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Glendon School receives huge prize for video competing in the Samsung Challenge.

Staff and students at Glendon School had a reason to celebrate last week as during a March 21 school assembly, the students learned the school was a finalist in a nationwide contest, and would receive $20,000 in Samsung technology.
The Glendon Grade 10 drama class pictured with two of many teachers involved in their initiatives were very involved with participating in the self-sufficient meal programs
The Glendon Grade 10 drama class pictured with two of many teachers involved in their initiatives were very involved with participating in the self-sufficient meal programs at the school and making the video for the Samsung Challenge.

Staff and students at Glendon School had a reason to celebrate last week as during a March 21 school assembly, the students learned the school was a finalist in a nationwide contest, and would receive $20,000 in Samsung technology.

The Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Challenge encourages students to use science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) ideas to come up with solutions for current problems. The challenge was for schools from across Canada to show what their school is doing to “solve for tomorrow.&”

In the case of Glendon School, the problem students set their minds to fixing was that of the hard economic times and job losses.

“These students are a group of true altruists, they'll work hard to help others no matter what, and during times like these, their actions are very important,&” said principal Janice Muench. “In a small village of 450 people, hard times like these band everyone together and that's exactly what's happening here.&”

Glendon School and the community of Glendon have felt the effects of the economic slowdown firsthand. Staff members at the school were noticing kids coming to school hungry, which spurred the development of a breakfast and hot lunch program. The school received a $3,500 grant from the Village of Glendon to keep the program running, but staff members realized there was a large number of students using the program daily, and knew that the grant was not enough to sustain operations.

This is when students stepped in to find a way for the school to grow their own food and cut the costs so the programs could continue. The students involved spoke to an expert who explained the reasons why it would be difficult to grow food outdoors due to the climate of the area, the soil conditions, and what vegetables would grow best in this area.

The students put in an indoor garden tower in the school to grow fresh vegetables indoors, and came up with the idea of growing foods in community gardens with the seniors and in planters around town, showcasing how they applied simple ideas to conquer major issues.

The Drama class made a video with narrations describing all of the initiatives and ideas that are being put into action at the school, and submitted it for the Samsung Challenge, which led to the school ultimately being successful in the bid to be one of 11 finalists in the contest.

However, Glendon School is currently still in the running for more money. Out of the 11 finalists, voting online has begun. Two winners will be chosen and will be awarded an additional $50,000 in technology and an opportunity to host a celebration event at their school. The voting goes on until April 18th, so be sure to go watch Glendon School's video at http://pages.samsung.com/ca/solvefortomorrow/English/vote.html and submit a vote for the school. The winners of the challenge will be announced on Monday April 25th.

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