Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005

OTTAWA SENATORS LAUNCH 2005-06 SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Senators introduce T.E.A.M. School while Read to Succeed

and Spelling with Spezza return for another season

OTTAWA - The Ottawa Senators launched their 2005-06 Sens @ School initiatives today in front of elementary school students at Barrhaven Public School. In addition to announcing the return of popular Sens @ School programs such as Scotiabank Read to Succeed and Spelling With Spezza, the Senators announced details of T.E.A.M. School, a new initiative that is part of their Sens @ School program.

Derived from the Senators T.E.A.M. Hockey Country initiative, T.E.A.M. stands for Together-Educate-Appreciate-Motivate and provides schools in the Ottawa-Gatineau region with valuable educational and financial assistance. Designed to help make learning fun, the program employs key messaging such as staying in school and literacy from Senators players, and offers fundraising opportunities with tickets and the chance to participate in exclusive T.E.A.M. School events such as an open practice.

"Over the past three years, we have instituted a number of literacy initiatives that have reached more than 2,200 classes across the National Capital Region," said Senators vice-president of marketing Jeff Kyle. "This year we believed it was important to continue these programs, and also provide schools and their students with added learning opportunities, positive life messages and the ability to fundraise through T.E.A.M. School."

In order to participate in T.E.A.M. School, principals must register their school at the Senators website and agree to involve at least five of their schools' classes in either the Senators Read to Succeed or Spelling With Spezza programs. Each registered school will then receive a pair of Senators tickets to be used during school fundraising activities, a CD containing Senators public service announcements and Lyndon Slewidge's rendition of the Canadian national anthem; and a Senators T.E.A.M School floor decal.

This season, the Senators and Spartacat have also introduced a new activity book entitled Read, Write & Score with Sparty! This eight-page, colour booklet, which will be provided to Scotiabank Read to Succeed and Spelling With Spezza classes, provides students with a fun and entertaining way to learn about mathematics, geography, nutrition, fitness and the National Hockey League.

Spelling With Spezza

Introduced in January 2004, Spelling With Spezza is a free program for all elementary schools in Ottawa-Gatineau and is designed to motivate students to excel in spelling. The program rewards participation by providing students an opportunity to win a pair of tickets to a Senators hockey game and a Jason Spezza poster.

Each participating class receives a Spelling With Spezza poster to be used as a motivational tool in the classroom. Each month, students who have excelled in writing, dictation or spelling will be entered into a draw from which Jason Spezza and the Senators will randomly choose 19 male winners and 19 female winners. Each winner will receive a pair of Senators tickets and a Jason Spezza poster, courtesy of Jason Spezza.

"The need for students to excel in writing is just as important as their reading abilities," said Jason Spezza. "I hope the program will motivate students to excel in writing with the added incentive of winning a pair tickets to see us play and a poster for their room."

Scotiabank Read to Succeed

Launched in January 2003, the Scotiabank Read to Succeed literacy program is a free elementary school initiative targeted the junior kindergarten to Grade 8 levels in the Ottawa and Gatineau regions. With 350 participating schools. it was developed by the Ottawa Senators in conjunction with educators from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board with the support of Scotiabank. Each month, six registered classes who meet their reading goal will win a Sparty Party, which features Spartacat, pizza for the entire class from Pizza Pizza, juice supplied by Coca-Cola and books provided by Mrs. Tiggy Winkles. The Ottawa Citizen, CTV, Canada Post, and Rock Détente are also partners in the program and are committed to literacy within eastern Ontario and western Quebec elementary schools.

Principals and teachers can get more information and register their classes by visiting the Senators website.

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