Principal’s Page
By Jeff Reaburn
As May winds down, we look forward to a number of year end activities, including the Formal, the Athletic Awards Assembly, and Relay for Life. These are all significant activities and we certainly would like to see large numbers of students involved in all of them. Parental encouragement of this involvement would be greatly appreciated.
I would like to issue my annual reminder that we would like the Formal to be a positive experience for all who attend it, and to this end, we will once again be taking steps to ensure that it is an alcohol-free event. We will be doing a breathalyzer test at the door, and students will not be admitted if the test shows that they have been drinking. If the breathalyzer indicates a significant level of alcohol, then parents will be called to pick up their son or daughter, and we will have to suspend the student from school. In the last two years since we instituted the policy of testing everyone, the students have been very cooperative and we appreciate that.
Again, parental support and involvement would be appreciated to ensure that there is no alcohol consumption at the dinner parties that take place prior to the dance. We really don’t want to turn anyone away from the dance, and we hope that students realize that they can have a great time at the dance, without having to drink before they arrive. As well, I will be issuing my usual reminders to the students to look out for one another and be responsible after the dance as well. We want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable experience at this annual rite of graduation.
The nominees for Student of the Year are once again an outstanding group of students who certainly represent the graduating class. Their write-ups will appear in next week’s paper, but I would like to mention them here. It is an honour for them to have been chosen by their peers and any of them would be an excellent choice as Student of the Year: Katie Anderson, Lauren Haberer, Janita Pfaff, Carly Schroeder, Dimitris Fragiskatos, Marcus Haccius, Bryce Halpenny, and Kurt Van Osch. I would like to congratulate all eight of these outstanding young people for being nominated for this honour.
I would also like to congratulate Mr. Moore, Mr. Weston, and all of the band members who traveled to Ottawa for MusicFest Nationals. Not only did they perform remarkably well in the face of some adversity, but I received numerous glowing comments on what excellent ambassadors they were for South Huron. It is always very gratifying when an individual, a group, or a team is recognized for an outstanding achievement, but it is all the more impressive when we are told how well behaved, respectful, and courteous they are.
The Wind Ensemble was the first of our groups to perform and they earned a silver standard. The Senior Concert Band performed next and they achieved a high bronze standard, and the Percussion Ensemble achieved the highest standing possible – a gold standard. Considering that these groups were competing against the best high school groups in the country, these are outstanding achievements. The students, their parents, and teachers should be very proud of these excellent accomplishments, which are a fitting reward for the countless hours of practice and preparation throughout the year.
I would also like to thank three parent volunteers who went along on the trip. Betty Beer, Karen Brown, and Deb Gill not only chaperoned this event, but provided outstanding service as mothers and nurses when several of our students came down with food poisoning and were very ill. We greatly appreciate their assistance and willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty. I would also like to thank Dave Robilliard, who also chaperoned on the trip, for his work with our percussion students all year long. His instruction, support, and encouragement are also greatly appreciated.
Finally, I would like to comment on our outstanding achievements in track and field this year. We are sending ten students on to compete in the OFSAA West Regionals, based on their achievements at WOSSAA last week. On Thursday Carly Mercer qualified in the Junior Girls 1500M, Ezekial McCarthy in Jr. Boys Discus, Lachlan Macgregor in Sr. Boys High Jump, Justin Anstett in Sr. Boys Javelin, Stephen Runhart in Midget Boys Javelin, and Katie Anderson in Sr. Girls 1500M. On Friday, Carly Mercer and Katie Anderson qualified again, this time for the Jr. and Sr. Girls 3000M respectively. In addition, Deanna Love qualified in the 300M hurdles, Teri Stuckless in Jr. Girls Shot Put, Michelle Hall in the Midget Girls 800M, and John Macgregor in the Midget Boys
High Jump. Ezekial McCarthy also qualified in Jr. Boys Javelin to go along with his qualifying in the discus.
Congratulations to all the members of the Track and Field Team and to their coaches – Dave Small, Phil Conley, Carleen Hone, Scott Halpenny, and Russ Watson – on an outstanding season.