Submitted by Robyn Rexin
When this school year started the Vavenby Elementary students discovered that they had a brand new playground that had been put on the school grounds at the end of July. The children are thrilled with it. Grade 5 student Kelsey Rexin says that everyone rushes outside to play on it so, if you are not fast enough, you might not get a spot for yourself.
The Parents Advisory Committee ( PAC ) worked for four solid years to raise money to buy a new playground to replace the very old one. The new playground ended up being fully paid for by the School District through provincial funding. The money that the PAC has raised will go towards something else.
“The Vavenby PAC is still working on ways to add to the school and it is an ongoing process. The PAC thanks the community for all their support,” said Alison Weber, president of the committee.
There are 32 children in the school this year, 15 in the Grade 4 to 7 class and 17 in the Kindergarten to Grade 3 class. There are four Grade 7 students, but Nathaniel Weber is the only one who has been here since his Kindergarten days.
In 2010, the school was scaled down to primary students only, with the older children having to go by bus to Raft River Elementary. The PAC is responsible for getting the grades back into the school. The School Board agreed with them, allowing it to grow one year at a time.
The Grade 4 to 7 students are required to wear masks indoors. There is a food program through the school that gives all the children apples.
Mr. Noah Woods, teacher of the intermediate class, has “given” each of his students $100,000 to use for buying stocks. Woods is showing the process of getting them online, what it means to own stocks, and, hopefully, to show the class that if they keep their stocks, over time their money will grow. Some students are eager to get to school early so that they can work on their stocks.
VFD fire season
This summer the Vavenby Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) sent its tanker and its F-550 to help put out the wildfires. Each truck went for different two-week deployments from the end of July and most of August. The trucks and crews worked in Osoyoos, Oliver, Logan Lake and Cache Creek.
While there, the crews worked 12 to 16 hours per day, for 14 straight days. They slept on arena floors, in tents and sometimes in hotels. The firefighters occasionally ate in restaurants, but mostly had camp-style meals. All meals and accommodations were made available from B.C. Wildfire Service.
The VFD signs up at the beginning of each year to be available, if needed, during the wildfire season. The Office of the Fire Commissioner requested their help this year. The fire hall was paid for the trucks. Each member that helped fight the fires received a wage.
The community of Vavenby should be proud of its fire hall as its Chief Philip Weber is. Weber himself was unable to go as he needed to stay at our hall but he said that the crews did amazing work and saved many houses and lives.
newsroom@clearwatertimes.com
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