The ICE School

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The Edmonton Oilers ICE School program is a site-based educational initiative that gives teachers and students in Edmonton the opportunity to move their classrooms into a new environment.

For an entire week, classes are staged at the Skyreach Centre and Northlands Park. Ten classes from Grades 2-6 participated in 2002-03, the pilot year of the program. Over 20 classes are slated to take part in 2003-04.

Activities are tailor-made for each teacher’s needs and are chosen to fit curricular objectives. The week serves as a catalyst for long-term interdisciplinary study at school and promotes critical thinking and problem solving skills for students as they interact with the real world.

Cool School

The ICE School has an experienced educator acting as a liaison between Skyreach/Northlands and the classroom teacher. Business, community and educational partners collaborate in an effort to facilitate student learning within and beyond the classroom.

Parts of the program include studying the social and cultural roles of hockey in communities throughout Canada.

ICE School organizers believe positive learning occurs when:

• Experiences are concrete, real and meaningful.
• Time is provided for observation and reflection.
• Connections are made between topics, concepts and skills.
• Opportunities for individual choice are built into the curriculum.

Scholarly schedule

Study plans include daily reflection and journal writing; biography; research; data collection and measurement; community history; provincial studies; life roles/career development and volunteerism.

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