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Kikino school benefits from Feel Good initiative

Even with schools closed, students in Kikino are continuing to show leadership lessons

School might have been on an elongated break, but that hasn't stopped a local bank and an area school from making important lessons together.

Kikino School students have always had a close bond with their community, says school principal Laurie Thompson, so when the doors of the school were forced to close on March 15 due to the global coronavirus pandemic, she began looking for ways to continue that bond.

Thompson came across the Servus Feel Good Movement advertisement.  The idea behind the campaign is to ease the burden for credit union members facing struggles due to COVID-19 and economic uncertainty.  Servus says its program as pledged $50,000 in support for mental health services in Alberta, and contributed back $190,000 to provincial not-for-profits and organizations. The school already had an account at the credit union and Thompson thought the school's leadership program was a perfect fit for the 'feel-good' program.

"I thought it was a great message for all of us to stay focused on feeling good when it seems life is not feeling so good," said Thompson, adding that the criteria for the Feel Good Movement funding fit her community's needs as well as the  Metis Settlement School Student Leadership beliefs.

The Student Leadership at Kikino work together to overcome challenges.  The student-driven initiatives carry out food bank drives, collect shoe boxes for the homeless shelter and demonstrate leadership as love within the school, says Thompson.

 The Student Leadership groups include Nordic ski leaders, Me to We leaders, Greenhouse leaders, Metis Ambassadors, and Community and Culture Leaders. All of the groups have continued to lead by example even though the school building was closed to students.  These leaders exhibited their commitment to the community through obtaining grants for Indigenous themed masks, books for every school family, breakfast food and other nutrition items for locals. 

"This work develops the leaders of today for the benefit of the community now and in the future," said Thompson.

Servus Credit Union Branch Manager, Lacey Chicoine recently presented Kikino Nordic Ski Club representative, Laurie Thompson with $1000 in the form of local business gift cards. 

Thompson says the group plans to continue paying it forward by using the gift cards to purchase school supplies and mittens for those in need this fall. 

"The generosity of our students to give of themselves is something that is taught.  I am so proud of our students at Kikino School who know they belong to a larger giving community." 

Chicoine says the funding recipients are a perfect match to the Servus Feel Good Movement.

"A heartfelt thank you to the students for being leaders in your community during an unprecedented time," she said.

 




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