Student leaders and community organizations gathered at Twin Lakes Secondary School (TLSS) Thursday for the second annual CLIMB Day – an event that showcases student contributions to the community and local non-profits.
Ranging from growing indigenous plants, reducing textile waste, designing a hologram-based zoo, and many more ideas, the event featured projects that students carried out through the school’s Partners in Education, Adventure, and Community (PEAC) program, a two-year program for Grade 9 and 10 students interested in helping the community.
“PEAC is really about finding something that you're passionate about, something that you care about, and then putting that out into the community in a way that makes social change,” said TLSS teacher Chris Lowery.
Over the course of the program, students are given the opportunity to work with a variety of local non-profits that benefit the community, on top of designing and implementing their own projects – many of which extend beyond the PEAC program.
“I think a lot of students want to give back and want to be a part of the greater community, but giving them the tools, and the actual opportunity to get involved in a real way and show them the value of community work is really what PEAC is all about,” Lowery said.
Representatives from numerous local non-profits attended CLIMB Day to connect with students and celebrate community building.
“CLIMB is really a representation of the work that we want to do, and then a celebration of that work, to show others that there's something more that can be done in the community, and showcasing the care and the hard work that the students put in projects that connect to organizations,” Lowery said.
Now running for six years, Lowery said the school is starting to see the impacts of the program on both the community and students.
One student, Blythe Wieclawek, is off to Harvard University’s pre-med program this fall, and she credits the PEAC program with inspiring her on her path.
“Harvard is known for really caring about and producing leaders in their community and people who want to go out and actually do stuff that will benefit those around them, and the characteristics and the values that I learned through PEAC helped me cement my understanding that it's so important to do that,” she said.
Wieclawek, who also serves as president of the Sustainable Orillia Youth Council, said the program helped her develop the skills she needed to get into Harvard.
“What I learned through PEAC helped me develop programs and skills … and I think that was one of the reasons why I was able to get into Harvard, as well.”
Student Ella Blu, enrolled in the school’s Special High School Majors (SHSM) program, worked with the Green Haven Shelter for Women – among other initiatives – providing hair care services and tutorials, yoga classes, dispensing Christmas gift bags, and more.
“We learned a lot about empathy and that people will come to us in their worst times,” she said. “Sometimes you'll deal with people who have really bad hair loss from cancer or alopecia, things like that.”
“Learning how to deal with those things properly or just people that have been through traumatic events, such as a lot of women in the shelter, having a certain vibe to you is really important to make your clients and everything feel comfortable,” she said.
More may be read about the PEAC program here.
