Jun. 03, 2022
On May 29, 2022,
Banff Trail School hosted our inaugural board game event. Over the past couple of years, we used funds from both our School Society and from lunchtime activity fees to purchase a wide range of strategic, engaging board games that are suitable for our K-5 population, and can be played in both English and French. These games include Word on the Street Junior, The Mind, Lost Cities, Onitama, Spot It!, Just One, Santorini, Blokus, and Dr. Eureka.
Having missed out on some valuable leadership opportunities during the course of the pandemic, we also used this event as an opportunity for our Grade 5 students to lead some learning. About one third of our Grade 5 students attended a number of lunch hour learning sessions leading up to the event, wherein they learned how to play and teach the games that would be available to play at the event. Families were also welcome to bring along their own games, but encouraged to explore and learn some of the games provided as well.
At the event, students did a masterful job of teaching and supporting the playing of the games with our families, which ranged in age from 3 to 80+ years old. It was a great opportunity for our students to experience that they have the capacity, as experts, to teach and support others of any age.
The three-hour event itself drew an attendance of over 150 people, demonstrating strong interest from our student population of approximately 330 students. Families had the chance to meet other families, learn and laugh together, visit the inside of their school (which has had restricted access for much of two years), bond as a family unit, and learn a myriad of skills through game-based learning. Feedback was exclusively positive from attendees. Many families also noted that this event served to introduce them to a few games that they planned to acquire for home play.
We were very proud of our Grade 5 leaders, and thank all attendees for helping to make this joyful learning event a success. Well-chosen board games can serve as an excellent conduit for critical thinking skills development, along with many other social and academic skills. We look forward to continuing this tradition in the years to come.
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