On Sept. 18, Calgary Academy continued a longstanding Canadian tradition: the Terry Fox Run. A staple of Canadian fall, schools run yearly regardless of rain, snow, or sun to continue the Marathon of Hope.
With the school’s goal of 100% participation, this year’s event showcased the importance of community.
Terry Fox 2025
Coloured paper shoes stick to the windows of CA’s Junior and Senior School Learning Commons—artifacts from this year’s Terry Fox Run.
In the days leading up to the school’s run, students learned about Terry’s story, including his loss of a leg to cancer, his run for the cure, and this year’s theme, “finish it.” Learners were encouraged to decorate their shoes and share their reasons for running.
On Wednesday morning, everyone met in the Main Gym for an assembly, adorned in House colours. Nick Waterbury, CA’s head of athletics, introduced an alum guest speaker, who shared their experience with cancer treatment.
The school then kicked off this year’s House System (and the year-long race for the House Cup) before students and staff headed outside to run around the campus with their Houses, completing this year’s Terry Fox Run.
Each homeroom collected its “Toonies for Terry,” with CA raising $1,600 ($1,000 more than last year’s total)!
Mr. Waterbury emphasized how everyone’s efforts at Calgary Academy add to Terry Fox’s legacy and the $850,000,000 raised for cancer research.
“Every bit of money you raise increases that massive number of 850 million dollars. Every dollar we raise helps lead towards doing something to end this disease.”
A Community Standing (and Running) Together
While supporting Terry’s goal is why schools across Canada run each year, this event showcased the strength of CA’s community. Whether it was the staff members setting up this year’s route early in the morning or older students running with younger ones, everyone worked to make the day successful.
Demetra Mylonas, CA’s student wellbeing specialist and planner of this year’s run, was proud to see students and staff support each other Thursday morning.
“Our goal was to participate 100% in our Toonies for Terry campaign and show our school spirit by wearing our House colours! It was an inspirational day—everyone lent a helping hand to prepare for our event, our Senior School students helped our youngest students, parents ensured their kids were prepared, and our teachers engaged our students with meaningful lessons and activities.” – Ms. Mylonas
With the Terry Fox Run completed, the CA community looks forward to future all-school events throughout 2025–2026.