Prairie Central Adventist Academy in Winnipeg is celebrating 100 years of education this year, and one of the ways they're commemorating this is by challenging the students with a unique reading goal.
"We put out a challenge this year, challenging our students to read a certain number of minutes," says Ian Mighty, the principal of Prairie Central Adventist Academy. "At the same time, if they're collecting funds for the project we have here at the school, if they achieve those goals, then the five of us would spend a night on the school roof."
Mighty has done this challenge before, roughly 20 years ago. However, the other four teachers- Mr. Waite, Mr. Jereos, Mr. Ola, and their chaplain, Mr. Young- have not.
"Interestingly, our school is also celebrating 100 years of existence here in Winnipeg," says Mighty. "Nineteen years ago, some students sent me to the roof after reading 60,000 minutes. I dared them, I challenged them. We decided to do this again."
This time, the challenge includes the students raising $5,000 to renovate the school's kitchen, which is in major need of an upgrade. On the reading end, Mighty and the teachers gave grade 3 to 12 students six weeks to reach the goal of reading 2,500 minutes each. The kindergarten to grade 2 classes have a slightly smaller goal. They have until Mar. 14, 2025, to reach their goal.
"I think we're all very excited about it," says Mr. Alvin Waite, the grade 7 and 8 teacher. "We've added on to make it a little more exciting. If they reach their goal, I'll shave my beard, and Pastor Young will shave his head."
If people are interested, they can help the students reach their fundraising goal by donating any amount to their website.
Education and Faith
Prairie Central Adventist Academy is located at 56 Grey St. in Winnipeg.
"We're a K-12 school, catering to almost 230 students," says Mighty. "We have two campuses. Our K-2 school is a satellite campus. We've been around since 1924. We're a faith-based entity, sponsored by the Seventh Adventist Church in Canada."
To celebrate its centennial year, the academy is doing many activities, which include this reading challenge.
"It's a big milestone," says the principal, Mighty. "We're happy to be a part of this moment in history in our school. We have a big homecoming celebration that's been planned for June 27-30. We have various alumni who are expected to be a part of that celebration. We've taken each month this year to do something in commemoration of this centennial celebration."