National award for Cyclebetes
Vincent J. Maloney athletes have received a national award for their efforts to ride down juvenile diabetes, and are spinning up to do so again later this month.Vincent J. Maloney Catholic Junior High received the 2018 Community Volunteer of the Year Award from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) of Canada this week. The reward recognizes the school’s six years of work to raise money for Type 1 diabetes research through its Cyclebetes bikeathon campaign.
School councillor and Cyclebetes co-ordinator Janelle Hobbs received the reward Tuesday on the school’s behalf at a ceremony in Toronto.
Cyclebetes is a nine-hour bikeathon where teams of five to eight students ride stationary bikes non-stop to raise money for the JDRF, Hobbs said. The first Cyclebetes earned under $10,000 back in 2012; now, it averages $40,000 a year.
“We’ve raised the most money in Canada of any bikeathon for the JDRF,” Hobbs said, with some $250,000 collected so far.
Hobbs credited the event’s success to the school’s dedicated students and supportive community.
“I think it’s become part of the culture of the school to give back,” she said, especially since they know it will help fellow students with diabetes.
Hobbs said some 250 students (about half the school's population) were already preparing for this year’s event, which happens May 17. Students will fan out across the city this week to collect what will hopefully be about $40,000 in donations.
Hobbs said the Cyclebetes team was proud to have received this award, which would be celebrated during the fundraiser’s opening ceremonies.
“The award really belongs to all the students who have ever been to VJM.”
Call 780-458-1113 for questions on the campaign.
Transit survey
St. Albert’s public board chair says she hopes parents will tell the province what they want when it comes to student bus service through an online survey.Alberta Education launched an online survey on the student transportation eligibility criteria late last month.
At issue is the 2.4 km walk limit – a long-standing rule where the province will pay to bus a student to school only if they live at least 2.4 km from their designated school. The province removed the limit from the School Act last year, implying that it would pay to bus all students, but held off on implementing that change last February pending more consultation.
The 36-question survey asks respondents about a variety of potential changes to school transportation funding. One asks if parents should be allowed to pay more money to get better bus service, for example, while another asks what would make an appropriate walk-limit for different age groups. It also asks to what extent age, safety, distance and other factors should determine eligibility for provincial bus funding, and whether or not students going to programs of choice (such as French immersion) should be eligible.
St. Albert Public board chair Kim Armstrong agreed that the province should account for more than just distance when it comes to busing.
“It’s not just about the distance. It’s about the safety.”
St. Albert students have to cross many busy streets, for example, which is why the public board supports busing for students who live as close as 1.6 km from school.
Armstrong encouraged parents to take the survey, as it could affect what they pay for busing. The board would likely write a formal response to it later this month.
The survey can be found at https://bit.ly/2FGGdP0 and closes June 15. The resulting regulatory changes are to be finalized this fall for implementation in the 2019-2020 school year.
