Educator's Toolkit
Safety
Safety is paramount at all Canadian ski areas and is essential for any great day on the slopes.
All students must:
- Wear a helmet while skiing or snowboarding
- Be assessed by a certified instructor on beginner terrain
- Participate in a lesson regardless of previous experience or ability
- Adhere to the Alpine Code of Responsibility
- Stay on terrain designated by the ski area
- Understand how to properly load/unload a lift
We recommend sharing these videos with your students prior to their Schools on Snow experience:
Learning Objectives
We recognize that Schools on Snow is more than just a fun day outside the classroom. Learning outcomes that are tied to your provincial curriculum can be incorporated into your day on the slopes.
Specific lesson plans for learning opportunities should be discussed with your local ski area, and can include (but are not limited to):
- The science of snowmaking
- The physics of chairlifts and gondolas: lifts and pulleys in action
- Climate change and the ski industry
- Canadian athletes on snow
- The physics of freestyle skiing or snowboarding
- Sliding on snow: thin-film friction
Have an idea for a lesson that’s not listed above?
We would love to include it!
Skills and learning outcomes that are incorporated into every Schools on Snow experience include:
- Active & healthy living
- Movement competence / Physical Literacy
- Connection with the outdoors/nature
- Responsibility regarding safety and limitations
- Risk analysis and comprehension
What to expect
You’ve booked your Schools on Snow experience – great! While every ski area is unique, here is what you can expect during your day:
- Your bus will be met by a representative from the ski area
- Students will be greeted and guided to a dedicated area where they can store their belongings for the day
- Students will be fitted for equipment by trained rental staff, including boots, bindings, helmets, poles, etc.
- Students will be guided to the beginner centre where instructor/student ratios will be maintained
- Beginner lessons with a qualified instructor, who will guide the student through the basics of the sport.
- Chaperones from the school will accompany small groups of students on the slopes
- Lunch and warm-up breaks will occur in a designated area. Some ski areas include lunch for Schools on Snow participants.
- You will board your bus at the end of the day and head home
HOW TO PERSUADE YOUR PRINCIPAL/ PTA/ ADMINISTRATION
So you’re all in, but your principal, parent-teacher council or administration is on the fence? Here are the top 10 reasons a Schools on Snow experience is invaluable for your students:
- Increased confidence
- Connection with the outdoors and nature
- Physical movement and literacy: balance, coordination, strength, stamina, etc.
- Connection with peers outside the classroom
- Learning a new skill in a controlled environment
- Understanding risk and their limitations
- Opportunity to develop skills on and off the slopes
- Gain physical strength and a practical understanding of movement, coordination and balance.
- Applied learning – i.e., how physics relates to freestyle skiing or chairlifts, etc.
- Understand safety and how I am accountable to the safety of others
