Students at Tatla Lake Elementary & Jr. Secondary School have a busy weekend coming up as they prepare to host their second annual clothing swap before bringing Cinderella to the stage.
Swap, Don’t Shop!
With Earth Day in mind, staff at Tatla Lake School wanted to get students thinking about recycling and reusing.
“The kids had a great time sorting through the clothes,” Kimberley Ikebuchi, the school’s principal, said of last year’s clothing swap. She said the event helped students develop math skills as they sorted through clothes while also presenting opportunities for collaboration amongst the students themselves as well as with the community.
Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society’s Waste Wise educator Mary Forbes partnered with the school to help bring the event to life. She will be back again this year to talk with students about the harms of the fashion industry before opening the ‘shop’ up to the public. The costs of the textile industry, Ikebuchi explained, include the immense amounts of water needed to produce clothes.
“It’s an opportunity for us to engage in an Earth Day activity, to support the environment and community and to bring awareness around what small differences we can make,” Ikebuchi said.
“They themselves really embraced the concept,” she said of the students.
Tatla Lake is inviting community members to drop off their used clothes at the school until the end of April and attend the clothing swap on May 2 from 1-3 p.m. in the school’s gym.
Any items donated must be cleaned and gently used. You do not need to bring clothes nor money in order to take clothes.
Cinderella with a twist
After wrapping up the clothing swap, students will get right back to work on their theatre production of Cinderella set for May 3, which they’ve been preparing for since January.
Ikebuchi and the school’s music teacher Liz Glazier told the Tribune the story they are bringing to the audience is a “twisted version” of Cinderella, in which the orphaned girl befriends a dog named Rover.
“The young ones have done very well memorizing their parts, they’re ready to go,” said Glazier, who is directing the play. Every student in the small school, from kindergarten to Grade 12, has a role in the play, with some also working on making props for the production.
There will be lots of singing and dancing, and students will be dressed up in costumes elaborately made by an education assistant at the school.
“It’s a team effort,” said Glazier.
The school’s parent advisory committee will be hosting a dinner prior to the play for which tickets must be purchased in advance at $25 for adults and $12.50 for children 12 and under. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and dinner is served at 5 p.m.
The play itself is free to attend and begins at 6:30 p.m.
