Dr. Levesque Elementary School
Bronze medal winning school, winterkids winter games 2020
Town: Frenchville, Maine
County: Arooostook
Excerpts from an interview with Stephanie Nadeau, School Nurse at Dr. Levesque Elementary.
Why was it important for your students to participate in the WinterKids Winter Games?
We participated in the Winter Games last year and our school really had such a great time and it made January fly by, so when we were asked to do it again, I set out to make sure the teachers were on board with it. Every single teacher was a go, EVERYONE. I knew this was something that not only I had fun with, but they did and the kiddos for sure had a blast learning outside too! It’s important for our kids to know that winter can be fun, that learning never stops just because we have 6 feet of snow outside, and that doesn’t mean being “stuck” inside either. It felt like WinterKids gave us permission in a sense to continue to learn creatively throughout the year. Since winter is perhaps our longest season, we need students to know its not a time of hibernation, but rather a time of exploration, to get out there and enjoy it!
What did the Winter Games mean for your school and community?
Participating in the Winter Games definitely gives our school a sense of teamwork and togetherness. The biggest element it provides is fun! I was astounded by the support we received from the community and our school community. Anyone we contacted to help us out had no hesitation to commit, everyone wanted to help us succeed. Our students were exposed to many different jobs and activities through our guest speakers and the Winter Carnival too. That exposure will hopefully be a source of inspiration for them, that they know they can do anything and that so many people support them.
Tell us about one or two of your favorite memories from the Games.
The two best memories from WinterKids is our roster video making experience and the closing ceremony. For our roster video, we wanted to incorporate our theme which was “Thriller, Chiller, Winner” and immediately thought of the Michael Jackson hit, “Thriller”. One of our teachers went out several times at recesses to get some basic choreography down. The last day, we brought all the students together and were AMAZED at how well they worked together and how well they listened to feedback. It literally gave me goosebumps to see everyone working so well together and NAIL IT! The second would have to be the closing ceremony. We spent all month freezing ice blocks in milk jugs and cartons. Each class lined up, and each student picked out their own ice block to place on our own ice wall. We wanted to engineer something all together and it was just really sweet to see them all invested and excited about something together. It was definitely a feel-good moment when you looked around and saw al the smiling faces getting their medals and picking their ice blocks, you could feel the bond in the air, despite sub-zero temps!
