ICE School

When you head out to a hockey game, most people see a sign that says "Oilers ICE School" but have no idea what it is. I got the chance to spend a day up close in ICE School on Monday and it answered a bunch of questions I had. What happens is a school applies to bring their class to ICE School and priority is given to some special needs classes and schools outside of the city.

On Monday, I happened to be there when a grade six class from Entwistle attened the school. They show up in the morning and head up to the classroom and on that particular day (October 20) the Sportex was being taken down. So the class got together and walked from Rexall across to the Northlands grounds and watched tractors destroy the walls of the Sportex. The kids then headed back to Rexall where a security guard was waiting outside the entrance doors with his security car. The class got a chance to try out their interviewing skills and then had the opportunity to look inside of the car.

The kids then headed back up to the classroom where they were able to eat their lunches followed by a quick reading period. After gathering together again, it was then time to do a building tour. This is probably everyone's favourite part of the day because we all got to see the ins and outs of Rexall Place.

We first headed up to the gallery section (aka the "nosebleeds") and on this day, the staff at Rexall was actually getting setup for the NBA pre-season game that night. It was an interesting setup, as the basketball floor they used was actually the basketball court from the U of A main gym and the nets were brought in from Vancouver.

While sitting in the seats of the nosebleeds, we all got the chance to sit and watch the Denver Nuggets practice - definitely something that is not seen every day!

After touring the other levels of Rexall, the class was finally taken to level 2, a level where no one sees but the employees of Rexall, which was a neat experience for everyone. After the tour, the class headed back up to the classroom and wrote about their experience in their journals. After a quick question and answer period, the class then headed back down and out to the bus after a busy first day.

Since the class was from out of town, they only attend the school for four days, compared to the five days for schools from Edmonton. The difference between the two is that the four days are longer days, as more information must be crammed into a shorter period of time.

Overall, it was a great experience for everyone, including me as I now know what the ICE School is and can see the signs hanging around Rexall and know what they're all about.