St. Mary’s French Immersion Catholic School Principal Colleen Hannah talks about the success of the Green Space Initiative after her presentation to Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board trustees on Wednesday night.

Trustees with the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board heard about a successful initiative on Wednesday night. St. Mary’s French Immersion principal Colleen Hannah began the presentation about the ‘Green Space Initiative’. It’s a program that has grown in participation since it started two years ago. Hannah discusses the importance of partnership including those with Algoma Public Health…

One example of school staff going above and beyond in this project is St. Mary’s French Immersion physical education teacher Jean Carriere. He is dedicated to the physical activity and fitness portion — with a special focus on certain pieces of the project that include grass, a stone path and pits for track and field. Among the plans for Phase 2 are a baseball diamond and a wooden gazebo. Hannah says it takes a lot of fundraising to get such a project off the ground…

Among the fundraising events are car washes, bake sales, an Easter pancake event and the popular pasta dinner. The upcoming third annual dinner is expected to be very popular. So many people came to last year’s dinner, some people were eating in the classrooms with dinners served out in the hallway. In addition to giving the area outside the school a better appearance that encourages healthier living and physical activity, Hannah says a female student was bullied until she participated in the program…

Hannah adds that the initiative wants to involve seniors going into 2016. Participants have applied for a Metro Green Apple Grant to make this a reality. The group is aiming to apply before December. The grant would encourages seniors and St. Mary’s French Immersion students to participate in the creation of a menu, cooking and eating from that same menu.