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The Citizen, 2002-07-03, Page 19THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2002. PAGE 19. 2002 2002 4.444.114 9 S n For the laving ial and ire: all to do g your ay she Henry inging m sure getting cream much )ors of I time, mixed leave >s that fferent oy and future It, but w and s great -its and the it main LT skills allows it silly e time :rol. He pick on hat has Tassing Lzy, but ,ck and . pretty ar all of We're Seaforth's co-valedictorian reflects on past By A. Macgregor When I was little, Grade 8 graduation seemed a very long way off, but now it's here and I can't help but feel a little surprised. Where did all those years go between kinder- garten and Grade 8? Wherever they went, they went fast. I can still remember almost perfectly my first day of elementary school, and now I'm here with my friends celebrating my last. But I can't think of a better way to leave behind Seaforth Public School than with the group of young people graduating with me here tonight. I think I speak for everyone in my class when I say that this has been a pretty fantastic year for all of us, and that the nine year wait to get to the top of the school was well worth it. As eighth graders this year we've had many new and exciting opportunities, including the chance to influence our fellow students in ways we'd never imagined. This year it was our responsibility to set the standard for next year's class of Grade 8s and to set a good example for the younger students of our school. It was our responsibility to let them know through our words and our actions what it means to be a student here at Seaforth Public School. and especially what it means to be in Grade 8. It was our responsibility to show the younger students how important and beneficial an education can be, and how having good grades can land you spots on school teams, clubs and committees — which in turn can and will earn you the respect of your peers. All of these things can make your life as a student in any grade more enjoyable and fun, so I hope that we've all succeeded in passing that message along to the rest of the school. As Grade 8s we've also had many opportunities to become more involved in our school through extracurricular activities. This year was, after all, our last year at Seaforth Public School and for the most part many people in my class, including myself, took the chance to do fun things that they had not done in previous years. Some of these activities included senior girls' and boys' soccer, volleyball, and basketball, the yearbook committee, the skipping team, library and computer monitors, office monitors, and many others. For those of us who participated in these activities our Grade 8 year was a lot more fun and interesting. But none of these activities would've made it off the ground if it hadn't been for the many wonderful teachers at this school who were willing to volunteer their time to make them a success. For example, Mrs. Reynolds and Mr. Chisholm came to school early, left school late, and sometimes gave up their • lunch hours to coach their sports teams. They coached us all patiently, encouraged us, and piqued our interest in many sports that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. And what about the teachers who taught us in the classroom instead of the gym? They have also influenced us and spent time with us in many in different ways over the years that we've attended Seaforth Public School. In Grade 6 Mrs. Griffin took us all to Camp Sylvan, in Grade 7 Mr. Flood told us hilarious stories and Mrs. Reynolds encouraged us all to compete with last year year's Grade 8s for spots on her volleyball teams, and in Grade 8 Miss Hoonaard spent an entire 96 hours with us at Camp Celtic. You have to be a brave person to that! • I'm sure that my fellow graduates have many memories of other teachers they've had here at this school, and although I've shared only a few of these teachers with my classmates since coming here in January of Grade 6, I know that I speak for everyone here when I say that wouldn't be where we are today without our teachers. They've taught us everything from simple addition and algebra to why earth rotates around the sun. , They also taught us things that weren't in the curriculum, like how to share and why following the rules can save us a lot of trouble in the long run, these life lessons are just as important as math and science, and we'll probably carry them with us longer than what we learned in Grade .8 geography class. But now I'd like to talk to my fellow classmates for a moment. Many of us here tonight have contribution. The John Jew Citizenship Award went to Andrew Ash and Michelle Trapnell. Willem Shepherd and Alexandra Macgregor earned the June Boussey Public Speaking Awards and were named valedictorians. become best friends. I know that we are all capable of doing great things with our lives and that we have the courage and integrity to do so. I know that we can succeed with whatever we choose to do, whenever we choose to do it, and that although we are all very different from each other we can each play our part in making this world a better, more diverse and interesting place to live in. To quote Harry van Dyke, "Use what talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best." I hope that you all realize how much potential you all have and how important it is that you use it to help yourself and others. To prove my point, please think over the following story. Before the age of electricity, city streets were lit after dark by gas lamps. Lamplighters went out every night lighting the lamps with a flaming torch. One night, an elderly man by the name of John Ruskin - an 19th century British writer — was seated at the front window of his house, looking out across the countryside. Across the valley from his house was a street on a hillside. As John Ruskin watched he could see the torch of the lamplighter lighting lamps as he went past. But because of the darkness, John Ruskin couldn't see the lamplighter himself, only his torch and the trail of the lights it left behind." I hope that you, my classmates, understand the meaning of this story is to do what you can, even without recognition, to make this world a bright place to live in for everyone. In closing, I wish you all the best in your future endeavours and hope that you've all enjoyed Grade 8 as much as I have. I also hope that you take into consideration the quote from the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, as you encounter the many situations and opportunities that apse in your life: "You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don't take." So take 100 shots. Hullett students take awards The award winners at Hullett Central Public School graduation ceremonies were: science, Alex Stevenson; history, Julian Bolinger; geography,Rhys Plant; penmanship, Jessica Lowey; Tech 21, Matt Snell, Andrea Sturzenegger; art, Andrea Sturzenegger; English, Amanda Rozendal; improved effort, Matt Snell; math, Terry Radford; computers, Jamie Crosby; outstanding athlete, Sean Bechtel. Andrea Sturzenegger: integrity, Jeremy Farr; overall improvement. Matt Hakkers, Erica Johnston; student leadership, Jacob Crosby; student council, Kathy Greidanus, Megan Disher, Sara Moore, Andrea Sturzenegger; top student, Terry Radford, Amanda Rozendal; courtesy, Jon Merner; effort and co- operation, Justin Dobie, Ashley Tattersall; improvement/persistence in mathematics, Danny Clark; music, Sara Moore, Terry Radford; peer mediation, Rhys Plant; French. Megan Disher. Devon Josling; Martin Murray English award, Keshia Bishop. Presentations of academic excellence, for students with at least 75 per cent of the achievement grades being at a level 3 in subjects on the report card over the three terms, were made to Amy Bishop, Keshia Bishop, Cory Chapman, Amanda Dorsch, Kyle Gibson, Jill Johnston, Amber Sellers. Walton area students were Elston Memorial Award for amongst those taking home awards sportsmanship. at the Seaforth Public School Willem Shepherd and Ashley graduation ceremonies, June 25. Coleman were awarded the J.W. Katie Williamson and Daryl Talbot Award for academic Hulley each received the Barb achievement and general Grey grads get medallions Walton students earn Seaforth PS trophies Tabi Listman received the Edna involvement was given to Chad Bell Improvement in Language Arts Savile while the OPC award trophy and the Sheila Morton for leadership went to Ashley Bursary (Super Fun award) went to Colman. Vatsana Chanthavong. Willem Shepherd earned the The School Advisory council Science and music awards and award for the student with a Janine Fischer took home the positive attitude and all-round French award. The graduates of Grey Central Award; Rebecca Reesor, McDonald Public School took home several Arts Award, outstanding athlete and awards from the graduation scholar; Travis Ziegler, outstanding The award recipients at Brussels award, Amy Bishop; Grade 7 Good ceremonies June 25. athlete; Michael Boyer, outstanding Grade 8 graduation ceremony were: Guy award, Amanda Dorsch; Hazel Academic medallions went to: scholar and Matt McClinchey, Kerry John Frances Moogk art Matheson history award, Cory Michael Boyer, geography, math; Principal Leadership Award. award, Amanda Dorsch; Brussels Chapman; Brussels Lions Stacey Homes, science; Yvonne De Co-valedictorians were Rebecca Optimist science award, Cory citizenship award, Kyle Gibson, Wit, history; Rebecca Reesor, Reesor and Matt McClinchey. Chapman; Margery A. Huether Keshia Bishop; Cory Bragg athletic English and Sasha Ruttan, art. Grey crests went to Michael music award, Keshia Bishop; OPC award, Matt White, Amanda Dorsch; Recipients of other trophies were: Boyer, Francis Deitner, Yvonne De leadership award, Amy Bishop; Royal Canadian Legion proficiency Yvonne De Wit, French; Sara Moser, Wit, Stacey Homes, Matt school advisory council geography award, Cory Chapman; Ken Ashton congeniality and Optimists award; McClinchey, Sara Moser, Rebecca award, Cory Chapman; Glenn Smith mathematics award, Cory Chapman; Francis Deitner, all round student and Reesor, Sasha Ruttan and Travis ABCD award, Jill Johnston; French best effort award, Jill Johnston, Initiative, Integrity, Perseverance Zeigler. Looking forward to what's next Blyth Grade 8s accept awards Brussels students earn awards Continued from page 13 many good times, and sometimes we have had difficult times, but we have gotten through it, remembering that one day we would all be sitting here together saying goodbye and preparing for our transition into Grade 9. Who knows what adventures will come to us all in the future, but we all can succeed if we try our best, and hold our heads high. All of our dreams and ambitions will become reality if we just look forward to whatever happens next. So today we say goodbye to some wonderful people and wait to see what will happen next in our lives. We have only seen a small portion of the world, which we will soon be entering, and as our lives go on, more of it will be reveled. The world is out there for all of us to experience. The next path we choose to follow in our next phase of education will lead us all down a different path. We would like to thank all the people here tonight who have helped us become the people we are today, for they will be with us forever. We are proud to be the representation of this wonderful group of young adults. We wish you all the best in the future. Congratulations, to the graduating class of 2002. Recipients of awards at the Blyth Grade 8 graduation were: computer technology, Jenna Rinn; family studies, Stephanie Sanderson; public speaking (Grade 8 and intermediate), Jeff Elliott; design and technology, Rebecca Schultz; English, Alyssa Gross; English improvement, Eric Caldwell; French, Blake Miller; scienze, Jacob Rouw; history, Stephanie St,nderson; geography, Alyssa Gross; mathematics, Justin Narda; mathematics improvement, Lisa Root; music, Rebecca Schultz; art, Kerissa VanAmersfoort; drama. Orie Falconer; citizenship, Kaitlyn Toll; leadership, Jeff Elliott,*acemaker, Brittany Cook; general proficiency, Jacob Rouw. Tyler Wilson MenTorial Awards for most improved female and male- academic were presented to Nikki Hill and Josh Albrechtas. Athletic awards went to: - top male athlete, Darcey Cook; top Levi Cook, a Grade 8 student of East Wawanosh Public School was the recipient of this year's Spirit of East Wawanosh award in memory of Mark McCracken, at this year's graduation ceremony. Other award winners were: mathematics, Trevor Hopi; history, Leanne Elston; geography, Camerra Yuill; science, Andrew Procter; female athlete, Kerissa VanAmersfoort; track and field, male, Darcey Cook; track and field, runner-up, Josh Albrechtas; track and field, female runner-up, Kerissa VanAmersfoort. English, Camerra Yuill; music, Leanne Elston: French. Lindsay Malhiot: top female athlete. Leanne Elston; top male athlete, Brett Mason; art, Rachel Bell; citizenship. Ellen Procter; principal's award for student leadership. Lindsay Malhiot: general proficiency, Lindsay Malhiot; academic proficiency, Leanne Elston. EWPS grads receive honours