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June 8, 2010 From the Eye / Mr. T. Harris Somehow June has arrived, and with it our last Forecast of this school year. Eighteen times I have sat down to craft a written piece to keep parents and students aware of what is happening at school. I hope you have used this as a means of staying on top of what is happening at Smithville Christian High School. This has been a spring during which we kept waiting for things to slow down but never really saw it happen. The sports teams kept winning, the classes kept doing creative projects, and the good but busy things just kept coming. That being said, the last two weeks are certainly time to settle the classes into one more focused phase for learning, final projects and exam preparation. I wish every student the very best as he/she confronts the June academic activities. This is a month when it’s good to remember that students are called first and foremost to be learners. Work at this full time; your learning will go well, and your results will bear this out. Parents, I encourage you to be in frequent conversation with your sons and daughters about what needs to be accomplished and what kind of time needs to be set aside for undistracted study. Since our last Forecast, my favourite day of the school calendar came and went. Grade 12 Portfolio Day is my favourite day because the reason we do what we do is so much in focus. This year’s class brought their very best, and we could so clearly see how God is working in the lives of our young people. Their prepared speeches, their thoughtful responses and dialogue, their accounts of their experiences here were all very encouraging. Since I seem to write so much every year about this experience, let me be brief and say two things: (1) It was an awesome day, and (2) our students did an excellent job. Thank you students, thank you teachers, and thank you to the board members and other supporters who served as panelists. For those who wonder why I cry so much, I really have no response. We were all deeply moved during last week’s assembly by the presentations of our international students. We are grateful to Ploy, Shion, Nicole, Nico, Barne, Corina, Dorothee and Jacopo for what they have meant to the life of our school this year. Thank you also for your kind words and expressions in the assembly. May God bless you all as you carry on your learning and living back home. By the way, the flag from that one certain country is hanging proudly in my backyard, ready for the World Cup season. It has been such a joy to see our athletes compete this spring. Right after the best badminton season in our school’s history, the soccer teams came along and each took the zone championship and reached the SOSSA final. Then the boys won SOSSA and competed well at OFSAA last weekend. In addition, our track team sent more than a dozen athletes to SOSSA resulting in an OFSAA entry for Crystal Elmers. What a fabulous run! Well done Storm! Parents, registration packages have been sent home and are due back to the office by this Friday, June 11. We would be very grateful for your help in getting these back on time. As we bend our thoughts toward exam week, we encourage students to make plans for productive studying both during the school day and during your outside of school time. For the time you will spend at school, please make sure that you are in a frame of mind to use this time productively. Those who are at school outside of exam writing times should be here only for the purpose of quiet personal or group studying. From Student Services / L. Booy-Korvemaker The 2010-2011 OSAP Application for Full-Time Students is now available to apply online. The OSAP website has been redesigned to make finding information easier. Go to https://osap.gov.on.ca/OSAPPortal/en/News/PRD003028.html for more information. Apply NOW for ECO Canada Scholarships. The deadline for ECO Canada’s scholarship applications has been extended to June 15th, 2010. Four $2,500 scholarships will be awarded to Canadian high school students entering into their first year of post-secondary education. The top applicant will also earn the Edit Petrovic Memorial Scholarship, receiving an additional $2,500. Find out more about the scholarships and past winners at http://www.eco.ca/scholarship. The University of Toronto National Book Award application materials are now available for students beginning their studies in September 2011. For more information see Mrs. Korvemaker. The deadline for the application is October 4, 2010. Grade 12 Trip: Students who have overpaid their Quebec account by more than $10 will be issued a cheque for the difference this week. From Students’ Council: Congratulations to next year’s Student Council Executive: Tallia Bezemer, Dorothy DeBoer, Robyn DeKlerk, Daniel Vandersteen and Nygel Washington-Purser. Canada’s Wonderland tickets will be on sale this week at lunch for $26 and $40 for those who did not sell 4 magazines. The bus will leave at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, June 18 and return to SDCH at approximately 7:30 p.m. From the Athletics Council / Mr. F. Breukelman Well, at this time the athletic seasons are finished. It was a tremendously successful year for our athletes and teams. We had a couple of Christian High Championships, 3 Zone Championships, a couple of SOSSA Championships and a number of individual personal bests. Great stuff! The boys soccer team just returned from OFSAA in Windsor on the weekend. It was a little disappointing falling just short of the quarter finals. The fact that Guido deBres won OFSAA gives you an idea why, since we beat them at SOSSA. The girls soccer team finished 2nd to Guido at SOSSA just missing out on a trip to OFSAA for the 3rd year in row. Great season ladies! Crystal Elmers was at OFSAA Track and Field this past weekend as well, participating in High Jump (6th) and Long Jump. Great job Crystal! Finally, last Tuesday we celebrated the Athletic Banquet. There was a good showing from athletes, coaches, scorekeepers and parents. A number of awards were handed out…most notably: A big thank you to the Athletics Council for all their work on the banquet and for the promotion of athletics this past year. |