Stettler Elementary Principal Sharon Fischer and Vice Principal Kate Syson recently took the Zamboni for a spin on Stettler’s newest outdoor skating spot as a fun way of making up for a past ‘ooops’.
“It’s kind of a follow-up from six years ago,” explained Fischer.
Back then, a CFCW Critters Hockey Fundraiser game was held at the Recreation Centre.
“Kate and I and some others on staff, and some parents, were on the Stettler Elementary School team,” she said, “Before the game started, we were in our dressing room and we noticed that there was no one on the other ice surface! It was completely smooth and beautiful. There was no one on it - it was pristine!
“Kate and I hadn’t skated for awhile, so we decided that we should kind of warm up a little.
“So we went over there and zoomed up and down and all around. Anyways, Allan King came in and he was little upset - he had just started making the ice! It ended up that he had to be there all that night and start from scratch.
“So Kate and I felt awful. We showed up at the arena with a bottle of rum, a gift card and our apologies,” she recalled.
Fast forward to now.
The Town has developed a terrific skating space around the nearby campgrounds. “My husband (Malcolm Fischer), who thinks he is funny, said to Allan that if he needed any inspectors to test out the ice, he would know who to turn to! Allan then said that Kate and I could drive the Zamboni on it if we wanted to,” she laughed.
“So he taught us about driving the Zamboni and it was a lot of fun!”
In the meantime, Fischer said things at the school continue to move forward in a positive way as 2021 unfolds.
Of course, it would be great to have a timeline or an end-date when it comes to COVID-19, she said. “And to know what the new normal is going to look like - all of those things.”
But aside from having a couple of cases several months back and working through the precautions and so forth to keep everyone safe, things have been going smoothly overall.
“I really can’t commend our staff enough,” she said, reflecting on the challenges of the past year overall.
“It’s been alot of extra work for everyone - it’s extra supervision, too,” she said, adding that in general, it’s been a season that has demanded plenty of flexibility when it comes to planning things out.
Students have continued to show a real sense of resiliency during the course of the pandemic as well, she said.
“I would also say that on top of being resilient, they have really stepped up to the plate when it comes to expectations on others things as well,” she added.
“They are doing the right things, following the rules and the expectations really well.”