KERROBERT — Most schools like to show off their teams or academics, but for the Kerrobert Composite School, one club stood out at an assembly on June 10.
Following the annual recognition assembly, handing out athletic and academic awards, it was the KCS Volunteer Club that was truly honoured at the ceremony, winning a contest with the Public Schools of Saskatchewan. The Student Citizenship Contest asked for video submissions of student groups or classes that supported citizenship or character building within the school. The award, along with a prize of $1,000, was presented to students Dawson Halter and Avery Snell, club advisor Joelene Borschneck and KCS principal Candice Kraft by Subdivision 6 representative Bailey Kemery.
The club started in 2023, with the assistance of teacher Joelene Borschneck, and students in Grades 7 to 12 are invited to participate.
“The Volunteer Club is not like a traditional school club. With many scholarship applications looking at student volunteerism and many of them [students] not knowing who to talk to about volunteering, I felt this would be an asset to our school,” said Borschneck.
Throughout the school year, students go out into the community to help where volunteering is needed. Things like delivering Meals on Wheels, enjoying activities with residents at the hospital and beautifying community areas, such as the golf course, fairgrounds, parks and the cemetery.
The contest held by the Public Schools of Saskatchewan was promoted in emails to schools throughout the province. Borschneck said she thought KCS had a good chance at winning and enlisted frequent volunteers Halter and Snell to put together the submission video.
In their submission, the two students interviewed Marli Shepherd with the Town of Kerrobert and Twila Heinz with the Kerrobert Healthcare Facility.
“Without the program, it would take a lot more hours from paid staff to do, which affects our budget, which would have huge cuts, especially in recreation and we wouldn’t have as nice of a town,” said Recreation Director Shepherd in the video.
“From the residents’ point of view, the personal impact the volunteers have on each one of them is huge because it’s time they can have one-on-one time with the younger students. Not all residents have family that can come in, so to have that one-on-one interaction is empowering and it definitely helps our residents’ quality of life,” said Heinz, recreation director at the Kerrobert Healthcare Facility.
Even with less than two weeks left in the school year, Borschneck said she is leaving it up to the students to decide what they would like to spend their winnings on.
to see KCS’s video submission for the Student Citizenship Award.
