Thanks to professional drum facilitator and instructor, Leo Brooks, and a grant from Blue Skies in the Community, grade 7 and 8 students at Granite Ridge Educational Centre in Sharbot Lake are now able to keep the beat on their very own hand made drums.

The students just completed a four-week art/music project they began with Brooks early in January where each student built a hand drum using a section of sonotube that the students first primed and painted in a design of their own making. Once the tubes were completed Brooks returned to the school to show the students how to stretch a piece of wet goat skin over one end of the tube, which was then stapled in place and left to dry and tighten overnight. The drums were ready to play the very next day.

The long-term project gave these intermediate students the opportunity to spend many hours on a single project, and their perseverance and determination really paid off. Their drums are as nice to look at as they sound – and they sound just great.

The project culminated in a drum workshop on January 27 led by Brooks, where the close to 50 students learned how to play their drums. Brooks began by teaching the students basic drum care, for the short and long term. He then showed the students the many different ways to create various sounds on the drum either first by using their hands which depending on their placement and delivery can greatly affect the sound produced. Similarly he demonstrated how the drum can be struck with a small stick either on the skin or its side to give different sounds as well.

He spoke of the history and origins of various rhythms, many originating from African countries, and taught the students how to create them first by giving the individual beats words and then by inviting the students to play the beat while saying their corresponding words. Once the students were able to memorize and play one distinctive rhythmic pattern, Brooks would add his own different beat under their unified rhythm, showing how a multi-layered rhythmic effect can be created. The students were transfixed. The musical element of drumming is a real draw for students who seem to delight in being able to come together in one single rhythmic whole. “When the students are drumming in time and creating one strong single rhythmic pattern you can really see the delight on their faces. Playing perfectly in time with one another can really help bring the students together as a group,” Teacher Julia Schall said following the workshop. “Learning to drum as a group is not only about being able to play yourself but it also depends on really listening to one another”.

Student drumming at GREC will not end with the workshop and Ms. Schall said she would be incorporating the drums into her bucket drumming music class at the school. “The beauty of now having these drums here is that we will be able to take them out any time, learn new rhythms and play together.”

Perhaps as the weather warms up, passers-by might hear the magical unified beat of the drum thanks to these GREC students and their fearless drum guru, Leo Brooks, who showed these students not only how to build their own drums but also how to keep the beat.

by Valerie Allan

On Jan. 16, 24 students from Grades 3-7 presented projects in a Science Fair held in the library of NAEC.

Preparations started in June, when Ms. Randle (a Secondary Science teacher) collaborated with Elementary teachers (Ms. Beeg, Mr. Rewbotham, Mr. Pelow, Mr. Hill and Ms. Cuthill) to design a Science Fair modeled after the regional Science Fair (FLASF).

The purpose of the fair was to provide students with a unique opportunity to engage in scientific investigation. Ms. Randle remarked, “Science Fairs are a great way to promote critical thinking skills. Science Fairs allow students to explore and investigate things they are interested in, process information using critical thinking skills, and create something they are proud of. It allows them to learn about the scientific method in a hands-on way.”

Students chose experiments, studies or innovations as a basis for their projects, and were judged by a panel of judges for Top Project, and by visitors for Fan Favourite. The top project for Mrs. Beeg’s class went to Abbi Woods and the Fan Favourites for Mrs. Beeg’s class went to Bella DeSa and Owen Bright.

The top project for Mr. Rewbotham’s class went to Sarah Reed and the Fan Favourites for Mr. Rewbotham’s class went to Hayden Riley and Ryan Kay.

The top project for Mrs. Pelow’s class went to Josie Heyman and the Fan Favourites for Mrs. Pelow’s class went to Amanda Clancy and Beth Shiner.

The top project for Ms. Cuthill’s class went to Sierra Baldacchin and Fan Favourites for Ms. Cuthill’s class went to Jessie Cumming and Riley Kay.

According to Youth Science Canada, which is a big supporter of science fairs, “Every year, over 500,000 young Canadians participate in project-based science…encouraging them to get their hands dirty and develop scientific and technological knowledge and skills through project-based science.”

For their annual drama production this year, grade nine and ten students in the drama program at the North Addington Education Centre in Cloyne chose "Aw, Shucks!" as the play that they most wanted to see performed.

Judging by the reception the play received at its inaugural performance on January 13 they made the right choice. The play, written by Toniann Guadagnoli, tells the tale of one large and way over the top "countri-fied" family. The plot focuses in on son Roscoe (perfectly portrayed by Matt Emslie) and his choice of his wife-to-be, Brooke, (aptly played by Brianna Bolduc). The problem is that Brooke hails from Brooklyn, New York, and Roscoe's “Maw”, hilariously portrayed by Selena Pelicos, is not having any of it. Instead Maw sets her sights on her preferred choice, Georgian belle Savannah, played with aplomb by Terri-Lynn Rosenblath.

Spurred on by the family matriarch, the family decides to hold a country-style contest where the two dueling possible brides-to-be face off in an attempt to corn shuck and cotton pick their way to the altar.

Of course the bridal hopefuls, being the wisest of the bunch, become friendly in the process, forcing Maw to take the outcome into her own hands. Maw hatches a sneaky countrified Princess and the Pea plan to curtail Brooke's win, which fails. Still, in the end it takes Elmer the horse to make Maw see the backwardness of her ways and realize that it is Brooke whom her son should ultimately marry - and of course Roscoe gets his city girl.

The actors each nailed their characters, with the countrified family members not only sounding like typical back woods southern hillbillies (I was informed that many accomplished the task by watching numerous reruns of the Dukes of Hazard), but also delivering their lines with the precise comic timing required to meet the mark.

The music in the play was lively and the line dancing scene at the family hoedown was one of the play's most memorable scenes.

Valerie Allan, who teaches drama at the school and stage managed the play, said the choice of play really fit the students. “They just seemed to naturally get the whole country thing really very well right from the start.”

Allan said that the fact that NAEC is a country school was a big reason why the students chose the play and added that the fact that the play presents a problem that is ultimately resolved, while poking fun at a number of typical stereotypes is a great learning experience both for these young thespians and the audience alike.

The response by the full house audience at Tuesday's performance proved that not only can these young dramatists do exactly what they set minds to, but that in the process they can entertain a full house of delighted viewers. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew who put one a very memorable performance at the NAEC for 2015.

For years now, Ms Schall's grade eight graduates have been making a trip to Montreal to celebrate their graduation while taking in all the special sights and educational experiences that that wonderful city has to offer. This year will be no different and in mid-June, 29 graduating grade eight students from the Granite Ridge Education Centre (GREC) in Sharbot Lake will be boarding a VIA train to Montreal where they will be spending two nights and three days.

To raise funds for their travel expenses, a bottle drive fundraiser was held on Jan. 9 & 10.

The trip is a combination of education and fun and for many of the students it will not only be their first visit to a major Canadian city but also to French Canada. While in Montreal the students will be getting around on public transportation, and will be navigating the local subways and buses while also practicing their French and enjoying the many sites in the city. They will be touring Old Montreal, taking an exciting jet boat tour of the Lachine Rapids to the location of the city's first and oldest settlements, and will also visit the Biodome and the Olympic City. A trip to La Ronde, the city's famed amusement park, is also on the itinerary.

While Schall has made the trip many times over the last seven years, one event continues to be her favorite. “Personally for me the highlight of the trip is always the night hike that we take up Mount Royal where we walk up to the top of the mountain and look out over the huge expanse of the city, which is lit up by city and traffic lights and with the blackness of the St. Lawrence River in the background.”

To date the students have raised $4,000 towards the trip and are hoping to raise a total of $11,400, which will cover the transportation, accommodation and food costs for all the students.

Ms. Schall said that the trip is an important one for graduating students, many of whom form very strong bonds with their fellow classmates nearing the end of the school year, prior to moving on to high school. “This can be a very intense and emotional time for these graduating students, and the trip gives them a chance to bond further and also presents some new challenges to them; challenges like navigating their way through the city, looking at city maps and having to problem solve in a number of relevant ways in an environment that is new and challenging and unknown.“

Schall added that the trip also is a kind of initiation for the students into the bigger, broader world they will entering upon graduation in June. “These students will be entering a new school atmosphere where they will have more freedom and will be required to show more responsibility as a result of that freedom. This trip represents an initiation into that bigger world; it offers them a chance to be more independent while literally seeking out their own personal paths, which is something they will have to be doing more and more of as they move on through life.”

Those who missed the bottle drive fundraiser will have other opportunities to donate to the trip, including at a volleyball tournament that will take place at the school on Sat. January 17. For more information about how to become involved in the tournament contact Tina Howes at 613-375-8152.

A broomball tournament is also being planned for February at the Tichborne rink. Keep an eye out in the Northern Happenings for the date and time.

The impressive multi-media work of close to 200 students at Sydenham High School was included at the biennial Multi-media Festival, which was held at the school on December 11.

Headed up by Dawn Wallace, who has been teaching multi-media communications and technology at the school for the last seven years, the show included displays of student work in video, graphic design, introductory and advanced photography, printmaking, painting, animation, and sound mixing. Some of the highlights of the show included specific projects assigned to the communications technology students in grades 9 through 12, which included colorful mock movie posters, photo collages and entries in three separate student portfolio competitions, which included work in photography and graphic design.

I spoke to fifth-year student, Todd Muller, who entered his portfolio into the grade 11 photography competition. Muller has always loved photography and decided just this year to pursue that passion by enrolling in the introductory photography course that Wallace teaches. His portfolio submission included numerous intriguing, technically proficient and expertly composed photos of subjects that included hyenas at the Toronto Zoo, which were taken during a school photography trip there earlier this year. Muller said photography is a subject that he is seriously considering pursuing after high school at Sheridan College and possibly also at Ryerson. “I really love the creativity involved and the fact that you can be artistic with photography. I especially love staging my photos and for me that is where the artistry and creativity comes into play.”

At the show, Wallace beamed with pride at the students’ work and said that the communications technology and multimedia courses are important because they represent the “language of the day”. “The students are learning the ABCs of visual and audio language and basically all of the fundamentals that they need to know to pursue learning in this field,” she said. She added that she is often surprised and inspired by the work of her students. “I am often blown away by the work they create and often it is they who are teaching me new things, which makes teaching them, for me, a real privilege.” Wallace said a big part of her job is to help students develop their own voice and she said it is tremendously exciting to watch students find the media that best expresses who and what they are. Her words certainly ring true in the mock movie posters that were created by grade 10 students. Colorful, artistic, unique and savvy, one has to look very closely to realize that these posters are not the real thing - though they could easily be.

A number of bus companies that serve students in Frontenac County are joining with other members of the Independent School Bus Operators Association (ISBOA) in taking Tri-Board Transportation to court. Tri-Board, which handles busing for students in the Limestone, and the Hastings and Prince Edward public school boards, and the Algonquin and Lakeshore Separate School Board, was ordered to negotiate contracts with the operators by Justice Scott of the Ontario Superior Court in 2012.

Over two years later a deal has not been signed and now 29 operators are seeking damages for breach of contract in excess of $2 million, and punitive damages of $500,000, in addition to other costs.

The operators, which include Dunham, Cox and the larger Martin's Bus lines, filed their statement of claim on December 1. A response from Tri-Board is due by the end of January, and a court date will follow.

When Justice Scott issued his order in 2012 there were eight months remaining in the contract between the drivers and Tri-Board, but in their statement of claim the bus companies allege that Tri-Board stopped making payments for capital payments that were called for in that contract soon after the order was issued. Negotiations stalled, and the contract ran out, but the buses kept running.

Negotiations began in earnest in the fall of 2013 and a draft contract was being considered at a meeting in early February of 2014.

“Tri-Board represented to the Plaintiffs through the negotiating committee that Tri-Board generally agreed with the terms and that the draft would form the basis for a multi-year contract with the Plaintiffs” says the statement of claim.

Two weeks later, everything had changed.

“At the outset of the [next] meeting,” the statement goes on to say, “Tri-Board completely reversed its position. It said it refused to consider a multi-year contract despite its earlier representations and instead would only sign a contract for the 2013-14 school year, which by that time was only three months from finishing.

“When asked why a multi-year contract was no longer being considered, the CEO of Tri-Board, Gord Taylor, explained that the Ministry of Education (“Ministry”) had directed Tri-Board to take this position.” (item 89)

Negotiations have continued since then, and the bus companies presented a proposed contract on October 10, 2014, by which time they were in their second year without a contract.

Again, according to the bus companies' statement of claim, “Tri-Board responded on November 7, 2014, by presenting a brief document outlining general changes to the contract, but again without providing any of the underlying detail on the amount stipulated for fixed and variable rates (including driver wages, capital costs, maintenance, etc.). Without this information, it was impossible for the Plaintiffs to assess Tri-Board’s proposal and it certainly could not form the basis for a contract between the parties. Tri-Board presented this to the Plaintiffs in a 'take it or leave it' letter.”

Karen Cameron, the President of ISBOA, sees the hand of the province in the way Tri-Board has been handling the negotiations.

“Part of the problem for these small operators all the way along is that the Ontario government says they are not involved in this, but now three judges have independently come to the conclusion that the province is directing this. The issue is really with them, with Tri-Board as their proxy,” she said when interviewed by phone this week.

Under the ISBOA umbrella, independent operators have had success in court in recent years, as they have been resisting a province-wide initiative to put all busing contracts onto the open market, a move they say favours large national and international busing companies.

Submitted by NAEC

On Dec. 12 at North Addington Education Centre, over one hundred elementary and secondary students with their teachers, participated in the Hour of Code. This is a global event that has people of all ages from over 180 countries write lines of code to promote computer science. This event was organized by Darren Sissons, a secondary teacher at NAEC. Students used the Hour of Code website for this event, learning how to program simple games on computers, iPads or their own hand held devices. One student commented, “It was a lot of fun, I didn’t know I could do that!” To find out more, visit http://hourofcode.com/ca

Mike Love, head coach of Sydenham's senior boys football team, recalled the team's final game played against Peterborough's Crestwood Mustangs at the Mary Ann Sills Park in Belleville on November 26 for the Senior AA title. The exciting win wrapped up a flawless season for the senior boys, who came out strong from the start against the Mustangs with Golden Eagle Sam Moyse scoring on the second play of the game on a pass from quarterback Dylan Fisher.

That lead spread to 14-0 when the Mustangs fumbled Sydenham's kick. With Sydenham offense in control of the ball, they moved up the turf handily with Brodie Latimer scoring on a four-yard push into the end zone. Sydenham recovered a second fumbled ball by the Mustangs and scored on a pass to Sam Moyse, moving Sydenham well ahead 21-0. Crestwood fought back hard and ran some well planned plays that failed to pan out. Sydenham scored another three points when Mike Bashall kicked a field goal, wrapping up a stellar first quarter and opening up a 24-0 lead for the Golden Eagles. Crestwood changed that fast in the second and turned their game around, scoring a quick consecutive three in a row, their third coming just five seconds before the clock timed out.

At the half the score was 24-21, making the match anyone's game. Love recalled how he and the team felt at that point. “We had the best start any team could want but Crestwood's passing game got us in the second but we managed to gather ourselves together and at half time I told the boys to calm down a bit and we reset our dials to the middle setting again after being up so fast and then coming down so hard.”

Reset they did and opening with the ball at the start of the third, Sydenham moved quickly on a long drive with Brodie Latimer scoring five minutes into the third, moving Sydenham ahead 31-21. Another long drive by the Eagles killed some precious time off the clock in the third and kept the Mustangs 10 points behind at the start of the fourth.

Early in the fourth Sydenham scored a single on a punt and their defense rallied, stopping the Mustangs from moving the ball far enough for a chance. It was five minutes into the fourth that Sydenham's Sam Moyse scored on a pass from Fisher for his third touchdown of the game, which moved the Golden Eagles further ahead 39-21. Bashall's kick put them up one more: 40-21.

The Mustangs demonstrated that they still had something left and with four seconds left in the game scored another touchdown but in the end it was not enough to move them ahead and Sydenham took the win 40-27, wrapping up a perfect season for the Sydenham seniors.

Moyse, Latimer and Fisher proved an unbeatable offensive trio not only in Belleville but all season long, as was kicker Mike Bashall who converted all five touchdowns and two single points on a kick and a punt that cemented the team's decisive win over Crestwood.

Love was proud of all his players. “They worked very, very hard for a long, long time. They came out for every single practice and just got better and better as the season went on.”

Close to 300 fans bundled up and braved the snow and wind to cheer on Sydenham's senior Golden Eagles, who faced off against the Almonte Thunderbolts at the EOSSA A AA football championship game in Kingston, which was held at CaraCo Home Field on November 14.

Both teams were undefeated in their regular seasons and were well matched; they played an exciting back and forth nail biter.

Almonte took a 7 point lead with a touchdown near the end of the first quarter. Then, with just seconds left in the first they fumbled the ball in Sydenham's end zone and Golden Eagle Conner O'Brien recovered it for a touch down. A successful conversion tied the game up 7-7.

There was no scoring in the second quarter until the very end, when with 30 seconds left on the clock Sydenham's Mike Bashal kicked a 25 yard field goal and Sydenham led at the half, 10-7.

Sydenham pushed hard again early in the third and a second three-point field goal by Bashall put the the up 13 - 7. Sydenham drove to the 20 yard line later in third quarter but failed to score, and Almonte responded with three minutes left on a passing touchdown from the 20. After the conversion they took the lead for the firrst time 14-13.

Sydenham’s offense worked hard to get a last chance in the third and with 40 seconds left they gained possession after recovering a fumble and had another chance to move ahead with under 20 seconds left but fell short once again.

Almonte pushed hard early in the fourth in an effort to increase their one point lead but Sydenham's defense held strong and when the Sydenham offense got possession half way through the fourth, a great long pass to Bashall followed by a hand off to O'Brien, Sydenham was once again within scoring distance at which their coach called a time out.

In their next push Sydenham’s Brodie Latimer put the ball across the line and moved the Golden Eagles into first 19-14. A two point conversion attempt missed the mark.

With just six minutes left in the game Sydenham fans went wild as their defense succeeded in shutting Almonte down. Then, with just under four minutes remaining and the snow falling Sydenham’s Brodie Latimer moved the ball for a first down deep in the Almont zone and Sam Moyse scored what looked like the clinching touchdown for Sydenham. However, that proved not to be the case as their was a flag on the play and Sydenham took a ten yard penalty. When they missed a field goal attempt, it was left to the Sydenham defense to keep the Thunderbolts at bay.

It looked like Sydenham might get a final chance to widen their win when Almonte quarterback was sacked but the fumble was picked up by Almonte again.

With a minute left, Sydenham’s Peter Kaiser intercepted a long pass, bringing the Sydenham fans to their feet. Sydenham then ran out the clock, winning 19-14 win, moving on to the National Capital Bowl.

Following the game Almonte coach Chris Spratt said that his boys had a couple of hardships but never quit. “We knew it would be close and though our team doesn't have the big size and numbers, they never quit and showed that we can swing with the big boys”.

Golden Eagles’ coach Mike Love was thrilled with the win and said that although his team still has work prior to the championship game on Saturday, he was really pleased to see his team moving on to it. “It was a really exciting game right up to the end. The boys just hung in there and played their hearts out and were rewarded with a victory,” Love said. The championship game will take place in Belleville on Saturday November 22 against Crestwood of Peterborough.

submitted by Joel Hasler

For the first time in ten years, North Addington Education Centre is sending a team to OFSAA. The Senior Boys’ Volleyball team, coached by Mr. Hasler, will be travelling to Welland on Wednesday, November 19 to play in the OFSAA Single “A” Volleyball Championship. Our games will be played on Thursday, November 20 and Friday, November 21. The Senior Boys’ Volleyball team qualified for OFSAA after earning a silver medal at COSSA in Port Hope last Thursday. The team’s success demonstrates the nearly three years of dedication from many of the team members and coaches. Not only does this team have a strong group of senior-aged players, the team is privileged to have a great group of grade nine students. The future certainly looks bright for North Addington volleyball teams.