Kelvin ALC meant for benefit of all

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/01/2020 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kelvin High School vice-principal Dominic Zagari wants everyone to know about the school’s Active Living Centre, the way it came to be, and its goal of changing the lives of those who use it.

“When Kelvin was granted a much-needed second gym in 2015, a committee was made of alumni, community members, staff, and students to raise money for addition space for fitness equipment. That committee raised over $1 million through private donations, corporate donations, and government grants. When the funding for the new gym was cancelled, the monies that the committee raised for additional fitness centre space was put into building the fitness space alone,” Zagari explained, adding that the school at present still has only one gym for 1,300 students.

The Active Living Centre was designed by Winnipeg School Division alumnus, architect David Penner, with the intention of being able to add the still much-needed gymnasium in the future.

“Our primary goal for the space is the promotion of health and understanding, of training in a supervised and supported environment that will prepare students to be literate in fitness activities and facilities,” Zagari said.

The Grade 11 and 12 healthy lifestyles curriculum is to promote lifelong physical activity participation.

“The intent is to provide young people the opportunity to independently explore a variety of physical activity and fitness options with the support and supervision of a physical education teacher. Students develop an understanding of their individual activity needs and use this knowledge to achieve their goals after graduation. By creating positive physical activity habits at a young age, students are more likely to remain active later in life. This helps reduce their risks of a variety of physical and mental health concerns, while supporting their overall quality of life,” he said.

The space is presently used by physical education classes, teams, and students, before and after school and during the lunch hour or spare periods.

Kelvin is in conversation with the City to find ways for the space to be made available to the public through clubs and leisure guide rentals outside of school hours. It has been open to students since last spring while the final changes are completed, including a legacy project donor wall still under construction. When the wall is completed, the school plans to host a grand opening.

“We are very proud of what we, a public school, have managed to accomplish, and very grateful to all of those who donated their time and finances to help create this beautiful space for our students and community.”

For more information, or to be included in email updates, contact the school at kelvin@wsd1.org