IceDreams and Take The Roof Off Winter Showcase (2007)

Falmouth District Elementary School

On February 9, 2007, staff from the N.S. Department of Health Promotion and Protection, Recreation Nova Scotia, and Go for Green joined Falmouth Elementary Principal, Fred MacLean, West Hants Recreation Director, Karen Kehoe, school staff, and 263 primary to grade 6 students for some good old fashioned winter, outdoor fun.

Falmouth District Elementary was chosen as this years provincial IceDreams Showcase.

Ice Dreams is a national program of Go for Green that encourages the development and use of new and existing outdoor rinks in Canada. It aims to provide opportunities for girls and boys of all ages to get active in the outdoors during winter by playing hockey or other unstructured games on frozen ponds and waterways, or backyard, neighbourhood and community rinks. In Nova Scotia, IceDreams falls under the umbrella of the Take The Roof Off Winter initiative ( www.taketheroofoffwinter.ca ).

The soccer field at Falmouth Elementary houses 2 side-by-side outdoor rinks – one 96'x 36', and one 96' x 29'; both were built by Mr. MacLean and parents of students attending the school. Maintenance of the ice (scraping and flooding) is done by Mr. MacLean, students, and parents. The initial filling of the rinks was done by the local volunteer fire department and was used as a training exercise for new volunteers with the department, and local businesses donated, or provided good discounts on needed supplies. This is the 5 th consecutive winter that the school has had an outdoor rink in place and typically, the ice is “in” from the 3 rd week of January until March break.

When asked why he initiated the rink project at the school, Mr. MacLean stated, “I just noticed that on storm days, I didn't see many kids out playing.” Now, after a few years of having the rink, he points out that even when school is closed due to the weather, kids in the local area make their way to the school to play on the rink! “It's just great to see everyone out enjoying themselves, and the parents really appreciate the opportunity too.”

Activity on the rink is integrated into the school schedule through physical education classes, recess, and lunch breaks, so everyone gets lots of time to play there. The school policy states that students using the rinks must where a properly fit helmet. To facilitate that, the school has also purchased a supply of hockey helmets for the students to use. The rinks are also being used after school hours and on weekends by families and older youth in the area, and by groups like Scouts, Cubs, Brownies and Sparks who use the school as a meeting space.

In addition to all of this, the school also has a supply of sleds and snowshoes for student use…and an agreement with adjacent landowners to access their land for snowshoe treks! Falmouth District Elementary School is a wonderful example of how, with some support from a keen school community, great things can happen. Congratulations on Taking the Roof Off Winter!

What is an Ice Dreams Showcase?

IceDreams is a national program developed by Go for Green to encourage the development and use of outdoor rinks in Canada .

Following that, every winter in Nova Scotia communities or schools that have developed a great example of a successful outdoor rink are “showcased” to the rest of the province as inspiration for outdoor, active fun in winter. Past showcases have included the North End rink in Halifax , the Long Pond rink in Windsor , Judique's community rink, the Westside Community Rink in New Glasgow, the pond rink at the MARC in Dayspring, a curling rink built by students at Bayview School in Mahone Bay , and a great rink at Falmouth District Elementary School .

Showcase events can range from a small event for students to a large carnival type day celebrating all that winter offers us! Media from across the province attend the events and share the story of the rink and any surrounding and related activities with the public while Take The Roof Off Winter representatives help celebrate by giving away promotional items to participants enjoying the winter outdoors.

Six showcases can happen each winter – one in each region (Valley, South Shore , Central, Fundy, Highland , and Cape Breton ). If you are interested in being a showcase host, contact Jody Conrad, Outdoor Recreation Consultant at the N.S. Department of Health Promotion and Protection at 424-7589 or conradjo@gov.ns.ca .

“Take home-ice advantage.”