Cardboard boats, big learning at Crowther Memorial Junior High School

By Melissa Piche Times Contributor

The Strathmore Aquatic Centre was filled with excitement, creativity, and the occasional splash on Feb. 6, as Grade 8 students from Crowther Memorial Junior High School took part in the school’s annual cardboard boat races.

The event, now a staple at Crowther, has been running since 2019 and was organized by teachers Scott Sackett, Tiffany Callaghan and Earl Sorensen. Sackett said the idea grew out of a smaller competition several years earlier.

“In 2018, we sent a small team of four kids to a contest put on by Skills Alberta,” Sackett explained. “It was a really cool thing, and we thought, ‘We should try and figure out a way to do this for all our Grade 8 kids.’”

Since then, the cardboard boat races have become a yearly program involving every Grade 8 student. Sackett described it as “a pretty fun day,” noting how enthusiastic students are leading up to the event.

To improve student success, teachers added classroom preparation in the weeks before race day. 

“The first year, we didn’t have very many boats making it across at all,” Sackett laughed. “So, we designed a couple of science labs to get them thinking about how to make their boats stronger, watertight and able to float.”

The preparation paid off. 

“Now we get about half the boats to make it across,” he said. “That’s pretty good for a first try at a cardboard boat.”

This year’s races also featured strong community involvement. Judges included a local architect and an engineer, while the fire department attended for the second year in a row. 

“We’ve always tried to get some career tie-ins for the kids,” Sackett said. “It’s a really cool way to make it not just a school thing, but a community thing.”

Students showed both creativity and competitiveness. One boat named George, earned the People’s Choice Award for most impressive boat. While Georges’ design wasn’t the fastest, Sackett said the variety stood out. 

“It’s pretty cool to see all the different ideas they (the students) come up with and how many different looks there are,” he said.

Sackett emphasized the teamwork behind the scenes. 

“The teachers you see are just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “All the Grade 8 teachers pitch in. It’s a big, coordinated effort, and it’s fun to see everyone pull together to do something cool for kids.”