Once the immediate shock wore off, there were cheers of glee and tears of joy erupting from a group of Pineview elementary school students Tuesday morning after being informed of a surprise trip to Winnipeg next month.
Eleven Grade 6 and 7 girls will travel to Manitoba to participate in We Day, the youth-focused empowerment and educational event happening Nov. 16 at MTS Centre.
The Pineview students will join thousands of other young people for a day of motivational speeches, performances and celebrity appearances that make up one of the annual Free The Children events that happen across the country and internationally.
"These students demonstrated leadership skills and team involvement in all Me to We activities last year," said teacher Michelle Reid.
"They provided insightfulness and understanding of global issues; they showed empathy and awareness towards children around the world; they came up with creative ideas and ways they could help out in their community and the world; and they all demonstrated their thoughtfulness and citizenship skills around our school."
The 11 girls were notified of their upcoming voyage during an assembly called under the guise of a school celebration of the previous year's Me to We work. Each was handed a handmade token for a flight donated by WestJet.
"It's hard to take in at an assembly," said Paige Denman, 11. The Grade 6 student was one of the intermediate representatives tasked with leading various projects and fundraisers Pineview took on to support their Prince George secondary counterparts in raising money for a schoolhouse in Sierra Leone.
The students put together popsicle, teddy bear and art sales and raised about $500.
More importantly, said principal Joyce Willows, Pineview students learned about identifying and addressing need whether it's within their own community or across the globe.
"Because we can all do something and I think that's a really important part about learning about Me to We - everybody can do something to make a difference," Willows said.
There's such a big difference between their lives and the lives of the students in Sierra Leone, said Taryn Atkinson, 12.
"We can just get food and water, we've got shelter and clean water and school," said the Grade 7 student. "We can just go to school or spend lots of time with our families."
"It's something to think about," said Denman.
The purpose of We Day is to celebrate the shift in thinking from the personal to the community benefit. Earlier this month, students from Prince George, College Heights, D.P. Todd and College Heights secondary schools traveled to Vancouver for that city's We Day where they heard from youth activists, the Kielburger brothers who founded the event, Canadian Olympians, astronaut Chris Hadfield and musicians including Hedley, the Barenaked Ladies and Kardinal Offishall.
A lineup for the Nov. 16 event in Winnipeg has not yet been released, but Atkinson and Denman said they're looking forward to the day, no matter who shows up.
"Everything's going to be exciting," Atkinson said.
