Snow Snake Sighting at Legacy P.S.!

Post date: Mar 16, 2013 2:28:35 PM

By Brenda Burton

You may have seen the students of Legacy Public School enjoying a variety of winter sports these last few months. We have taken full advantage of the “winter wonderland” conditions in our neighbourhood this season, as students participated in the Snow Snake Game and snowshoeing.

For those who may not be familiar, Snow Snake is a traditional First Nation winter game which has been played for more than 1,000 years in North America. Our Grade 4 students, under the direction of Mr. Faulds, built a lengthy snow track with snow walls along our school yard fence. The snake itself is a piece of smooth wood about 1.3 metres in length, carved with a head and tail end. Students take turns throwing the “snake” down the long, packed track and then the distances are measured, with the furthest throw scoring the most points. Our Grade 4 students led the game at recess breaks so that students of all ages could try out their snow snake skills.

In addition, we borrowed a class set of snowshoes from the YDSB Outdoor Education Centre for two weeks and many of our classes visited our neighbouring park and pond area to make snowshoe tracks in freshly fallen snow. As our thoughts turn to spring, we hope that you have found ways to stay active and to embrace the snow this winter too!