Peterborough Blogs
Top 20 Aspiring Entrepreneurs To Participate In Camp Startup
/Twenty successful applicants have been chosen to participate at Camp Startup, an adventure by FastStart Peterborough (a youth entrepreneurship training partnership that brings together Trent University, Fleming College and the Innovation Cluster).
Each participant was chosen based on their innovative business ideas required in the applications, ranging from helping the environment to increasing accessibility.
The chosen applicants (they are between the ages of 18 to 29) are: Richard Mathieu, Kasandra Gill, Abdullah Alvi, Conor Lynch, Amber Pula, Katrina Schouten, Ranvijay Singh, Sulfiya Moideen, Amitozdeep Singh, Vinny Lana, Krishma Gabba, Geoff Wolfer, Gaurav Ahuja, Erica Rankin, Reilly de Jong, Meet Nakrani, Tyson McDonald, Atam Goyal, Dylan Trepanier and Timothy Bissonnette.
Some of the aspiring entrepreneurs chosen for Camp Startup
The camp takes place September 14th to 16th, and the winning team will receive incredible new entrepreneurship skills and $500 toward their new business.
The Top 20 will hit the ground running on the Friday evening (September 14th), as the campers arrive at Camp Kawartha for an icebreaker. This will be followed on Saturday and Sunday by team-building exercises while implementing their own enterprise ideas.
To end the experience on Sunday, campers in their group will pitch to a panel of established judges in entrepreneurship and business. The winning team will split $500 cash to go towards entrepreneurial pursuits.
Many past participants of the experience have since went on to build businesses through both the FastStart program and the Innovation Cluster.
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Peterborough Public Library Foundation Donating $25,000 To Library For New Children's Furniture
/The Peterborough Public Libary, which recently re-opened after a beautiful renovation and facelift, is receiving a $25,000 donation from its Library Foundation for the cost of the new furniture in the Children's Department.
"We conducted a fundraiser last year, from Spring through to Fall, specifically to raise money to purchase new furniture for our Library's new Children's Department," says Foundation Chair Bruce Gravel.
View from children's area
The Foundation exists to support the Library, and encourages bequests and donations on behalf of the Library, which go to the delivery of better facilities and services.
The Foundation typically funds special projects and services that are not covered in the Library's annual operating budget—a recent example being the January 30th donation of $250,000 towards the library's expansion expenses. In past years, the Foundation has helped with the purchase of internet stations, security gates, shelving, auditorium furniture, and kitchen equipment.
Those wishing to donate to the Library Foundation can visit the Library's website and click on the "Donate" button. For further information on the Foundation, call 705-745-5382, ext. 2301.
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St. Patrick CES To Host Catholic Board Robotics Competition
/Design, check. Coding, check. Math, check. Problem solving, check. Team work, check. Fun, check.
The annual Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board Robotics Competition at St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough will have it all as they host 16 teams from six schools on November 9th, competing in three robotics challenges from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Photo from last year's competition
Participants will compete with Lego Mindstorms robots, which will be built before the competition, and students will be given time between competitions to upgrade robots as needed.
“This event inspires students to work together to solve problems in real time, while competing in a fun, good-spirited competition,” St. Patrick CES principal Karan Leal says. “Students design, program and code their own robots. They learn great STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills and we tend to get as many girls participating as boys, which is really promising to see.”
THE MAZE CHALLENGE
This challenge is to successfully finish the maze within two minutes. A robot must be able to navigate a maze from start to finish using either its touch or ultra-sensors. The winner will be the robot that makes it the farthest or finishes the maze the fastest.
THE HOCKEY CHALLENGE
Teams will create two robots that can move or hit a ball into a net. The robots will be run by a remote control. Teams will play against opponents in a round-robin format. The team that scores the most goals in the five-minute game will win. In the event of a tie, there will be a best-of-five shootout.
THE ROBOT CHALLENGE
Robots will fight for five minutes in a small arena. Robots can have any Lego battle attack strategies such as spinners, swinging arms, or shooting balls. Points will be awarded by the referee. The team wins by having the most points at the end of the five-minute match, by disabling the other robots, and/or by pushing the other robots out of the arena.
Check out this short video of last year’s Robotics Competition for a glimpse of all the excitement...
Rotary Club Of Peterborough Installs Buddy Bench At St. Catherines Elementary School
/The Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha presented its first Rotary Buddy Bench to St. Catherines Catholic Elementary School Principal Shelley Adair and the staff and students of the school.
Nate Loch, a former student there and the inspiration for the project, shared candidly with the group in the school library his past experiences in both elementary and high school regarding bullying—of being both the victim and the perpetrator of bullying.
Left to Right: Donna Geary, Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha; Donna’s son, Nate Loch; Past President Kim Winter; St. Catherines Principal Shelley Adair; Rotary Club President Len Lifchus.
Nate closed his powerful talk with this message:
“I am optimistic looking towards the future of the schooling systems, and I’ve seen the great effort undertaken from the school board to try and tackle the gigantic problem of bullying. But this is where it starts, and this is where it can end—right here in this school, in the playgrounds and everywhere in between.
"I hope that as teachers you can guide the students into using this bench to promote inclusiveness and to be open to the idea of socializing with people they aren’t familiar with, or they might not be comfortable around. I hope to see this project succeed, and if it were to change the perception of a single child, I’d say it will have been a success.”
Lansdowne Place Station: LP Introduces Train Rides For Kids This Summer
/Lansdowne Place has just launched a train at the mall for this summer, and it's already been a hit with kids and their parents.
TRAIN ENGINEER RICK: Photo by Michelle Cameron
“This summer you can call us Lansdowne Place Station!” LP Marketing Director Emily Dart tells PTBOCanada. “We’re always looking for new activities families can enjoy together so when we had the opportunity to bring a trackless train inside the Shopping Centre, we jumped at the idea!"
Photo by Michelle Cameron
The train, run by Train Engineer Rick, will operate during the months of July and August and alternate between the lower level and upper level of the Centre each day. Weather permitting, it might even go outside some days!
Photo by Michelle Cameron
The train costs $3 a person and children under one are free. All ages are invited to join in so the mall hopes to see everyone try it out over the Summer months.
Photo by Michelle Cameron
For more details about the train, including a listing of the train’s operating hours, visit lansdowneplace.com and "Like" them on Facebook.
Photo by Michelle Cameron
Photo by Michelle Cameron
