At a public elementary school in Ottawa, plays on the ice are leading to important teaching moments in the classroom.
Two senior and junior kindergarten classes at Roberta Bondar Public School have joined forces to teach their students about hockey – more specifically, the series between the Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"Sometimes it changes depending on the day whether they are a Sens or a Pens fan, and that's okay," says Angela Martin.
Martin has a unique connection to both teams; Her father, Jacques Martin, is an Assistant Coach with the Penguins and a former longtime Ottawa Senators Head Coach.
"We made sure the kids knew early that it wouldn't hurt my feelings if they cheered for the Sens," she said.
Jacques Martin visited his daughter's classroom last year after winning the cup and this year he provided the class with team towels to provide a little Penguins' pride.
That sparked several weeks of daily lessons about empathy, forgiveness, friendship and respect.
"We have worked a lot on character education and reasons why people cheer for different teams and we've talked about why some of the kids cheer for Ottawa and how I cheer for Pittsburgh because that's where my dad works and that's okay," Martin said.
Martin's fellow teacher and colleague, Barb Nicholl, is a Sens fan and has decorated her neighbouring classroom accordingly. Both wear their team jersey on game days, while teaching their group of students, ages 4-6, about hockey, the protective equipment worn during games, and lessons on accpetance.
"We all come from difference places and need to respect each other's opinions and so that's what we have been working on," Nicholl said.
Over the last few weeks, students in both classes have drawn photographs of themselves as hockey players, created hats and other team clothing out of paper and even played games of pretend hockey in the classroom.
And while some of the students have a favourite team, the teachers said many alternate from one day to the next.
