Grades 4 to 8 students at Royal Oak School gathered in math and science teacher Brittany Nyenhuis’s classroom Tuesday to watch Canada and the United States face off in Olympic women’s hockey. The viewing was part of a broader effort to immerse students in the Olympic spirit.
Canada lost 5-0 to the Americans in the group stage. The students did not get a “Sidney Crosby, the golden goal” moment from 2010 or an “it’s Poulin again” moment from 2014. The teams could meet again in the gold-medal game Feb. 19, a stage where they have often faced each other at past Olympics.
For Nyenhuis, affectionately known as Mrs. N by her students, the game offered Royak Oak’s pupils a chance to show their patriotism and learn about the role sports play in life and culture.
“I already still remember seeing Sidney Crosby making that winning goal,” she said. “And I hope we get to have those moments with the students. This is such a bonding experience.”
Liam Green, a 10-year-old student, has already shared a similar experience with his family. He said they were vacationing in South Carolina when Connor McDavid — Green’s favourite men’s hockey player and a member of Canada’s Olympic team this year — scored the championship-winning overtime goal against the United States in last year’s National Hockey League Four Nations Face-Off tournament.
“It was like 11 at night,” he said. “Our entire family was like yelling while being in America, so it was kind of funny.”
Teachers have also integrated the Olympics into the curriculum. Nyenhuis said grades 4 and 5 students are studying the human body, including the respiratory system, through the lens of how athletes manage their breathing and train “in order to get their bodies to go.”
Gym teacher Paris Forlin has incorporated Winter Olympic themes into physical education classes. Students have tried adapted versions of Olympic sports, including group figure skating routines and using Frisbees on snow to represent curling.
Mrs. N said students have responded well.
“They’re really interested in it,” she said. “Because most of them are interested in sports in general and seeing how they like translate this onto the schoolyard.”
She pointed to their recess soccer games as an example.
“It’s been interesting for them to see it as like, ‘one day, you may be able to go to the Olympics.’”
That opportunity has already come for one member of the school community. Carter Simpson, who assists with physical education and has Down syndrome, represented Canada in alpine skiing at last year’s Special Olympics in Turin. He won two bronze medals.
He said his parents were very encouraging and believed it set a good example. He said he was most interested in watching skiing but also planned to watch hockey.
Green said Tuesday’s viewing experience mattered on its own.
“They’re important to me because I like watching hockey and I get to be with the people I like being with,” he said.
