Two more schools at the Near North Board will be offering the Hockey Canada Skills Academy program next year.
The program, which was initially launched at Parry Sound High School, is now hitting the ice at Almaguin Highlands Secondary School in South River and F.J. McElligott Secondary School in Mattawa.
Students in the hockey skills program earn high school credits while honing their hockey skills on and off the ice.
Heather Hickey, Principal at Almaguin, says they’re thrilled to be offering the program this September with 35 students interested.
“It’s a great program to get students excited about coming to school. Learning goes beyond shooting, passing and skating, as students learn important skills related to teamwork and communicating with one another,” Hickey says. “Our on-ice instructors have a wealth of experience in skills development and the teachers involved with the program have demonstrated a clear commitment to scholastic achievement.”
The co-ed program is a partnership between the school board, Almaguin Minor Hockey and Hockey Canada.
It’s open to all Grade 9-12 students.
“Experiential learning opportunities like this are very important,” says Cody Lacelle, F.J. McElligott physical education teacher and hockey skills academy lead instructor. “This program offers numerous ‘untraditional learning’ opportunities. It allows students to learn outside of the typical four-wall classroom.”
He says there’s plenty of enthusiasm for the program, both in the school and the greater Mattawa community with enrolment roughly equivalent to 25 per cent of the school population.
