At Hughenden Public School (HPS), the Grade 9 Leadership class has decided to do something to give back to the community.
Their idea was to redo the Castles for a Cause food drive that the school didn’t get the opportunity to do in December when schools were shut down due to COVID-19.
Castles in the Spring hopes to help fill up the food banks so more people can have access to needed resources.
All the food that the school collects will be taken to the Lutheran Church in Hughenden, which also serves as the local food bank.
The people at our local churches have helped the school over the years with supplying food, like breakfast buckets and the popular monthly Muffin Mondays.
Kids know as soon as they walk in they are greeted with a little bucket with apples, oranges, crackers and applesauce.
Due to the COVID-19 safety regulations, breakfast buckets have changed slightly: for now a staff member hands students pre-packaged or pre-washed items with tongs from a single bowl.
The churches, as well as local company Everclear Energy, have continued to make sure that all students start the school day right.
The Grade 9 class is eager to collect enough food for the food bank for them to be restocked and ready to help the community.
The Castles in the Spring is also a competition amongst the grades to see which class is the greatest contributor.
On the final day, there is a building competition to see who can make the most creative building with the food they have provided for the food bank before it leaves the school; the theme for this year’s build is Summer Vacation.
As of Thurs. April 29 the Grade 5 class was rewarded with ice cream sundaes for their accomplishment of getting the most points for food collected at the halfway mark.
Since there was no Castles for a Cause in December, and since it is their first year at HPS, the Grade 4 class has never gotten to experience the food drive and now they have an opportunity to give back to the community for all it has done to help the school and kids.
All of the students and staff at HPS were elated that the initiative would go ahead after being cancelled in the winter.
“I feel that having our school do something for the food bank is a good thing, and that for those in need it could be a lifesaver, literally,” commented Gabe Sortland, a Grade 9 student at HPS.
Sortland’s classmate Dawsyn Bomersback said, “I think it’s a fun activity that goes for a good cause and I’m happy we were able to do it again.”
by Bryden Laing
