SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 83
Ranchero Elementary School Holds First-Ever Heritage Fair

It was an interesting afternoon as some Ranchero Elementary students shared what they had learned through their research about a historical and current local person during the school's first-ever Heritage Fair.

The Heritage Fairs Program encourages students in grades 4 - 10 to explore Canadian heritage in a dynamic, hands-on learning environment.
Students are invited to select and research any aspect of Canadian history that interests them. Then, using a medium of their choice, students create a project that is shared with the general public. From music to media, Canadian youth use various mediums to tell stories about Canadian heroes, contributions, sacrifices, and tragedies. These stories are then presented at public exhibitions in more than 80 communities across the country.

Teacher Amanda Van Damme said when she worked in her previous district her class participated in a regional heritage fair for the North Peace area. "I was fortunate enough to chaperone five of the regional winners to the Provincial Heritage Fair in Victoria. I felt that Ranchero School was the perfect school to enter the regional fair."

She explained that it took a few months of emailing and communicating with the coordinator for the Okanagan Regional Fair to learn how to start a school fair, so that they could send students to the regional fair and possibly the provincial fair. This also helped connect school teachers interested in being part of this amazing experience.

The culmination of this work was Ranchero Elementary School's first School Heritage Fair on May 3rd. It was a very successful afternoon with students sharing their research and explaining their display boards and artifacts to other students, staff, families, community members and judges.

After tallying scores, seven students won the chance to go to the Okanagan Regional Heritage Fair: Rowan Bellows, Virgina Simpson, Aubrey Volkmann, Maddison Croft-Stefanyk, Boston Drescher, Jessalyn Sedman, and Jordyn Guenther.

The Okanagan Regional Heritage Fair took place on May 14th, where the selected Ranchero students enjoyed a day full of activities, including tours of the Okanagan Heritage Museum and the Okanagan Military Museum, participating in a "Minute to Win It", obstacle course challenge, and presenting their research to more judges for a chance to go to the BC Provincial Heritage Fair in Victoria.

Congratulations to all the students who took part, and special congratulations to Aubrey Volkmann, who won runner-up in her category. If one of the winners can't attend, she will have the opportunity to go to the Provincial Fair in Victoria.