I.F. Cox students explore new Prairie Rose possibility

Commentator/Courier Photo By Anna Smith SCHOOL SUCCESS: Tracy Frank presents on the TNT program to the Prairie Rose Public Schools Board of Trustees on November 28.

By Anna Smith
Commentator/Courier

Students at Redcliff’s I.F. Cox School have been eager to try new things via one of the many opportunities through Prairie Rose Public Schools’ exploration of new ways to learn.

The program, descriptively referred to as ‘TNT,’ short for Try New Things, has been a smash success with the kids, said I.F. Cox School Vice-Principal Tracy Frank. 

“Our TNT project, which stands for ‘trying new things’, is a six week cycle Option Program for division one students. We started this program in October 2022,” said Frank. The program runs two sessions a year, with students picking from a variety of different classes in multi-graded options.

“We have had 23 different classes in our three sessions. Some of the classes have included American Sign Language. We’ve done coding, we played pickleball with the Medicine Hat Pickleball Association,” said Frank. She noted there have been a variety of physical activity options, as well as plenty of cooking, baking, and even a virtual reality class.

The options presented are based on staff interests, as well as the involvement of outside community members, to help with staff wellness as well as offer countless different choices, with nothing age-appropriate off the table, from magic tricks to pinata making.

Part of the goal behind this program is to address some areas for improvement that I.F. Cox Administration saw. Surveys revealed that parents were looking for a broader program of studies, and that students were experiencing some anxiety surrounding moving up in grades. The program has successfully helped with both of these, as they are, in addition to discovering potential new passions, also meeting different members of staff and making possible inter-grade friendships.

“We wanted to cultivate wonder with this project. We wanted to strengthen the partnerships with our stakeholders and we wanted opportunities for deeper learning,” said Frank. 

The feedback from parents, staff, and students has been very positive, and I.F. Cox is already looking forward to their spring TNT session, and what they can continue to offer their students through this program.