It was the perfect weather for exploring the great outdoors yesterday with a number of classes joining in on Take Me Outside Day.
"We did a scavenger hunt," said Grade 1 student at École Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoys, Hazel Bowen. "[We had to use] our hands, our eyes, our nose, our ears and our mouth."
The scavenger hunt was led by teachers Maria Froese and Ashley Nason during the religion class. Children used their five senses to experience God's creation by finding things that were soft, smelled musty and shiny.
"I found little small rocks. I found tall stuff, some soft stuff, I found lots of stuff. My favourite part was when we found a humongous rock," said Hazel.
Over at St. Thomas Aquinas High School students were encouraged to stop by the bonfire behind the school to help keep the fire going or roast some yummy snacks. Classes also took to the Rotary Trail to go for a short hike.
Students at St. Louis School also unplugged and enjoyed the sunshine, by going on a colour scavenger hunt. Teacher Darren Benson led his class on the scavenger hunt which saw students race around the yard looking for the colours in nature.
Healthy Active Living Lead, Megan Derouard encouraged schools to take part in Take Me Outside Day.
"I encouraged schools to take part so students can see that there are other places to learn besides sitting behind a desk. More importantly, it was an opportunity for them to "unplug" including the teachers, no cell phones, no computers, no whiteboards, etc. They got to use nature while learning about language, math, science, and more. I am proud of the staff and students for using the outdoors," she said.
The Take Me Outside Initiative began in 2011 with a run across Canada going into classrooms to get students back outside, active and reconnected to nature. Since then it has become a Not-for-profit organization that aims to raise awareness about the benefits of playing outdoors. Wednesday, October 24th was named Take Me Outside Day across Canada.