Vincent J. Maloney students plan to burn rubber next week as they race to find a cure for juvenile diabetes.
VJM students are in their final days of preparation for next week’s fourth annual Cyclebetes fundraiser. Similar to the famous Bikeathon at Bellerose, this event has students ride stationary bikes to raise money for charity.
The plan is to have about 340 students and teachers ride 55 stationary bikes for 10 hours straight next April 23, said organizer and VJM counsellor Janelle Hobbs. Bands, magicians and other entertainers will keep the bikers occupied as they ride.
“In our first week of fundraising we’ve taken in close to $30,000,” Hobbs said – darn close to their goal of $50,000.
All that cash will go towards the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Hobbs said. Cyclebetes has raised some $100,000 for this group since 2012.
The fundraiser runs from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. next week. Call Hobbs at 780-458-1113 for details.
J.J. Nearing students learned the difference between a mitre and a pallium Monday after a sit-down with the Edmonton region’s Catholic archbishop.
Archbishop Richard Smith made his first-ever visit to J.J. Nearing Catholic Elementary Monday as part of the school’s celebration of 150 years of Catholic education in St. Albert.
Smith, the top official in the Edmonton Catholic archdiocese, spoke with students at the school about religion and the symbols of his office, including the mitre (the flame-shaped hat), the ring and the pallium (the woollen band worn around the neck).
Catholicism and Catholic education both started in Alberta in St. Albert thanks to Bishop Grandin and the Grey Nuns, Smith said in an interview.
“The importance of St. Albert to the whole is like the importance of the root to the entire tree. It was all grown out of here.”
Smith said he plans to eventually visit all 182 schools in the archdiocese.
St. Albert’s newest farmers’ market raised almost $2,000 last week to rebuild a school in the Philippines.
St. Albert Catholic High students held their first annual indoors farmers market last week. The two-day event saw students run about 18 stalls in the school’s common area during lunch-hours on Thursday and Friday to raise money to rebuild a school in the Philippines that had been destroyed last year in a typhoon.
In addition to cookie, popcorn and smoothie stands, the market also featured dance-based video games, hand-made soaps and actual questions and answers from upcoming chemistry tests (provided by teacher Hilary Gabelmann).
The event raised about $1,768.
