Remembrance_07-45

Jeff Green | Nov 15, 2007

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Coordinated by English and Drama teacher, Kathy Valentini and Social Sciences teacher, Randy McVety, this Remembrance Day Ceremony will not soon be forgotten.

This year, the theme of the core presentation was “Sacrifice for the Greater Good” and it was demonstrated through several first-person monologues, all from the perspectives of those who may have been affected by war. There was the story of the mother, who had to give her sons and husband to the enemy. There were tales of the children who had to bravely watch as their families were torn apart by the need for sisters and brothers. And lastly, there were the accounts of the excited but scared soldiers who willingly volunteered themselves for their countries, sacrificing the one thing they held most dear. The pieces were very well executed by the speakers and succeeded in helping the audience understand what was going through the minds of Canadians everywhere, during times of war.

What has always been truly unique about S.L.H.S.’s Remembrance Day Ceremonies is that the events are entirely written and read by the students, except for guest speakers, the veterans. As well, all of the music performances are played and sung by the student bands and vocal class ensembles. Kirby Gilbertson’s grade 8 students created poems this year, including Kelsea Babcock’s When They Left, Daniel Powell’s Father and Miranda Moore’s Never Forget. The MCs, Casidhe Mika and Joe Nearing, kept the transitions between pieces smooth and engaging. Lastly, under the guidance of Communications and Building Technologies teachers Dave Russell and Geoff Murray, the students are able to showcase videos and slide shows and are able to construct the Remembrance Day sets. This year they made a beautiful cross that will be used for many more services to come.

Later, speeches were given by veterans, including an article about a young soldier which was read by Morris Slack, and a first hand account war-time story which was told by Don Antoine. On behalf of the veterans, Rosco Garrett gave a heart-felt thank you to the school for hosting the ceremony.

“REMEMBER, HONOUR, CELEBRATE, TEACH….These are words that are synonymous with Remembrance Day, but it is difficult for us to REMEMBER since we were not yet born” is what student speaker, Missy Talon, said during the introduction of the core presentation. However, as was later stated by Missy, “We can try for a few moments to put ourselves in the shoes of those who experienced war first hand”, making good on the promise to veterans everywhere that we will never forget