Are You Keeping Up With the Olympic Spirit?

Dear Primary 4-2,

This is Mr. Lee here and I have read all of your comments. Rather than answering one by one, i decided to post it here for all to read. Thank you all for your encouragement and I really enjoyed teaching all of you too! You all have been very fun to teach. I am now busy preparing for my exams and my biggest hope is that all of you continue to practice what we learnt during Our Olympic Experience! If there is anything you would like to share with me, for example, how you continued to display the Olympic Values, post your comments and let me know! I will try to combine all that you have said and post it on the blog.

In the mean time, work hard and remember to be Excellent in all that you do!

Blessings,
Mr. Alvin Lee

The Olympic Closing Ceremony!

Today marks the end of primary 4-2's Olympic education unit. The closing ceremony itself was a serious affair where the Greek and Singaporean National Anthem was played. Mr. Lee declared the Primary 4-2 Olympic games closed by encouraging us to continue in applying all that we have learnt into our lives. Following that, the Olympic Anthem was played and we formed a line and shook hands with every one in the class.

It was really funny when Mr. Lee started to collect back the flags and the Olympic flag and the class kept saying "NO!! Don't give it to him!". I guess we all enjoyed the lessons very much and was hoping that it would not end but would continue.

After that it was a time of celebration! We celebrated all that we have learnt from this experience and Mr. Lee taught us 2 very fun dances. The La Raspa which is a Mexican social dance and the famous Chicken Dance! We really had fun and some of us were getting dizzy from all that spinning around!

Finally, Mr Lee asked Mrs Png to hand out the certificates to us and the very special Olympic bookmarks! Not 1 but 2 bookmarks!

We took our final photo showing off our certificates proudly...we have finally graduated from our Olympic experience!!!

The Story of Lawrence Lemieux...

Dear Primary 4-2, our dear classmate Emma shared a story in her journal and it is really a story that we all can learn from, just like what the Olympic message tells us, where winning is not everything.


20 years later, Seoul sailor still a hero

Going on two decades later, Lawrence Lemieux cannot forget. Not that he'd want to.

By The Calgary HeraldMay 30, 2008Be the first to post a comment


Going on two decades later, Lawrence Lemieux cannot forget. Not that he'd want to.

Or people would let him.

The wind on the water at Pusan, 32 kilometres outside Seoul, rippling to an insane 35 knots. Massive waves churning under its savage, destructive influence.

The sight of two fellow Olympic sailors in a totally separate race, one in the water, the other on the bottom of their capsized boat, in distress.

He can hear himself calling out, 'Do you need help? Do you need help?' And he remembers abandoning his race, and the dream of an Olympic medal, to do the right thing. The only thing.

The remaining details, others are always willing to fill in for him.

"It's not that I'm reluctant, exactly,'' protests the 52-year old from his home in Seba Beach, on Wabumum Lake, 60 kilometres west of Edmonton.

"But I'd like to receive some accolades for what I accomplished in my sailing career, and not just this one incident. You know, people win Olympic medals for this country and pretty soon no one remembers their names.

"But this . . . this has taken on a life of its own. This never goes away.

"What I did, anyone would've done. What had to be done. It was no different than seeing someone in a car by the side of the road who's obviously in distress, who might've had a heart attack, who obviously needs help.

"Doesn't happen very often that anyone is put in that position, but you stop. You help.''

During his competitive career, Lawrence Lemieux was far more than sailing's Good Samaritan. But the afternoon of Sept. 24, 1988, is the one for which he is, and always will be, remembered.

Tonight in Red Deer, that singular act of sportsmanship, married to an outstanding competitive career, is being acknowledged once again.

He joins freestyle aerialist Jennifer Heil, basketball marksman Karl Tilleman, field and ice hockey's Ken Goodwin, Dr. Roger Jackson, judo builder Yoshio Katsuta, synchronized swimming's Leslie Sproule, baseball builders Al Price and Al Herback, women's hockey coach Melody Davidson, the 2004-2005 Alberta Northern Lights wheelchair basketball team and Calgary Herald rodeo writer Dwayne Erickson as 2008 inductees into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

Of that highly unique collection of individuals, Lemieux's story is singular.

Competing in the fifth of a seven-race event in the Finn class of the sailing competition on that September day 20 years ago, he spotted two sailors from the Singapore 470 class team, Joseph Chan and Shaw Her Siew,

"You're not sure in a situation like that the degree of trouble they're actually in. A lot of times the boat can recover. But there came a moment when I instinctively knew something had to be done.

"The Singapore rescue boats were, quite frankly, useless.''

So, he acted. Veering off course, Lemieux reached Chan and then Her Siew, dragging them aboard his boat and waiting for a patrol boat to arrive. By then, any chance of medalling had disappeared in the lashing spray of the choppy Pusan water.

In an age where an Olympic medal can be parlayed into princely sums of money, where athletes curl up in a fetal position and go into a snit-fit at the possibility of not being allowed to use their sponsor's logo to show off for the TV audience, Lawrence Lemieux's act of selflessness seems quaint, almost downright old-fashioned.

And his own protestations aside, all the more remarkable.

"Sure,'' he admits nearly 20 years after the fact, "it was disappointing. But 1984 was, too. I really believe I could've medalled (in Moscow). I finished third at the world championships that year, behind two Americans, and every country can only send one competitor.

"So, realistically, I was looking at a silver. And then we boycotted. Pulled the plug.''

These days, Lemieux is a private sailing instructor. Beijing hopefuls Chris Cook, Oskar Johansson and Kevin Stittle are among the athletes he works with. He lives for today, even if everyone wants to remind him of yesterday.

Whatever has happened to the three of them between 1988 and today, Lemieux and the two sailors he pulled out of the watery tumult are forever linked.

"No, I really haven't kept in touch with them. But one of the fellows wound up becoming the head of their sailing federation, so I see him at different events from time to time.''

There may be no Olympic medals lying around Lemieux's house. But there is, believe it or not, something even more rare.

For his quick-thinking and gallantry, IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch presented him with the prestigious Pierre de Coubertin Medal, saying at the time: "By your sportsmanship, self-sacrifice and courage you embody all that is right with the Olympic ideal.''

Only nine other individuals have received the Coubertin honour.

"Hundreds of Olympic medals have been handed out over the years,'' says Lawrence Lemieux, reflectively. "But there haven't been too many for sportsmanship. I guess that's something to be proud of.''

Tonight in Red Deer, the Alberta Hall of Fame will honour its class of 2008. Individuals who meant so much to their respective sports, to their communities and to the overall quality of life in this province.

All richly deserved.

Included in that group is one man in particular who embodies much more than the ideals of the Olympic spirit; who with one gesture of sportsmanship going on two decades ago personified, in its finest form, the generosity of the human spirit.

gjohnson@theherald.canwest.com
© (c) CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.

The Olympic Motto: Faster, Higher, Stronger!

It was another rainy day, but we did not allow it to dampen our Olympic Spirit! Today we had a lot of fun playing 3 games that taught us about the Olympic Motto: Faster, Higher, Stronger. The first game was called "Faster" and in this game we had to push ourselves to run as fast as we can. In another game named "Higher" we had to show out teamwork and excellence by doing a leap frog together with a partner. But we did not have time for our last game "Stronger". But it was a great time where we put in practice all of our Olympic Values of Teamwork & Excellence, Friendsip and Fairplay. And most importantly, we always keep in mind the Olympic message where taking part is the most important and not winning!

We were having a great time, cheering our friends on and encouraging our friends when they did well. Well done Primary 4-2!

The Olympic Fairplay Games!

On the 26th of March:

We had our Olympic Fairplay Games day today and instead of the normal 3Rs which is Reuse, Reduce and Recycle, we had our very own 3Rs of Fairplay!
Respecting: R ules
R eferee
R ivals

The flag bearers had the opportunity to be a referee in a game without rules and they shared the difficulty that they faced. Through this, we understood the importance of having rules and referees. Next we had a game whereby some of our team mates had to "act" as though they were injured and we had to think of how to make the game fair. Through this we learnt how to respect our rivals by making the game fair.

The Olympic Biathlon (NOT the Pentathlon)!

It was a very hot and sunny day, but just when our Olympic Biathlon was about to begin, it started raining heavily! So while we arranged to think of a place where we can have our lesson, we discussed about the value of friendship in the Olympics and how friendship is more important than just winning medals!

We watched an Olympic video about friendship and also about excellence where Jeff Blatnick a cancer survivor, who never gave up and participated in wrestling during the Summer Olympics in 1984 and won the gold medal. A true example of excellence!

The rain was very heavy and all the other places with shelter were taken up, but finally with Mrs Png's suggestion, we had our PE lesson in the MUSIC ROOM! Special indeed!

We did not have enough time and space for 2 events, but instead, we played only one game where all 8 countries played against one another. 4 groups were pulled aside and some tips were given to them about how they could play this game better. It was up to them if they wanted to share this information with their other friends from the other 4 countries.

Some were reluctant to, but most of them, if not all, took the initiative to share the tips with their friends. A true display of friendship! Suggestions were given to take it a step further to encourage their friends before or after the game and there was a carnival atmosphere with everyone giving hi-5s and shaking hands with one another in encouragement.

Keep it up 4-2!! The Olympic Spirit is burning brightly!!!!

The Olympic Heats! Display Excellence and Teamwork to Qualify!

It's the day of the heats! Just like the Olympics, the different countries had to qualify for the Olympic games next week by displaying excellence and teamwork during their speed and skills test!

In displaying excellence, the countries had to show that they tried their best and did not give up in the face of failure. In displaying teamwork, the countries had to co-operate and communicate.

The countries did very well and they ought to be proud of themselves. Cheers of encouragement could be heard and the countries began to count the number of passes made together in one voice. Well done primary 4-2! All of you have qualified with flying colours!