Michelle Salt, a two-time Paralympian Team Canada snowboarder, visited students at Queen Elizabeth school this week as part of a unique mentorship program.

Classroom Champions partners Paralympians with classrooms across Canada and the United States. Throughout the school year, teachers are given around-the-clock support to guide their classrooms through the initiative, for which national-level athletes are also developed as mentors.

"It gives us the opportunity to interact with the kids through video, to teach them about subjects like perseverance, leadership, healthy living and community," explained Salt.

The athlete spoke with the student body yesterday, and then she spent time in the Grade 1 and Grade 6 classrooms this morning.

Affiliated classrooms are given monthly challenges related to goal-setting, leadership and community involvement.

"Community [involvement] is a great example of them having a challenge and really embracing it," said Salt.

"Every month, they're able to fulfil that challenge and see the impact," she added. "It's really cool to see what the kids themselves decide to do within their community and the difference that they make."

As part of the challenge, Mrs. McKinney's Grade 1 class created craft and activity bins for the residents at the Weyburn Special Care Home.

This was the second time Salt has been to Weyburn with the program. She also visited Q.E. in 2015.

Michelle Salt, two-time Canadian Paralympian, answered questions for Mrs. McKinney's Grade 1 class at Queen Elizabeth School this morning.

 

Each student in Mrs. McKinney's Grade 1 class had their Classroom Champions tee-shirts signed by two-time Paralympian Snowboarder, Michelle Salt.