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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times-Advocate, 2002-09-25, Page 6Hope for humanity Dear Editor: It was good we remembered and reminded our- selves of 9/11. Our prayers and sympathetic energy was also sent to the survivors and deceased from the horrific travesty. Now is the time to put our energy into prevention of another such event in future decades. It begins now with each one of us taking steps to alter our beliefs, prejudices, attitudes, socially, economically, politically and religiously. Everything we have practiced or developed to date has not been successful. Until everything is perfect, change is necessary. It will take two or three genera- tions to change our perspectives but it needs to begin now with each of us. We finally terminated racial prejudices to acceptance. We need a world without boundaries. No dividing religious practices. We are all one, we believe in the same one, God. Equality is the divineness in each of us. Our worst enemy has the same divine spirit as we have, they choose not to recognize it or use it for good. Forgiveness is our gift to practice for those. Universal laws should be learned, they are basic and never change. Vengeance, retribution, retaliation by judging another or group is never successful. Violence begets violence. It is simply to love God and others, do not judge anyone or anything as it hap- pens, even 9/11. Accept everyone and everything is the highest challenge for all of us to do. Is it worth it for peace? Make it a priority in life to change. To some it brought more love and appreciation into their lives. Of course, it takes 9/11 to wake us up, so the good can come from it. We can all blend to be one, the same, equal, free. 9/11 was the day the world changed. Has it really changed? Our old routines, habits, thinking and attitudes are still the same as it was before. We can be proud of the way the U.S. responded to the crisis and the world at large with physical support, funding and prayers. One day there will be no religious wars. One coun- try will support and exchange products with another in co-operation. The world will be free with no oppression or aggression to infiltrate or destroy another country or person. It is our hope for humani- ty to survive as one with freedom of choice for all. For each human to recognize the greater glory of our soul in God brings peace, joy and contentment. No one is better than another. Simplicity is acceptance and forgiveness. Peace and understanding will be our achievement. It will be a new world that 9/11 initiated. EILEEN VANMEER, London 6 Wednesday, September 25, 2002Exeter Times–Advocate Opinion&Forum &News Panther Profile EXETER — This week more opportunities are available to get involved as a Panther. Our athletic chairperson, Hung Vo, started up the Athletics Council. This is an awesome chance to show school spirit and support Panthers’ Athletics. The Debating Club and the Yearbook Committee started as well. For students who would like to make this year’s formal the best, there is the Formal Committee. Black Jazz and Concert Band each had their first gigs of the year. Black Jazz played at the fair Friday night and the Concert band played in the Exeter Fall Fair Parade. Not only are these extra-curriculars enjoyable, but they also look great on a job resume. Also, these opportuni- ties help you meet other students with similar interests. South Huron is hosting a Girls Basketball Tournament in the large gym Sept. 27-28. Welcome Student Teachers! They will be coming every Friday until Oct. 4, after which they come everyday for three weeks. The Student Health Clinic is open the first and third Tuesday of each month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Appointments can be made in the Guidance Office. Oct. 1 is the next opportunity for the clinic. Grade School Basketball Camp, for Grades 6, 7 and 8 starts Oct. 2. The volunteer coaches are high school students. Four SHDHS students, Amy Shapton, Megan Preszcator, Jenn Baker and Amanda Breuer com- peted for Exeter Fall Fair Ambassador. Congratulations to Megan and we wish her a great year as she represents South Huron. Remember to listen to the announcements every day for important information and opportunities to get involved. The announcements are posted out- side the office. Everyone is welcome to come and support the school teams. Coming Events: Sept. 25 — Girls Basketball: South Huron at Madill — Field Hockey: - St. Anne’s at South Huron — St. Marys at South Huron Sept. 26 — Field Hockey: Tournament in Toronto — Cross Country Team at Fanshawe Park Conservation Area Sept. 27-28 — Girls Basketball: Tournament at South Huron, large gym Oct. 1 — Student Health Clinic, 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. — Boys Volleyball: at Central Huron — South Huron vs. St. Anne’s — South Huron vs. Central Huron Oct. 2 — Girls Basketball: Madill at South Huron — Grade School Basketball Coaches Fri. Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m.— Commencement in the Large Gym Fri. Oct. 18 — Picture Retake day Teen corner The calming of fear I'd have to say that running for Fair Ambassador was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. Before I go on, I would like to congratulate Megan, Amy and Amanda, because they were all amazing at the competition last Friday, and I know that Meagan will do an excellent job as Ambassador this year. With that out of the way, I would like to talk about something that a lot of people I have talked to can relate to: the fear of public speaking. There is no doubt that it is a both challenging and fright- ening thing, but why? We all talk to groups of people at one point in our lives, perhaps we talk to a group of our friends daily. However, public speaking treats us all a little differently. I, personally, was terrified by the idea. I have a massive fear of public speaking, and I have analyzed the reasons why (I realized that if I got where I wanted to go in my career I may have to do a lot of it). I found that every time I've had to do a speech in front of a large group of people, things don't go perfectly. And then comes that feeling. The feeling like you have in those common dreams where you are standing in your underwear in front of a group of important people. You feel exposed! We've all felt that feeling before, when things don't go right when you are under pressure. To me it feels like halfway between embarrassment and horror. You feel vulnerable, because you know that the audience has power over you, there being more of them. Then, as you struggle to con- tinue, you begin to feel blocked, like they are all judging you and out to get you. All of a sudden, it becomes almost painful to go on, and you can't breathe, and you can't think. You can't move. Experiences like that lead to a fear of public speaking for me. To overcome it, I told myself that, first of all, I had to learn to do it. It's an impor- tant skill. The old trick, imagining the audience in their underwear to make them less threatening, doesn't work. It makes me laugh. So, I tried to imagine them all as close friends, whether I knew them or not. We can all talk to our friends. Then I ate massive amounts of sugar so I would have too much energy to feel afraid. The beauty of facing fear, in those times when you can bring yourself to do it, is that you get a great feeling afterwards. You know that you can do it, and you feel better about yourself. You'd even do it again. Everything gets easier with practice. It's a gratifying feeling, and worth every eternity in front of a crowd. Human beings have the ability to do anything they put their minds to. If you are afraid of something, put your mind to overcoming it. You will be entirely glad that you did, and if you con- quer fear, you eliminate half the obstacles on the way to your goal! JENN BAKER TEEN CORNER BETH HUNDEY PANTHER PROFILE Principal’s Message EXETER — Last week I wrote about our stu- dents’ successful results on last year’s Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. But in doing so I overlooked some people who have contributed greatly to the success of our stu- dents. I would like to correct that oversight. First of all, our students would not have achieved these good results without the hard work of our col- leagues in the elementary schools. They are obvi- ously providing the solid foundation that has enabled our students to be so successful and they should be thanked for all their hard work. Also, parents are a key part of this success and they deserve our thanks and congratulations for their ongoing support as well. In fact, parental sup- port and encouragement are two of the most impor- tant factors in overall student achievement. Parents of high school students often feel they can’t contribute as much as they could when their children were in elementary school; I think they can but in different ways. I often have parents tell me they can’t help their kids with homework, for example, because the work is different than what they did as students them- selves. This may be true, but what parents can do is help keep us informed if students are struggling and encourage their children to get extra help from their teachers. In the course of a school year, I regularly talk to students having difficulty in a class and I always ask if they have gone to the teacher for extra help. It amazes me how often the answer is “no.” So, if you are a parent and you can see your son or daughter is struggling with homework or an assignment, ask if he/she has gone to the teacher for extra help and encourage him/her to do so. If the struggle continues, let us know: contact the teacher to see if there are things you can do at home to help. One of our goals this year is to increase the amount of contact we have with parents in an effort to keep them aware of how their children are doing in school. But please keep in mind a full- time teacher will have anywhere from 120 to 190 students: obvious- ly, it would be impossible to be in regular contact with every parent. The key is awareness. Parents may know before the teacher does that a student is having difficulty and the sooner we are aware of the problem, the sooner we can take steps to solve it. Parents can also play a key role by ensuring students are doing their homework and getting assignments handed in. If students are coming home frequently without books and saying they have no homework, parents might want to contact the teachers to confirm this. Most students will have homework on a regular basis. On the first day of school each student was given a planner to use to keep track of homework, assign- ments, upcoming events and so on. We encourage students to get in the habit of using this book, and parents could assist us in this area as well. Ask to see your child’s planner. It has detailed information on school policies and procedures at the front, which is important for parents to know. And it is also a quick check for parents to see if their stu- dents are staying on top of their schoolwork. If there is little or nothing of importance written in the planner, parents might want to encourage their kids to make better use of this helpful tool. We need parental support when it comes to atten- dance also. Regular attendance is a key to academic success, and we stress the importance of attendance and punctuality. Parents can assist us in reinforcing this message by not excusing students for things that can be done outside of school hours, such as hair- cuts or shopping trips. One other thing parents can do to assist us is to stay informed of what is happening at school. I try to use this column to keep parents informed of impor- tant upcoming events, such as Commencement and the Awards Assembly (both on Oct. 11) and the Literacy Test (Oct. 23-24). But I also encourage parents to talk to their kids about what is going on at school: this practice keeps parents informed and helps send a positive message that school is important. Parental support and involvement are key factors to our success as educa- tors. JEFF REABURN PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE