An 8-Year-Old Rep Goalie Mentored A Player With Special Needs In Peterborough Learning The Position & It Was Awesome

Brody Brown is an 8-year-old goalie for the Peterborough Petes Novice AAA with a heart of gold.

See, Brody wanted to help out the Electric City Maroon & White, a special needs hockey team in town. On Saturday (November 11th) during an Electric City practice at Norwood Arena near Peterborough, he came and mentored 11-year-old goalie Jacob Craft who is learning the position.

This is Brody (at left) helping Jacob...

Coach Chris J-Boy Williams says Brody is a wonderful kind, young man that is already making a difference by working with special needs players.

"Brody's mom originally reached out to me a couple of months ago to let me know he has asked anyone coming to his birthday that in lieu of presents, to give cash which he wanted to donate to our team," Coach Williams tells PTBOCanada. "He came out to one of our practices recently and donated $200 which was an extremely kind thing to do. We have a brand new Junior goalie, Jacob, and I asked him if he would like to come out on the ice and work with Jacob which he did today. Super nice little guy that just wants to help out."

Brody (at left) giving advice to Jacob about goaltending

Brody tells PTBOCanada of his gesture: “I love playing hockey and want to help others play too."

Here is Brody pictured with Coach Williams, delivering the donation to the team...

Brody's gesture of time and money had an impact that Coach Williams, Jacob and the rest of the team won't forget.

"This is so much more than hockey," Coach Williams tells PTBOCanada. "Children and adults with special needs are often left feeling isolated with few friends and having Brody on the ice, welcoming Jacob to the Electric City family, is important to my players."

Brody, Jacob and Coach Williams

Coach Williams adds: "Special needs kids want to be able to show the world that they are hockey players and that they have dreams and goals just like everyone else. It was important for Brody not only to mentor Jacob but to learn about him as a person off the ice—what school he goes to, his favourite movies and the music he listens too. As parents, we need to teach our children acceptance and from acts of kindness we see amazing results."

Brody demonstrated a huge example of that on Saturday, and that impact he had may well have forged a bond to last a lifetime.

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Petes to Officially Unveil New-Look Team Bus Friday At Flavour Fashion In Downtown Peterborough

The Peterborough Petes—in partnership with Coach Canada, Northern Original Design and East Side Mario’s (Lansdowne)—are excited to officially unveil their newly designed team bus on Friday, November 10th.

THE DEETS

What: Official Unveiling of the Petes bus sponsored by East Side Mario’s (Lansdowne) and PTBO Northern Originals
When: Friday, November 10th – 12:30pm
Where: Flavour Fashion – 383 George Street North, Peterborough
 
Fans and media will hear from representatives of the Peterborough Petes, Northern Original Design and East Side Mario’s (Lansdowne).

East Side Mario’s (Lansdowne), the official sponsor of the team bus, will be providing coupons for all fans in attendance, and will also provide delicious finger foods.
 
As well, all Petes gear at Flavour Fashion will be discounted for fans in attendance at Friday’s unveiling.

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Online Tributes Pour In For Jan Schoute Whose Life Was Celebrated At Black Horse Pub

[UPDATE: There will be a Celebration of Life for Jan on Sunday, November 12th at the Historic Red Dog. Details here.]

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ORIGINAL POST

Musical friends gathered at the Black Horse Pub on Monday night (November 6th) in an impromptu wake for the well known local musician Jan Schoute who passed away suddenly.

Terry Guiel, who was in the band Jericho's Wall with Schoute for two decades, posted this photo of the tribute at the Black Horse...

"Jan was a dear friend," Guiel tells PTBOCanada. "When you spend 20+ years with someone every Saturday night performing with our band, you develop a unique bond. He made everyone around him feel loved and that you mattered. A great loss to the local musical world, and a great friend lost by an entire community."

Terry Guiel and Jan

Online tributes are pouring in for Schoute, known for his big heart and his passion for music, people and community. Melissa Payne posted this picture below to Facebook, along with a heartfelt message to remind us of his compassion...

The Historic Red Dog, where Schoute played for many years on Saturday nights, had this to say in a tweet...

RIP #JanSchoute - you will be forever loved and missed.

— The Red Dog (@HistoricRedDog) November 6, 2017

His good friend Terry Guiel had this to say...

"The world is a little less cool without Jan Schoute," wrote his friend John Eaton in a Facebook post. "I will always cherish the music and wisdom my dear friend brought into my life. Good-bye bro."

"I am heartbroken. Love you to the moon and beyond Jan Schoute," wrote musician Kate Suhr in a Facebook post.

Share your memories of Schoute here on our Facebook page.

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Cuddles For Cancer Just Had Grand Opening Of Its First Drop-In Location In Downtown Lakefield

If you have a dream, you gotta have Faith. Fifteen-year-old Faith Dickinson's dream was to someday open a physical location for her Cuddles For Cancer initiative, a charity she started when she was just 9-years-old that gives hand-made fleece blankets to cancer patients, veterans, soldiers, the homeless and other people in need of comfort around the world.

That dream was realized on Saturday (November 4th) in downtown Lakefield when a big gathering turned out to help the Grade 10 TASSS student celebrate her grand opening of a Cuddles For Cancer Drop-In Centre that opened at 15 Queen Street.

Faith in front of Cuddles for Cancer Drop-In Centre

The idea behind the drop-in centre—which will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays—is for students, seniors and everyone in between to come in to this inviting space and help make fleece blankets, aka "cuddle blankets", for those in need.

Since starting Cuddles for Cancer, more than 3,500 blankets have been sent to people in need around the planet, and with more volunteers involved at this drop-in centre, that number and the speed of making them should increase markedly.

Faith's Cuddles For Cancer has brought her attention and accolades around the world. Earlier this year, she met Prince Harry and William after receiving a Legacy Award (established in honour of Princess Diana) from them in London, England. The award goes to youth children making a monumental impact on society.

Faith pictured at Grand Opening of Cuddles For Cancer Volunteer Centre

Faith, who is also Youth Ambassador on the United Way Peterborough campaign cabinet this year, touches people globally and locally with her blankets. In September, she presented Cuddle Blankets to women at the New Canadians Centre in Peterborough.

All the fleece used to make the blankets is stored in the basement of the new drop-in location...

It should come as no surprise to those who know Faith that her ambitions with Cuddles For Cancer do not end here.

She would love to see more Cuddles For Cancer Drop-In Centres open in other cities at some point, and there is even talk and interest in starting one in London, England.

For more info on Cuddles For Cancer, visit the website here.

To inquire about helping out with the Drop-In Centre and making fleece blankets, click here.

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350 Students From Across Canada To Attend Trent University’s 2nd Annual Hackathon

Electric City Hacks is back and bigger than ever. More than 350 post-secondary students from across the country, including students from local area high schools, are expected to attend Peterborough’s only hackathon, which will return to Trent University on November 3rd to 5th.
 
Founded in 2016 by four Trent University Computer Science and Information Systems students, Electric City Hacks or “ECHacks” offers post-secondary students the opportunity to put their coding knowledge to the test by creating an original hack, gadget or app from scratch in less than 37 hours.

Photo courtesy Innovation Cluster

This year’s hackathon will consist of multiple categories such as “Best Green Hack”, “Agriculture Hack”, “Adventure Hack” and more, to encourage participants to create with a specific purpose in mind. Prizes will be awarded to the top team in each category Sunday afternoon.

In between hacking, participants can also look forward to a morning hike around the Trent nature areas, campus tours and yoga classes, as well as a taste of Peterborough’s downtown with meals provided all weekend by local vendors and restaurants.

Photo courtesy Innovation Cluster

The Innovation Cluster is a sponsor this year:

“We are extremely excited to support the second annual Electric City Hacks at Trent University,” says Michael Skinner, President & CEO of the Innovation Cluster. “This hackathon will be a great opportunity for students to expose talent, grow, recruit and bring new innovative companies to Peterborough.”

Photo courtesy Innovation Cluster

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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...

St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough hosted the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic Elementary School Robotics Competition on Tuesday, November 29, 2016. Six schools attended the tournament entering 12 teams that designed and programmed LEGO Robotics.

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New Decorative Bike Racks Installed In Downtown

Last winter, after hearing from Councillor Dean Pappas that there is an appetite for artistic bike racks in downtown Peterborough, staff at “City Welding” got to work creating some unique designs.

The resulting prototypes impressed City staff, who included some of the decorative racks as part of the regular annual order. Now, these custom bike racks are adorning City Hall, the sidewalk in front of Spa Euphoria and the sidewalk on Charlotte Street just west of George Street.

“I’ve had this idea for a while and it is great to see it come to fruition, and even better that these bike racks are designed and manufactured in Peterborough," says Councillor Pappas.

There are three designs so far: one depicting Market Hall, one of the Lift Lock and one of the Quaker building. This winter, City Welding plans to create additional designs.

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Put Your Director To Work Day For The United Way

Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington (PVNC) Catholic District School Board is excited to launch the 2nd Annual Put Your Director to Work Day.

Director of Education Michael Nasello is once again raffling himself off to raise money for a local United Way campaign. One lucky PVNC employee will get a day off to kick up their feet, while Nasello rolls up his sleeves and does their job for the day. Last year, the raffle raised $1,485 and sent Nasello to St. Paul CES in Lakefield, where he filled the role of an educational assistant.

Michael Nasello at last year's Put Your Director To Work Day

“I had a great time last year working closely with some great students and all the amazing staff at St. Paul Lakefield,” Nasello says. “Who will it be this year? A custodian? A kindergarten teacher? I can’t wait to find out.”

A single ticket costs $5 or employees can purchase three for $12.

The employee whose winning ticket is selected, whether it’s a supply teacher, a custodian, an educational assistant, a secretary or any other staff position, will get a paid day off while Nasello performs their job for the day.

PVNC is pleased to partner with four United Way campaigns in Peterborough, Durham, Kawartha Lakes and Northumberland. The winner’s work location will determine where the proceeds go.

“Every year we support the United Way’s mission as it works to empower some of our communities’ most vulnerable people and fund important social services that some of our students and their families rely on,” Nasello says. “This raffle is also a great opportunity to recognize the important roles all of our staff play each day in ensuring our students are given every opportunity to succeed.”

Tickets will go on sale to PVNC staff at school locations and the Board office on Wednesday, November 1st. The raffle runs until Friday, December 1st and the winning ticket will be picked at the monthly Director’s Meeting at the Board office on Wednesday, December 13th.

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