Jun 12, 2019


Aurora French (Granite Ridge Education Centre), Rachel Cumming (North Addington Education Centre), and Rebecca Hillis (Sydenham High School) were among the Limestone Achiever Award winners for the 2018/2019 year.

Here are some excerpts from the testimonial letters, written on their behalf, from staff at their respective schools.

Aurora French

Aurora is extremely intelligent, articulate and talented in multiple subjects, while being humble and an excellent role model for her fellow students. Her diligence, excellent learning skills and perseverance are evident as she sets high standards for herself, and she is committed to seeing them through to fruition.

Aurora has been an integral member of student council and extra-curricular teams. She is also a vital part of our athletic program. As a team member, she is encouraging and extremely positive, but do not let her quiet demeanour mislead you as she is a fierce competitor who pushes herself to her full potential.

Along with these significant in-school contributions, Aurora has been actively involved in her community. She has been involved in fundraising for a number of charities, including the Canadian Cancer Society. She has consistently volunteered for the Blue Skies Kids Arts Camp, encouraging young people to be creative.

Rachel Cumming

Rachel is a hard-working student who is dedicated to her learning. She is continually looking for feedback and for new learning opportunities. Her academic drive has allowed Rachel to experience success in all classes. She has been a leader for the volleyball, badminton, track and field and softball teams. This volleyball season, Rachel broke her foot the first game of the season. She showed commitment to her team and leadership by continuing to come to practices and games, acting as an assistant coach until she was well enough to play again.

She has keen interest in photography and works hard at home, and on her own time, to improve her photography skills. Rachel’s academic drive also extends to her hobbies. Rachel strives to continually improve and deepen her understanding and skill in photography and graphic arts. She rises to challenges and has represented our school, winning back-to-back gold at the Limestone Skills Competition for photography and qualifying to represent our region at the Provincial Skills Competition.

She is the student council president, and is not afraid to take charge and make her opinion known. Rachel shows this commitment to her community while balancing high marks and also maintaining a part-time job.

Rebecca Hillis

Rebecca’s passion is in the arts, music and drama, and her grades in these subjects certainly reflect this. She has used her incredible talent as a vocal musician in numerous ways. She has led sing songs by the campfire on student leadership retreats, sang with the Glee Club, performed solos at Remembrance Day assemblies and toured LDSB schools with the school band. Rebecca has performed at LDSB board meetings, former Director Hunter’s retirement, athletic events and most impressively has performed at three Limestone Learning Foundation Crystal Ball Galas. Rebecca plans to continue her academic pursuits at Wilfrid Laurier University in the Bachelor of Music program where she auditioned in Voice – Soprano.

Athletically, Rebecca is a member of the cross country and track and field teams. She has competed in both sports in each of her years at high school. Not only a competitive athlete, Rebecca is an incredible role model and mentor for younger teammates. In a confident, caring and respectful manner, and as a senior leader, she responds to the complex needs of Para - ID athletes on the school team (many of whom go on to compete at the provincial level). Rebecca is a true role model, providing assistance and leadership to ensure these athletes are on time, warmed up and ready to compete. Her contributions to this program are invaluable. She has an innate ability to recognise the needs of others, then formally and informally lead when necessary.

The staff of Sydenham High School would like to thank Rebecca for her contributions and congratulate her on this accomplishment.

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