Recently when I was listening to the radio, the song “Small Towns and Big Dreams” by Paul Brandt came on. It was my first time hearing the song, and I immediately associated it with my experience growing up in a small town. After listening to it on repeat for a few days, I started connecting the lyrics with things I have seen and experienced, specifically as a student at New Myrnam School. Although we are a small school of just under 200 students K-12 (Including our MOHC program), we have managed to accomplish so much.

I strongly believe that no matter where you go in life, or what you do, where you come from will always be the basis of everything you accomplish. Where you are raised will influence your future. Although some people may say that growing up in a small town limits your opportunities, I think that it only increases them, and can lead you to much greater things in life. The opportunities I have going to school and growing up in a town so small, “you blink and you miss it,” exceed so many people's expectations.

At NMS, we definitely try to encourage kids to explore their passions as young as possible. When you give younger kids the opportunity to explore things they are interested in, and let them pursue their passions, they are exposed to so much more than if they were purely taught in a traditional way. This is why we start our ‘Career and Technology Foundations’ (CTF) classes in grades five and six. This allows students to have some freedom, and work on projects that excite them. They explore many different creative and educational areas that usually stick with them for the rest of their life. There are CTF options every year from grade five onward. Once students find something they are passionate about, they can continue to work on it throughout the entirety of their school years, and it may even lead to them pursuing it after high school. If kids didn't have this opportunity, there could be many things they never get to experience.

It is not only in our CTF classes that students are able to explore their own passions. They also have many other opportunities within their other classes, and within the extracurricular activities offered at our school. Many of our teachers try to incorporate student-based learning into their lesson plans. We strive to create as many opportunities for our students as possible, from our afterschool crochet club to the various sports we offer. We encourage every student to engage in their interests as much as possible.

The projects that students come up with and work on every year have been recognized by a variety of different groups and foundations. We have received various grants for the many different projects we have going on at all times, including the A+ for Energy grant given by Inside Education, which we have received for 6 years in a row. In 2019, our school was nominated to receive the Energy Efficiency Champion Award. A delegation of students went to Edmonton to receive this prestigious award at the Emerald Awards event hosted by the Alberta Emerald Foundation. This award was presented to us for all of the projects we have done regarding sustainability, and striving to help our community become more environmentally friendly. Also, one of our teachers, Mr. Robert Tymofichuk, was recognized for a Prime Minister's award in STEM for his incredible teaching in our school. As a result, we have recently been recognized by CBC Edmonton for the work we do. They came out to interview our students and staff about the projects we have been working on and they shared our story through the radio and also aired a video on TV. These are just a fraction of the acknowledgments we have received. Considering the size of our school, I believe that the amount of recognition we have acquired is outstanding, and shows how our projects have an impact that reaches beyond our school and into the community.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) has been a huge part of not only all of these projects, but of everything we do as a school. Our projects are complex and require us to learn STEM skills to solve our problems. In order to successfully incorporate STEM in these projects, we have had many different classes and grades collaborate. Quite often we have had to look to cross curricular connections in our math and science classes in order to accurately calculate various things, such as how to balance the nutrient level and pH levels in the water of our hydroponics system, or how much flooring we would need to cover the floor in our ‘cool bus’. Our high school students in “Team Net Zero” are learning coding to invent an automated snow removal system to clear snow from the grid tied solar array on the CTEC facility. In order to accomplish the amazing things we do at our school, we have had to learn to innovate, develop our critical thinking skills, effectively communicate and collaborate to ensure the success of our community. This is especially important since we have such a small population, it has helped everyone grow closer to each other.

Many of these opportunities have led to many of our students going on to do many amazing things in life. The experiences that our school has to offer has helped them accomplish so many things. Although many of them have moved away to bigger places, they will always have the knowledge and connection that they gained from being part of the small town that made them who they are today. So, I believe that everyone who has experienced New Myrnam School can agree with Paul Brandt when he says: “The best things around that I have ever seen, come from small towns and big dreams.”