Inspiring our grade 5 students to stay active
May 19, 2020
Strong, confident and beautiful; the positive message of Go Girl 2020!
The 17th annual Go Girl event looked a little different this year through a virtual lens. Every year, grade 5 girls in Red Deer gather at the Collicutt Centre for Go Girl, and the boys at the GH Dawe Centre for Grow Boy. Together, these events give approximately 1,600 students the chance to celebrate their uniqueness, try new things and have fun. Both Go Girl and Grow Boy were programs developed specifically for grade 5 students as they approach many changes that coincide with middle school. It is no doubt an exciting time for youth but it can also be scary and the changes during this time can be a hard adjustment proving to be the time many drop out of organized physical activity and social groups.
“The purpose of Go Girl is to showcase how being active and healthy improves overall mental, physical and social wellbeing,” said Go Girl Committee Member Denise Fredeen. Denise is a long time committee member and was excited for her daughter Chloe to finally experience the variety of physical, nutritional and mindful activities with her peers. “Re-creating this experience so the girls could part-take in similar experiences virtually was an easy decision,” said Denise.
On Friday, every grade 5 girl with RDPSD and RDCRS received an email with links and specialized activities just for them. Although this year’s event was delivered virtually; the content was still inclusive and based around celebrating individual uniqueness, building positive self-esteem, practicing daily mindfulness and creating healthy habits. “We are truly sad they will not be able to join us this year at Go Girl. We hope they still take time to stay active and healthy at home and are happy to support them in any way we can” says Denise.
All Go Girl participants are encouraged to spend the next month inspiring each other to lift each other up by tagging their activity photos to #gogirlreddeer2020 on Instagram between now and June 15th. We can’t wait to see ‘Strong, Confident; Beautiful’ City of Red Deer grade five girls take the lead as they inspire each other through positive social media.