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Canaport LNG Partners with Saint John Sea Dogs
to Promote Math in Province
Program encourages students to do better in Math
SAINT JOHN, February 5, 2007 – The Saint
John Sea Dogs, together with more than 400 students from École
Millidgeville North School, officially launched the Get FANatical
about Math Program today.
Sponsored by Canaport LNG, this comprehensive program
is designed to foster math skills of students from kindergarten
to grade eight in School Districts 6, 8 and Samuel-de-Champlain
school. An upwards of 14,000 students, in 600 different
classrooms, are expected to participate in the program,
which applies math principles to Sea Dogs hockey.
Joining the students from École Millidgeville North
for the program start were several Sea Dogs players including
Pascal Amyot, David MacDonald and Sébastien Rioux.
“There is a major need for our children to do better in math,” said
David Turk, executive director of the Sea Dogs. “We are fortunate
to have a committed partner for this fun and interactive learning program.”
Turk said the Get FANatical about Math Program is a trailblazer
within the sports entertainment business.
“This is the first time a math program like this
which promotes math skill among children has been initiated
by a sports team,” he said. “We expect
it will serve as a pilot for similar initiatives by others.
Jorge Ciacciarelli, General Manager of Canaport LNG, said
his organization is pleased to be supporting this initiative.
“If students during these formative years can understand
how useful math will be to them and how they can apply
math skills to everyday situations, they open up great
opportunities for themselves.”
“This program is one way to help students get excited
about math,” he said. “Our hope is to
see students in New Brunswick excel in math and we wanted
to do our part to encourage this area of learning.”
Canaport LNG has committed to a three-year sponsorship
of the program.
Bev MacDonald, director of education for school district
8, said the Get FANatical about Math Program is an example
of how mathematics affects lives on a daily basis “often
without us even knowing it. Angles, force, time,
distance applies to hockey pucks and so much more. We
have to find ways to bring math to life for people and
this is a great, fun way to start.”
Andrew Hopper, director of education for school district
6, said his district is pleased to be partnering with the
Sea Dogs and Canaport LNG on this important initiative. “Get
FANatical about Math is an innovative and exciting supplementary
resource which teachers can use to enhance the teaching
and learning of math with their students.”
The fully-bilingual program is tailored to the different
grade levels and complements the Atlantic Canada mathematics
curriculum. Support materials include handbooks
for teachers, student workbooks and tutorial and quiz sheets.
As incentives for students, the program provides opportunities
to earn Sea Dogs game tickets. There are other participation
categories that entitle schools to receive math-related
hockey books and draws for two grand prizes of a field
trip to Harbour Station where classes will be picked up
in the Sea Dogs bus, have lunch with Sea Dog players and
watch a team practice.
About Canaport LNG:
Canaport LNG Partnership Limited is a partnership between
Irving Oil Limited and Repsol YPF. Canaport LNG
is to begin operation as a world-class liquefied natural
gas receiving and regasification terminal in late 2008.
Situated at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, Canaport
LNG will have a send-out capacity of 1.2-billion cubic
feet of liquefied natural gas a day, destined for markets
in Canada and the northeastern United States. The project
will create approximately 700 jobs during construction.
To learn more, please visit www.canaportlng.com.
About the Sea Dogs:
The Saint John Sea Dogs are a member of the Quebec Major
Junior Hockey League and are one of 59 member clubs of
the Canadian Hockey League. More information is available
at www.saintjohnseadogs.com.
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