As former Sharbot Lake High School teacher Gary Giller put it, there were two major drivers behind what turned out to be a highly emotional and satisfying send- off for Sharbot Lake High School last Saturday.

The first was Craig Bakay, who asked Giller about a year ago whether he had given any thought to bringing back some of the musicians who have graced the cafetorium stage at the school over the years.

“I hadn’t though about that, but we started working on it right away,” said Giller during his remarks at the opening ceremonies of The Last Waltz. “Sharon MacDonald, long-time office manager at the school, said that this is the 65th anniversary of the school, so we thought we would put it all together to make it a fitting farewell for the school. A great committee came together, and here we are.”

Photo: musician Shawn McCullough, former studen at SLHS performs at the Last Waltz, marking both the 65 anniversary and the closing of the school at the end of June.

To mark the continuity and variety of musicians that were a feature of the day, HD Supply, the rock band that was fostered through the School of Rock at Hinchinbrooke Public School and is now based at the high school, played a set before the opening ceremonies, and just after the ceremonies the Strat Cats (Centre Stage Band) a band that features Giller, former SLHS student and faculty member Jim MacPherson, former SLHS student and current teacher at Land o'Lakes Public School, Terry Reynolds, and relative newcomer to the area, Dave Limber, played a set.

That set the tone for the day, as act after act with a variety of connections to the community and the school took the stage in front of an appreciative audience.

The opening ceremonies, so often something to be endured at events like this, were an exception to that rule. In a fitting turn, Paddy O’Connor, in his Town Crier role, made reference to all of the plays that have been staged there by students and the North Frontenac Little Theatre, some of which O’Connor himself has participated in as an actor and set designer/builder.

He also read out a short verse by Jim MacPherson:

“A famous bard once said, ‘All the World is a stage’

Alas I stand before you on this stage in its final stage.

Indeed the Board of Education has determined that this stage is an 'aged' stage.

We all go through changes in our lives. And in the 65th year of its life, the final curtain falls on this great stage. Singers, dancers, actors, musicians, performers of all type have graced this stage.

Now a new stage will rise to the north which will surely become the rage.

But, for today, to many a fine performance and song sung on this stage, we pay homage,

On this fair day, let us dance 'The Last Waltz'”.

School Principal Heather Hyatt, Board Trustee Ann Goodfellow, and School Council Chair Cheryl Allen all spoke briefly, and Brenda Hunter, the Director of Education with the Limestone Board spoke for a longer time. Aside from bringing greetings from the board and talking about its commitment to students in what the board calls “the north” Hunter shared some anecdotes based on conversations with her husband, Jack Fox, a former supervisor with the board and an alumni of SLHS.

As Brenda Hunter recounted, when Jack Fox attended SLHS in the 1950s, students were required to join the army cadets, which involved a lot of marching and standing at attention. For the boys it also meant that any boy who did not have one already was given a .22 caliber rifle and ammunition, and target practice took place at the rear of the school.

“We don’t know if the girls were given rifles as well,” Hunter said, “but I know that if we did something like that today, we would certainly hear about it - if not about the rifles, certainly about the fact that only the boys were given them."

A number of people who were students in the first year of the school were in attendance, but the keynote address was delivered by Eric Wagar, who started at the school in its second year. He went on to a teaching and administrative career with the school board as well.

Wagar said he was touched when Gary Giller called him, expecting that Giller would ask him to dance the last waltz with his wife Muriel, who is also an SLHS graduate.

“But then he asked me to give a talk instead,” said Wagar.

He went on to talk about the early days of the school, and some of the characters and the antics that the students got up to, not mentioning if they ever got caught or punished.

He concluded by quoting from the final public statement ever made by Jack Layton, in reference to the future of the new school and the surrounding community.

“Whether you agreed with Jack Layton’s politics or not, there was something true about his final words: ‘My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.’”

If they were ever called down to the office at Sydenham High School this year, you can bet that it wasn't for bad behavior. Both Jacob Sharpe and Jesse Bell returned for their 5th victory lap at SHS this year, primarily for a chance to be a part of the school’s 2013 drama production. Little did they know that due to Bill C-115, it would be they alone producing, directing, and designing the sets. They acted as well in the 14-member cast of the drama production, which ran from May 23-25.

The show was Norm Foster's ribald comedy “Office Hour's”, whose six separate and cleverly connected office scenes tell of the wild, irreverent and highly comedic lives of 4 memorable characters, each caught in their own stormy, controversial and very funny family, romantic, business and professional relationships at the office. Sharpe and Browne had much more work than they should have had to do, and so they do have the official bragging rights for this production, which was a highly entertaining, visually attractive and downright professional piece of high school theatre.

The two were met more than halfway by a very talented cast, many of whom were younger students and newbies to the stage, but who (as I found out later) found their voices and stage legs through the leadership and unbridled enthusiasm of Sharpe and Bell.

Every single member of the cast not only nailed their lines but also delivered them with highly believable comedic mastery. In scene one it was Fleet Brown who set the bar as the disillusioned, down and out, and very soon to fall further TV news reporter Warren Kimble, who was threatened with firing by his sexy but showing-no-mercy producer Pam (Taylor Drake), who ruled the stage and Warren with her firm voice and red-heeled stomp of disapproval.

Owen Orser was convincing and physically hilarious as the small time, lovable, well-meaning but easily swayed and misdirected film producer Gordon Blaine, who took the side of the increasingly tipsy and highly derivative Hollywood director (Connor Beyers), who made a comedic splash with his apish and addled ideas for the next big cinematic hit.

Bryar Vuyk shone as the lying, never faithful but still charismatic and charming husband of the deservedly frustrated and furious Ellie (Leah Gurrl), who wants so much to believe his lies and alibis but cannot due to explicit photos of his philandering shenanigans.

Sharpe and Bell played to great comic effect side by side in Scene four, a very funny family drama with Bell as the cartoonishly overbearing Rhonda, mother of Richard (Sharpe) her soon-to-be-out gay son. The two were joined in the scene by stellar straight man Eric Gordon as Lloyd, the reserved and severely hen-pecked hubby of Rhonda, who in the end has his own little hidden secret to reveal.

In Scene five, race track owner Stan Thurber, played to perfection by Kody Thomson, who definitely knows a thing or two about how to deliver a comedic line, is forced to fire family friend, the overweight jockey Arthur Barnes, who was played with gusto by Gavin Colman and whose highly comedic last-ditch groveling for his job was a memorable highlight.

Bell and Sharpe both were pleased with the Friday night show that I attended. Both students discovered their love of theatre while at SHS and have worked together in many productions there. “Since we've been working together for the past five years we really understand our individual strengths and weaknesses,” Bell said when I spoke with them after the show.

Sharpe said Bell’s strengths are “his ability to work hands on with the actors and his incredible way of getting everyone pumped up and enthused about their roles on stage. He is especially great with the younger actors and made them feel very comfortable and confident.”

Of Sharpe's strengths Bell said, “No one understands the mind of a character like Jacob Sharpe. I may be able to motivate but he is the person that truly understood everything in this script-the jokes and all of the characters. He truly shaped and cultivated all of the actors on stage and his role was that of the traditional director.”

Each one agreed that they could not have done the job without the help of the other.

Where are these two talented students heading next September? Sharpe will be attending a special comedic writing course at Humber College and then plans to study theatre at Ryerson, while Bell plans to become a teacher and will be studying Concurrent Education at Queen's University. They both hope to meet up again sometime in the near future and to do more stage work together. If their production of Office Hours is any indication, it looks as though they both have very bright futures ahead of them, whether on and off the stage.

On Thursday, June 20 at 11:15am a closing ceremony will be held at Sharbot Lake Public School. Former students and staff as well as the general public are invited to come out to mark the event, which will include speeches and performances by current students.

“We will also be opening a time capsule that was done in the year 2000” said school principal, David Allison, “and there will be a memory room devoted to displaying artefacts from the school’s history.”

There will be tours of the building available for those who are interested.

David Allison is also putting out an appeal to the community for materials that may be of historical interest. It’s kind of a last chance for show and tell at the school. Anyone who would like to contact the school about the artefacts they are planning to bring can call 279-2103 to let the school know, or they can just bring them on the 20th to share with others.

“The school has been such an integral part of the community” said Allison, “and we would like as many people as possible to come out for its send-off as the students prepare to move just down the road to the new school next year.”

Jared Salmond, a student at North Addington Education Centre, is the strong, silent type of leader that often flies under the radar, but his contributions to North Addington are significant.

He has resurrected the elementary intramural program, where students in Grades 5 to 8 participate in a lunchtime program of different athletic activities. Jared planned, organized and ran the program, always focusing on getting students involved in fun activities

Jared is an active member of the volleyball program at North Addington where he has played on the volleyball team for three years, acting this year as Captain. In all sporting events, Jared mentors others, modeling both sportsmanship and skill.

Jared’s achievements in team sports at North Addington have been recognized through the school’s awards program where he has been named Male Athlete of the Year. He has also received a prestigious TEAM award which recognizes his commitment to Teamwork, Enthusiasm, Attitude, and Mentorship.

Jared is also committed to helping and developing others through his volunteer activities.

In the wider community, Jared has also been an active volunteer with the Mazinaw Lake Swim Program by assisting with information nights, registration, and the installation and removal of docks. He also participated in the Trick or Eat program, which collected donations for the local food bank, and Jared was also a member of a local Relay for Life Team to support the Canadian Cancer Society.

Jared’s focused efforts and achievements are not limited to sports. He has challenged himself with a broad range of academic studies and has maintained a 93% average throughout high school. At North Addington there is a five-tier points accumulation system which recognizes a student’s academic achievements and milestones. Jared has accumulated sufficient points to be recognized at the third tier and is on track to reach the fourth tier this fall.

Jared is a student who can, and does, do it all. He has pushed himself in every aspect of school life with a quiet confidence that serves as a model for those around him.

Sebastian Back, a graduating student at Sydenham High School, is known by staff and students as a positive, polite, and respectful student leader who is active in the Sydenham High School community, and beyond. He is a highly academic student who excels in his classes, and his teachers describe him as an inquisitive, engaged student, whose maturity and level of critical thinking are extraordinary.

Teachers describe Sebastian as always doing what it takes, not only to pursue excellence for himself, but to support others, and “bring them along” on his journey.

Sebastian serves as Grade 12 representative on Student Council, and in that role, he works hard to ensure he is providing a voice for his peers, as well as supporting the organization of arts-focused events in the school. Outside of School Council, Sebastian can often be found spending his lunch hours tutoring students in mathematics.

Sebastian is a very artistic and creative young man. He is highly successful in many media forms, including video, photography, and writing. He is currently representing Sydenham High School in the Skills Canada competition, in the TV/Video Production category. Sebastian is a writer for a community newspaper that celebrates rural life, and last year, he was one of three finalists in the 2012 KingstonWritersfest Youth Competition

Sebastian is a global thinker. He encourages students to have a broader perspective, and to consider their community, and the world. Outside of the SHS community, Sebastian volunteers for a summer camp for Cree and Ojibway teens from Constance Lake First Nation, 14 hours north of Kingston. The goal of the camp is to bring events into the community, and to motivate the youth towards a better future. Sebastian has also worked with the Kingston Arts Council committee that organized National Youth Arts week last spring.

Sebastian was recently recognized in in the “People to Watch” section, for his outstanding contributions to the school community and beyond. One teacher describes Sebastian as being “all about innovation, superior academic standing, and the well-being of others.” He makes a difference to the classroom, to Sydenham High School, and to his community.

The spring Coffee House held last week at Sharbot Lake High School was co-sponsored by the Youth program of Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS). It was also included in a province-wide initiative called Change the World.

The Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington United Way is the regional co-ordinator for Change the World, a program that encourages volunteerism among youth.

Bill Miklas, the Volunteer Services Manager for the KFL&A United Way, has been overseeing efforts in secondary schools throughout the region to encourage youth to participate in Change the World. The way the program works, young people who volunteer their services for anyone between April 21 and May 20 are encouraged to register with the program by filling in a form.

“Our goal is to have 1,000 individuals volunteer within the four-week window, for a total of at least 3,000 volunteer hours. The added benefit to students is that the hours count towards their 40-hour volunteer requirement for high school graduation,” said Bill Miklas.

By contacting student councils at most of the schools in the Limestone Board and getting them to take on the project, Miklas said he is confident the goal is going to be easily achieved.

The musicians, organizers, and those who helped by baking treats for the coffee house were all eligible to register for Change the World.

The United Way depends on volunteers, and Miklas said, “This is a great way for us to introduce a whole new generation to the benefits of volunteering and since NFCS is one of our partner agencies, it was a good fit for them to be involved.”

For their part, Sharbot Lake High School students were able to enjoy performances by their classmates, some of them accompanied by parents and friends.

“This is a great way for us to see another side of our students,” said one of the school’s teachers who was attending the coffee house. Over 20 students participated in the Coffee House, performing everything from alt-country to pop, heavy metal and rock ’n roll music.

For the NFCS youth program, the partnership with the high school bodes well for an enhanced relationship once the new school opens later in the fall.

“It is great for us to partner with the school and the United Way. It is good for everyone,” said Maribeth Scott from NFCS.

On April 17, Jeremy Diaz, founder of Jer’s Vision, visited NAEC to talk to the students and staff. Jeremy is the force behind the International Day of Pink, a day which NAEC has embraced with growing enthusiasm since they started observing it three years ago. Students sported pink shirts, hats, shoes, badges, etc., on April 10, to celebrate International Day of Pink.

Jeremy talked to Ms. Cuthill and Mr. Hill’s classes first, then spoke to the Secondary classes. He talked about the discrimination he had faced during his school days, first because of race, and then because of sexual orientation. Jeremy told many anecdotes, often using humour to explain how hurtful his peers’ behaviour was.

Jeremy successfully sued his school district, because of the treatment he had received, and used the settlement money to start Jer's Vision. The aim of Jer's Vision is to spread a message of inclusion and acceptance for all, using personal appearances, workshops and conferences.

Jeremy talked about the harm people do by excluding anyone, for whatever reason. As well as discussing discrimination, Jeremy also discussed violence against women and sexism in general. He urged students and staff to think about actions, conscious or unconscious, which may hurt their peers.

Jeremy remained behind after the presentation to address individual questions, and was surrounded by an interested group of students. Jeremy invited students to attend a conference in Ottawa to learn more, and plans are in place to take a group of students on May 30.

The Grade 7 Challenge Program class at Loughborough Public School (LPS) took on an assignment this winter that called for the students to look to the local community.

The sustainability and social justice project they undertook culminated in a presentation to the other students at LPS in a kind of Social Services/Sustainability Fair at the school.

One of the students, Cole Edwards, looked at what happens to developmentally disabled youth after high school, and he prepared a video based on some visits he made to the New Leaf Link program, which is located in the basement of the Sydenham Anglican Church, only a block or so away from his school.

Cole knew about New Leaf Link and the School to Community Program at Sydenham High School because his mother, Nicola, works as a teaching assistant at SHS, and also provides respite care at the Edwards home for a disabled youth.

Cole's aunt and uncle work in the same field in Kingston, so Cole does not have any issues interacting with developmentally disabled people.

“I was very comfortable at New Leaf Link. And I really think they are doing a great job of working with people. The lack of service after the end of high school is a real problem for them. In the video I could not come up with solutions. I don’t think it is something I can really solve; what I was trying to do was make people aware of the topic and see if they will help out New Leaf Link or donate to them,” Cole said.

“The thing that impressed me most was the way Cole handled himself when he came to our programs. He was very professional, very respectful. To be that way at such a young age was really something to see,” said Karin Steiner of New Leaf Link (NELL).

Cole Edwards spent three days at NELL, including one day during the March break.

Steiner was also impressed by Cole's understanding of what is both a social justice and a bureaucratic problem that families with developmentally disabled young adults face.

While enrolled in the public school system, there are educational programs and services available throughout the School to Community classes in local schools, but after that there is a service vacuum, which leaves it up to already stretched families to come up with supports and programming for disabled young adults.

The problem is particularly acute in South Frontenac, because the Community Living Agencies that can step forward to provide support are not very active in South Frontenac. Community-Living North Frontenac is limited in scope to the very edges of the South Frontenac boundary, and it is often difficult for rural families to access the services provided by Community-Living Kingston, which is more focused on the Greater Kingston area.

In order to foster more awareness locally in Sydenham, Cole Edwards invited some of the NELL young adults to Loughborough for a viewing of the video he made about them.

“I could tell that some of the students were uncomfortable; you could tell they were tense - it’s a bit of the unknown for them. They did not know how to respond at times.”

The entire experience was positive for Cole Edwards, including the opportunity to make use of a video camera that he inherited from his grandfather.

“I look forward to doing more video work, and to volunteering at New Leaf Link” he said.

On April 22, after donning blue gloves and with garbage bags in hand, bands of students from Sharbot Lake Public school spread out through the village of Sharbot Lake and did their fair share of garbage gathering in a special community clean up event in celebration of Earth Day.

The event was organized by SLPS teacher Danielle Harding who teaches the grade 3/4 class at the school. The students from grades one through six were divided into multi-aged groups led by older students and were supervised by staff and volunteers. The groups fanned out through the community and picked up trash and recyclables that were gathered at designated spots and were later collected by township staff. Harding said that the event, which has been running for years at the school, is a great opportunity for students to pitch in and help to keep the community clean.

“The students get a sense of the importance of keeping their community clean and the event really drives the point home that we should not litter. We hope that that idea and practice becomes ingrained in them and that they will think twice before littering.” Harding said that the amount of garbage students are seeing in the community is becoming less and less over the years. “I think that overall people are thinking more about not littering and that students especially as they are getting older have been thinking twice about it.”

The students appeared more than pleased to be undertaking the task at hand and Harding said that the kids really enjoy being outside and feeling like they are contributing to a worldwide event. The students were also encouraged to bring garbage-free lunches to school for Earth Day.

Emotions were running high at the 50th Anniversary celebrations that took place at Clarendon Central Public School in Plevna on April 13. Over 200 past and present staff and students, along with friends and family gathered at the school to reunite, celebrate and share their feelings about their time spent at the small rural school, which has served the community for 50 years.

At noon, a special ceremony headed up by co-chairs of the 50th anniversary committee, Brenda Martin and Heather White, recognized the efforts of those who have helped to make the school a lively and loving educational institution over the past five decades.

Visitors were first addressed by the school’s current principal Dave Allison, North Frontenac Mayor Bud Clayton, and School Trustee Ann Goodfellow. A special anniversary message from former CCPS student Erin Gunsinger (Ibey), who graduated from the school 25 years ago in 1988, highlighted CCPS's important role in the community. She spoke of the rapid changes in the world since her graduation, that it has become a global village and said, “That is not such a bad thing.” In her words, “As annoying as the lack of privacy might be, when it comes down to it, small communities like Plevna still exist because the people here come through for one another.”

She spoke of her childhood growing up in Plevna and the wealth of outdoor opportunities she experienced. She spoke of the school and reminisced about her favorite memories: crazy carpeting, tubing and skiing in winter, walking the old log monkey bars in the playground, and huddling around the school’s cutting edge Commodore 64 computer. “I went to CCPS in the days when kids got to ring the bell, run the ditto machine and hoist the Canadian flag up the pole. We sang O Canada and recited the Lord's prayer every morning”, she recalled. She marveled at how the school has managed to thrive despite “enduring times of economic hardship and radical change. One of the foundations of this community is its school. It's something that we all have in common and it stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of this unique remote rural village and the tough and resourceful, good-hearted people who live here.”

The ceremony continued with a rousing video of current students singing the old CCPS school song, and a plethora of special anniversary mugs and other mementos were presented to former staff and students.

Throughout the day, visitors reminisced about their time at CCPS while perusing the five specially designated “decades” classrooms, which were decorated with school nostalgia and memorabilia. Former student Jody Spingle, who graduated from CCPS in 1988 and who now works in construction and project management in Ottawa, is fondly remembered as a former tether ball champion at CCPS. She said, “It's great to reconnect with students and teachers that I haven't seen for 25 years. I have such fond memories especially of the teachers here and my school days here are one thing that I would never change.”

Gina Kellar (Gore), who graduated from CCPS in 1973 and still resides in Plevna, came to see her old teachers with her husband Rick, who received recognition as a graduate of the first class of 1963.

Brenda Martin said she was thrilled with the exceptional turn out and was pleased to see so many former students and staff. “Many of the teachers who taught here in the '60s and '70s didn't think that they would ever come back to the school, so for them and some of their former students the day has really meant a lot.”

Martin said that these anniversaries can tend to be so emotional because, “People have very formative memories from their school days and for me as a teacher and principal you get really attached to your students.” Kudos to all who made for a very special day that will long be remembered in years to come. Those interested in purchasing a commemorative year book of the 50th Anniversary celebrations and/or a DVD highlighting the day’s events, contact the school at 613-479-2264.

Two weeks ago students from NAEC competed in the Limestone District School Board Skills Competition. This year saw a different format with students competing at various high schools around the board over several days instead of the usual one day event at St. Lawrence College. Also new for North Addington, 25% of the NAEC competitors were in grade 9.

The first day of competition was at Sharbot Lake for team of Two, 2D Character Animation where students had to design then animate characters using Flash animation. Michael McEwen & Devon Salmond captured a bronze medal, while Devon Deruchie & Lucas Parks-Delyea took home the silver medal. “I really liked the animation,” said Lucas, “and having a chance to do it was very exciting.”

Natasha McIsaac and Courtney Johnson travelled to LCVI for the Digital photography competition, where they showed off their previously edited and mounted photographs as well as their PhotoShop editing skills to produce stunning images.  

Shane Taylor competed at Bayridge Secondary School for Prepared Speech. His speech, delivered in a narrative style, won him the bronze medal.

On the last day of competition, Kayla Keller and Megan Cruickshank travelled to LaSalle to compete in the Graphic Design Presentation Competition. This involved producing a new 25th Anniversary logo for Skills Canada, an 11” x 17” poster and a brochure front, mounted very specifically. They then presented their portfolio containing their creative process and defended their designs to a panel of judges. Terry Murphy and Zack McQuigge, also at LaSalle, competed in Desktop Publishing, where they had to create a logo, print ad and business sign for a small business in a set time frame. Terry won the silver medal and Zack won the gold. Zack will go on to represent Team Limestone at RIM Park in Waterloo May 7th and 8th. Congratulations to all of Team NAEC, who showed excellent sportsmanship and talent at their respective competitions.

Mike Sewell, Program Leader Skills, Training and Technology for Limestone District had this to say, "NAEC students continue to demonstrate their proficiency and their leadership skills in the Digital Arts and Prepared Speech areas, sending 12 students to five separate events in this year's version of the Limestone Skills Competition. Even though they may be the smallest secondary school in the district, NAEC believes that 'success truly has no limits'".

Congratulations to all of Team NAEC, who showed excellent sportsmanship and talent at their respective competitions.