Students at Watt Public School in Utterson are painting poppies on rocks donated by the Muskoka Rock Company.
Educational Assistant Meghan Hampson is leading the project along with teacher Mark Janke. She says the two of them reached out to the company after students told them they wanted to do something “out of the box” for Remembrance Day. Usually, the school holds a ceremony for the students ahead of Remembrance Day, which the students all have a part in organizing.
President of Muskoka Rock Company Seth Rudin says they donated 120 rocks, which is enough for each student to draw or paint a poppy. “It was a quick yes from us,” he tells the MyMuskokaNow.com newsroom. He adds that playing a small part in helping the younger generation better understand the meaning behind the poppy and get involved in Remembrance Day is important. “Anything that can be done to remember our veterans and their contribution to our society is great,” Rudin goes on to say.
Watt Public School has students from kindergarten to grade eight.
“I was kind of freaked out because it was a surprise,” grade seven student Kilian Bourque says. Since then, he says he’s learned a lot about the importance of the poppy and about the First and Second World Wars.
Hampson says the students loved the idea. “Especially considering the nature of why we’re doing this creative project,” she goes on to say.
She adds it’s been a school-wide effort with some of the older students helping the younger ones by creating templates for them to follow. While most have chosen to go with the traditional poppy, some have painted the purple poppy. That poppy is designed to honour the animals that were a part of the war effort.
The rocks will be going home with the students for their parents to proudly display. Before the students take them home, Bourque says they will be displayed during the school’s Remembrance Day ceremony next week.
“We wanted everyone to have an active part in participating in our in-school ceremony,” Hampson says. She explains that the grade six, seven, and eight students are leading the ceremony and will all have roles to play like the master of ceremonies and poem readers.