13 students from Isabel Campbell School were surprised Tuesday morning with a free trip to WE Day in Saskatchewan. WestJet will be flying the youths and a few teachers to Saskatoon on March 14th, the day before the massive celebration.
The kids were called into a science lab under the ruse that the school wanted their feedback on a Winter Fun Day held last week. While a few had an inkling they had been picked for the trip, grade seven student Sydney Kinderwater says she had no idea.
“My parents were like, ‘why didn’t you scream?’ and I was like, ‘because I was in shock!’,” she jokes. “I’m so excited because I’ve wanted to do this since I was in Derek Taylor and Mighty Peace [Youth Society]. Everyone’s accepted there, no one’s excluded, and it makes you feel like an equal to everyone.”
The school was picked as it’s brand new, but students are already making strides to take on both local and global causes. Grade six student Maci J’Lynn Scott says they’ve done things like visiting seniors at Points West Living and raising money for children in Kenya.
“I like doing that because I love helping people and being in people’s presence. We also did Christmas hampers for families around our school; I also loved doing that because I love helping people and when I see people smile it just brings my spirit up if I’m feeling down.”
WestJet will be sending a total of 105 students from rural areas across the country to WE Day, where they’ll join 15,000 others who have earned a spot. Grade six students Emily McCracken and Trista Mannix says they’re excited for the experience, as you can’t buy a ticket.
“I think that when we go it will feel like we’re celebrating ourselves, since we never really get to, and that’s what I really like about WE Day and Mighty Peace Day,” says Emily.
“I’ve never been to a giant event like this ever before, so I’m just really excited to see everything that goes on live instead of on TV or on a live stream,” adds Trista.
The lineup for this year’s event includes mental health advocate and mother of Canada’s prime minister, Margaret Trudeau, and country star Brett Kissel.
