Program encourages students to do better in Math
Saint John, New Brunswick – The Saint John Sea Dogs, together with more than 400 students from École Millidgeville North School, officially launched the Get FANatical about Math Program today.
Sponsored by Canaport LNG, this comprehensive program is designed to foster math skills of students from kindergarten to grade eight in School Districts 6, 8 and Samuel-de-Champlain school. An upwards of 14,000 students, in 600 different classrooms, are expected to participate in the program, which applies math principles to Sea Dogs hockey.
Joining the students from École Millidgeville North for the program start were several Sea Dogs players including Pascal Amyot, David MacDonald and Sébastien Rioux.
“There is a major need for our children to do better in math,” said David Turk, executive director of the Sea Dogs. “We are fortunate to have a committed partner for this fun and interactive learning program.”
Turk said the Get FANatical about Math Program is a trailblazer within the sports entertainment business.
“This is the first time a math program like this which promotes math skill among children has been initiated by a sports team,” he said. “We expect it will serve as a pilot for similar initiatives by others.
Jorge Ciacciarelli, General Manager of Canaport LNG, said his organization is pleased to be supporting this initiative.
“If students during these formative years can understand how useful math will be to them and how they can apply math skills to everyday situations, they open up great opportunities for themselves.”
“This program is one way to help students get excited about math,” he said. “Our hope is to see students in New Brunswick excel in math and we wanted to do our part to encourage this area of learning.”
Canaport LNG has committed to a three-year sponsorship of the program.
Bev MacDonald, director of education for school district 8, said the Get FANatical about Math Program is an example of how mathematics affects lives on a daily basis “often without us even knowing it. Angles, force, time, distance applies to hockey pucks and so much more. We have to find ways to bring math to life for people and this is a great, fun way to start.”
Andrew Hopper, director of education for school district 6, said his district is pleased to be partnering with the Sea Dogs and Canaport LNG on this important initiative. “Get FANatical about Math is an innovative and exciting supplementary resource which teachers can use to enhance the teaching and learning of math with their students.”
The fully-bilingual program is tailored to the different grade levels and complements the Atlantic Canada mathematics curriculum. Support materials include handbooks for teachers, student workbooks and tutorial and quiz sheets.
As incentives for students, the program provides opportunities to earn Sea Dogs game tickets. There are other participation categories that entitle schools to receive math-related hockey books and draws for two grand prizes of a field trip to Harbour Station where classes will be picked up in the Sea Dogs bus, have lunch with Sea Dog players and watch a team practice.
About Canaport LNG
Canaport LNG Partnership Limited is a partnership between Irving Oil Limited and Repsol. Canaport LNG is to begin operation as a world-class liquefied natural gas receiving and regasification terminal in late 2008. Situated at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, Canaport LNG will have a send-out capacity of 1.2-billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas a day, destined for markets in Canada and the northeastern United States. The project will create approximately 700 jobs during construction. To learn more, please visit www.canaportlng.com.
About the Sea Dogs
The Saint John Sea Dogs are a member of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and are one of 59 member clubs of the Canadian Hockey League. More information is available at www.saintjohnseadogs.com.