Grade nine students at Sydenham High School participated in a special school orientation event at the Gould Lake Outdoor Centre on September 25, which geared them up for the school year. Organized by the school’s grade 11 recreational leadership class under the direction of SHS teacher Mark Richards, the event had students don their school colours and participate in a number of games and activities at eight different stations. The activities included potato sack races, tug-of-war and a number of other games.

According to Mark Richards the annual event has two key aims. “It provides an opportunity for the grade nine students to get acquainted with their peers while having some fun and also gives the grade 11 students a chance to demonstrate their leadership skills.”

The new students learned the SHS school song "Bobaloo", which no doubt will be heard at the annual Bubba Bowl tonight, Thursday, October 9 where Sydenham’s junior and senior Golden Eagles will be taking on the LaSalle Knights. The junior game kicks off at 6pm with the senior game to follow. Admission to the game is $2 and the canteen will be open. Proceeds from admission will be used to cover the cost of the event and to support SHS athletics.

Frontenac County was well represented at a Student Achievers awards ceremony at the Limestone District School Board offices last week.

Emily Delyea and Skyler Howes of Granite Ridge (Sharbot Lake) and Stephanie Jones from Sydenham High School were among 12 students in the board to receive citations at the event.

Emily Delyea has run the deck with every mark on her transcript at Level 4 and most of her grades in the high 90s. She is a member of four varsity teams, is also involved in student council, coaching and other activities, and is a Relay for Life volunteer. She will be studying Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa in September.

Skyler Howes excels in Math and Sciences, and he won the Governor General's Academic Medal as well in recognition of his overall average. He is also a leader on five varsity teams and a KASSAA all-star to boot. He has coached in the Northern Basketball League for elementary students. In addition to his activities at the school, he has completed 383 volunteer hours in the community with the local fire department, rec committee and his church. He will be studying Engineering at Queen's in the fall.

Stephanie Jones is a dedicated, hard-working, high-achieving student. Stephanie has a developmental disability; she has had to overcome a number of learning challenges and has been an inspiration to her teachers. She spends a lot of time in class working with other students while maintaining a high grade average. She is highly involved in the photography program at SHS. During the recent Multicultural Fair, Stephanie’s portfolio was chosen by her peers as the best overall collection of photos and journal entries, and for outstanding artistic creativity. She has spent over 200 hours on community volunteer work, and will be attending St. Lawrence College in September, as one of only 15 students accepted into the Community Integration Through Co-operative Education program.

Sydenham High School's Drama Club opened their new theatre last week with one of the most edgy, innovative performances that SHS has produced in years.

Mcdeath sets an old yet still current tale of the consequences of greed and ambition in the grunge scene of ’90s Seattle. The script was written in collaboration between drama teacher Eirik Rutherford and the cast, and fine-tuned through workshopping. In one slyly hilarious sequence, MacDuff escapes to hide out in Vancouver: “We can’t take guns across the border; Canada’s a fortress of solitude!” There, he plots Mac’s downfall in a room decorated with crossed wooden skis.

The relatively young ensemble works together well: some of the most memorable performances are by first-year students. Daniel Karan carries one of the most difficult roles for a young actor; as a very convincing rock music promoter he consistently seems much older than his years. The three witches: Violet Skuce, Shelby Eves and Ashley Macdonald, are baffling, unsettling, and dangerous. In a small role played to perfection, Amy Walton pantomimes a bored bartender. When she finally speaks, she reveals herself as Hecate, powerful mistress of the witches. Jess Sherman and Colton Haligan do well in the demanding roles of Lady and Mac.

This is a multi-media production: throughout, a four-man rock band beside the stage performs well, providing introduction, scene changes and back-up accompaniment to singers. Several TV screens introduce or connect scenes by showing newscasts and interviews.

Unfortunately, the new theatre space disappoints: the comfortable well-raked audience seating is perhaps the best part. Lights were rented, curtains were makeshift. Once when several players made a running exit, offstage thumps and giggles illustrated the lack of adequate room backstage. The theatre has neither storage room nor bathroom facilities.

Despite the theatre space’s shortcomings, cast and crew provided a most enjoyable evening’s entertainment. The final-night performance was enhanced at intermission by fruit crepes and coffee prepared by food service students in their new commercial style kitchen across the hall.

While students and staff have been enjoying the new 14,000 square foot addition to Sydenham High School since February of this year, the official dedication ceremony just took place earlier this week.

On May 6, Vice-principal Brent Pickering welcomed representatives from the design and construction firms that built the addition, representatives from the Limestone District School Board, dignitaries, councilors and staff from the Township of South Frontenac, staff from Southern Frontenac Community Services, and the local OPP as well as members of other local school groups. The dedication ceremony, which took place in the school's brand new 90-seat theatre, paid tribute and gave thanks to the many individuals and organizations who helped make the new addition a reality.

The new wing was designed by HM Sardinha Architect Ltd. with construction overseen by David J. Cupido and it includes a brand new gymnasium, a theatre arts centre, a state of the art hospitality/culinary arts facility, and a brand new computer lab, each of which is as aesthetically pleasing as it is functional in serving the students and staff at the school.

SHS teacher, Jeff Sanderson, thanked the many individuals who helped make the dream become a reality. He spoke of the naming of the new addition as the WELLness wing, the intent of which is to promote an innovative Live WELL program that will include Work, Exercise, Love and Learning for students both during and outside of class hours. The program, which is well underway in the school, already recently received a $20,000 grant from the Ministry of Education that will go towards supporting further initiatives to increase the number of students participating in physical and other wellness activities outside of regularly scheduled class time. Others who spoke at the ceremony included Director of Education Brenda Hunter, Board Chair Laurie French, Trustee Suzanne Ruttan, South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison and the school's student co-president for the 2014/2015 academic school year, Connor Bayers. Drama club students Noland Beattie, Taylor Drake, Colton Halligan, Daniel Karan and Max Karan under the direction of drama teacher Eirik Rutherford performed a scene from the school's upcoming production “MacDeath”. Following the ceremony students from the school's hospitality/culinary arts program under the direction of Tabitha Kirby offered up an impressive array of delicious hors d'oeuves in the new kitchen facility, after which LDSB representatives posed for photos at a brand new dedication plaque marking the official opening of the Wellness Wing.

Principal Jessica Silver was unable to attend the event due to a family emergency.

Sydenham’s Junior Eagles beat the Frontenac Falcons 27-7 at the Fourth annual Bubba Bowl

It was a rainy night under the lights at the fourth annual Bubba Bowl held at the Point in Sydenham, October 2, but that didn’t stop 2000+ football fans from coming out for the Golden Eagles junior/senior double header against the Frontenac Falcons, Sydenham’s arch rivals who beat them at the finish of last year’s contest.

It was an opportunity not only for fast and furious football under the bright lights but also a time for staff, players, fans, friends and family to remember Alex (“Bubba”) Turcotte, whom the bowl is named for, a former player with the Golden Eagles and grade 12 Sydenham high school student who passed away in his sleep in 2001.

The Bubba Bowl was the brainchild of Jim Latimer, head coach for the Junior Eagles; the field's scoreboard was unveiled four years ago in Alex’s honour. Latimer and the Senior Eagles’ head coach, Mike Love, always make it a priority to ensure that their players are aware of Alex Turcotte and his legacy. Love said that many players on his team write Alex’s team number on their wrists and arms prior to the game for good luck.

Alex’s older sister Emily Landon, who watched the games from the sidelines, said, “Every year it is such a great honour to see this event take place and it’s great for me and my family to know that Alex is remembered for the game and the community that he loved.” Alex was well known and adored for his sportsmanship and character, both on and off the field. Emily continued, “And he embraced everyone, not just athletes.”

The rain seemed a minor factor for the Junior Eagles who took the lead early in the game and whose aim, according to Coach Latimer, was “to just keep marching the ball down the field.”

That plan paid out big time and with a few key interceptions the Junior Eagles built onto their early lead and scored their final touch down with 11 seconds left. They won what is usually a very close game, 24-7.

Latimer was thrilled and said, “I’m really proud of our offensive line."

The Seniors did not fare nearly as well and were skunked by the Falcons 29-0, the first time in four years of the bowl that Sydenham has lost a game.

On a brighter note, another first for the Bubba Bowl is the change in the focus of the funds raised at the event: funds will now be directed to the Point Improvement Fund (PIF) which is in the process of looking at a range of possible improvement projects. These include permanent lights for the sports field, a permanent two-storey building facility equipped with washrooms, change rooms and a meeting room, and improved walkways, all of which the committee feel will be beneficial to all user groups.

Vicki Veldman, a member of the Point Improvement Committee, explained, “We just got the official go ahead from council to start raising money for the PIF." Further meetings with all user groups will decide when and which projects will take priority. Funds are raised at the Bubba Bowl through food and Eagles sweat wear sales, a 50/50 draw and through private donations. Anyone who missed the game and who is interested in purchasing Eagles sweat wear can call Vicki Veldman at 613-376-6278.

In a special project, students in Ms. Snider's grade nine Academic English class at Sydenham High School (SHS) were given the opportunity to experience recording their own original songs at Crooked Bush recording studio in Sydenham.

The project was part of an oral skills project that had the students choose from a number of themes related to current teen issues, which included technology addiction, violence, body image, romantic relationships, bullying, smoking, peer pressure, language, friendship, future choices, violence and racism and more. The students were required to create and present to their peers an oral presentation in the form of a monologue, skit, dialogue, narrative, story, advertisement, song or soundtrack, demonstrating their understanding of skilled speaking strategies.

The project was designed to allow students to explore the various media available to them and to encourage them to identify their skills, strengths and weaknesses by doing their own presentations and also by listening to and helping others in the class and in their group.

The group that I met with chose the theme of what others think of them. I met them at the home recording studio of Jason Silver in Sydenham. Silver himself is a graduate of SHS and in fact began recording music while a student at SHS. He is a self-employed computer programmer and records and teaches music in his off hours. Since moving back to Sydenham he has wanted to share with students some of his musical know-how and studio tools.

Prior to these sessions with the students Silver was invited by Ms. Snider to teach a song-writing class at the school and he offered students a chance to record their songs.

At his studio, Melanie Kennedy was in the process of recording her original song "Beauty" and was joined at the microphone by students in her group, Violet Skuce and Hanna Smail. The song tells of a girl who feels ugly because of what people and the media say to her and it tells of her overcoming those feelings after accepting herself for who she is and coming to her own personal understanding of beauty. The song is a mature reflection on the peer and media pressure regarding issues of beauty. In the song Melanie writes, “I had to change my appearance, I wore make up and changed my hair and changed my clothes; this was not fair. I've woken up from this nightmare that they made, I've woken up and here's a price that I paid for beauty. “ It continues, “Now who decides what's beautiful? ...Beauty is more than one thing. Don't be afraid by what they say; Stay confident and be yourself and do this every single day. That is what beauty should be."

Earlier in the day students Alec Asselstine, Troy Speek and Dakota Jost had a chance to record their rap song, which addressed the issue of an unknown future and the dangers of negative behaviors and habits while on the path to it.

I spoke with Ms. Snider at SHS and she said that the project goes a long way in focusing on student collaboration while also teaching skilled speaking, active listening and how to interpret media. The goal is for the students to choose the media that best suit their interests and learning styles in order to create their own original products. “What was really interesting to watch was the students helping each other through the creative process. They'd rally around each other and give lots of feedback, which made for a very rich learning process.”

She said the project allows students a chance to be “emerging creators of media and through the process they will better understand and interpret media messages.” She added that collaboration was also an important part of the project. “Collaboration is a learned skill. When students are engaged they learn how to collaborate. This kind of project allowed me to step back and let the students collaborate with one another to create the best solutions for their final products.”

Big changes are underway at Sydenham High School as the construction of the brand-new 14,000 sq.ft. state of the art learning facility is nearing completion.

Located on the west side of the school with frontage on Rutledge Road and Mill Street, the addition includes a new 5000 sq. ft. gym that has a 26 ft. ceiling and is equipped with wheelchair-accessible men's and women's change rooms, and a bright south-facing computer lab lined with newly milled maple/ walnut counter tops that will house 30 work stations. The addition also includes a wheelchair-accessible drama facility complete with a mini theatre with 90 retractable seats, an attached controls room, plus ample change rooms and a storage room for props.

The new space also houses the school's “Foods Program” facility which includes a traditional classroom to which is attached a new state of the art industrial kitchen in a bright room with floor to ceiling south-facing windows. The kitchen boasts ample stainless steel counter tops and a array of shiny new stainless steel appliances, numerous gas stoves, and convection ovens plus a large walk-in fridge and two free-standing freezers.

I toured the new facility with Vice-Principal Brent Pickering as the builders continued their work polishing the new terrazzo floors. He said that the project has actually been in the works for six years. Construction began 14 months ago and is slated to be finished before the second semester starts in February.

The project was made possible with provincial funding through the capital expenditures budgets and cost over $3 million. Initially the addition was to include just four new classrooms but thanks to the input of SHS teachers Jeff Sanderson and Leslie Lawlor, who worked closely with the Limestone District School Board's Director of Education, Brenda Hunter, the project was reconfigured with the goal of creating a space that would best fit the needs of the students at Sydenham.

A tour of the school's current facilities, which the new facility will be replacing, demonstrates why both students and staff at the school are excited. The drama facility is currently located in an old storage room, a small black 600 sq. ft. space that can barely contain the class that I saw working there. Similarly, the Foods Program facility is presently housed in a cramped old science lab, making instruction and practical work hands on kitchen work difficult at the best of times.

The project was designed by Armando Sardinha of H.M. Sardinha Architect Inc of Kingston and is being constructed by Cupido Construction of Kingston.

Pickering says that the new space will offer students a top-notch learning facility and will also give members of the community at large a new space where they can carry out their own events.

“The new drama space and the theatre in particular will be a great asset to various groups and organizations in the community. The new foods program space will give students a real leg up when they go looking for jobs in the hospitality industry since they will be learning on equipment used in the industry.”

The new addition will also mean that two of the school's three portables will be able to be used for much needed storage space.

Also in the works are plans for two new electronic signs, which will let the community know of school events and which will also promote local community events.

Tabitha Kirby, who is the lead foods program teacher at the school, said she is looking forward to moving into the new facility. “I am thrilled that the students will have the opportunity to work in an industrial kitchen that reflects real life situations, which will really help their employability. The new space also means that we can do larger caterings than those we are doing right now.”

Right now the students prepare the hot lunches at Loughborough Public School and cater SHS's end of year graduation.

Pickering said that staff who have had a chance to tour the new addition come out with the same standard response: “It is an amazing space and will be a great new learning facility for the students and a place for the community to take advantage of as well.”

The Sydenham High School (SHS) track team had a good overall showing at last week's Eastern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association (EOSSA) track meet on May 19 and 20, and were particularly strong in the 400, 800, and 1500 metre events.

Among the midget aged girls, SHS star Nicole Armstrong was dominant, winning the 400 metres by a full 2 seconds in a time of 59.44. Nicole also took the 800 metres in a time of 2.24.34, almost 6 seconds ahead of the second place finisher, and her winning 1500 metre time of 4.54.20 was ten seconds ahead of the second place time.

Had Nicole Armstrong been racing with the older athletes in the Senior Division, her times would have placed her in the top three in each race.

Among sprinters, SHS has a very promising junior girls runner, Emelyn Fauvel, who won the 100 metre final in 13.04 seconds. Her time was fastest of any woman’s 100 metre runner in all age groups, save for her own 12.93 time in the preliminary race.

The other area of dominance for SHS was in the senior men's 400 metre race, where SHS runners swept the podium and added the 4th place finisher for good measure. Hayden Peters won the race in 50.22 seconds, Wade Embury finished second in 50.59, Kieran Doyle was third in 50.72 and Matt Fouzies ran fourth in 52.62.

Surprisingly, the senior men did not win the 4 x 400 metre Relay, finishing second in 3.23.04, almost a second behind Thousand Islands High School. Thousand Islands had held their senior men's 400 metre runners out of the individual event to focus on the 4 x 400.

The women's relay teams fared better. SHS won the junior 400 x 100 metre relay in 52.48 seconds, and the 4 x 400 metre open relay in 4:06.09

Other medalists for SHS included Garrett Fraser-Morris, 2nd in the men's 100 metre ambulatory race in 14.66 seconds; Ben Trickey, 2nd in the junior men's 400 metre division 53.15 seconds; Ben Trickey 2nd again in the junior men's 800 metre race in 2.07.77.

Kieran Doyle took 3rd in the men's 800 senior division in 1.57.89, and Nick Belore completed the junior 3000 metre race in 9.57.90, also good for 3rd place. Dylan O'Sullivan finished 3rd in the men's 3000 metre senior race in 8.45.19, and Ben Fisher came 3rd in the senior men's 100 metre hurdles in 15.96 seconds. Hayden Peters won the men's 400 metre hurdles competition in 57.34 seconds, edging out Matt Fouzie who finished second in 57.39 seconds.

In the midget girls' 100 metre division, Melanie Martin finished 2nd in 13.48 seconds. Michela Gossage finished 2nd in the women's 800 metre senior division in 2.23.98.

Lacey Tryon won the women's 1500 metre steeplechase (open division) in 5:29.21; Kayla Gibson finished 3rd in the women's 300 metre hurdles in 50.38 seconds; and Kiercy Latimer came 3rd in the senior women's 400 metre hurdles competition in 1:07.62.

In the jumping competition Celina Grey won the midget women's long jump competition with a jump of 5.04 metres as well as the triple jump competition in the same division with a distance of 10.16 metres. Finally Amanda Tibbutt finished 3rd in the senior women's triple jump competition with a distance of 10.13 metres.

SLHS medalist

Sharbot Lake High School athletes also competed in the EOSSA meet. The best finish by an SLHS athlete was Jessica hole, who finished in 2nd place in the midget women's shot put competition with a throw of 8.37 metres.

Word spread through the Sydenham High School community on Thursday of last week (February 18) that 16-year-old student, Gavin Young, of Perth Road had died in a single car collision south of the village, and that two of his fellow classmates were in Kingston General Hospital.

By Friday the reality was well known to all members of the SHS community and the school began dealing with the impact of the news on the students and the staff.

Gavin Young was a talented athlete, who won the shot- put provincial championship for athletes in grades 8 and 9 when he was only in grade 8.

School Principal Shawn Lehman said it is “always very difficult to deal with losing anybody in a school; it is very hard on everybody because a school is a community.”

Supports from within the school and the Limestone Board have been brought in to help the students cope with the news, and with the injuries faced by Young’s classmates. One of them remains in critical condition at KGH, while thankfully, the other is expected to make a full recovery. At the request of their parents, the identities of the two are not being released to the media at this time.

“There are a variety of different reactions to grief,” said Lehman. “We asked for some supports from educational services from the board and have freed up some of our staff as well to meet with students one on one and in small groups. We also have an adolescent care worker who is part of our school and knows the students quite well.”

A number of memory books have been set up in the school, and that seemed to help a little bit,” said Principal Lehman, “but this is really the initial stage of grieving. The important thing is for everyone to pull together, and that has been happening.”

A memorial service took place at the school on Wednesday night, February 24, which, according to Gavin’s parents’ wishes, was devoted to celebrating Gavin’s life. A funeral was held in Kingston on Monday.

Sydenham Eagles won the final KASSAA senior girls volleyball match against KCVI at Queen’s on Feb. 21. Photo courtesy of Rob Kendrick.

Sydenham High School’s senior girls’ volleyball team gave it more than their all on Feb. 21 at the Queen’s University ARC court in Kingston.

A supportive crowd from Sydenham attended the game, and after having a pre-game moment of silence to remember Gavin Davis-Young the Sydenham High School student who passed away tragically in a car accident last week, the girls focused on the challenge that lay immediately ahead: meeting KCVI in the final match of the KASSAA (Kingston and Area Secondary School Athletic Association) playoffs.

The Sydenham team stands tall, with three players over six feet, and plays a totally different style than KCVI. “KCVI is a team that goes for the corners and likes to keep digging at the ball, which is not the kind of game that we play. We are a power team and our strength is in playing transition offence and what it all comes down to for us is communication between the players,” said Sydenham coach Brian Rombough.

Undefeated, the Sydenham Eagles Senior Girls Volley ball team take the KASSAA trophy at their final game against KCVI at Queen's

Though the two teams’ styles are different, both fought hard in a match that seemed to get closer set by set.

The Eagles came out strong in the first set taking an early lead and holding it for a 25-14 win.

In the second set KCVI battled back, returning some tough shots and leading for the first half of the set. But the Eagles clawed their way back, eventually tying it up and then taking the set 25-23.

In the third set the Eagles dove, rolled and skidded, trying to return some tough balls from KCVI. This seemed to frustrate the Sydenham squad, causing them to lose some of their focus. KCVI played hard, making some incredible returns and gaining points in the corners to capture the third set 25-21, forcing a fourth.

The fourth set was very close but in the end the Eagles came back bigger and harder than ever, regaining their focus and concentration. They clinched the last few points in some spectacular blocks, making hard returns and amazing volleys to win the match 3-1 and claim the KASSAA trophy.

Following the medals and trophy presentations I spoke to coach Rombough about the game.

“KCVI played a great game and is really well coached. They played great defense. We started losing focus after the first set and gave KCVI hope, which is a dangerous thing to give to an emotional team. I strongly believe that you have to take hope away from the opposing team somewhere between the 9 and 15 point mark. That’s a crucial part of the game.”

Jennie McNichols, the Eagles’ setter, said, “It definitely wasn’t my best game; I tend to get really nervous but the team fixed that. I’m very excited for the win and can’t wait to play at EOSSA.”

The Sydenham Eagles will play next at the EOSSAA (Eastern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association) tournament in Pembroke on Feb. 23, where they will face Fellows High School in their first match.

Coach Rombough sounds confident.

“We have a big blocking team and are a power team that likes to play big. We play a lot better against hard-hitting power teams. We like matching power with power, which is what we will be coming up against at EOSSA. Our team just has to stay focused,” he said.

In other volleyball news: Before losing out to the Sydenham Eagles, KCVI ended the KASSAA season for the Sharbot Lake Panthers on February 18.

The Panthers took the first set of that match 25-19. In set 2 the Panthers ran into trouble serving and passing the ball and KCVI took it 25-20. According to Sharbot Lake coach Bryan English the team “seemed to lose their urgency in the third” and lost 13-25.

In the fourth the Panthers rallied together and tied it up 18-18 but ended up losing the match 3 sets to one. Nonetheless Sharbot Lake had an impressive season and will be heading into EOSSA, where they will compete in the small school division. They are confident that they will be able to advance to the provincial playdowns.