A preliminary meeting will be held on Tuesday Night, November 24th, at 6:30 to talk about a planned educational tour of sunny Italy in March of 2011.

Claudio Gerebizza, who is an educational travel ambassador with Education First Tours will be on hand to talk about the itinerary of the five city, ten day trip to Rome, Florence, Venice, Assisi and Piza.

Among the tours’ highlights will be St. Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Trevi Fountain, the Ufizi Gallery, the Roman Coliseum and more.

The tour is being organised on the Sharbot Lake end by teachers Erica Kresen and Randy McVety, who have already been working out some of the logistics of the trip and planning fundraising events to defray some of the costs.

Students from the entire school, grade 7 to 12, are eligible for the trip, and adults are welcome to join as well.

In order for the trip to go ahead, about ten students from Sharbot Lake must attend, but students from other schools, and their parents, are eligible to go as well.

For Erica Kresen the fact that trip will includes students from grades 7-12 will be a great opportunity for students that don’t always interact at the school to experience something together and bring that camaraderie back to the school.

The trip represents her first opportunity to levve the continent and travel with her 12 year old daughter, who is a student in Sydenham.

“We’re already starting to save up,” she said.

Randy Mcvety was part of a school rip to Costa Rica a few years’ ago, and he found it to be an excellent experience for he students.

“The company that runs the trips keeps the students busy from morning until night. The days are packed with visits and learning opportunities. I can’t say enough about Education First.

Matt Green, now a grade 12 student, is the only student still at SLHS that participated in the Costs Rica trip.

He still lights up at the mention of it.

“It’s hard to remember all the things we did” he said, “because there was so much, but seeing a real volcano was certainly a highlight. All ina ll it was the experience of a lifetime.”

The Italian trip will feature more human history than natural history, and the artwork and architecture that the students will see is unrivalled anywhere else in the world.

Education First is offering some incentives for people to enrol in the trip by the end of November, and there are payment plans available as well.

At the meeting on November 24th, Caludio Grebizza will have all the details.

For further information about the Italy trip, contact Erica Kresen or Randy Mcvety at Sharbot Lake High School, 613-279-2131

The Limestone District School Board as begun the conversation about the future of schooling in Kingston's west end, as the next stage in the Accomodation Review for the Sharbot Lake family of school has been delayed once again.

A meeting of the Board's school enrollment/school capacity committee to receive a staff report in response to the Program and Accomodation Review Committee report that was completed in August had been re-scheduled for December 10th at the Board office in Kingston. The December meeting has been cancelled, postponing the decision until January.

Once the staff report has been received by the Board committee, the report will be released and a public meeting will be scheduled, probably in early 2010.

The public meeting had originally been scheduled for November 19th, but according to accomodation review co-ordinator Ruth Bailey the process has been delayed because the Board has been seeking a further funding commitment from the province in order to build a kindergarten to grade 12 school.

The Sharbot Lake PARC, which included parent and teacher representatives from all 5 schools in the region, recommended the closure of Sharbot Lake High School and Public School as well as Hinchinbrooke Public School. A new kindergartent o grade 12 school, to be built “at the Sharbot Lake High School site or at any other suitable location” would be built to replace them.

Land O'Lakes Public School (Mountain Grove) and Clarendon Central Public School (Plevna) would remain open under the scenario reccomended by the committee.

The Board will be holding it's inaugural meeting under its new Executive Committee on December 7th.

Ann Goodfellow, the board representative for Central and North Frontenac, has been the board chair for the passed two years.

Roughly 180 grade 7 and 8 students involved in the three Limestone District School Boards Challenge Programs will be participating in the “Challenge for Change - The Antipathy to Apathy”, a symposium that will take place on Wednesday Nov. 25 at the Queen’s University Faculty of Education’s McArthur Hall.

The symposium evolved from last years Environmental Sustainability symposium held at Loughborough Public School, in which students participated in workshops and developed projects that included community action plans and art projects geared towards informing the community of the subject of environmental sustainability.

This year the Symposium has evolved into a joint venture that includes all of the students from the three Limestone District School Boards Challenge Programs currently running at Loughborough, Calvin Park and Odessa public schools.

The Challenge programs have existed for over a decade and was designed to meet the needs of gifted and academically advanced students in the LDSB who are seeking new and innovative ways of learning.

As described by Alan Macdonald, one of the Limestone teachers involved in coordinating the symposium, this year’s symposium is composed of two facets: the first is a series of workshops led by a roster of 13 innovators including artists, professors, poets, engineers, musicians, writers, videographers and community action leaders who will share their knowledge of affecting positive change in the world.

Students will choose 3 workshops from a possible list of 13, will “provide students that have a desire to affect change with the mechanisms to move forward,” Macdonald said.

The second facet will see students taking their new found knowledge and applying it to a project of their own creation in a format of their own choosing.

Presentations can take the form of an arts/media presentation, experimentation, innovation, research project or community action. The finished projects will be put on public display in February.

On Wednesday night there will be keynote performances by “Theatre Complete”, spoken word artist Greg Frankson and a presentation by CBC broadcaster Jowi Taylor, who is renowned for building the Six String Nation Guitar.

For Alan Macdonald the Challenge for Change symposium “brings validity to the creative process for children raised in a knowledge based society that doesn't often allow time for such thought.

“Our students will meet innovators who use the creative process as they problem solve to create better communities…We want to give students the tools to put creativity in motion and the permission to use those tools.”

For more information about the upcoming Challenge for Change symposium please contact Alan Macdonald at Loughborough Public School (613) 376-3848.

SLHS School to Community student Mitchell Combe in the Snoezelen Room’s “Floating Leaf” chair

Teachers and staff at Sharbot Lake High School are continuing their fundraising efforts to purchase a Snoezelen (pronounced “SNOOzelen”) Room for the school, to be used by students in the School to Community class there.

The room offers tools and materials that provide controlled multi-sensory stimulation to students with developmental disabilities, autism and attention deficit disorders.

Like Snoezelen Room fundraising efforts at other local schools, the SLHS project was initiated by an educational assistant in the School to Community program there. SLHS educational assistant Josh Goodfellow began the campaign when he witnessed first-hand the benefits the facility had on students in his class. What he saw convinced him to initiate a fundraising campaign to acquire the school's very own facility.

Currently SLHS students are bussed every other week to the existing Snoezelen Room at North Addington Education Centre in Cloyne, with financial help from Community Living-North Frontenac in Sharbot Lake.

Though beneficial to students, the logistics of transporting a limited number of students for a limited number of visits is not ideal. In SLHS's School to Community class, Josh and three other educational assistants, Amy Thompson, Mary-Joy Neadow and Janice Kellar are hoping to change that.

Josh started fundraising for the $10,000+ project last summer and applied for a grant first from the Limestone Learning Foundation (LLF), which was turned down because it didn’t meet certain criteria. The LLF then forwarded the application to the Community Foundation for Kingston and Area and the project received a $2000 grant.

Josh and his team continued their efforts and organized a baseball tournament in Parham last summer that raised another $1000 for the cause. CL-NF recently donated $1,000 to the project.

On Friday, Oct. 30 when I met with Josh and Tammy Steele, one of two School to Community teachers at SLHS, he had just wrapped up their month-long teacher torture fundraiser which raised another $350.

For Josh the project is an important one. He said, “Having a room of our own will allow more students to have access to it more often. And there will be long-term cost savings as well.”

Tammy Steele explained, “The Snoezelen Room provides both stimulation and relaxation to students in ways that the environment of a regular classroom cannot. It offers the students freedom of choice in a safe and non-intimidating environment and invites them to make their own decisions.” She added, “We’re really excited and hope to acquire the room this year.”

Next on the fundraising agenda is a Silent Auction/ Wine and Cheese Event that will be held on Friday, November 6 at 7PM at the school. The $12 ticket includes a glass of wine and live entertainment by an all-teacher band and grade 11 student singer Maggie Campbell.

For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact SLHS at 613-279-2131 or contact Josh Goodfellow, Amy Thompson, Mary-Joy Neadow, Janice Kellar or Tammy Steele.

Kudos to SLHS student Jonathon Gillies who helped design the poster for the event.

 Sharbot Lake Panthers Senior Girls basketball team. Front row l-r: Nicole Domen, Tiffany Carmichael, Rachel Neadow, Sarah Armstrong, Dana Mika. Back row l-r: Mr. Wes Garrod, Kaitlyn Wilkes, Courtney Meeks, Sarah McCullough, Sami Stencill, Mr. Mike Smith. Photo courtesy of SLHS

When the Sharbot Lake Panthers beat the LCVI Lancers 36-21 in early October, it was the first time in over eight years that the Sharbot Lake senior girls basketball team has won a game.

With only 200 students in grades 9 through 12, Sharbot Lake is smallest school in the KASSAA league, so it's easy to understand why scoring a win has been elusive.

But this year the team and their coaches Mike Smith and Wes Garrod made a point of ending that eight-year losing streak and actually decided that they would win a game. In fact winning one was just one of their set goals for this year. Scoring in the double digits at every single game and playing a full game at each contest were their other two main objectives this year and they not only accomplished all three goals, they even went beyond. On November 5 at their last league game of the season, the lady Panthers beat Napanee 44-38 and so ended up winning two.

That last win was an important one for the team and though they still came short of qualifying for the upcoming playoffs (they finished in a tie for 10th place), they are more than confident heading into the EOSSAA Championships, which will pit them against five other triple A schools in the region.

As I got to know the team’s coaches and players last Thursday on their home court, it became apparent that this year’s wins were not mere flukes. Rather, this kind of high calibre play has been in the works for the last three years since Mike Smith has been coaching the team.

Smith explained, “We have been slowly building up a culture here of high calibre play. It’s been developing since the players were in grades 9 and 10. This year I think it just all came together.”

Mike explained that that high calibre play consisted of putting two main key systems in place: playing a 2-3 zone on defense and playing a 4 out perimeter offence. He said, “The team is made up of a great group of athletes who were extremely quick to pick up those systems.”

Joined this year by assistant coach Wes Garrod, the two coaches this spring decided to run a spring camp for the team to give the girls a chance to play more ball during the year. Smith explained that many players from other school teams play club ball during the year and so have more opportunities to hone their skills.

Of the spring camp Smith said, “It was amazing to see how much the girls improved after those five practices.”

Part of the team’s success lies in the very positive and close relationships among the players. This team is made up of an extremely close and cohesive bunch of girls who have not only developed individually as players over the years, but have also gelled into a caring, close-knit group of friends who have a great time every single time that they play together on the court.

I spoke to the players after their 44-38 home win against Napanee on November 5, where they maintained a 10-point lead almost throughout and asked them how they felt about their league play this season.

Dana Mika explained, “We were really close to making the playoffs this year. At our last game against QECVI we lost by three points with three of our players missing. If we had won that one, we would have tied for eighth and had a chance at the playoffs.”

Regarding their cohesion as a team, Sarah Armstrong stated, “We’re all good friends, which really helps on the court, and we have a good time, which makes a huge difference in the way we play.”

Dana Mika added, “We go into a lot of these games against much bigger schools sometimes knowing that we aren’t necessarily going to win but we still give it our all.”

The players paid tribute to their two coaches, whom they described as both “very encouraging and very positive.”

Coming off a win is a great way to go into the EOSSA tournament and coaches Smith and Garrod are extremely proud of their team. Smith admitted, “Throughout the year opposing coaches and the referees have commented on how well the team is playing, really very humbling. He added, “We feel great for the girls. They’ve put a lot of time into improving their game and it’s great that they get to hear that from other people besides us.”

The EOSSAA Championships takes place November 18 and 19 at Rideau District High School in Elgin and the Panthers are hoping to make it to the second round of the championships.

Photo: Atom boys gave it their all at the 9th annual Joe Goodfellow Memorial Race at HPS

On Oct. 5 over 400 students from 14 different north eastern schools in the LDSB participated in the Joe Goodfellow Memorial Race Region 3 Meet held at Hinchinbrooke Public School in Parham.

It was Dan Kimmerer’s 9th year as organizer the event, which was named in memory of Joe Goodfellow, a former student at Hinchinbrooke Public School who was killed 9 years ago at the age of 19 in a tragic car accident.

For Dan the race symbolizes everything that Joe stood for, namely the love of athletics and doing the best that you can. Dan explained, “It’s great for the community to have role models and Joe was that kind of person who had a lot of character. I do this race for these kids and also for the memory of Joe.”

The atoms race was 1.85 km and the other two classes ran a 2.85 km course. There were 6 races in total, which included both male and female events in the atom (grades 3 & 4), bantam (grades 5 & 6) and midget (grades 7 & 8) classes.

Upon completing the race every single runner was congratulated at the finish line by Joe’s mom Cathy Goodfellow, who handed each participant a ribbon.

For Cathy every child’s effort deserves recognition at this event. “ I think it’s really important that their effort is acknowledged and everyone of them gets and deserves a pat on the back. It‘s a really difficult race.” She added, “And many thanks from our family to all of the volunteers who continue to work very hard to put this event on.”

The top 30 individual runners who placed in their races and the top three scoring schools will proceed to the Limestone District Championships, which will be held at Fort Henry Hill in Kingston on Oct. 13.

Congratulations to all of the runners who participated.

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.

Sydenham High School Principal Shawn Lehman, in his newly decorated office.

That seems to be the case for Shawn Lehman.

Lehman joined the Limestone District School Board this fall as the new principal of Sydenham High School after working 10 years in the Upper Canada District School Board from his home base of Brockville. He was greeted with a thick carpet of sod, a golf cart, some clubs and a flag when he opened the door to his office at SHS early on Monday morning.

“I don't know who did this,” he said later in the day, “but I think they have some IT experience.”

Lehman joined his predecessors, other new principals and vice principals at the school who found that some mischievous underlings made a few changes to their office a few days or weeks after their arrival at the school. “This was a pretty extensive job” he said, “They removed everything in the office save for two bookshelves, laid this thick carpet of sod, and brought in the golf cart.”

For Lehman it's all part of the relaxed atmosphere at SHS that he has already come to enjoy. “People have been very welcoming. This is a school with a strong committed staff, which makes my job easy,” he said.

Over the next few months Principal Lehman will be working on a school improvement plan, dealing with both educational and facility issues.

For the time being he is continuing to live in Brockville, with his wife, and will be commuting to the school, at least for the first year. 

It has been a complex and sometimes controversial process getting a new school built for Central and North Frontenac residents, and along the way there have probably been a number of miss steps, some of which have been identified by this newspaper.

In the end, however, a $15 million building project has been completed in Sharbot Lake by the Limestone District School Board (LDSB), and the northern part of Frontenac County has received its biggest boost in at least 20 years.

By investing in this community, the trustees and staff at the board office of the LDSB have more than lived up to their commitment towards the rural community they serve, and they should be given credit for that.

The one person who has probably received the most grief from the public over the project is the local trustee, Ann Goodfellow

As part of the process that led to the building of the new school, Ann Goodfellow ended up working through the closing of Hinchinbrook Public School, which was where her own children attended elementary school and where her school board career started as a member of the parent council. She has taken her share of heat for that, and for the location and name of the new school. All of her work, including the backroom arguing and cajoling it took for her to convince her school board colleagues that this least populated part of the LDSB’s jurisdiction deserved its full attention, was integral to bringing the new school to fruition.

Ann Goodfellow stayed on as trustee to make sure it happened, and she certainly was a pretty happy camper on the opening day of the school, deservedly so.

The students who make use of the improved facility will benefit from her efforts and those of her colleagues at the board and the teachers, staff and administration of the schools that have joined together at Granite Ridge.

The PARC process and aspects of the building project, and what ended up being a shambles of a naming process, all had their flaws, as we have sometimes gleefully pointed out.

As late as this past weekend, I admit I half expected the opening to be delayed, leaving students with nowhere to go to school this week.

All that aside, the LDSB came through and completed the building to the point where it is a functional school within 15 months of breaking ground, which is quite a feat.

It is now up to us in the surrounding community to figure how to use the new school as a catalyst for community revitalization.

Jared Salmond, a Grade 12 student at North Addington Education Centre, won the OFSAA Character Athlete Award on December 10. The award is sponsored by the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations and is given to a male and female high school athlete each semester. Over the past two years, Jared has been a member of NAEC Senior Boys’ Volleyball team. This year the team had its most successful year in recent memory, finishing fourth in Bay of Quinte and third in COSSA, narrowly missing out on an OFSAA chance. Jared was selected as a winner for the award because of his demonstration of OFSAA’s values of leadership, commitment, respect, equity, growth, and development.

Jared, selected by his peers for the past two seasons to serve as team captain, has always acted in a positive manner both on and off the court. On top of volleyball, last year Jared help start an intramural program for NAEC elementary students and helped with secondary intramurals as well. In the past, Jared has helped with the North Addington Basketball Association and with the North Addington SPIKES program. Outside of school Jared is an instructor with the Mazinaw Lake Swim Program. In all of Jared’s endeavours, he positively demonstrates the core character values outlined by OFSAA.