Lunchtime skateboard program a hit with students at Liverpool school

Dr. John C. Wickwire Academyin Liverpool has been turning its gym into a skate parkat lunchtime, and the students are loving it.

Known as Project Skateboard, the programhas been in place for four years and behaviour-support teacher Isaac Rafuse says the turnout has been "amazing."

The school provides students with the gear andeven offers a hand-painted ramp in the gym to do tricks on.

Rafuse saysthe gym is used for skateboarding every morning, at lunchtime andduring many physical education classes.

When Katy Parsons fromCBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotiavisited the school recently, Keith Brown was eager to show off a new move he had been practising.

"This is a really hard move," says Brown, who is in Grade 4. "I don't know what it's called. I just do a drift on my knees on the board and I just drift around the corner."

Theprogram is partly funded by the Uplift Partnership, which saysit providessupport and learning for school-aged children and youth.

Rafuse also saysthat some companies have provided discounts on equipment.

Skateboards cost between $300 and $350, he says, and other gear like knee pads, helmets, elbow guards and wrist guards total about $150 per student.

Rafuse says the program is teaching the children important social skills.

"Skateboarding is a a great platform for kids to practise being polite to each other," hesays.

"They will bump into each other, people will make mistakes ... you got to help them up. You got to apologize."

Rafuse says he has seen students in the program progress in many ways.

Grade 5 student Ardennes Ozturk,whomoved to Liverpool from Montreal in2022, saysit was exciting to learn that the school offered skateboarding.

"Basically we skateboard and sometimes we also play tag with the skateboards," Ozturk says.

"We just play and sometimes some kids like to run into each otherjust for fun."

Jayden Whynot, who is also in Grade 5,echoed Ozturk's enthusiasm.

"My favourite thing about skateboarding is that you you learn and then get better every couple seconds and then you go up the ramp and you get really better," Whynot says.

Rafuse says other schools in the area have started similar programs in the last two years.

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