Golden girls and silver stars
As I watched Olympian Maëlle Ricker receive the first female Canadian gold medal on home soil at Wednesday evening’s medal ceremony, I could not help but admire the athletes on the podium. Here were three confident, inspiring, strong women who have worked tirelessly at their craft, pursuing it with passion, conviction and dedication. As Ms. Ricker stood singing O Canada along with 24,000 spectators, a groundswell of pride swept through me.
My thoughts then turned to the very confident, inspiring and dedicated young women here at Elmwood who recently returned from their Silver Duke of Edinburgh dog sledding expedition. Over the course of four days, a group of Senior School students braved minus 30 temperatures, chopped their own firewood, cooked their own meals, camped in cloth tents and of course, dog sledded through Algonquin Park.
Hearing the girls speak about their experiences reminded me just how valuable the Duke of Edinburgh Program is. A self-directed development program for 14 – 25 year olds which is filled with activities that students can do in their spare time, it requires participants to set and achieve personal goals for themselves in four areas: Community Service, Skills, Physical Recreation and Adventurous Journey. Elmwood students achieve more Gold Awards, the highest standard, than any other school in Ontario—a notable achievement considering our relatively small size.
The Duke of Edinburgh Program allows our students to take on great challenges and supports them in developing confidence, leadership and service to community. Their experiences translate into success in all areas of their lives, be it academic, social, artistic or athletic.
If you are interested in learning more about the Duke of Edinburgh Program offered here at Elmwood, please feel free to contact Ms. Derbyshire, the program coordinator at ederbyshire@elmwood.ca. Or better yet, the next time you’re at school, speak to the girls themselves—I’m sure they would be happy to share their experiences with you.
In the words of our student blogger Juliet, an intrepid “Duke of Ed” participant herself:
Our days were spent running up and down hills all while holding onto the sled, going through forest trails, ducking branches from all angles, and enjoying a serene and peaceful landscape all around us. Around 3 o’clock each day we would get back to our campground to start chopping down trees then sawing them into wood to stock the stoves to keep warm at night. We also cooked our own food, fed the dogs, put hay down to keep them warm, and had the occasional dance party to warm ourselves up…
The trip was a wonderful experience that brought us all out of our comfort zones and showed us what we’re capable of.”
Cheryl
