• 2019/20
Learning to live well, with others and for others… from home

Students were encouraged to take meaningful action from home through a collection of safe engagements, including writing cards and letters to first responders, sewing face masks, donating food or books to local charities, and photographing local birds for worldwide research. Here's how students stepped up in the wake of the pandemic.

Video to uplift and inspire frontline workers 

Daniel A. (Grade 7) created an uplifting, inspiring social media video to not only thank healthcare workers, but also encourage the greater community to stay home and stay safe.

Tell me a bit about the video. How did you come up with the idea? How did you get started?
I wanted to boost people’s motivation and hope during the COVID-19 pandemic, so I decided to make a video showing what it was like inside hospitals and what healthcare workers were doing to keep us all healthy and safe. At the time, everywhere we walked, we heard people talking about the pandemic. Many people were taking action, but I wanted to show what it was really like inside the hospitals; I thought many people might not know what was really happening. I first got the idea during the 7 o’clock cheers, but I wanted to do something different. I wanted to open a window into hospitals for people to see inside. So, I asked my mother to take photos of her colleagues and I compiled them into a video with uplifting music.

What were you hoping to accomplish with the video?
I wanted to raise awareness and encourage people to practice social distancing and hygiene protocols to lower the workload of healthcare workers. I also wanted to, show how hard doctors and nurses work to keep us health and thank all frontline workers for their hard work. I wanted them to know their hard work was not going unnoticed.

What happened when you shared the video?
My mother posted the video on her Facebook page and it had more than 1,000 views in over 48 hours with hundreds of positive comments from both the public and healthcare workers. One of the ER doctors at the Surrey Memorial Hospital wrote that the video was really uplifting and made her day after a very bust night at work!

What was the best part about creating the video?
The best part was sharing the video with community members through social media and seeing a flood of positive reactions from healthcare workers and people in the community.

 

Masks to keep everyone safe 

Sisters Stella S. (Grade 9) and Carrera S. (Grade 10) sewed masks for every Meadowridge faculty and staff member, then used the funds raised to purchase restaurant gift cards to deliver to the homeless population.

Tell me a bit about the masks. How did you come up with the idea? How did you get started?
Originally, this was my mom’s idea to protect my grandpa who refused to wear a surgical mask. We needed to make a mask that would promote him actually wearing it to the store and not feeling embarrassed. The mask we created is soft and breathable, but also has a simple design and a fun pattern – that makes a big difference!

What were you hoping to accomplish by creating these masks?
When we started making these masks, we first dropped off about ten to the school as a gesture of support. The masks were so well perceived that we then got an offer to make 230 of them!

What happened next?
We used all the proceeds from our masks to purchase 20, $30-dollar restaurant gift cards to hand out to the homeless and people in need. We were also able to provide even more masks to even more people in need, as a teacher at the school also requested some to drop off to elderly tenants in her building. We also provided masks to other doctors and even healthcare workers in the United States.

What was the best part about creating the masks?
It was truly fulfilling to know that we were providing masks to a community like Meadowridge, a school which has not only supported us as students but also as a family. It takes one mask to make a difference and the smallest gesture can go the longest way.

  • 19-20
  • Service