Students in grades JK through six at Land O' Lakes Public School in Mountain Grove were full of questions at a presentation by Hydro One staff celebrating Arbour Week, which took place at the school on May 5.

The presentation was headed up by Hydro One forestry technician Kerry Hinton, who explained the important roles that trees play in our environment by preventing soil erosion, reducing noise pollution, filtering water and cleaning the air of impurities through photosynthesis. He stressed their significance for wildlife as they provide nesting areas for birds, homes for squirrels and raccoons and hiding places from predators, while also offering sources of food such as berries, nuts and leaves. For us humans they not only provide shade in the hot summer months and act as wind breaks, but provide us with building supplies and food as well as pure aesthetic beauty. Hinton explained the various pieces of equipment that he and other staff members use to remove trees, and to trim branches and brush from Hydro lines.

Following the presentation the students went outdoors and watched a Hyrdro One staff member make an emergency descent from one of their bucket trucks, which garnered a generous round of applause. Students were also invited to help plant one large pear tree and one large Crimson King maple tree on the school’s front lawn. Each was also given a small white pine or white spruce sapling to take home to plant. Hinton said Arbour Week is an important way for children to understand the importance of trees in the environment while also learning about the work that Hydro One staff do out in the bush. He said it is a way to give back to communities by offering hundreds of trees to plant.

Willis Deline, who works as a senior foreman in the brushing department at Hydro One, said that he and his crew did a lot of brushing and tree removal in the area last summer and he felt this would be a nice opportunity for the crew to return to the community and show their support to the local school. Arbour Week presentations will take place at 35 different schools across Ontario.

Since the start of February, the six members of the Granite Ridge School of Rock have been working together to learn to play musical instruments, build a musical ear, improve team-work and boost self-confidence. The students and their teacher, Julia Schall, have been listening to, playing and debating the merits of a wide variety of musical genres – from old time rock and roll, alternative, indie pop, country and rap. Their band, The Undecided, is composed of grade 8 students (L-R): Aurora McCumber, guitar; Esther Hoffmann, bass; Dawson King, guitar and vocals; Finn Limber, keyboards and vocals; Nic Smith, keyboards; and Maya Chorney, drums. The Undecided are very excited to be performing at the Celebration of Music at Granite Ridge on Monday, May 25 at 7 pm. Sharing the stage with the School of Rock will be the Granite Ridge High School band and the Young Choristers under the direction of Christina Wotherspoon, as well as other talented student and staff performers. The cost for the show is $5, with children under 12 free. We hope to see you there!

Students from Land O' Lakes Public School put on the play "A Dragon's Tale" last week in performances at Granite Ridge Education Centre, and in the auditorium at LOLPS on Thursday night for parents and other family members, and again on Friday for students in the school. The show was produced and directed by teacher Danielle Harding, and featured students from multiple grades in the cast. A combination of live theatre and puppetry, A Dragon's Tale is a humorous take on the adventure genre. The students enjoyed putting it on and the audience enjoyed the performance as well.

Friends, family of students and staff at the Brooke Valley School attended the school’s annual fundraiser/community thank-you event at the community hall in Maberly on May 16. The event included loads of top notch live entertainment, a book sale, a silent auction and a delicious Indian dinner made with local produce. The over 50 guests who attended were invited to make a pay-what-you- can donation to the school. The evening opened with a play put on by the Brooke Valley School students titled “How You Fill The Bucket”. Musical guests who performed included well-known duo Trxstr (Jerrard and Diana Smith), and DJ Driftwood.

With a total of 81 athletes, the Sydenham High School track team was not only the largest at the Kingston Area Secondary Schools Athletic Association (KASSAA) meet last week; it was also the most consistently competitive.

SHS athletes won 22 events, ahead of KCVI (19), Frontenac (16), and Holy Cross (14). While SHS was competitive in all events, as you can see below, they were the dominant team in just about all the hurdles events, for both men and women in all age categories.

SHS was the winning overall team for both men and women.

Here is the list of top three finishers

Among top finishers were Kayla Battler, 3rd in the 100 metre dash (midget girls) in 13.80 seconds; Brianna Burgess, 3rd in the 200 metre dash (midget girls) in 29.50 seconds and 1st in both the 80 metre hurdles in 13.70 seconds and the 300 metre hurdles in 50.50 seconds.

Jocelyn Miles finished in 3rd in the women's javelin (midget) at 22.71 metres. Brianna McComish finished third in women's high jump (junior) at 1.40 metres, second in the Long Jump at 4.24 metres, and third in the triple jump at 9.46 metres. Madison MacPherson was tied for 1st in the pole vault (junior) at 1.90 metres. Morgan Hamilton finished 2nd in the women's shot put (junior) at 8.94 metres, and 3rd in the discus event at 19.58 metres, an event where Mackenzie Ryan finished 2nd at 22.20 metres.

Sian Lloyd was 1st in the javelin throw (junior) at 23.37 metres, and Mackenzie Ryan placed 3rd at 22.14 metres.

Brittany Campbell finished 2nd in the 100 metre dash (senior) at 13.40 seconds, and 3rd in the 200 metre dash at 27.80 seconds. If Danielle Gossage was disappointed with her off the podium 4th place finish in the 400 metre dash (senior) she made up for it with a 1st place run in the 800 metres in 2.38.20 minutes, and 2nd in the 1500 metres in 5.20.60 minutes.

As a team, SHS was 1st in the 4x100 metre relay (senior) in 53.90 seconds, and 1st as well in the 4x400 metre relay in 4:30.90 minutes. High jumper Shawna Vanluven was 2nd (senior) at 1.50 metres. In the shot put (senior) Danielle Miles finished 3rd at 9.55 metres, and Katherine Newton was 1st in the javelin at 27.55 metres while Cassidy Trueman was 3rd in the same event at 23.36 metres.

Shirley Hughes-Ryan finished 1st in two events, the women's 100 metre dash (ambulatory) in 16.40 seconds – breaking her own KASSAA record, and the 800 metre run (ambulatory) in 4:13.90. Dominique Hannah also broke her own KASSAA record, finishing 1st in the 100 metre dash (intellectually impaired) in 15.70 seconds, and Brianna Clow finished 2nd at 16.90 seconds.

Among the male athletes, Liam Sands was 1st in the 100 metre hurdles (midget) in 17 seconds flat, while Lucas Pereira finished 2nd in 18.70 seconds. Pereira also finished second in the 300 metre hurdles in 50.70 seconds.

Matt Caird finished 2nd in the men's high jump (midget) with a clearance of 1.60 metres, and Liam Sands finished second in the pole vault, clearing 1.80 metres. Zach Lollar was 2nd in the men's long jump at 5.20 metres, and third in the triple jump at 10.88 metres.

Jared Amos was 2nd in both shot put, 11.24 metres, and the discus events, 29.54 metres. Thomas Lambert was 2nd in the 100 metre dash at 12.20 seconds. He finished 1st in the 200 metre dash at 24.40 seconds, and capped it off with a meet record tying time of 52.70 seconds in winning the 400 metre dash (junior)

Continuing the SHS dominance in hurdles, Merik Wilcox set a meet record, 14.40 seconds, finishing 1st in the 100 metre event (junior) and also won the 300 metre event in 42.90 seconds. Sydenham also took the 4x100 metre hurdles in 48.40 seconds.

Daret McKay finished 2nd in the pole vault (junior) at 2.40 metres, and took 3rd in the triple jump at 1.55 metres. Wil Sanderson finished 2nd in both the discus (38.66 metres) and the javelin throw (36.14 metres)

Among senior men, SHS's Chad McInnes finished 3rd in the 200 metre dash in 25.20 seconds and 3rd as well in the 400 metre dash in 53.50 seconds. In the 800 metre run, Brady Robertson finished 2nd in 2:02.60 and Chris Adams finished 3rd in 2:03.20.

SHS swept the senior men's 100 metre hurdles event. Brodie Latimer ran it in 15.60 to win, Eric Lusk was 2nd in 17.00, and Tyler Cancian was third in 17.10. The 400 metre hurdles event also yielded a sweep: Chad McInnes won it in 1:01.80, Ryan Gibson was 2nd in 1:03.00 and Ben Amos was 3rd in 1:07.10.

SHS finished 3rd in the 4x100 metre relay in a time of 50.80.

Brady Robertson finished second in the men's javelin throw with a 42.17 metre effort, and finally, the 4x400 metre relay team took first place with a 3:40.30 time.

This year's Inside Ride event, which took place at Sydenham High School on May 8, seemed bigger, brighter and more spirited than in years past.

That was likely due to the fact that one of SHS's own, grade 12 student Sam Eastman, has been battling Non-Hogkins lymphoma since his diagnosis earlier this year. Soon after getting the news, friends at the school initiated the #Samstrong campaign and its force could be seen, heard and felt at the Inside Ride.

The event, now in its fifth year at the school, is run by the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation, a registered Canadian charity that raises money for children's cancer programs across the country. The charity is unique in that it follows a 100% donation model of fundraising, in which all funds raised go directly to the programs. Funds from the Sydenham event will be donated to the Children's Cancer Care Fund, a fundraising campaign run out of Kingston General Hospital and aimed at easing the financial burden on families facing a cancer diagnosis by funding the various related costs that come with a cancer diagnosis that are not covered by OHIP.

The Sydenham Inside Ride attracted 26 six-member teams, with each team having raised a minimum of $300. During the one-hour event, each rider from each team took a 10-minute turn at the wheel of their bike as their team members danced to the throbbing tunes expertly spun by emcee Marshall Jeske.

Altogether, an incredible $14,000 was raised!

School spirit was running extraordinarily high, with teams boasting awesome costumes under team names like The New Groove, The Magic School Bus, and The Beach Babes, who sprayed loaded water guns and bounced beach balls throughout. Event coordinator Jen Davies called the Inside Ride “a one-hour party with a purpose” and she said, "These students really seem to get the idea that cancer is not just something that happens to somebody else, which is very motivating for them.” Prizes were awarded for best team spirit, best costumes, top distance cycled by a team as well as top male, top female, top volunteer and top team fundraisers.

Other prizes included donated gifts from Goodlife as well as prizes collected through the school's parent council. Sam's family of course was out in full force as the #Samstrong team and Sam's mother, Libby Hearn, fittingly and bravely spoke at the start of the event, updating the students and staff on Sam's battle as he enters his fourth round of chemotherapy.

“He is fighting really hard and he is doing it because he has the tremendous support of this school and this community. You are all making such a huge difference in his battle. We, his family, just wanted to say thank you and Sam wanted me to send his thanks to you all as well.” Sam had been planning to attend the event but an infection prevented him from making the trip to the school. For those who missed the event, donations can still be made until the end of November 2015 by visiting sydenham.theinsideride.com.

By: Misti Harnden

On April 29th, 2015 North Addington Education Centre, a small, rural K-12 school in Cloyne, Ontario, held a Cuts for Cancer event. This event is currently ranked third for all Cuts for Cancer fundraisers online across Ontario.

Three students (Alexus Wagner, Selena Pelicos and Terri-Lynn Rosenblath) and three teachers (Melissa Randle, Krista Walker and Leanne Shepherd) had their hair cut, by local hairdresser Teri Woods.

In addition to the over $4000 collected for the hair cutting event, funds were raised by a silent auction, talent show and money jar campaign.

Event organizer Melissa Randle stated, “I am so proud of everyone involved in this fundraiser. I’m ecstatic that we were able to exceed our original $3000 goal.”

During the Viking Cuts for Cancer event over 3 feet of hair was cut to be donated. There was a tie for the money jar campaign winner. Tim Pelow and Josh Goodfellow shaved their legs, Edna Lessard begrudgingly wore a Toronto jersey and Leanne Shepherd ate a live worm. Although not the winners, Katie Ohlke got a makeover by a student, Candice Bovard will wear her hair in a Mohawk and Valerie Allan will take part in a pie in the face event.

To date, over $4700 has been raised for the Canadian Cancer Society. To sponsor this event, visit http://goo.gl/4WsMa8 (the link is currently still active).

Over 700 guests enjoyed the official 100th birthday celebrations at Loughborough Public School on May 1. The celebrations were spread out between LPS and its big sister school, Sydenham High, with events also taking place at Sydenham's Grace Centre. Guests enjoyed student displays and art work and later in the evening they congregated in the high school cafeteria to enjoy a celebratory cake that LPS principal Helen Petersen invited Ginny and John Trousdale to cut. Guests then gathered in the high school gym for speeches by school trustee, Suzanne Ruttan, and school superintendent, Krishna Burra, who brought congratulatory words from the board’s Director Of Education Brenda Hunter. The formal portion of the evening’s events was masterfully emceed by Joel Horton and Abby Pajur and the absolute highlight was the play titled “One Hundred Years of Learning”, which was written and directed by Christine Harvey, and expertly performed by LPS students. Principal Petersen was thrilled with the hundreds of school and community members who came out to help students and staff celebrate what will long be remembered as a very special day in Sydenham's school history.

Every year the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board presents students in their board with a special award. On April 29, Ariel Lee, a grade five student at St. James Major Catholic School in Sharbot Lake, was presented with the Beacon of Hope award, which honors students in the school community who make a difference by demonstrating volunteerism, enriching the lives of their fellow classmates and teachers, and who generously share their gifts and talents with the entire school community.

Director of Education at the ALDCSB, Jody DiRocco, spoke at the special presentation and stressed the importance of honoring and recognizing the “unsung heroes in our schools, who quietly go about their business while acting as positive role models to other students”.

Also present at the event were board communications officer Mike Weaver, board trustee Sean Kelly, and Wendy Procter, board trustee for North, Central and South Frontenac. Vice-principal Anna Coe introduced the award with a special story, as is the tradition, and she spoke of Ariel as someone whose “contributions to the school community reflect our Catholic virtues and who contributes to the betterment of the community with dedication, integrity and a gentle spirit.”

Coe further described Ariel as a student, new to the school last year, who "has come out her shell, who participates with respect and eagerness and contributes to school athletics while also encouraging her team mates. She is also a school bus helper and a member of the school’s Eco team.” Ariel was elected by staff and her peers at the school and was described as a “peace maker”. Coe added that Ariel has a “understated leadership quality that has endeared her to the St. James Major School community.”

Ariel's mother Angela and grandparents Lorraine and Sonny Embury attended the special presentation and expressed their pride in Ariel. Following the presentation the students enjoyed a hot pizza lunch and cake and congratulated their fellow student Ariel on her award.

by Valerie Allan

On April 23 NAEC hosted its annual Earth Day celebrations. The secondary EcoTeam organized the events for the day. Students from grades K-12 participated in a school yard and community cleanup throughout the day.

The secondary Leadership class also ran a colouring contest for the elementary classes. The secondary students had a hard time judging the artwork, but in the end, the following winners were announced: Spencer Bolduc, Madison Madigan, Sophia Borger, Alyssa Thompson, Briahana Wilson, Dominique Shorts, Ally Maschke, Jenni Miske, Amanda Clancy, Josie Heyman, and Rachel Cumming.

Students from the school also attended an Environmental Summit on April 22 which will give them information to bring back to the school and share. The EcoTeam has also been working hard on their renewal application for EcoSchool certification due at the end of April. NAEC has been a certified EcoSchool for the past six years and was the first gold certified school in the board.

Just in time for the clean-up, heavy snow began to fall. Melissa Randle (EcoTeam staff advisor) remarked, “I’m proud of the dedication I saw today with the Earth Day cleanup. Students braved the elements to ensure that our school grounds and community were free from garbage.”