Yellowknife’s Mildred Hall School was awarded $25,000 worth of new technology from Staples Canada during a surprise assembly Monday morning.
The money was presented to students as part of the company’s Superpower Your School contest, which recognizes outstanding sustainability and environmental initiatives.
Of 630 entrants from across the country, 10 were awarded funding. Mildred Hall was the only school to be recognized North of 60.
“We’re really excited,” said Katey Simmons, principal of Mildred Hall School. “We haven’t really taken it all in yet but we’re very proud.
“[The students] are probably shocked but it’s a learning lesson for them that every little bit counts.
“They all work hard to look after their environment and whether they’re big things or small things, it all makes a difference.”
Simmons says students did their part by recycling weekly, collecting phone books and cellphones and learning how to grow their own vegetables.
The school also teamed up with Ecology North and the Yellowknife United Church last spring to transform part of its playground into gardening plots.
Simmons says the school will take some time to decide how to spend its new funding.
“I’ll be working with my staff and probably the district … and it’d be nice to get some student input as well.”
The Superpower Your School contest is in its sixth year and has previously awarded 60 schools across the country with funding.
Staples Canada says it provides schools with the latest technology to ‘empower students to learn and nurture their passion for the environment.’
The company says it also does its part to divert waste from landfills.
“We want to make sure that we’re keeping as much out of the landfill as possible,” said Richard LaRoche, general manager at the Staples location in Yellowknife.
“Being able to recycle pens, ink cartridges, toners, batteries and electronics is very important because they’re things that we can recycle and reuse instead of being wasted.”
