October 13th, 2023

By Sylvia Kendall – Grade 8 student at Breslau Public School

On Tuesday, September 26, Breslau Public School had a special visitor for our Terry Fox Run. Fred Fox, Terry’s older brother, visited our school to give a presentation about Terry. To show our appreciation, the school came together and each grade put up colourful posters, wrote greetings and thank you messages to Fred and Terry Fox, and wore red and white to welcome him.

The students were very excited to hear Fred talk about Terry. Some classes also sang a song for him. Fred Fox shared memorable pictures and stories of him and Terry when they were younger. He also shared several interesting facts. He talked about how they were born in Winnipeg. He explained that Terry kept a journal on his run. He also mentioned that Terry’s artificial leg was meant for walking, not running. The fact that Terry ran a marathon daily and set goals for himself is amazing.

A large, handmade banner reads "Welcome Fred"

Fred was inspiring as he talked about how Terry was always determined and was a hard worker. Terry never gave up and always believed in finishing what you start. Terry was never afraid to fail. It was messages like this that inspired kids to follow their dreams. Fred said that Terry didn’t want anyone other than himself to run for him when he was in the hospital because he wanted to finish what he started. When Terry realized he might be unable to finish the run, he told Fred that the run had to go on without him. Fred believed that if Terry were here today, he would be very happy and proud of the change he has made in the world today. Terry’s message would be to consistently work hard and to never give up on your dreams. Fred had the same message on a day we won’t forget.

Fred Fox stands in front of a large sign featuring many messages written to him from students.

#StudentVoice Series

This article is written by a WRDSB student and is part of our part of the Student Agency and Voice strategy. It is one way we are fulfilling our commitment to create a space for student to tell their own stories as part of the student communications team and media pool. This strategy empowers students to be ambassadors for their peers by sharing their personal experiences and stories about their schools and communities in their own unique voices.