Macville goes well past target in Spread the Net

March 2, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
Staff and students at Macville Public School started February hoping they could raise $2,500 in their effort to Spread the Net.
They surpassed that target with points to spare. It was announced at an assembly Friday that the fund-raising effort was in excess of $11,000.
“That’s extraordinary!” teacher Lorraine Lapp declared.
Adding $200 that had come in from the community that day, she said the total, at that point, was $11,485.
Some netting around the beds of children in Africa could keep mosquitoes away, and prevent those youngsters from getting malaria. To that end, Macville started the fundraising campaign in support of Plan Canada and Spread the Net.
Spread the Net is a national school-to-school challenge to raise money for these bed nets. The word gets around through he likes of Rick Mercer on his weekly TV show.
The school’s support of Spread the Net was sparked by Grade 8 student Clark Elliott. He said he learned about it from watching the Mercer Report.
“One person has changed all of us,” Lapp told the assembly.
There were a number of events held to raise money, including a winter carnival earlier in the day Friday.
The previous Sunday, Grade 3 student Hannah Brooksbank had set up a stand at Palgrave Pond and sold hot chocolate. Lapp said that project raised $300.
Mayor Allan Thompson was on hand to make a presentation to Hannah, as well as to congratulate the school.
“Be extremely proud,” he said. “You’re the winners.”
They day also included several teachers, along with Principal Kelly Kawabe, sitting on stage while various students hit them in the faces with pies.
There’s been a lot of talk that if Macville raised enough, there’s a possibility Mercer would visit the school. It was expected there would be an announcement about that Tuesday, but the school announced late that day that it had been postponed a week. It’s now expected there will be something on the Mercer Report on CBC this coming Tuesday (March 8).
“I think it’s a pretty strong possibility,” Lapp told the students.

When a school does as well as Macville Public School, raising money in its Spread the Net effort, then even teachers don’t object to getting pie plunked in their faces by students. That’s just what happened Friday at Macville, as Ben Larsen, Keerat Ghuman and Evan Tuttle took aim on Brandon Pachan, Jessie Donohue and Lorraine Lapp.

Grade 2 student Alex Smith had a fun target when it came to throwing pies in faces. He drew Principal Kelly Kawabe. Alex didn’t get in any trouble.

Mayor Allan Thompson is seen with students who organized Friday’s winter carnival — Kya Prior, Reah Tut, Rhys Rozand, Nathan Taylor, Gurman Dhindsa and Prabmeet Bansi.