IceStorm 98 Study

Prescott’s St. Joseph Catholic School and its 130 or so families were profoundly affected by Ice Storm ’98. Some were without hydro for 15 or more days.  The school itself was closed Thursday, January 8 through Tuesday, January 13.

School re-opened with no bus services on Wednesday, January 14.  Just over one third of the student population arrived for classes and naturally, the Ice storm became the chief focus of school studies, with the Prescott Journal graciously supplying a special Ice Storm issue of the newspaper free of charge for every student!

When Professor Stewart Fyfe from Queen's appeared on CKWS Television News discussing the Federal Government grant for the Ice Storm Study it seemed like a golden opportunity for St. Joseph students to become involved with some real life educational experiences; and so it happened!

Professor Fyfe was more than receptive to our students’ involvement. One week later, Project Manager Mary Purcell from Queen’s spoke to 15 students in grade 4-7, nominated by their teachers for their interest, skills, and enthusiasm, about the project.  Ms. Purcell related well to her 10-13 year old audience, passing on her commitment to the study and giving the young audience a lively crash course in interviewing techniques and skills.

Students selected their own interviewees; armed with pen and paper, some tape recorders, and the odd video camera, they set about chronicling ice storm experiences, trying to get the more human side of the story.

Talking to Neighbours, Insurance Brokers, Utilities Workers, Farmers, and so on, they were able to capture the ice storm experience through the eyes of a young person.

The entire process of selecting, interviewing, editing, and producing a legible interesting copy was a major learning experience for the students, not to mention the real life requirements of waiver forms, having the “nerve” to set up and carry out interviews in the first place, and undertaking all this work outside of school hours.

As Principal of St. Joseph School, I strongly commend these students for their initiative, and thank so much their parents, the interviewees, and all others who helped to make this enrichment activity a reality.  Thanks also to Stewart Fyfe and Mary Purcell from Queen’s for allowing us to be partners in this project.

Robin Reil, Principal
St. Joseph Catholic School,
Prescott, Ont.