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YAP continuing to give CLMS students a head start on their careers

Students at Cold Lake Middle School (CLMS) are getting a leg up when it comes to their prospective careers. The Youth Achievement Program (YAP) is entering its third year and is offered to all Grade 7 and 8 students at the school.
Imperial Oil officials met with the Northern Lights Public Schools board of trustees Oct. 12 to present a $40,000 donation to the YAP program at Cold Lake Middle School.
Imperial Oil officials met with the Northern Lights Public Schools board of trustees Oct. 12 to present a $40,000 donation to the YAP program at Cold Lake Middle School. Grade 8 students from CLMS were on hand on share their experiences in the program.

Students at Cold Lake Middle School (CLMS) are getting a leg up when it comes to their prospective careers.

The Youth Achievement Program (YAP) is entering its third year and is offered to all Grade 7 and 8 students at the school. The program allows students to delve deeper into the working world by providing opportunities for job shadows, tours, speakers and other career-based learning both inside and outside the classroom.

“It's such a wonderful opportunity for our kids. It connects different parts of the community, and exposes them to different opportunities they didn't know were there before,” expressed Chan Cusson, CLMS principal.

Last week, the program was affirmed for another year in operation at CLMS after receiving a $40,000 donation from the Imperial Oil Foundation and Imperial's Cold Lake operation.

“We are very pleased to support this program for a third year,” said Darlene Gates, Cold Lake and Conventional Operations Manager for Imperial. “Engaging youth in an initiative that introduces them to career opportunities in the trades is not only positive for the community, but also supports the future of our operations in Cold Lake and our industry as a whole.”

The funding announcement was made during the Oct. 12 meeting of the Northern Lights Public Schools board of trustees. Students from Cold Lake Middle who have participated in YAP were invited to share their experiences with the board, as well as officials from Imperial.

“I liked YAP because it helps kids decide what they want to do and find out about stuff they can do in life. I learned about things I didn't even know before,” said Quinton Julien, a Grade 8 student at CLMS.

Through the program, students have completed career-related training, such as simulating excavator driving and an X-Ray lab at Portage College. They have also partnered on community-based projects including lending a hand in the community garden where students built planter boxes, planted vegetables, and then invited local seniors to show them how to make homemade salsa once the vegetables were ready for harvest.

“My favourite part of YAP was when the speaker came to the school. We had a speaker from Imperial who talked about the trades and certification… We learned about the dangers of the job and job satisfaction,” said Grade 8 student Aaron Thir, explaining that they were able to try-on equipment such as an oxygen tank and gas mask.

“It connected real life learning with classroom learning.”

Fellow Grade 8 student Avery Daniels added, “My favourite was when we were allowed to go to the job shadow. I went to Cold Lake Florist and Trai-Sea Spa. I got to go to the business and meet the people that they deal with on a daily basis. I liked it because when you have the one-on-one instead of a group there's more focus on the topic you want to learn about.”

For young girls at the school, YAP helps broaden their horizon to jobs that don't fall into the typical female careers.

“My favourite was the ‘Girl Power' day. We had a female carpenter who came in and taught us how to make a picnic table in shop,” explained Emma Strickland, Grade 8. “We had one-on-one teaching about the tools and learned how to read blue prints, and made a picnic table… It showed you don't need big muscles to do big jobs.”

Cold Lake Middle School is the second Northern Lights school to run YAP for Grade 7 and 8 students. At Aurora Middle School in Lac La Biche, the program has been offered for over 10 years.

“YAP is successful because of the strong partnerships formed between the schools and the local business communities,” explained board chair Mandi Skogen. “We are very grateful that Imperial recognizes the value of continuing to support this unique program and ensuring we are able to offer these invaluable opportunities to our students.”

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