SD73 Students Attended Geneskool

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In the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan, our District Mission is to provide students with learning opportunities and environments that inspire students to thrive. 

Hundreds of enthusiastic senior science students from all over School District 73 attended Geneskool, by Genome BC, at Thompson Rivers University during the first week of May. Geneskool is a full-day, immersive, hands-on lab experience whereby students work together to solve a murder mystery, based on an actual historical crime spree. During this day, students learn advanced science lab techniques, refined problem-solving and collaboration skills, and gain an appreciation for real-world applications of how science is critical to our society. 

Shaelyn from Valleyview Secondary jumped at the opportunity to attend Geneskool, even though she took Biology last semester. She felt this opportunity would help inspire some direction next year at university and wanted to know about the field of genomics as a possible career trajectory.     

Bond from Barriere Secondary has attended Geneskool two years in a row. He had this to say about the lab: ‘It is nice to be able to use tools and skills not available in a high school lab, and to learn from experts in the field about current science and technology’.   

Genomics impacts so much of what we take for granted every day: the trees we plant for lumber and fruit, the microbes that affect human health, as well as the agricultural species we rely on for food, and the organisms that keep our water and soil clean and viable, to name a few.     

World DNA Day was April 25^th, which recognizes the day in 1953 when the structure of the DNA molecule was published in Nature. This illustrates how rapidly science and technology are evolving, and how critical it is to invest in students graduating with knowledge and skills relevant to growing career areas.  People in STEM fields, including skilled trades, can earn 26 percent more money on average and be less likely to experience job loss in Canada, according to Let’s Talk Science.   

In School District 73 a component of intellectual development is to have students develop a curiosity about the world around them, which mirrors the philosophy of Genome BC: a curious mind can change the world. Curiosity is the engine of achievement, according to Sir Ken Robinson, highlighting the value of this critical aptitude to an SD73 graduate. 

Thank you to the science teachers, staff and volunteers from Genome BC, and Thompson Rivers University and to Morgan Whitehouse, District Science Coordinator, for making this important annual event possible.