{"id":573924841,"date":"2021-03-05T10:39:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T16:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/headliner\/2021\/03\/05\/students-skating-by"},"modified":"2021-03-05T10:45:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T16:45:26","slug":"students-skating-by","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/headliner\/2021\/03\/05\/students-skating-by","title":{"rendered":"Students skating by"},"content":{"rendered":"

There were twirls, scored goals, wobbly stops. <\/div>\n
School announcements played in the background as kids skated across the homemade ice rink, squeezing in a final hockey game or figure skating practice before heading inside for lunch.<\/div>\n
It was a balmy day for March 2, with the sun beating down on the icy surface. Oakville School phys-ed instructor Cam Scott squinted at the rink he helped create, muttering Mother Nature might make this the last day of its season.<\/div>\n
Scott had been taking his students to the school’s rink daily. He’s taught hockey, broomball and curling with milk jugs. <\/div>\n
Scott could’ve kept the kids inside all winter. The Grade 8 students were in the gym at the beginning of the school year, but since the Grade 6 class moved to Oakville’s hall, the Grade 8’s relocated, and the gym is void of desks. <\/div>\n
“I just got used to wanting to be out,” Scott, 47, said. “I guess if I could take a few positives out of the pandemic and the craziness that we have, it’s gotten me outside to do some new things.”<\/div>\n
Scott went to management and pitched the idea of flooding the school’s tennis court. They said OK, and by mid-December, kids were skating on one of two 120-foot-by-40-foot ice surfaces in the fenced-in space.<\/div>\n
“It’s pretty awesome, actually,” said student Kirby Vince, 13. “My hockey season was getting shut down … (Now) I can go skating with my friends.”<\/div>\n
Vince plays for the Portage Terriers. He was devoted to ensuring the school’s ice rink became a reality, Scott said, adding Vince would check on the ice at lunch, after school, and on cold weekends.<\/div>\n
In fact, creating the school’s two ice surfaces became a community building activity.<\/div>\n
“When (people) found out that we wanted to put this project together, they were like, ‘Let’s go for it. What do you need?’” Scott said.<\/div>\n
One family, the Moxhams, used the truck and hoses from their farm to make the rink, and helped construct the boards that Armwood Windows & Doors and Rona donated.<\/div>\n
Scott put out a call for milk jugs — he wanted to fill and paint them to use as curling rocks — and students came back with 50.<\/div>\n
The phys-ed teacher has around 20 donated pairs of skates, many from prior years, that he distributes to kids who don’t have their own for class.<\/div>\n
And Scott’s own father-in-law, Robert Benedictson, created the Zam-Bobby, a 45-gallon water barrel on skis with a hose and carpet attachment that floods the ice.<\/div>\n
Sofia Lund, a Grade 7 student, participated in many class scrimmages this winter.<\/div>\n
“It’s COVID, so sometimes it’s hard to get outside,” she said. “I think that it’s really awesome for people to put this together.”<\/div>\n
Brady Moxham, an educational assistant and one of the main organizers behind the rink, said kids would be at the space every lunch.<\/div>\n
“I’m just glad the kids are using it,” he said. “Kids love it, they get lots of time outside.”<\/div>\n
Community members use the rink after school hours. Scott said students tell him about their weekends spent skating with family.<\/div>\n
Manitoba Education has recognized Scott for his ingenuity during the pandemic; there’s a post about him on its website.<\/div>\n
Alongside the rink, the province noted Scott’s creation of a golf program last spring at Scotswood Links in Elm Creek. He spent 16 days at the course, teaching kids in Grades 5 through 8 about manners, etiquette and how to play the sport. <\/div>\n
Scott said he’s planning on bringing students back to the course this year. And next winter, the outdoor rink might make a return — it’s good for the school and the community, Scott said.<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

There were twirls, scored goals, wobbly stops. <\/p>\n

School announcements played in the background as kids skated across the homemade ice rink, squeezing in a final hockey game or figure skating practice before heading inside for lunch.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"From\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
From left: Students Kora Montour, Casey Moffit and Emily Holmes hold milk jug curling rocks while skating on Oakville School's ice rink during a lunch break March 2. (GABRIELLE PICH\u00c9\/CANSTAR COMMUNITY NEWS\/HEADLINER)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n

It was a balmy day for March 2, with the sun beating down on the icy surface. Oakville School phys-ed instructor Cam Scott squinted at the rink he helped create, muttering Mother Nature might make this the last day of its season.<\/p>\n

Scott had been taking his students to the school’s rink daily. He’s taught hockey, broomball and curling with milk jugs. <\/p>\n

Scott could’ve kept the kids inside all winter. The Grade 8 students were in the gym at the beginning of the school year, but since the Grade 6 class moved to Oakville’s hall, the Grade 8’s relocated, and the gym is void of desks.<\/p>\n

“I just got used to wanting to be out,” Scott, 47, said. “I guess if I could take a few positives out of the pandemic and the craziness that we have, it’s gotten me outside to do some new things.”<\/p>\n

Scott went to management and pitched the idea of flooding the school’s tennis court. They said OK, and by mid-December, kids were skating on one of two 120-foot-by-40-foot ice surfaces in the fenced-in space.<\/p>\n

“It’s pretty awesome, actually,” said student Kirby Vince, 13. “My hockey season was getting shut down … (Now) I can go skating with my friends.”<\/p>\n

Vince plays for the Portage Terriers. He was devoted to ensuring the school’s ice rink became a reality, Scott said, adding Vince would check on the ice at lunch, after school, and on cold weekends.<\/p>\n

In fact, creating the school’s two ice surfaces became a community building activity.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Students\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Students at Oakville School play hockey on a homemade rink during a lunch break on March 2. (GABRIELLE PICH\u00c9\/CANSTAR COMMUNITY NEWS\/HEADLINER)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n

“When (people) found out that we wanted to put this project together, they were like, ‘Let’s go for it. What do you need?’” Scott said.<\/p>\n

One family, the Moxhams, used the truck and hoses from their farm to make the rink, and helped construct the boards that Armwood Windows & Doors and Rona donated.<\/p>\n

Scott put out a call for milk jugs — he wanted to fill and paint them to use as curling rocks — and students came back with 50.<\/p>\n

The phys-ed teacher has around 20 donated pairs of skates, many from prior years, that he distributes to kids who don’t have their own for class.<\/p>\n

And Scott’s own father-in-law, Robert Benedictson, created the Zam-Bobby, a 45-gallon water barrel on skis with a hose and carpet attachment that floods the ice.<\/p>\n

Sofia Lund, a Grade 7 student, participated in many class scrimmages this winter.<\/p>\n

“It’s COVID, so sometimes it’s hard to get outside,” she said. “I think that it’s really awesome for people to put this together.”<\/p>\n

Brady Moxham, an educational assistant and one of the main organizers behind the rink, said kids would be at the space every lunch.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Cam\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Cam Scott, left, and Brady Moxham stand beside the Zam-Bobby, a creation by Scott's father-in-law to flood the school's ice rinks. (GABRIELLE PICH\u00c9\/CANSTAR COMMUNITY NEWS\/HEADLINER)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n

“I’m just glad the kids are using it,” he said. “Kids love it, they get lots of time outside.”<\/p>\n

Community members use the rink after school hours. Scott said students tell him about their weekends spent skating with family.<\/p>\n

Manitoba Education has recognized Scott for his ingenuity during the pandemic; there’s a post about him on its website.<\/p>\n

Alongside the rink, the province noted Scott’s creation of a golf program last spring at Scotswood Links in Elm Creek. He spent 16 days at the course, teaching kids in Grades 5 through 8 about manners, etiquette and how to play the sport. <\/p>\n

Scott said he’s planning on bringing students back to the course this year. And next winter, the outdoor rink might make a return — it’s good for the school and the community, Scott said.<\/p>

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