Horses, a small alternative school, and some faith in herself added up to a winning solution for a high school student coping with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Faythe Bergen, a student at St. Luke’s Outreach School student, was concerned her math and schoolwork would go by the wayside when the COVID-19 pandemic rearranged studies last March.
“I cried because I didn’t want to do math at home,” said Faythe Bergen, now a Grade 11 student at St. Luke’s Outreach School in Okotoks. “When they announced finals (exams) weren’t going to count, I felt pressured.
"'I’m doing all this work, and It’s not going to count, what’s the point of me doing this?’”
St. Luke’s is an alternative school which allows students to take classes in either a small classroom setting and/or online with assistance from the school on Elizabeth Street.
Bergen said her math anxiety was a result of a lot of ‘what if’s’ -- she didn’t want to coast because final exams were now optional.
“What if I need to know the lessons in March for tomorrow, but I don’t know,” Bergen said. “The reason why I was anxious is because I wanted to be confident in myself to apply what I learned in March for now.
“For me, with my school work, it was just so much easier to do my school work and have that constant rather than say: ‘Hey, just forget about it, it doesn’t matter.’”
Bergen would spend time with the St. Luke’s math guru, principal Leslie Woehleke, for guidance.
“Every teacher had to set up the best communication they could with each family,” Woehleke said. “With Faythe we Zoomed a lot. She would text me and we would pick a time that was good and we would Zoom together.
“I think she knew well enough that we would try our best to take care of her and other kids.”
Bergen started at St. Luke’s in Grade 10 because of its flexibility, which fit in with her then barrel racing career, and because of hearing high praise from grads Kylie and Bradi Whiteside who are on the pro rodeo circuit.
Sine the COVID-19 pandemic was announced in March 2020, Bergen has switched from barrel racing to working-cow horse, due to an injury to her rodeo horse.
Riding was the perfect elixir for a perfectionist like Bergen during the stressful times of the pandemic.
“I have ridden my whole life,” said Bergen, who lives east of Okotoks. “The whole riding thing motivated me to have something to look forward to.
“If my schoolwork was hard or it was a hard day at home, I always had that escape with my horses. They are something that comforted me.
“Having them gave me the joy of knowing I had something to look forward to, rather than just being stuck inside all day worrying and wondering about COVID all day.”
Bergen would ride at home during the initial shutdown in March 2020 as arenas were closed. Last June, she began training in working-cow horse under Clay Webster, east of Okotoks.
She also rides at Fox Trails near Okotoks, using family friend Tracey Abbott’s horse, Ozzie.
Pam Bergen, Faythe’s mother, said St. Luke’s has been the perfect fit for her daughter’s rodeo life.
“I could see Faythe was kind of worried about that transition from Grade 9 to high school,” Pam said. “She likes to do things very well, no matter what she did.”
Faythe agreed.
“Coming here, (St. Luke’s) I can be myself, focus on what I can do and have that flexibility to incorporate enough school with my outside activities,” she said. “It felt so relieving to have that opportunity to take my courses here than be stressed at a bigger school.”
Faythe is now working on Grade 12 classes en route to possibly graduating early.
