Today I had the pleasure of meeting a grade 5 class from Sir Wilfred Grenfell school in East Vancouver.
I had assembled all of the stuff I thought these 10/11 year olds might be interested in:
- 
All 3 of my legs (the fourth does not require assembly)
All 3 of my legs (the fourth does not require assembly)- A handful of race numbers
- A handful of race medals
- A Team Canada triathlon jersey
- Some gels
- Innovative Fitness temporary tattoos
These kids have been working on "Medicine Wheels" - learning about, and understanding the 4 elements of the wheel - Mind, Body, Spirit and Emotion. I was impressed by the subject matter, and their grasp of it.
Mrs. Finden (their teacher and my friend) had the kids well prepared with dozens of questions - good ones too... I was very impressed by the class's interest, intelligent questions, and spirit. They loved telling me what their goals were and what they did to try to achieve them - there was some real drive in the room!
Toughest question?
Ding Hao: "Where did they put your leg after they cut it off?"
MJ: "You mean? Yeah... Ummm.... well...... hmmm...... the garbage?... I guess.?..?"
Kids: "eeeeewwwwww!!!!"
Ha ha ha.... in 13 years I haven't been asked that one. I thought about saying "the hospital incinerator" but, since I wasn't too familiar with the 5th grade mind at that stage, I didn't want to give the kids (or myself) nightmares...
Speaking of the 5th grade mind, they chastised me for inappropriate visuals in my Haney 2 Harrison Race Report - seems they were quite "shocked" by the prosthetic bum in one of the pictures. Just kidding.... I think I found the target demographic for fake butts....
After a question and answer session and more useful chats about goals, and overcoming adversity and never quitting etc. we headed out to the field for a "race".
After putting the kids through a one-lap warm-up and a little stretch we toed-the-line and had a sprint race. They pushed me hard but I was victorious (phewww!) - I guess they'll have to have me back next year to see if they are fast enough to beat me!
It was a great afternoon. Thanks for inviting me Mrs. Finden and thanks to all of the kids!
Some pics (click to enlarge):
Warm-up lap....
Stretching - we don't need any blown hammies in this race...
More stretching...
The race... check out the spirited cheering!
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9 comments:
Awwwwhhhh how sweet! Man those kids I tell ya. They ask the most whack questions. Sounds like a great exeperience ;D
That really was great of you to take the time to go out and spend time with those kids. You really set a great example. Awesome!
Hey Meyrick,
What a surprise to see that you had already posted our class pictures of our "Afternoon with Meyrick"! The class loved meeting you. You should have seen the proud look on Ding Hao's face at the personal mention! The class was so excited by your kind words that they cheered!
You really inspired them.
Thank you so much,
Your Friend,
Fionna
Amazing post....simply AMAZING!!!!
Hi,im the girl at the pic at the bottom left and im the 2 person with the gold jacket (i look different)
By judy
To Meyrick
HAY!Meyrick i am tommy the guy with the yellow and black sweater!beside dinghao ANYWAY BYE!
FROM TOMMY
MEYRICK
That's a darn cute blog post and it looks like you had a great time with the class!
Hi Meyrick This is Danah from Mrs. Finden class. Well I guess that's all BYE!!!!!!
o.o
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