This week in Grade 3, we spent time together in the classroom unpacking Terry Fox’s story. We discussed the qualities he had that helped him to become a national hero and icon. In addition to this, we talked about who he relied on to keep persevering during his Marathon of Hope, how he changed Canada and the world for the better and what it means to be resilient.

We began our learning by reading the story, “Terry Fox and Me”. This story is about friendship defined by strength and love. The book is written from the perspective of Terry Fox’s friend Doug. Doug was by Terry's side every step of the way: when Terry received a diagnosis of cancer in his leg, when he was learning to walk - then run - with a prosthetic leg and while he was training for the Marathon of Hope. This book was the perfect fit with our own learning in Wellness because it helps to demonstrate and honour the true value of friendship.

Terry’s story also led beautifully to the discussion of the word ‘resilience’. Before viewing a short film students used prior knowledge to help them make accurate predictions about the meaning of the word. Two students predicted that it meant, “you keep going even when things are hard and challenging.” After watching the short film the majority of students were able to agree that being resilient is the ability to ‘bounce back’ after a challenging or difficult time. We then had a few Brave Hearts share how they have demonstrated resilience in their own lives and what strategies they used to overcome the challenge or difficulty they were faced with. Our learning intention for this week was to understand that resilience includes the capacity to manage adversity or stress in effective ways. This is a direct outcome from the Grade 3 Wellness curriculum.

At the end of the week, students captured their learning around Terry Fox with a colourful stencil art task and a writing reflection. We are very proud of the 174 laps the students in Room 12 completed during Andrew Sibbald’s Terry Fox Run on Tuesday and we are hopeful that our school’s donations can help to continue to improve cancer research!