Bringing students into the community to participate in real-world learning!

The Amazing Race in Whitecourt? Sure! Dr. Jim Canniff, a psychologist who works at Whitecourt Central School, decided to offer an Orienteering Club to Grade 4 students this past year. Students met once a week at lunch time last fall to perfect their navigational skills, discuss directions, study maps and use a compass to find different places around the school. As a culminating activity, however, Dr. Canniff had bigger plans! He decided to give the students a chance to practice these skills in the Amazing Race!  

Dr. Canniff picked 13 sites he felt could host an activity for the students. He visited each site, spoke to a manager and arranged the activity. All of the sites were very excited to be a part of this race.

Special thanks to:

• Whitecourt Golf Course
• Canadian Tire
• McDonalds
• Allan & Jean Millar Centre
• Forestry Interpretive Centre
• Whitecourt Fire Department
• Wolverines Junior A Hockey team
• Whitecourt Star
• Northern Gateway Division Office
• RBC 

On May 20th, 52 Grade 4 students were off to the races! Parents and teachers volunteered to drive and act as site managers. Without these volunteers, the Amazing Race would never have found its footing. Students had a great day racing around Whitecourt with tasks that included dressing up like fire fighters, breaking into the RBC supplies vault, searching for products at Canadian Tire and working out in the Wolverines Training Center.

A huge thank you to everyone involved for helping us pull off the Amazing Race Whitecourt. A special thanks to Dr. Canniff for his vision of bringing our students into the community to participate in real-world learning.

Whitecourt Central's Amazing Race!