Moose Jaw was well represented in the winner’s circle during Heritage Saskatchewan’s provincial Heritage Fair this year, as three students finished in the top 10.
Anabia Yousuf, in Grade 5 at Westmount School, placed fifth for her project about Vimy Ridge, while she also won the 2023 Heritage Fair’s 30th Anniversary Award. Further, Kenzie Crocker, in Grade 6 at Sunningdale School, placed seventh for her display about Jordan’s Principle, while Abby Hogeboom, in Grade 8 at Lindale School, placed ninth for her project about female science pioneer Elsie MacGill.
Crocker was Moose Jaw’s lone award recipient last year.
Heritage Saskatchewan held its provincial fair on June 14 at Government House in Regina. Seven Moose Jaw students participated in total.
Famous battle
Yousuf was excited about how she did, considering this was her first year participating. She noted that five students from Westmount took part, including her brother Muhammed, in Grade 4, whose project focused on D-Day from the Second World War.
She pursued a project about the First World War battle because she is from Pakistan and wanted to learn more about Canadian history.
“It’s really interesting,” she said.
Yousuf, 11, chose Vimy Ridge because her classroom teacher, Debbie Taylor-French, spoke about visiting the site and seeing the towering monument. Taylor-French also spoke about how Canadians pioneered the creeping artillery barrage, which piqued the young student’s interest.
“… I (wanted) to learn more about it, and I didn’t really have much interest in (the) military at first,” said Yousuf.
The Grade 5 student learned that the First World War comprised many smaller battles and not just one climactic clash. Further, she learned new words, such as artillery, shell hole and bayonets, while she discovered that Canada felt more like a real country after capturing a site that no other country could.
Yousuf would like to focus on another battle for next year’s fair. She also wants to visit Vimy Ridge to see the sheep grazing in the shell holes.
Women's pioneer
This year was the first year that Hogeboom — and Lindale School — participated in the Heritage Fair program. She thought attending was a great experience since she also learned much about Government House.
“I’m pretty proud of myself. There was a lot of amazing people. And they had so many great projects,” she said. “I’m proud of how I managed to do and how I placed.”
Hogeboom was in Grade 6 when she came across Elsie MacGill while researching a project about role models.
MacGill was born in Vancouver in 1905 and became the first woman to earn a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1929. She headed the Canadian production of Hawker Hurricane fighter planes during the Second World War, and later became an active feminist; she died in 1980.
“I want to be an aerospace engineer, and as Elsie was an aeronautical engineer, they go quite hand in hand. And I found her story to be inspirational,” Hogeboom said, adding another project in Grade 6 about spaceships kick-started her career aspirations.
Equal treatment
Crocker was pleased with how she performed and thrilled to have finished again in the top 10.
“It was really fun. I really liked presenting (my project) to the judges,” she said.
The Grade 6 student heard about Jordan’s Principle from her mother, Gillian, a teacher and principal at Empire School. The youngster researched the topic and was hooked after learning what happened to a child with Indian status in Manitoba.
Emotionally, Crocker explained that Jordan’s Principle ensures that Aboriginal children can access the same public services as other children. It was named after Jordan River Anderson, a Cree boy who died at age five after waiting for home-based care that was approved when he was two but never arrived because of a financial dispute between the federal and provincial governments.
Jordan’s Principle was put in place to ensure a tragedy like that never happened again.
Crocker added that she wants to participate in the Heritage Fair next year but doesn’t have a project in mind yet.
