Students at Squamish Elementary learned that Olympic spirit goes far beyond competition on Wednesday (May 28) when the school hosted a Paralympic Day. The school was one of 15 in the Lower Mainland selected to take part in the daylong event that had students from kindergarten to Grade 7 trying out Paralympic sports, participating in a torch relay, and learning hands-on from gold medalist Paul Rosen.The Paralympian's words struck a chord with students of all ages, said Grade 2/3 teacher Natalie Mah."He gave a really inspirational talk," she said. "He talked about not giving up. He talked about believing in yourself."What seemed to stick with students the most was his take on teasing. In reflection books filled out by Mah's students directly after the talk, one child after another drew pictures and wrote out messages about name-calling."I learned that if somebody teases you, like all the kids in my preschool, they are the losers," wrote one student."Don't ever judge people by how they look," wrote another.Rosen addressed the entire school during his speech, asking if anybody in the room had ever been called a loser."So many kids put their hands up," said Mah.She said she was especially touched later in the day when one of her autistic students, who repeatedly puts himself down, declared to his classmates that no one is a loser."I was really proud of the kids. Every single one got it."The day was also filled with plenty of hands-on activities.Energetic kids ran around the gymnasium as part of a torch relay with the rest of the student body cheering them on. Rosen even hung his gold medal around one student's neck as they sang the national anthem,In the afternoon, groups of classes headed back down to the gym to try out Paralympic sports such as cross country sit ski and sledge hockey.As a sledge hockey goaltender, Rosen played alongside the students, trapping oncoming shots as he coached them.Mah organized the event after applying to join the program online. She encourages all other local schools to try the event out themselves as the 2010 Winter Olympics draw near."It helps the kids maybe embrace it more and think about what the Olympics are all about besides the competitions."
