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Vanderhoof student leadership kicks off as event hosts

Grade 6 students would each become a guide for Kindergarteners or new students to help them transition into the school environment
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Dressed in pink t-shirt uniforms

A new school year also means a new round of student leaders in W. L. McLeod Elementary, as they helped kick off the 2016-17 school year with sprinkles and colour.

On Sept. 15, McLeod Cares Leaders hosted an ice cream social to accompany the open house event in the school year’s second week.

Dressed in pink t-shirt uniforms, the Grade 6 students would each become a guide for Kindergarteners or new students to help them transition into the school environment, explained principal Libby Hart.

“It’s about kids being safe and feeling welcome at school,” Hart said. “Kindergarten can be scary sometimes, and it helps [the new kids’] parents — someone to look after their little one.”

Having undergone a one-day training before school began, Cares Leaders will also help with recess support and younger students’ literacy goals.

“So they have some leadership skills and confidence before high school, and they help make the school welcoming,” Hart added.

At its third year, the ice cream social is also a tradition inherited from Prairiedale Elementary, which closed its doors in 2014.

Student Hayley Lawrence is enjoying the opportunity so far.

“I like to help kids in case they feel lonely,” Lawrence said. “When I first got to this school, I was Grade 4 and I thought I wouldn’t have anyone, but I had a Cares Leader who showed me around and it was really nice.”