Princess Margaret celebrated the Olympics and Paralympics throughout February and March with tremendous enthusiasm and school spirit.
The school kicked off the celebration with a vibrant display of Olympic artifacts and decorations, proudly cheering on Team Canada. Staff at the Terry James Resource Centre created a medal count board, which was updated daily as the school followed Olympian stories and medal wins. They are continuing as they track our Canadian Paralympians as well. The school gathered together to watch the women's and men's silver medal hockey games with plans to also watch a sledge hockey game. Canada has so much to celebrate!
Olympic Play Day Preparations
The school's celebration continued with a magnificent Olympic Play Day. Students from across the school were placed into mixed‑age teams and gathered to create team flags representing the many families of Princess Margaret Public School. They also created team cheers to get ready for the big event.
Olympic Day – February 13
On February 13, PMPS hosted its full Olympic Day outdoors and made the most of the fresh snowfall! Students took part in a variety of activities including:
Snowshoeing
Obstacle courses
Tug‑of‑war
Speed skating
Curling
Intermediate students served as team leaders and did an exceptional job showing kindness, patience, and enthusiasm as they guided their groups from station to station.
PMPS opened the day with their own Opening Ceremonies—complete with an Olympic cauldron—and ended with a school‑wide Closing Ceremonies to celebrate everyone’s efforts.
Welcoming Paralympian Andrew Healy
On February 12, they were honoured to welcome Andrew Healy, a renowned Paralympic champion swimmer and multi‑medal winner at the World Championships, Commonwealth Games, and Paralympic Games.
Andrew shared powerful lessons with students:
We are all good enough, strong enough, and we matter.
Everyone has their own superpower.
Hard things are not impossible—they just take effort.
When life knocks us down, we choose how we get back up.
Everyone faces challenges, and it is absolutely OK to ask for help.
He returned to the school on March 10 to speak specifically about the Paralympics and answer student questions. Andrew reminded students that they don’t need to conquer the whole world—just our own. Everyone matters, and success comes from effort, commitment, and character, even when no one is watching.
Andrew’s story as a bone cancer survivor at age 6 and lung cancer survivor at age 8 (the same cancers that Terry Fox had) inspired the entire community. He also shared this message with the School Council on March 5, who helped bring him to our school virtually.
Visit from Artistic Swimmer Claire Scheffel– 2024 Olympian
Also on February 20, the school was incredibly fortunate to welcome Claire Scheffel, a 2024 Canadian artistic swimmer for team Canada to the school. Claire and her team placed sixth in the world at the Olympics and she spoke about her journey to becoming an artistic swimmer and her experiences at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Students were thrilled to meet her—many asked her to sign their Canadian flags! Claire also shared her Commonwealth Games bronze medal and shared several of her competition costumes. Her videos and pictures captured the students' attention, and all were in awe of what her and teammates could accomplish in the swimming pool. She truly inspired the Mustangs with her passion, dedication, and Olympic spirit.
PMPS will continue to follow and celebrate the incredible achievements of Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes. It has truly been a remarkable month of learning, inspiration, and Mustang pride!
