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The Citizen, 2016-07-07, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2016. Huron Christian's van Leeuwen recounts the climb By Emily van Leeuwen It all began a number of years ago. We started breathing, eating, sleeping, playing and learning. Our fascination for the world grew with every passing day and our knowledge expanded beyond what we had already known. We stepped out of our comfort zone, into the world where we can breathe fresh air and play with friends. Each and every one of us here today has gone through at least some of the beginning stages of life, while having our parents to guide us along the path. That path seemed short and sweet, but when we got to the end of it, we found ourselves staring up at the face of a giant mountain, wondering how on earth we would make it to the top. The first step was the easiest, but probably the most scary. We had entered a sea of new and older people. Our climbing instructor, Mrs. Soer, seemed, at times, almost as tall as the mountain itself, but she wasn't at all scary after the first couple days. She taught us the rules of climbing and how we would make it to the top without getting too badly hurt. There were times when she had to break up fights, one of which was when Reuben beat up Zach, on Zach's first day of school, for the coveted toy: the tractor. Emma, believe it or not, was the shy one. She clung to Mrs. Soer's leg (figuratively, I'm sure) throughout the whole year. During this climb, we were allowed to take small breaks during the day to collect ourselves. I don't understand why we're not still allowed to do so. After a long year of learning the rules and the basics, we reached camp number one, where our next climbing instructor awaited us. At camp number one, we had time to recuperate from our first climb, but after that, we had to keep on climbing. Miss Bechtel was raring to go, ready to teach us much more than we had already learned. She taught us how to sing and how to be happy about it, even though most of us have forgotten that lesson. This was the year that we had class in the library, what with the lack of classrooms within the school. That year at track and field, Reuben, Ryan and Zach were the only ones that showed up from our class. This step was a little bit steeper than the last, but it would still be one of the easiest. Mrs. VanWyk awaited us at camp two, ready to pick up the climb where Miss Bechtel left off. She was a very enthusiastic teacher, happy to teach us all the new things. While she was teaching us these things, Reuben was annoying Zach with his finger, pretending that it was a worm and wiggling it in front of his face. After mentally preparing us for what was to come next, Mrs. VanWyk led us along the last bit of the climb, to camp three. Climbing up step three was a crazy year, and it was the year that we were forced to learn the dreaded multiplication. We had Mr. Huls as our climbing instructor that year, and our class had grown by two people. Zach brought 22 -calibre bullets to school one day, and I don't think they ever got taken away. If you have ever wondered why the beehive climber is bolted to the ground, we were the reason. During recess one day, we decided that it would be a good idea to move it, so the class picked it up and set it down underneath the swings. The teachers were not very happy about that. By the end of the year, Reuben and Ryan had gotten so many crackers from Mr. Huls, because he got their names mixed up, I'm sure they were sick of them by the end of the year. After all the fun we had, it was time to move on the step four. Climb number four was the year we had Mrs. Kuiper as our climbing instructor. Her soft voice meant that she needed a speaker to magnify her voice, and more than once, she left it on by accident. When Emily Crawford came to visit that one day, Noah stood at the front and sang, and probably danced to, the song "Afro Circus" from Madagascar. Emily's exact words were "I was scared of him back then." Mrs. Kuiper taught us more about multiplication before she dropped us off at camp five. On our fifth climb, we had two climbing instructors, Mrs. Frielink and Mrs. DeJager. They shared the time with us, and both were amazing teachers. Mrs. Frielink let us play four pics one word on the projector, and I heard that Mrs. Scott even came to play with us one day. Two more people joined our class, making the class become even more crazy and energetic. This was the year that we had the debate about Native Americans. Overall, this was an amazing year, but we had to come to camp six sometime. Mr. DeBoer and two new climbers awaited us at camp six. We had a good time on the way up, though the going was tough. The Rube Goldberg machines are something that will always be remembered by this class, while not all of them worked, we had fun doing them with our classmates. We also did our poem anthology and we took a period to sit in a circle, drink water out of mugs and listen to what other people had written. In June of that year, Mrs. VanWyk put some of her class's pizza boxes in our recycling box. What was to come next, would be a surprise to many. This was a fun year and we all made plenty of memories, but we were in for a surprise for our next climb. Our instructor for climb seven, was led by... surprise: Mr. DeBoer! I guess he liked our class so much that he decided to climb with us for another stretch. He had planned so many more fun things to do. For our service afternoon, we printed out Bible verses and put them in helium balloons. From there, we proceeded to hand them out to people around town. Around December, we remembered what Mrs. VanWyk had done to us the previous year. We then devised a plan to spread pizza boxes all over their room. It took a few months worth of collecting the pizza boxes, but by about mid-April, we put our plan into action. Grade 1 got back at us by putting snowflakes all over our classroom, so we took all their desks outside while they were away. At the end of the year, we were invited to a scavenger hunt with them, as a peace offering. Another fun climb had drawn to a close, so we awaited our next instructor at the next camp. Mrs. Scott became our next instructor, and we quickly got used to her rules: No sneezing, no coughing and definitely no fiddle - farting around. This year we got to go on our Ottawa/Montreal trip. The first night there was uncomfortable. We had to sleep in jail cells, and some of us had six people per cell. Most of us didn't get to sleep until the wee hours of the morning, and many of us were tired the next day. The second day, our accommodations were way better. We checked into the Travelodge hotel before going to Old Montreal to have some free time. Most of us girls bought sweaters, while the guys used some of their money to rent a pedal car for a while. It was a very rewarding trip, altogether. I would like to thank all the chaperones who came with us, because I don't think Mrs. Scott and Mr. G could have handled us all by themselves. Our class can get a little bit overwhelming sometimes. Our last climb has been an amazing climb, with many things to see. It all seems a long time since we started our first climb, but writing this speech, I realized that it wasn't that long at all. To be honest with you, this class is one of the best classes I could have ever asked for, even though I may not have shown it at times. • There's Ryan, who has made a habit of snapping his fingers • Emily Crawford, is incredibly athletic, no matter what she may lead you to believe • Zachary, who is the quiet one of the guys, but is someone who you can have a decent conversation • Noah, who is never afraid to be himself and make strange noises during class • Jess, who is a good friend to all • Reuben, who has a personality as bright as his red — sorry, orange — hair • John, who loves to be heard by everyone, even during the times when we aren't supposed to be talking • Curtis, who is like John in many ways, but has his own way to make people laugh • Emma, who is also athletic and laughs at almost all of your jokes • And Jacqui, the quietest of us all, and also the most gentle Over the years, we have been here together, we have learned and grown physically, mentally and spiritually. We have made it to the top of the mountain here at Huron Christian School, with help along the way. We have had friends who catch us when we start to fall back down, parents who have kept us going upward, and teachers who have shown us the way. Climbing a mountain is not always easy and the path becomes ever harder as we climb, but here we are; we've all made it. We can't climb mountains alone, even with all our fellow humans helping us along the way. God keeps us surefooted along the trail and gave us all of the people that have helped us. I know that life hasn't always been easy, but you've been encouraged by those who surround you to keep going. Sometimes you don't like those people, sometimes you do, but they are all a gift from God. I would like to thank everyone that has been there for us when it was needed, and who was there even when it wasn't. Without you, we would have never scaled the mountain. After all we have been through together, we think we have made it to the top of the mountain, but yet, as we look out from the top of the peak, we realize that there is so much more of this world to discover. Some are eager to get out there, others are more reluctant to leave what they have known for almost their entire life behind, but we all will find our own paths, some starting along the same trail together and splitting off further along, but we will always remember those we climbed the mountain with at Huron Christian School, and our many guides. Fellow classmates, sometimes you will miss climbing that mountain, but remember that you have your whole life ahead of you and that you will make many, many more memories. So, travel along the path you choose and may the Lord guide you along the most scenic of trails. Huron Christian hands out awards In late June, Clinton's Huron Christian School hosted its annual Grade 8 graduation ceremony and handed out its year-end awards to students moving on to high school. Emily van Leeuwen was named the class's valedictorian, an award sponsored by PA Roy Insurance Brokers. Emma Veenstra was the school's top female athlete, sponsored by Kristy Cameron and John VanGent was the top male athlete, an award that was sponsored anonymously. Jess Stoecker won both the school's Bible and Service awards. The Bible award was sponsored by Selah Family Books and the service award was sponsored anonymously. Emily van Leeuwen won the school's language arts award, sponsored by the Clinton Optimist Club, and the mathematics award, sponsored by Vodden, Bender and Seebach Chartered Accountants. Emily Crawford was honoured with the school's science award, sponsored by Kimberly and Bill VanWyk, as well as the geography award, sponsored by Realty Executives Platinum. Emma Veenstra won the history award, sponsored by Investors Group and Paul Vandendool, and the art award, presented and sponsored in memory of Jacob Roorda. Jacqui Whaling won the school's French award, sponsored by Clarence and Ingrid Bos, while John VanGent won the physical education award, sponsored by PA Roy Insurance Brokers. Jess Stoecker won the music award, sponsored by Connie Bos, and the most improved student award, which was sponsored by Gilbert and Joannie VandenHeuvel and family. Emily van Leeuwen was named the school's top scholar, an award sponsored by Investors Group and Paul Vandendool, and Emma Veenstra won the Bakker Scholarship, which is sponsored by Willem and Johanna Bakker and family. Emily Crawford, Jess Stoecker, Emily van Leeuwen, Emma Veenstra and Jacqui Whaling were all on the school's honour roll and also received the school's Memory Work memorization awards. Seaforth winners named Last week, the Grade 8 students of Seaforth Public School were honoured by their teachers, parents and community members with a number of awards ahead of their journey to high school. Cole Zwep and Allison Stevenson were named the school's valedictorians. The pair were also the male and female that took home the athletics awards for the evening. Mackenzie Hughes won the Georgina Reynolds Spirit Award, while Allison Stevenson won the Carolyn Griffin Positive Role Model Award. Amy Gras and John Flynn won the Barb Elston Memorial Award and Brooke Beuermann won the Nancy Kale Environmental Award. Cole Zwep and Amy Gras won the J.W. Talbot Academic Award. The pair was also named field day champs. Dana Latour was named the winner of the Rachel Broome Memorial Award for art, while Brooke Beuermann won the the Edna Bell Waddington Bursary. Mackenzie Hughes won the friendship award, Cole Zwep won the science award, Emily Upshall won the history award, Amy Gras won the geography award, Allison Stevenson won the French award and Dana Latour won the music award. Grace Bontaine and Dana Latour won the June Boussey Bursary Award and Ryian McGregor won the Sheila Morton Super Fun Award, while Brooke Beuermann won the John Jew Citizenship Award and Cole Zwep won the Principal Leadership Award. Grace Bontaine and Alexa Hugill won the School Council Award, while Mackenzie Hughes won the Doug Perkes Memorial Award. Most improved students in English were Kiera Agnew, Dana Latour, Alison Snell, Cole Zwep, Grace Bontaine, John Flynn, Amy Gras and Allison Stevenson and most improved students in mathematics were Dana Latour, Alison Snell, Cole Zwep, Grace Bontaine, Amy Gras and Allison Stevenson.