After watching the 2000 box office hit, ‘Pay It Forward’, the grade 6 students of Langdon School decided that they wanted to do something that would be their own pay it forward to the community. At first, they considered doing something for their own school, but it was quickly decided that they wanted to do something that would be of benefit to the greater community.
On Tuesday May 26th, the grade 6 students made their way over to the Langdon outdoor rink and their pay it forward project began. However, before the students could start their re-painting of the rink boards, new boards were needed. So the night before the students were to begin, a group of amazing volunteers came together and installed plywood around the outside of the rink so that the students could begin the painting process.
“We watched a movie called Pay It Forward in class and the kids came up with ideas of how to make Langdon a better place. One of the ideas that was pitched was to paint the outside of the rink and the kids voted to choose that idea. They wanted to do a bigger project that was good for the whole town instead of just students at our school. They also wanted it to be a project that they could benefit from, as many of them play sports and use the rink they were and are very excited about the project”, said Lyle Weigum of Langdon School.
Weigum went on to say, “Our slogan at Langdon School is “Doing Life Together” and this rink project is an extension of this idea outside the walls of our school. It gives students a chance to work alongside not only other students, but also parents, community members, and other volunteers. We believe that by having students involved in projects like this increases their engagement with the community and also makes them more invested in it. Now every time they walk or drive by the rink they can take pride in having a direct role in making their community a better place. It also is a chance to show our community how creative and innovative our students are”.
