b'The Building Blocks of Sustainability Students at Highbury School andThe Highbury School team took home an award for their Niakwa Place School worked to tacklecommunication and teamwork. Judges awarded the Niakwa Place School team for their understanding and demonstration environmental issues using Minecraft,of the concept of sustainability.a popular video game. It was a really inspiring project that taught me how not toIn the 2021-2022 school year, both schools had a team ofgive up when things seemed tough, said Ayshani, a studentGrade 5/6 students participating in the Girls Who Gameat Highbury School. (GWG) program by Dell Technologies in partnership withThrough communication, collaboration, critical thinking and Microsoft and Intel. The GWG program provides femalecreativity, the students who participated in the GWG program students with the opportunity to learn through play with asolved real-world problems while building their confidencefocus on building global competencies and computationaland leadership skills. thinking using Minecraft: Education Edition. Grade 5/6 teacher Mark Lesiuk supported the HighburyBy working through the challenge and solving problems School students. Teacher-librarian Deborah Hoffman andtogether, we connected with one another and created waysGrade 5/6 teacher Debbie Calvo-Yaworsky supported theto recycle crayons in a sustainable way, said Bismah,Niakwa Place School students. a student at Niakwa Place School.We collaborated throughout the entire process to make sure the girls had the skills and tech support that they needed to be successful, said Deborah Hoffman. After meeting with Dell, both teams decided to focuson building a Minecraft world that addressed the issueof crayon pollution. We had weekly meetings where the girls mapped outtheir ideas and facilitated discussions to guide them asthey worked on their solutions, said Mark Lesiuk. Thegirls had around 10 weeks to complete the task. Each team developed a world that featured creative ways to recycle paraffin wax crayons, produce a sustainable alternative, and give back to the environment. Students worked collaboratively to ensure every detail was perfected, from renewable energy sources to electric vehicle charging stations and gender-inclusive washrooms. It felt good to learn about something important and to build something beautiful and helpful that protects the environment, said Miley, a student at Niakwa Place School.With help from their coaches, the students submitted walk-through videos of their worlds to a panel to judge against other entries from teams across Canada.28'