2024 Trustee Awards of Recognition

For the second year in a row, PRPS trustees will recognize students who contribute to a culture of excellence in their schools. The 2024 Trustee Awards are about community spirit and are for those students who go the extra mile. “We want to empower all pockets of students and hope this award will target another group,” explained Trustee Shauna VanderSpruit. “Last year, the awards were well-received, and every school had two recipients. This year we would love to see more nominations come from teachers or administration for students who are deserving of this award.”  

Mindy Straub is now attending Eagle Butte High School and received a Trustee Award from Schuler School in June 2023. She describes herself as being very sociable and getting along with the students across all grades as she’d known them for years.  

“I feel I was really good with the younger kids because they all liked me,” stated Straub. “On certain mornings, we would get together in the gym and do different literacy activities. The older kids would pair up with the younger kids for reading or word work and that’s why I’d get to spend time with younger students. At recess, if a kid was sad or something, I usually ended up helping and supporting them.” 

Jason Fehr, also attending Eagle Butte this year, received a Grade 9 award from Prairie Mennonite School. He and many of his classmates enjoyed playing games, an activity not permitted on school-issued Chromebooks. To motivate himself and other students, Fehr created a time on Fridays where students could play games competitively against each other if they completed all their schoolwork.  As a result, students were less inclined to play games during the week.  

 “It made them want to work harder” explained Feher, “so they would be able to do that. You would have to do well on all your schoolwork to participate.” There were about 70 students at the school and about 25 or 30 of them would show up for the competitive gaming times. 

 “That ended up working out pretty well, they still do it to this day,” said Fehr, who also added, “during recess, I would be outside and play with the younger kids, showing them some tips on basketball. We’d usually play two versus one because they were younger, not on a team or anything, just personally for fun outside.” 

 Trustees are also looking for nominations for the Community Champion for Education. Any member of the public can submit a nomination for this award which recognizes an individual or organization that goes above to provide exceptional learning experiences and opportunities for students.  

 To submit a community award nomination, click here: https://prrdweb.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9B51bgE6XE90VFQ 

 By Samantha Johnson, Prairie Rose Public Schools Content Writer