a topic she said is a common issue amongst staff and students at the school.
“I have lived in Athabasca my whole life, which means I’ve never experienced anything different than the Aspen View division,” Zimmer said. “There’s a sort of security that a small high school provides, and I always feel safe. But I also noticed this: things become a little too routine under the circumstances.”
Zimmer touched on the bonds familiarity can help form — going to the same school with the same peers year after year can facilitate strong friendships. But she also touched on how those bonds can limit students by creating comfort zones that can be hard to push past.
“I found when approaching and entering high school, there’s really no way to re-learn your peers. I was thinking about why this is, and then I asked myself this question: when was the last time I had an experience when I got the chance to learn about my classmates in an out-of-class environment?”
Zimmer told trustees the last field trip she remembers was five years ago, when she was in Grade 6. “I have noticed that there is a common desire for a closer bond with the school and the people who attend it, and it is my belief this can be accomplished with the addition of more board-funded trips and school events.”
She noted many students like herself, who aren’t part of numerous sports teams or school clubs, are feeling a lack of outlets to interact with their school community in engaging ways.
“I don’t remember sitting in a class learning about the policies and procedures of the legislative branch, but I do remember my school trip to the legislature in Grade 6, and seeing one of their meetings occur in front of my eyes. I even remember many of my trips I took within my very first years of elementary school, and how empowered I felt — even as a seven-year-old — when I got to go to the zoo, or the beach, or the ski hills without my parents,” said Zimmer.
AVPS board members could be seen nodding in agreement during Zimmer’s speech, and after a round of applause following her presentation, they shared their own experiences with out of class trips.
Trustee April Bauer reminisced about her experience performing on stage at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre. “I definitely hear what you’re saying,” she said. “That feeling of inclusivity, of being part of a family and part of a community like Ms. Mabey has said, is very important.”
“You didn’t mince words,” said trustee Donna Cherniwchan. “I have a child in Grade 12 (in Smoky Lake), and it’s the same issue … you’ve got another year, let’s make something special for you,” she added.
“You are echoing what students are feeling right across the division, it’s not just here,” trustee Elohne Chizawky chimed in. “We’re going to do as much work as we can to make sure that things are better for all students.”
Student transportation is a sticking point for the school, as EPC principal Stacey Mabey highlighted during her own presentation to trustees earlier that day. Mabey noted the school’s own buses, used for sports and field trip transportation, are aging, and finding drivers has been difficult.
But superintendent Constantine Kastrinos noted memorable, engaging education doesn’t have to be costly to be effective. “I believe that much of what you’re talking about, Maya, starts with your teachers in your classroom, and having the same candid conversations with them about how it is we’re creating dynamic learning spaces, and that’s our goal.”
“Romeo and Juliet has a different feel when it’s in the middle of a field in a park,” he said.
