Staff at the Souris School had a vision half a dozen years ago to construct an outdoor classroom on the school grounds. This set the stage for planning, fundraising, and applying for grants, with a $90,000 goal in mind.  

The school is hoping this weekend's River the Rink fundraiser will take care of the final $4,000! 

Grade 5-6 teacher, Jonathan Filewich, says when they started with their plan a few years ago, the timing couldn't have been more perfect as they got in on the Teacher's Idea Granting Initiative, the sizeable grant laying the groundwork for future fundraisers.

"Since then, the idea grew!  We're at the point now where we have shelter, a full electrical system by solar, and now we're just putting the finishing touches on it.  We hope to have the landscaping and a little storage compartment, and all that sort of stuff done, here in spring," explains Filewich.

"Then we can close a very long chapter that has been many years in the making to have a self-sustainable outdoor classroom here at Souris School, that has kind of been the envy of the Division and the province, with many people trying to replicate it," he adds. 

Thus far they've raised $86,000, with a large portion funded by the provincial grant. They have been able to make use of the outdoor classroom over the past year or so, depending on the weather.  With the final additions to help with wind protection and storage space the classroom space will be complete and at peak efficiency for classroom instruction.

Filewich says that final $4,000 is well within their reach.  "We are so proud of the work we've put in.  Yes! We're very, very close! So, we're hoping to finish things up with the classroom and have a big party this spring or summer and celebrate what we've got here!"

There are many benefits to an outdoor classroom, and yet Souris School has raised the bar on what their classroom all entails. 

“There's just so many benefits as in the fresh air. But then also, with all the benefits of us having our own renewable energy supply, we can actually track how much energy has been put in through the sun, and then able to use all the electricity there," he explains. "We also have an eavestrough system where we collect all the rainwater and we're able to use that rainwater for our landscaping. So, there's so many lessons and so many things that go into it and can come from it!"

The community support has been astounding, and this weekend's event is no different, as 6 hockey teams hit the ice this weekend for the 'Rink the River' event. 

Filewich says the town and municipality of Souris-Glenwood have been strong supporters for the many different projects in their community, including the swimming pool, the Avalon Theatre, the skatepark, "this list goes on and on," he says. "It's just one of those things where the community supports these initatives and I feel that there is just such a strong volunteer base just wanting to help out." 

"It's amazing how these committees, for everything they can do, it doesn't seem like they have to do it for very long, and then they're on to the next one! They band together and they get things done!