Twenty-one Grade 11 students at A.E. Peacock Collegiate will be able to enjoy the beauty of Kananaskis Country in Alberta in May as part of a year-end bike trip.
Trustees with Prairie South School Division unanimously approved the travel request during their March 1 board of education meeting.
“As part of their outdoor pursuits program … this is something they’ve done pre-COVID for years and years and years,” superintendent Derrick Huschi said. “This one will actually be a special one because it will probably be the last bike trip there as (teacher) Blake Buettner will be retiring this year and he would like permission to take his kids one last time.”
Buettner has been the only teacher to take students to Kananaskis over the years, Huschi added. Meanwhile, the more practical trip schools are taking is to Cypress Hills, which is in Saskatchewan and is less expensive for youths renting bikes.
Buettner — who teaches Outdoor Education 20 and Physical Education 20 — plans to take his students from May 26 to 30 to help them develop outdoor-related skills that will make them more comfortable being outside, his excursion application form explained.
Students will be expected to understand the terminology, rules, safety concepts, mechanical principles and current developments that apply to outdoor pursuits. In particular, youths will learn about biking, hiking and camping terminology, rules, wildlife and bike safety, and current trends in mountain biking.
Furthermore, youths will also be expected to display increased self-confidence, self-sufficiency and individual initiative.
“Students are trained on the hills in Moose Jaw on their bikes, and their self-confidence grows enormously after a day in the mountains using their bikes,” Buettner wrote. “Students will (also) spend time training on their own.”
Before they leave, students will learn bike use and maintenance, safety, CPR certification, spin classes for conditioning, wildlife situations, mountain bike skills practice, menu planning, map reading, and survival kit preparations.
The next PSSD board meeting is Tuesday, April 5.
