In May 2011, Drew Cumpson, a Sydenham High School graduate and current student at the University of Guelph, became a quadriplegic after a freak body surfing mishap while he was volunteering in Lima, Peru.

This Saturday May 4, Drew, along with his family and friends will be hosting a fundraiser at the Frontenac Community Arena near Godfrey from 7pm 2am. Three local bands: Bauder Road, Still Standing and Killing Time will be performing and the event will include a silent and live auction offering up to bidders a plethora of top-notch items donated by local businesses and individuals. These include a signed Sydney Crosby jersey, tickets to a Taylor Swift concert, an ice fishing hut, a brand new chainsaw plus a wide range of gift certificates and themed baskets and much, much more. Tickets, which cost $20, will include a buffet at 11pm.

Proceeds from the event will go towards funding the accessibility features in what will soon be Drew and his family’s new home in Westbrooke. The Cumpson family will be moving into the new home, which is being built especially to accommodate Drew, who now uses a wheel chair and head apparatus to maneuver through his everyday life. The special features of the house will allow Drew to access special controls for lights, television, doors, an elevator, audio visual equipment, his computer and phone.

Drew’s parents, Heather and Jim, hope to move into the new home on May 10 and Drew will be moving in soon after once he gets his home care in place.

In addition to the upcoming fundraiser Drew is also taking part in the current National Mobility Awareness event, which is offering up three brand new accessible vans to the individuals that acquire the most on-line votes. Drew is six feet tall and he hopes to acquire one of the new vans, which have larger door openings.

“Right now I am having major issues with getting in and out of the van that I use and the new van will definitely solve those problems,” Drew said when I spoke to him by phone earlier this week. He said he plans to donate his old van should he win a new one.

Currently Drew has amassed 13,000 on-line votes but hopes to see that number increase to 20,000 before the deadline, which is fast approaching on Friday May 10. Drew's supporters can vote for him once a day up until the May 10 deadline by visiting the website at www.mobilityawarenessmonth.com/localheroes and typing in Drew's name in the local heroes search bar. Supporters will find on Drew's on line page a video of him speaking of his accident and his life since. Answer the skill testing question and Drew will receive an extra vote from you. 

Construction has begun on a new addition to Sydenham High School, a project that has been in the works for a number of years.

The 14,000 square foot addition, which was designed by H.M. Sardinha Architect Inc. and is being built by David J. Cupido Construction Ltd., will be located on the west side of the building. It will include four brand-new components: a new gym facility; a hospitality area that will include an industrial kitchen, serving area and an attached classroom; a new drama room equipped with a mini stage and auditorium seating; and a new computer lab. The addition required the purchase of some older homes on the site, which have since been torn down. This winter the land was excavated and presently the new footings have been put in place.

Years ago the need for more space was recognized due to overcrowding in the school’s athletics programming and physical health and education classes. There was also a need for updated classrooms in order to keep the student curriculum current. Principal Jessica Silver further explained that need when I interviewed her by phone earlier this week. She said, “Sydenham High School has a strong focus on healthy and active living. These new facilities will benefit both students and staff by allowing expanded programming in these areas. The addition will also bring with it exciting new opportunities for both students and staff by making possible expanded programming for students in all grades in advanced hospitality, and in the health and wellness specialist high skills major programs. We here at Sydenham are a very technology-based school and really excel in those areas, so the new addition will allow us to build on the already strong programming that we are currently offering here at the school.”

Silver added that the new facilities will also benefit the community at large. “We have a very strong community backing us and these new facilities will allow us to be able to bring the community into the school. For example, we will be able to share the new drama space with various community members and community partners as well as with the students and staff at the Loughborough Public School.”

Asked about any negatives that could go along with expanding the school’s foot print, Silver said she foresaw none. “Students and staff are very excited about the new addition and see it as something brand new to build on. I suppose the only negative is that these things take time.” Silver said that construction of the new facility should be completed sometime in the 2013/14 school year.

News of the success of a proposal for a $10,000 grant to build a multi-use outdoor classroom at Sydenham High School was received enthusiastically by students and staff at the school. The new facility will serve a number of purposes according to Mike Mol, Head of the Technology Department at the school. Mol made the proposal for the project on behalf of the school back in October 2012 for a grant being offered through Skills Canada and Lowe's Building Centre for a community-based project. He got news in November that the application was successful and said that plans are now underway to complete the final design for the outdoor classroom. He expects construction to get underway by the end of March.

The facility will be named the Dick Hopkins Outdoor Classroom, in memory of Dick Hopkins, a former Head of Technology at SHS who taught for 10 years at the school and who passed away suddenly just before reaching retirement. Hopkins, who had a passion for technology, outdoor activities and non-traditional teaching methods, was also a strong supporter of and organizer with Skills Canada, and many of their staff and student awards have been named in his honour. Hopkins started some of the first on-line classes in the province and he was also instrumental in implementing the robotics competition at Skills Canada. According to Mol, Hopkins “made a huge impact on students and staff at the school. He really loved the idea of the non-traditional classroom so it seems really fitting that we are building this outdoor facility in his name and to honour him.”

The project will include the design and construction of a mutli-use outdoor classroom that will be located west of the main entrance of the school on the front lawn under a large maple tree. The space is laid out in a semi-circle, and will be formed by a combination of retaining walls, interlocking brick, paving stones, natural rock and log construction with two layers of seating that can hold 30 people. Students from the Chain Saw Certification program at the school will be using their skills to construct a row of pine log benches for the facility. The facility will not only serve students and teachers at the school but will also be made available to any individuals or groups in the community who may be looking for an outdoor space to hold events and/or performances.

Over 50 students from three different technology programs at the school, manufacturing, construction and communications, will take part in the project, which Mol said he hopes to see completed by mid-May in time for Sydenham High’s annual May Madness celebrations.

Mol said this kind of project will benefit students by giving them hands-on experience that they otherwise might not be able to get in the classroom. “Students will be working in the field, as they say, doing various types of design, layout and construction and will be working with a number of different materials that they might not otherwise be exposed to,” Mol said. The fact that this is also a collaborative project between students from various programs will allow students to work together who might not otherwise have a chance to do so.

Mol added that the new facility will also help to beautify the community while remembering a much loved and respected member of the community.

Sydenham High School’s principal, Jessica Silver, who strongly supported the proposal from the start, said that she is thrilled to see the project going forward. “It's really exciting and I know that the new outdoor facility will not only get great use here at the school but will also be a great added feature for the entire community to use and enjoy.”