N E W
FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2012
W E S T M I N S T E R
INSIDE: High school grad is a student for life ◗P11
NEWS,
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For the fun of it: Laura Swanson, parent advisory council chair at Richard McBride Elementary, shows some of the participation ribbons handed out at the school’s “fun day.” A Sapperton parent is disappointed that the school no longer holds a competitive Sports Day.
Larry Wright/THE
RECORD
No winners or losers on Sports Day Too much fun and not enough game, one parent says BY NIKI HOPE REPORTER
nhope@royalcityrecord.com
Why did competition get cut from Sports Day? That’s what a Sapperton parent wants to know. Colin Milburn was disappointed to learn that his daughter’s future school, Richard McBride Elementary, doesn’t do “Sports Day” in the way he remembers it.
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that learning about competition at a young age prepares kids for the inevitable ups and downs of life. “Later in life, you learn when you don’t get a job, when your girlfriend dumps you, whatever, you’re not disappointed. There’s not all of this shock and awe,” he said. “If they don’t learn it young, they are going to learn it eventually.” Milburn has two kids, aged four and two. His oldest daughter will start at the school in 2013. Growing up, Milburn played sports and said he was more of an athlete than an
He heard from another parent who told him that the school doesn’t do Sports Day, but instead has a “fun day” now. “I said, ‘What does that mean?’ They said, ‘Well, they don’t want to compete,’ and I thought ‘That’s kind of strange,’” Milburn said. “I grew up in East Van, and we had sports days, and you won first, second, third place or you didn’t win at all. That’s just life, right, but at the end of the day you get ice cream and everything’s fine.” Milburn said he’s talked to others, including a teacher, who share his view
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academic. Sports taught him teamwork, he said. “I grew up in East Van, and our lacrosse team was pathetic, but I still enjoyed it,” Milburn said. McBride’s parent advisory council chair, Laura Swanson, agreed with Milburn that Sports Day is different now. “But that just seems to be the way it’s become – everybody has to be treated equally, everyone has to get the same things,” she said. “I remember back to my Sports Days in elementary school, and it ◗Sports Day Page 8
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