Roslyn Elementary School hosted its annual Terry Fox Run to raise funds for research and pay tribute to one of their own on a sunny, autumn day. All the students and staff ran circles around Murray Hill Park for the event that was co-organized by Roslyn teacher Lysanne Abelardo. “Our goal was $18,000 and we’re now close to $29,000. So it’s super exciting,” she said on Friday. The money will go to The Terry Fox Foundation to support cancer research in Canada. Students also learned about the man himself. Coco Noakes is a Grade 4 student and has learned some interesting facts about Terry Fox. “It’s very, very impressive that he almost ran across Canada with only one leg,” Noakes said. Also in Grade 4, Lara Blanchard, added: “Every day he ran 42 kilometres, which I find really interesting, because me, myself, I don’t think I would be able to do that.” Closer to home, for many years, Roslyn Elementary’s caretaker was Eddy Nolan, a man who completed 43 Terry Fox Runs and raised $1 million for the foundation before his own battle with cancer. Nolan inspired his community to continue his quest. Bianca Jorrin teaches at Roslyn and was inspired by his example. “When Eddy Nolan passed away a few years back, Lysanne and myself told each other, what should we do to try to make him proud of us and bring back the Eddy legacy here at Roslyn?” Jorrin said. Nolan’s widow makes sure the students carry the same flag that Eddy ran with for so many years. “The legacy, you know, [it’s] so important. We’ve all been touched by cancer. And we just need to continue. We need to raise more funds for research,” said Mary Silvaggio. Before he was director general of the English Montreal School Board, Nick Katalifos was Principal at Roslyn and knew Nolan personally. “Eddy was a force of nature. And it’s important that our kids learn from people like him or about people like him and others to support causes like this,” Katalifos said.
