A Lacombe school is helping to make a significant difference in the lives of young learners on the other side of the world.
Students from College Heights Christian School recently partnered with 3P Learning and Lacombe-based charity A Better World for a unique math competition fundraiser to benefit the Kiamaina Primary School in Kenya.
To date, the students have raised a whopping $9,240.
And to top it off, the 3P Learning company also donated $5,000 towards the cause.
Steven Gabrys, the school’s principal, explained that the competition was also a really fun way for students to get excited about math and work to better themselves by building up their math fluency skills.
Joining the kids through the event - held on World Math Day (March 8) - were friends from Mathletics (3P Learning) who were there to cheer the students on and support them through the competition.
“We’ve had an amazing friendship and journey with this company over the many years that we have been doing Mathletics,” he said.
And it was this past January that he attended a conference where conversations were sparked about how 3P Learning reps would like to visit College Heights Christian School.
“I thought that was pretty special. I also looked at this upcoming math competition date and thought that would be a good date for them to visit.
“That way, we could make it into an event,” he said.
“I was once again just floored by the generosity of this company, and the connection that we have with them - they would be bringing some extra cheer, and some extra prizes to our event.”
Meanwhile, Gabrys said that each year, the school focuses on planning an outreach project of some type.
“We appreciate being a part of a community that likes to give back, and we value it - we want to teach our students these things as well.
“So what better way to do this?”
He told the students about Mathletic’s planned visit to the school and pitched the concept of turning the whole thing into a fundraising event for the Kenyan school.
“It just bloomed from there,” he said.
“It was very cool - and we were all gung-ho about it,” he said, adding the students then signed up sponsors to support them as they took part in the competition.
“We decided to partner with A Better World, and we are teaming up with Parkview Adventist Academy’s coming mission trip (to Kenya) this month,” said Gabrys.
He noted that the PAA students have raised significant funds to build an entire classroom, and in chatting with Eric Rajah of A Better World, Gabrys also learned that additional funds were needed for new desks and water treatment systems.
“We’ve done some work with A Better World in the past,” explained Gabrys, noting that it’s a solid partnership that extends back quite a ways.
As for the March 8 event, Gabrys said the kids did a number of math-oriented projects which proved not only a terrific learning opportunity but was lots of fun as well. It was also an excellent way for the Mathletics reps to engage with the students.
“We finished up with a big assembly to wrap it all up,” he said.
“It was a very heartfelt time because again, we re-emphasized why we were putting these efforts forward into this project,” he explained.
Gabrys said his students are really a constant source of inspiration.
“The excitement was there. And they were legitimately wanting to do their best math score because they wanted to help with this project,” he said. “So it was more than just a race to them.
“The students themselves were also the workhorses behind it - and they are the face of inspiration for our donors. It’s great to see that!
“They really had this sense that their hard work and efforts were going to help these kids in Africa.”
