Regina, Saskatchewan
Mme Kobelsky is an elementary school teacher with Regina Catholic Schools. In 2007, after she and a colleague returned from a Canadian Battlefields Teacher Tour in France organized by the Juno Beach Centre, she began exploring ways to commemorate members of the Royal Regina Rifles who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Second World War. 'Le Club du Souvenir' was formed and students began fundraising efforts such as penny drives and recycling programs to raise funds to purchase commemorative bricks at the Juno Beach Centre. Mme Kobelsky engages her students in authentic research, learning about each soldier for whom a brick is purchased. She and her students have become close friends with a Regimental Second World War Veteran who frequently visits the students and shares his stories, both personal and military, about the soldiers they are researching. Other veterans and current serving members also visit the students to share their experiences with them. Mme Kobelsky and Le Club du Souvenir are instrumental in hosting meaningful Remembrance Day Services and they are involved with the Veterans at the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre. They have adopted members of the Royal Regina Rifles, the Airforce and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who serve in Afghanistan, where they send care packages and letters.