Delburne School hosted its 10th annual Soapbox Derby on Friday, May 31st, an event the whole community eagerly anticipates and supports. It's a project that harkens back to simpler times, and one that brings generations and community together.

The Soapbox Derby at Delburne School sees Grade 8 students create soap box cars over a period of several months. Starting with a kit ordered from Manitoba, along with purchased plywood, each student and their partner builds a go-kart like vehicle from scratch, paints it and equips it with wheels and a steering mechanism.

The students must also write letters and approach local businesses to find sponsors for their vehicle, which is how the project is funded each year. In addition, each student serves on a committee that supports the various aspects of the project; the committees include awards, race day set up, scheduling, video / documentation, organizing the sponsorship night event, and creating thank yous for sponsors.

In total,15 cars raced this year in a double elimination event, on a road in the village that slopes downwards, and is temporarily closed to regular traffic. At times, during the races, wheels fell off leaving a clear winner. Other times the two vehicles that scooted down the ramp, and down the road, were neck and neck to the finish line, only stopping at the line of tire bumpers. 

“The students look forward to the Soapbox Derby every year,” said Cheryle Bourne, the teacher who leads the project at Delburne School. “They love building their own vehicle and the day of the race is always exciting. Our community is very supportive and we are grateful.”

Jocelyn Pennock, Principal of Delburne School, said, “The annual Soapbox Derby is an incredible event that bridges our school and our community. It is so special to watch our students work with the Village of Delburne and our local sponsors to make this event such a huge success. We love watching our streets lined with students, parents and community members cheering on our racers.”

Bourne said she first came up with the idea when the province changed its curriculum to include Career and Technology Foundations (CTF) courses for junior high students. She knew building the vehicles would give students experience with building and construction, fulfilling CTF requirements. She also anticipated some cross curricular opportunities like using math for measuring and building, and English for writing sponsorship request letters.