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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, March 13, 2015 | 10 Garth Webb students earn Heritage Trust award by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver Staff Garth Webb dedicated himself to creating a permanent reminder of the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers. Now the students at the Oakville high school bearing the late veteran's name have been honoured for continuing his legacy. Garth Webb Secondary School was presented with a Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for youth achievement Feb. 27 for its work on the Juno Beach Project. "It definitely is important to us as a school," said history teacher and librarian Sandra Rogers. "To have an ongoing relationship with the Juno Beach Centre, which Garth Webb founded, and have that connection, it's cool for the kids. It gives weight to what they are doing." Since the school opened in 2012, history students have been researching the lives of Canadian soldiers using copies of military service records obtained through Library and Archives Canada. Using the records as a starting point, students create a profile of a soldier that creates a much more personal connection. Profiles contain information about their family, where they grew up, their education, interests and hobbies. "The big thing that comes to the forefront is how much (soldiers) did in such a short time," Rogers said. Honoured with an Ontario Heritage Trust Award for the Juno Beach Project, from left, are: Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell; Garth Webb Secondary School students Gurkeerat Gill, Even Notley, Ali Salama, and Samantha Ichelson; from Owen Sound Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Molly Boley and Dylan Williams; from Smith Falls District Collegiate, Brianna Crystolbal, Ainsley Scott, and Matthew Falkner; and Ontario Heritage Trust board member Maria Topalovich. | photo by Tessa Buchan, courtesy of the Ontario Heritage Trust "They left school, got a job, got married, had kids and learned to drive a tank and then were killed when they were 22. Kids (now) are just thinking about starting a career at that age, but times were different." After the profiles are created, Rogers said classes in the following year fact-check them to ensure their accuracy. Through the students' research, more than 500 soldier profiles have been created. The school shared the award with Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute and Owen Sound Collegiate and Vocational Institute. Computer science students in Smiths Falls created an app to access the profiles (sorted by name or regiment) as well as other information researched by the Owen Sound school, such as maps of battlefields and an hour-by-hour progression of Canadian regiments into Normandy on D-Day. The Juno Beach Centre has also used the profiles created by Garth Webb students. During the 70th anniversary of D-Day, markers were placed on the beach in France. Each marker had a QR code, which, when scanned, brought up the profile of a soldier who died on D-Day. Thirty Garth Webb students are travelling to Normandy this year where they will do more research to expand the database of soldiers. Rogers said the research is important for students, born more than half a century after the war ended, to make a connection with the soldiers who fought for their country. "It's very meaningful," Rogers said. "There are not many World War II vets left and their numbers are dwindling. We don't have those first-hand accounts anymore and when you don't have that, it's easy to get blasé about the war and the people who were in it. Not only does this preserve the memory of the soldier, it engages the students." Colour + Inspiration = Home 905-257-2061 478 Dundas St. W., Oakville Visit our website www.PaintersPlace.ca for Promotional discounts Let our team inspire you! Dave McConnell McConnell Painting Tom marino PainTers Place MVL LEASING LIMITED 1064 SOUTH SERVICE RD. E, OAKVILLE LEASE ANY YEAR, MAKE, OR MODEL $ 2013 BMW M5 Executive 2010 BMW M6 Competition Edition #7 of 10 THE ANSWER FOR TRUE DIVERSIFICATION MAY BE IN YOUR BACKYARD A world-class asset manager--based in Oakville--Acorn invests over $100 million on behalf of institutions and accredited investors seeking true diversification to achieve better portfolio returns and risk reduction. Let Acorn help you diversify your portfolio. Contact us to find out how at acorn.ca or 905-257-0773 83,900 $ +HST & LIC 59,900 +HST & LIC 18,221 kms 25,110 kms LEASING, FINANCING, SALES, SERVICE, FLEET, DETAILING, STORAGE 905-849-6995 · www.MVL.ca