Conexus John Chisholm School Warriors Mentorship Program

Talk, table tennis and questions all took place at the school today. And people say nothing productive gets done at school these days.

A visit to the John Chisholm School today is an ongoing partnership shared with Conexus, the Moose Jaw Warriors and the John Chisholm School. The partnership has been designed to offer the students of John Chisholm a unique opportunity to develop a relationship through conversation with the Warriors' players. The goal of the program is to offer a mentor to the students of John Chisholm. That mentor would be a Warriors' players and the goal is to build a rapport with the students. The program has continued this season and has been a positive experience for the students at the school.

"The program with the Warriors has been really good. The kids this morning were asking about the guys (Warriors) even though sometimes these students can be a bit stand-offish about it, said Don Hand, Principal of John Chisholm School.

"The students today were curious (and interested) about what was going to happen. They were looking forward to the visit."

Moose Jaw Warriors, Quinton Howden, Cody Beach and Kenton Miller, spent some time this morning getting to know the students. There was a discussion about a few different topics that related to both hockey and life, which is a component of the program. But the informal part is the secondary component of the program, where the Warriors and the students do activities, which is the main objective of the mentorship program. Without an agenda, the players and students are able to play table tennis and converse without the pressure or burden of structure. By encouraging a non-agenda atmosphere, the relationships can grow and open up.

Hand said, in a conversation prior to today's visit, I have been really impressed with the guys, how open and flexible, they have been.

The program pre-dates both Principal Hand, of the John Chisholm School and Becky Tremblay, Community Relations Regional Coordinator for Conexus. But the ongoing partnership has developed a relationship between the school and Conexus where Conexus provides many different opportunities and necessary needs for the students.

"Our key priorities areas that we look at as a sponsor in our communities (are) youth and youth development," said Tremblay. This was a very good fit for us."

The relationship with the Warriors, Conexus and the John Chisholm School spawn out the aforementioned affiliation. This partnership will continue to develop from season to season and all the individuals involved hope the development of the mentorship program continues its present success.

For more information about the Moose Jaw Warriors community involvement, please check our website under the "Community Corner" header.