W. J. Mouat Secondary in Abbotsford has won a national competition in career exploration.
The Let’s Talk Careers event was held by Skills Canada, Let’s Talk Science and ChatterHigh to engage students in career discovery and exploration.
The event ran from April 11 to May 20 on the ChatterHigh platform and gave students the opportunity to learn about careers in the skilled trades, technologies and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).
Students from across Canada answered a 10-question daily quiz to earn points towards their personal and school leaderboards.
The schools with the highest ranking win a cash prize, and the students who answer the most questions correctly in the allotted time also win personal cash bursaries.
RELATED: Mouat Secondary in Abbotsford wins national Let’s Talk Careers competition
The competition involved almost 6,900 students from 282 schools. Of those, W. J. Mouat had 510 participants (students, teachers and parents), and 48 students – four of whom placed in the top 20 in Canada – won bursaries.
Mouat Secondary took the top school prize, winning $1,200 and the title of “Canada’s Most Informed School.” This is the sixth time the school has won the national title.
The school held a virtual winners’ celebration on June 7, which was attended by Stan Petersen, chair of the Abbotsford board of education.
He commended principal Linda Pollastretti and staff – including Michael Pearson, district principal for careers; career planner Mark Thiessen; guidance counsellor Paul Gill; and math and science teacher Sebastian Gibson – for the win.
“I’m very proud of our career programs. But it doesn’t happen by chance … You need all of those components for success. You also need students who are dedicated, especially over this difficult time, to have the perseverance to answer those 10 questions every day,” Petersen said.
Pollastretti said the school has a “robust” careers program, with staff like Thiessen and Gill, who are always talking to their students about “the opportunities that are out there.”
“One of the things I appreciate about the competition is it certainly expands the opportunity for kids to see the possibilities outside of what would generally be their friends and family,” she said.