“The fire has been lit”, exciting Firebirds school year initiatives ramp up
“This community has embraced the Firebirds like no one I have ever seen,” said Firebirds Community Relations Director Andrew Mason.
The Firebirds inaugural season was a huge success, especially for the young ones.
“The more that the school district can do to help promote hockey is great because at the end of the day what it really promotes is a healthy lifestyle. Which is really great for mental health as well,” said CVUSD Director of Expanded Learning Bea Gonzalez.
The Firebirds are continuing their “Stick To Reading” program where they have already reached over 20,000 kids. Challenging them to improve their reading for Firebirds gifts!
“We reward them prizes like Fuego posters, pencils, bookmarks, for reaching their reading goals,” said Mason.
“Self-awareness, responsible decision making as they work toward it. Those are the social, emotional competencies that we have been working on as a district to grow our students into future graduates,” said DSUSD Project Facilitator Kirsten Hill.
And it’s not just the students. The Firebirds went across the desert to teach street hockey to the teachers for an upcoming P.E. year of hockey influence.
“The biggest thing too is making sure every kid has the opportunity to play hockey and to come and watch a Firebirds game,” said Mason.
"The fire has been lit! No pun intended; the kids are excited about what they accomplished in their first year. Teachers have already reached out to me and asked, are we doing this? Let's go," said Hill. "We are so grateful for the team and their involvement."
