Freedom Thinkers Education

I am posting this in hopes that anyone who sees it will help spread the word. Carol is my sister, and we would appreciate any help we can get for her and Lowell.

Benefit Dance and Fundraising Event for Carol and Lowell Nelson

Dear Friends and Community Members,

We are writing to share the news of a devastating fire that recently occurred in Pink Mountain, which resulted in Carol and Lowell Nelson (my sister and brother-in-law) losing their home and all their possessions. Unfortunately, due to the use of wood heat and the distance from fire services, they did not have fire insurance.
In the wake of this tragic event, we have been deeply moved by the outpouring of support and kindness from our community. Many people have reached out with offers to help, and we are incredibly grateful for your generosity.

To support Carol and Lowell during this difficult time, we are organizing a benefit dance at the Pomeroy Barn on Thursday, August 1st, from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM. We invite you all to join us for an evening of music, dancing, and community spirit.
Event Details:

• Date: Thursday, August 1st
• Time: 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM
• Location: Pomeroy Barn: 11569 Pomeroy Rd
• Admission: $20 per person

The event will feature a live local band (Me & the Boys) and mixer dances by Angie. Water, tea, and coffee will be served. Feel free to bring a dessert if you would like. There will also be a basket available for cards or donations for those who wish to contribute further.

For those who would like to help but are unable to attend, we will also be holding an online auction and have set up a GoFundMe page to collect donations. Details for these will be shared as they become available.

If you prefer to send money directly, you may contact me, Sandra Cushway, at 250-262-5862 or [email protected].
Any assistance you can provide, whether through attending the dance, making a donation, or participating in the silent auction, will be greatly appreciated by Carol and Lowell as they begin to rebuild their lives.

Thank you for your support and compassion.
Warm regards,
Sandra Cushway
250-262-5862
[email protected]

Our final drama production of the year is ready to roll! Please join us for "North Woods Nonsense". The students have worked very hard and are excited to entertain you for the evening! Everyone welcome!

Join us this Friday for our school Entrepreneur Fair! Everyone welcome!

Our students have been working hard on their next drama production, Monster in the Closet, and we are ready to show it off! Sometimes, the monster in our closet isn't quite what we're expecting...
All are welcome, hope to see you there!

We're excited to annouce our next school drama production of the year is ready to go! "If the Shoe Fits" is a fun twist on a beloved classic. All are welcome, and we hope to see you there!

We are excited to present our first school drama production of the 2023/2024 year. Anne of Green Gables is a timeless Canadian classic full of joy and impactful moments that will pull at your heartstrings. Everyone welcome, and we hope to see you there!

Our second alumni drama production is ready to roll! We are excited to share with you "Males Order Brides", a roaring comedy in which a lawyer and an actress attempt to perform an elaborate life insurance scam involving many fictional blushing brides. As expected, things go horribly off the rails in this western inspired play!
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.

We are so excited to announce the dates for our very first alumni drama performance!
Our summer production of “A Murder by Indecision” is performed entirely by students who have ‘graduated’ from Freedom Thinkers and have come back to put on another fantastic show.

This play is a comedic murder-mystery with more twists than even the author herself can predict; in fact, she doesn’t even know how it ends!

Our performance dates are:
Monday, July 24th
Tuesday, July 25th
Wednesday, July 26th

All shows will begin at 7:00 PM at the Freedom Thinkers Education campus (5730 Baldonnel Road). Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door. Tea, coffee, and juice will be provided during the intermission.

Please show your support and enjoy an evening of laughs and community spirit. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. We hope to see you there!

A week ago today, we got the nicest visit from our alumni students who are graduates this year. We are extremely proud of all these graduates and it warms our heart when each and every one of them come back to see us. Congratulations to all of this year's graduates!

Our next school drama production of the year, Krazy Kamp, is ready to go!! It's been a bit hectic between fires and evacuation notices, but the students have been extremely dedicated, passionate, and have put in a lot of hours of hard work. They are very excited to show you their show about a pair of wacky summer camps, disgruntled investors, mistaken identities, gangsters, and a loose buffalo. Everyone welcome. Dates are as follows:

Monday, May 29th

Tuesday, May 30th

Thursday, June 1st

The show will start at 7:00 pm, and include a dessert theatre during intermission.

Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door.
We would love to see you there!

Well I think everyone knows that I am not much of a "poster" so two posts in one week is really over the top for me! I did want to take this time to thank everyone for your heartfelt replies as there is no way I will get to each one of you individually. I am still finding new strands with more comments on them each day as my FB skills are rather pathetic. :)

Please know that I have read and been extremely touched by every one of your thoughtful and encouraging words. I feel truly blessed to work in such an amazing profession, with an amazing team, and amazing children and parents over the years. I had people that I taught (or taught their children) from 30 years ago comment! Who gets to have a career/profession like that?

So.....THANK YOU, each and every one of you that took the time to share such thoughtful comments. They are greatly appreciated by myself, and our entire staff.

Oh my, as I read the comments about the rating from the Fraser Institute, I smile, I shake my head, and I find myself needing to clarify a few things.

First off, anyone that knows me knows that I couldn't agree more with the comments about the outcomes being based on one test. We are extremely proud of our school and what we do here every day. Although it is nice to get "a good grade" on the provincial "report card" what we are really proud of is how well our children do on a daily basis. We are proud of the fact that we just completed our 6-year inspection as an independent school and the inspector (that travels all over the world) said that we had the most competent, confident students he had ever seen. If you would like to see some of this confidence, I would encourage you to join us next Wednesday (March 15th) to watch the drama production put on by the students of our school - they do a truly amazing job!

We also have a 1:7 ratio of educating adults to students. We have this ratio because we believe that educating is about many things combined - building relationships with students, teaching academics, teaching the fine arts, teaching critical thinking skills, giving students voice, and expecting good behaviour and high standards. These skills/experiences are achieved because of the staff we have and the environment we have created together. We do not have new desks, new chairs, new anything, because we don't believe that is what makes good learning - people do. Because of this, we are able to take students that are struggling with learning and provide more help for them. We take academically high students, students that struggle with academics and/or behavioural issues, students that have special needs, students that are on behavioural plans, "average" students who have no designated labels: our student body is composed of a wide variety of students and we work and plan around their specific needs.

The goal of our school is to help students. It is as simple as that. Do we have problems? Of course we do. When we have them, we work together as a team to try to solve them, as I would expect any good school team to do. What makes me a bit sad about this whole thing though, is I wonder why someone getting a compliment or a positive comment makes us feel we need to justify why they got it. Can't we just be happy for them? A very wise superintendent once said to me that "real leadership is the ability to stick to your dreams for long enough that critics realize that you are going to get there one way or another and then become the followers."

Freedom Thinkers Education was and is a dream of ours. It is a place where we try to provide the best possible education for all students and educators. I would encourage anyone and everyone to come for a tour or ask questions about our philosophies and programs - I can talk on for hours about them. 🙂 In the meantime, thank you for all the positive comments, and all the best to all the educators out there (be that teachers, students, administrators, parents, etc.) that strive to make the best and most positive experiences for students possible.

Come join us for nights of theater and entertainment. Everyone welcome! "Jolly Roger and the Pirate Queen" will start at 7:00 PM at Freedom Thinkers Education Campus and include a dessert theater during intermission. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. For tickets, please email [email protected]. We hope to see you there on one of the following dates:
Tuesday, March 7th, 2023
Thursday, March 9th, 2023
Wednesday, March 15th, 2023

Come join us for nights of theater and entertainment. Everyone welcome! "Knights of the Rad Table" will start at 7:00 PM at Freedom Thinkers Education Campus and include a dessert theater during intermission. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. For tickets, please email [email protected]. We hope to see you there on one of the following dates:
Thursday, December 8th, 2022
Monday, December 12th, 2022
Wednesday, December 14th, 2022

Congratulations to all our Science Fair students; we are extremely proud of you! And thank you to all the staff, parents, helpers, and organizers of this special event. It is greatly appreciated.

Grades 4-6
Lucy – Silver
Anna/Kanna – Silver
Mia – Gold

Grades 7-9
Shawnna – Gold
Sage – Gold
Josh – Gold

In addition to the medals, our older students also did extremely well in the awards department (see below). 😊

Shawnna:
-People’s Choice Award
-Agrologists Award
-Animal Care Award
-Agriculture in the Classroom Award
-Sanofi Biogenious Canada Award
-BC Science Teachers Award

Sage:
-Women in Engineering and Geoscience Award
-Julia Lane Award
-Honourable mention – top grade 7-9 Award

Josh:
-Honourable mention – top grade 7-9 Award

Nationals: Canadian Wide Science Fair
Sage and Josh were 2 of the 5 students from the region chosen to represent this area at the Nationals in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Due to restrictions, this will be held virtually.