Persistence Pays Off for Central School

 
Central School students used a flash mob in downtown Swift Current to get the word out about the contest

"Instead of just showing them a picture of a flower and how it's planted, we can actually take them outside and give them that experience."

That's how Central School teacher Shantell Roszell believes a new outdoor classroom will benefit students, after the school came out on top of the Majesta Trees of Knowledge Competition, winning $20,000 toward building the classroom.

The result is the payoff of a marathon campaign for students and staff who worked just about every day to convince people in the city and across Saskatchewan to vote for the school.

"I think our persistence was the key," Roszell said. "We just kept going whether we were in first place or in second, we just tried hard all the way through the competition. We did a lot of voting stations which helped, we were at various businesses and events throughout the city throughout the whole competition."

After 45 days it came down to two schools, Central and a school from Sussex, New Brunswick, switching between first and second place. Central was actually in second place until the final hour of the campaign, but a scavenger hunt on the final day of voting helped push them over the top.

"We went to every business in town that was open that night, and we asked people to vote for Central School," Roszell added. "We're thinking we got at least 100 votes just that evening, and at about 9:00pm that evening, we rolled into first place, and we were so excited."

Roszell says the kindergarden students are playing a part in picking out the shrubbery and plants they will put in the outdoor classroom.

She also thanks everyone in the city and province for their support.

Shawn Mullin talked with Shantell Roszell after it was learned that Central School won the competition: