Just a brief mention that South Huron District High School is hosting a Grade 8 night Wednesday, January 13 (snow date Jan. 14). The event takes place at 6:45 p.m. in the large gym.

SHDHS receives $10,000 CARAS instrument grant

Story and photos by Casey Lessard

Music students at South Huron District High School are blowing new horns after the school’s music program received a $10,000 equipment grant from the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS).
“You’d be surprised how much equipment costs,” says music director Isaac Moore. “We were able to refresh every section a little bit and that helps us out in terms of the longevity of the program’s equipment in general. We got three flutes, three clarinets, three trumpets, three trombones, one new baritone, one tenor sax and two alto saxes.”
Close to 70 senior band members use a school instrument, and the intermediate band adds more users, so the need for decent equipment is high.
“Having one that works well makes a huge difference,” says saxophonist Trish Pavjeke, who uses her own instrument. “Some of the older saxophones are gross. They’ve been used for 100 years. The keys stick and the necks swivel back and forth. I’ve tried the new ones and they’re really nice. They work perfectly.”
While Pavjeke’s 100 year estimate is a bit off, former music teacher Bob Robilliard says some of the equipment was due.
“When I first came here, the equipment was one year old,” Robilliard says, noting the program started in 1986. “Most of that equipment is still here and still being used. Most school line equipment has a life of 25 years. It gets a lot of use.”
CARAS issued 60 MusiCounts Band Aid grants across Canada in 2009, and South Huron is one of the only rural schools in Ontario receiving the grant. Letters of support from the community were key to getting the grant on the first attempt, Moore says, noting some schools try many times unsuccessfully.
“It came around at a nice time for us,” he says. “The instruments have been heavily used. I wasn’t sure how we would pay for new ones. Having good equipment for the kids to play is really motivating. Without this, I’d have to build a case to the board, which has been very supportive of us, but its budget is finite like ours.”
As a result of the grant, some of the school’s older equipment will be transferred to another school in the board.
The band showed off the equipment for the first time at this weekend’s school concert, but Moore suggests the audience may not see a noticeable difference in sound, but it certainly makes playing easier.
“It’s like buying a new car. It’s not like it takes you anywhere faster, but it’s a more enjoyable experience and lasts longer. Eventually things need to be replaced. Plus, the older it is, the more you have to put into repair, so that will save us a lot.”
And while the actual sound may be the same, music council president Joe Pavjeke thinks the musicians will sound better because they’ll have more confidence.
“It’s like we’re getting recognized for our work. The students notice that. It shows that what we’re doing is a big deal.”

South Huron DHS’ cafeteria operator reflects on turning 80 and the funeral celebration she wanted to be alive to see

Jennie Rowe has run the South Huron District High School cafeteria for more than 40 years, along with other food enterprises including the cafeteria at the Exeter canning plant, the booth at the arena and the pool, and catering local events.
Rowe turned 80 May 22nd, and the school has named the cafeteria in her honour. Then her “fabulous” kids (Kathy, Bob, Jim, Lori, and Jeff, and an “add-on”, Dale) threw her a three-day party to celebrate the milestone.

As told to Casey Lessard

I have always worked where there has been food. Beaver Foods had the service here (at South Huron) and when I went to apply for the job, someone called me and told me that they thought this would be the job for me. I went to see this guy, and he was a tyrant. I thought, I can’t work for this guy.
But by the end of that school term, the board came to me and asked me if I would take it on and I said yes. At that time, I did work for the board, but after about a year, the board wanted to walk away from it, and they said it was mine. It became my own enterprise. We didn’t even have a contract; it was just by word of mouth back then.
Ten years ago, the board came and said that all of the contractors had to buy what was in the kitchen, and I said I wasn’t afraid to buy. Everything in the kitchen belongs to me, and it’s my little corner in the school.
I’ve only had a contract with the board for the last ten years, and it’s renewed every five years. It runs out this August. I talked to one of the other contractors and we haven’t heard what’s going to happen. But I’m not going to let them take it away from me. If they have to buy everything in the kitchen, I’m going to price it so high that nobody will want to buy it.
I don’t do it for fame or glory. This is my life. One time I realized that I could cook anywhere. I can’t meet these kids otherwise. So it’s basically all about the kids. And I have had the most amazing employees. Whether they were students or grown women, they have made me what I am today.

I used to feed the multitudes for the Sportsman’s Dinner, and Lincoln Alexander was one of the invited guests. They had just built the arena, and they said, “Jennie, we will be touring the arena, and we would like to show him the kitchen facilities.”
I said, well, I run a pretty ship most of the time, but give us a little warning before you come. They said they’d be bringing him in around 5 p.m..
Well, at 3:40, the kitchen door opens and who walks in but Bruce Shaw and Lincoln Alexander. I had buckets on the counter and Jennie has her arms elbow deep in coleslaw. I said, Excuse me, sir.
I washed my hands and shook his hand, and said, You caught me at a very inopportune time.
He looked at the bucket and said, “Not being a cook, I can’t imagine mixing coleslaw in that amount any other way.”
Now I had battled with the Lions because dinner we always served it country style so people could take what they wanted. They said, We want the head table served on a plate. I said no. I said, He’s human like us, and I’m going to give this man an opportunity to put on his plate what he wants. They didn’t think that was the right idea, but they went along with it.
He came back in and commented and said, “It was kind of nice to be able to put what I wanted on my dinner plate.” I didn’t ask him if he had any coleslaw.

Despite the fact that I’m 80 and people ask me when I’m going to retire, well, I’m widowed now and what do you do? What would I do if I retired? I think I’d be totally lost without it. Anyone that can work should, if your health is good and you’re in a position that you can. I feel too vibrant yet to want to go home and sit on the back deck. Because I live such a busy life, I don’t bowl, I don’t golf, I don’t curl. What do I have left?
When you look at the people in the Villa or the hospital, they get stuck there. It’s not that family doesn’t love you, but they’re busy with their lives. Kids move on.

I don’t think people realize the lonely hours. That’s why I said I would go to the hospital, if only to wash their hair, massage a little oil on their arms, read their cards, or whatever. Watching my mother go downhill, I said, Mom, what do you want? Do you want me to read to you? She said, “No.” Do you want me to rub your back? “No.” She closed her eyes, and I know the first two lines to most songs, so I just sang some songs to my mom. The next time I came back, she said, “Thank you for singing all those songs to me. I heard you.” This is what people need. When the day comes that I have to move out of here, I hope that I’m healthy enough and still able to go and do that for someone else.
Every day is a day in the sun for me. Be it a phone call from someone just to talk, or someone popping in the back door with a coffee in their hands from Timmy’s or whatever. The kids at the school and how they respond in conversation with me; the things they ask of me, they think it’s me that’s giving, but it’s them that’s giving because they’re doing me a favour that they care enough about me that they want me in their lives.

My husband Elmer died four years ago of a heart attack. He was 76. He always said, “Jennie, when I die, don’t have a flowery splash. Tell people to come in their work clothes and just have a good time.” Elmer liked his Scotch, so he said to line up a bar full of Scotch and everybody had to have one drink of Scotch on Elmer.
We had it at our farm and people were told to dress casual. Some came dressed up. My kids came in shorts and sandals because it was the 15th of June. Our son Jeff got up and spoke, and people said the comments he made about his dad sounded more like he was roasting him. I said, Then you didn’t know Elmer, because that’s exactly what he would have expected. But he wasn’t there to celebrate.
When you die, they always say they’re going to celebrate your life, but you’re not there anymore. You’re gone. I decided that after making all the arrangements for my funeral and for celebrating Jennie’s life, I decided I wanted to be part of it. I wanted a great big tent open to whoever wants to come, there would be loud music playing (ABBA), there would be an abundance of good food to snack on, and just lots of love and friendship. I wanted to be part of that. Not a dead body.
A one day deal turned into three days. It was lucky that my birthday was on a Friday. If they had done this when I died, I wouldn’t have gotten to enjoy it. I highly recommend this. Think about it. I said to my kids, when I die, bury me. That’s all. This is my day in the sun.

South Huron District High School’s music department spent four days from May 13-16 in Chicago as part of an experimental type of band trip. The Strip’s Casey Lessard tagged along.

Story and photos by Casey Lessard

“Two years ago in Cleveland, I met Benjamin Washington by happenstance,” says South Huron music teacher and band director Isaac Moore, speaking of Chicago King College Prep High School’s band director. “He needed a bass amp and I needed a trumpet, so we ended up talking and exchanging instruments for an hour or so. Because of that, we ended up talking about where each of us was from and how neat it would be if we tried to do something together. ”
Each year, South Huron’s music department takes a trip, but most of the recent trips have been for competitions.
“We could have done that again this year. But I wanted to give the kids a varied experience; we had never gone to Chicago, and a lot of kids were interested in going there.”
Sixty-six members of the band joined the trip, along with eight chaperones. The visit to America’s third largest city included sightseeing, a trip to the famed Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Sears Tower, and lots of music. The band performed all day its second day, starting with a master class at a college for music teachers, followed by a jazz combo performance at Buddy Guy’s Legends bar. Then it was off to King College Prep for an afternoon and evening collaboration, which started with watching the one of the city’s best marching bands practise.
“Our marching band is everywhere, winning competitions,” says Benjamin Washington. “We’re like the Soul Train of Chicago. Just last year, we opened for the Stone Temple Pilots concert, Wynton Marsalis dropped by and played with us here. [U.S. President Obama’s house] is about three or four blocks from here. Marching around in the summer time, we would pass by it. I didn’t even know he lived there until the presidential election.”
Whether Obama ever noticed King’s marching band or not, percussionist Joe Pavkeje of Exeter found it valuable to see how King’s musicians perform, bobbing their heads while playing.
“It showed we could be doing a lot of things we’re not doing. Not that we’re not doing enough, but they have a different style that I thought was interesting. They really got into their music, which helps them with their stage presence. It makes them sound better. If they’re more into it, it makes it more enjoyable for everybody.”
While Pavkeje noticed the contrasts, Moore hopes he also noticed the similarities.
“We often think these major cities are better than what we’re doing here. Rural schools are have not and city schools are have. It shows the kids how special this school is and gives them perspective on how great they’re doing and how wonderful the music they’re doing is.”
Kristy Pavkeje is thankful for the experience, and knows who should get the credit.
“It’s a really high quality program. If you look around (elsewhere in our region), we seem to be more dedicated or something. A lot of that is due to Mr. Moore. He knows how to get the most out of this program for us. With the SHSM (Specialist High Skills Major) program (in Arts & Culture), it looks good when you go to university or college, and he worked hard to get it at the school.”
For Moore’s part, he notes he couldn’t pull it off without the overwhelming support of the community.
“The community is so, so important to what we’re doing here. They support our concerts to show our kids that what they’re doing is important. The fact that we have this extremely supportive community and excellent tradition of music at this school, it’s a machine that doesn’t seem to stop. Every day I come here, I don’t know who I’m thanking, but I’m thanking someone.”
Moore is eager to show the music program’s supporters what King College Prep is doing, and hopes Washington is able to bring his students to Exeter next year.
“Having the opportunity to see their marching band and the enthusiasm they have for music, it was infectious. Our kids loved watching their band perform, and this community would love seeing it, too. It’s really fun to watch.”
Washington is on board, too, and hopes it can happen.
“It gives the kids the opportunity to see children from other areas and see we’re doing the same thing,” he says. “I’m sure Mr. Moore is saying the same things: you’ve got to practise, you’ve got to listen, you’ve got to watch the rhythms. It gives the children a chance to see that what I’m trying to provide for them is what others are trying to do as well.”
Looking back on the trip, Moore hopes his students got enough time to interact with their Chicago counterparts.
“The students said the best part of the trip was socializing with students from the other school, and you can’t plan that. It would have been nice to have more time for that. It’s through that social bond that they see that we’re doing the same things here.”

Kevin Mills, principal
South Huron District High School

Experience: 21st year in education; Mitchell (teacher), St. Mary’s (teacher) Seaforth (vice principal), St. Mary’s (principal for last seven years)
Home: St. Mary’s
Family: Three daughters

Personal tidbits:
“When I was transferred to South Huron, my oldest girl was ecstatic because she was heading into high school and I would no longer be working at the school she would be attending.
“I like playing baseball and hockey. As a family, we camp, we bike and hike.”

Looking forward to:
“Learning more about the community and seeing what makes Exeter tick. Helping students achieve success.”

Trends:
“Students have more opportunities in curricular and extra-curricular activities. Students have to be in school until they’re 18, and that’s helpful because many of them don’t mature until they’re 16 or 17 and realize the benefit of being in school. And the third thrust is participation in a high-skills major; South Huron will now offer high-skills majors in transportation and arts and culture. Students have to get required credits and co-op credits, as well as English and some certifications, such as WHMIS and first aid.”

New this year:
Activity period at the end of the day. “It will allow students to get involved in clubs and athletics, which helps improve marks, and for those kids who are struggling, there is an extra half hour for them to get extra help from a teacher. School ends at 2:50, so some kids working in town will change their work hours to start at 3:00 instead.”

To students:
“I always tell the kids my philosophy is three-fold: To take pride in what they’re doing, to promote excellence, and to create positive memories of school. If we can do all three, we’ve been successful.”

To parents:
“I’m an open person, so if they have concerns I’m willing to listen to them.”

New school year ushers in big changes, including one for this principal

Principal’s Page
By Jeff Reaburn

Once again the summer has flown by and it is time to get ready to return to school. The custodial staff at South Huron has been working diligently throughout the summer and the school is shiny and clean, in great shape for the arrival of the students on September 2. The only major change to the building has been an upgrade of the boiler system, which is ongoing, but should be completed well before the arrival of cold weather.
The first day of school will begin with an assembly in the large gym, after which students will report to their first period classes. Class lists for first period classes will be posted in various locations on the main floor, and students are asked to check these lists prior to the assembly so that they know where to go when they are dismissed from the assembly. Grade Nine students will be held back at the end of the assembly and escorted to their first period classes by their teachers.
In first period students will receive several items: a planner, a student information sheet, a copy of their timetable, and an insurance form. They are asked to take the information sheet home to be verified and signed by a parent, and they are asked to take the insurance form home as well. They will also be given their locker assignments in first period, and Grade Nine students will be able to purchase a lock from their first period teachers for $6.00. Students in Grades 10 – 12 who need a new lock may purchase one in the main office. The locks we sell cost a little more than those available in stores but we guarantee them and will replace them at no charge if they are defective. In addition, our locks have serial numbers that allow us to determine the combination if a student should happen to forget it, avoiding the necessity of having to cut the lock off.
First period teachers will also be collecting Student Council fees and yearbook money. The student fee will remain at $25 this year, but we have had to raise the price for a yearbook to $30 due to increased production costs. Students who wish to buy a yearbook are asked to order one as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
New staff members will be introduced at the opening day assembly, but there is one staff change that I would like to mention now. This will be my last column as principal of South Huron as I will be moving into the position of System Principal of Information Services for the Board, effective September 1. Kevin Mills, who has been principal of St. Marys DCVI for the last seven years, will take over as principal at SHDHS. Kevin and I have been colleagues and good friends for the last eight years, and I know that he will do a great job.
I have greatly enjoyed the last seven years and would like to thank the students, staff, and community for the wonderful support they have shown me. The decision to leave South Huron was a very difficult one for me, and I will miss the school tremendously. I have told Mr. Mills that he is moving into a great school, and I am sure that he will enjoy the same level of support that I have received for the last seven years. Though I will no longer be at the school, the Panther spirit will remain with me.

The inevitable day has arrived.
I had hoped I would be able to continue to provide the Grand Bend Strip newspaper for free indefinitely, but after thinking long and hard this spring, I realize that the only way for the paper to publish this winter is to ask for your support.
Like you, I value the ability to learn more about the people who live and work in this community. I love meeting you and capturing your memories for the paper. This is what I feel I can bring to this community, and I want to stay here.
I also feel it’s important to bring to light some of the problems that exist here, and the challenges we face in this community. I’m willing to put the work into creating quality journalism here, but I can’t do it alone.
The Strip will continue to be free until the end of the summer, which on most people’s calendar is the Thanksgiving weekend. After that, it will be available only to Strip Club VIP members. Even the website will be restricted to VIPs. I have yet to decide whether the exclusivity will continue next summer.
I promise to make membership worthwhile, and hope you will contribute to surveys to improve the paper, and take advantage of special offers from our advertising clients.
For more information about club membership, please see our subscription page.

All 1980s grads invited to August 2 reunion

If you attended South Huron District High School during the 1980s, you’re invited to attend a reunion August 2 at the South Huron Recreation Centre.
Tickets are $25, and are on sale at Movie Gallery in Exeter, or by contacting Tim Rowcliffe (timaro -at – yahoo.com). Luncheon will be provided and entertainment is courtesy of Jane’s Rehab. Proceeds from the event are going to Scott and Denise Halpenny to assist in her treatment for MS.
If you attended South Huron and graduated from 1981-1992, we’d love to see you!

Lauren Haberer of Zurich and Marcus Haccius of Shipka were named South Huron District High School’s 2008 Students of the Year at the June 6 prom, held at the school’s small gym. For more about the winners and nominees, see:

Katie Anderson
Lauren Haberer
Janita Pfaff
Carly Schroeder

Dimitris Fragiskatos
Marcus Haccius
Bryce Halpenny
Kurt Van Osch

Kurt Van Osch
Parents: Gerald and Lori Van Osch, outside of Mt. Carmel
Nickname: Van O
Known for: Sports. That’s about all I’m known for.
Fall 2008: Guelph for Business Agriculture
Most Memorable Moment: OFSAA hockey championships in Ottawa this year. Just being in the hotel with my friends and playing my favourite sport.
Most Embarrassing Moment: Grade 9. I was walking with all the Grade 12s and I dropped my book and all my papers fell out. Having the Grade 12s look down on you is pretty embarrassing.
Regret: Not focusing on school enough, but I still got into the program I wanted.
Thank you: to my parents for sure, all my friends and all my teachers. I’ve had good teachers for every class.
Sorry to: my English teachers; I feel sorry for them having to mark my papers all the time.