In a special project, students in Ms. Snider's grade nine Academic English class at Sydenham High School (SHS) were given the opportunity to experience recording their own original songs at Crooked Bush recording studio in Sydenham.

The project was part of an oral skills project that had the students choose from a number of themes related to current teen issues, which included technology addiction, violence, body image, romantic relationships, bullying, smoking, peer pressure, language, friendship, future choices, violence and racism and more. The students were required to create and present to their peers an oral presentation in the form of a monologue, skit, dialogue, narrative, story, advertisement, song or soundtrack, demonstrating their understanding of skilled speaking strategies.

The project was designed to allow students to explore the various media available to them and to encourage them to identify their skills, strengths and weaknesses by doing their own presentations and also by listening to and helping others in the class and in their group.

The group that I met with chose the theme of what others think of them. I met them at the home recording studio of Jason Silver in Sydenham. Silver himself is a graduate of SHS and in fact began recording music while a student at SHS. He is a self-employed computer programmer and records and teaches music in his off hours. Since moving back to Sydenham he has wanted to share with students some of his musical know-how and studio tools.

Prior to these sessions with the students Silver was invited by Ms. Snider to teach a song-writing class at the school and he offered students a chance to record their songs.

At his studio, Melanie Kennedy was in the process of recording her original song "Beauty" and was joined at the microphone by students in her group, Violet Skuce and Hanna Smail. The song tells of a girl who feels ugly because of what people and the media say to her and it tells of her overcoming those feelings after accepting herself for who she is and coming to her own personal understanding of beauty. The song is a mature reflection on the peer and media pressure regarding issues of beauty. In the song Melanie writes, “I had to change my appearance, I wore make up and changed my hair and changed my clothes; this was not fair. I've woken up from this nightmare that they made, I've woken up and here's a price that I paid for beauty. “ It continues, “Now who decides what's beautiful? ...Beauty is more than one thing. Don't be afraid by what they say; Stay confident and be yourself and do this every single day. That is what beauty should be."

Earlier in the day students Alec Asselstine, Troy Speek and Dakota Jost had a chance to record their rap song, which addressed the issue of an unknown future and the dangers of negative behaviors and habits while on the path to it.

I spoke with Ms. Snider at SHS and she said that the project goes a long way in focusing on student collaboration while also teaching skilled speaking, active listening and how to interpret media. The goal is for the students to choose the media that best suit their interests and learning styles in order to create their own original products. “What was really interesting to watch was the students helping each other through the creative process. They'd rally around each other and give lots of feedback, which made for a very rich learning process.”

She said the project allows students a chance to be “emerging creators of media and through the process they will better understand and interpret media messages.” She added that collaboration was also an important part of the project. “Collaboration is a learned skill. When students are engaged they learn how to collaborate. This kind of project allowed me to step back and let the students collaborate with one another to create the best solutions for their final products.”

Officials with the Limestone District School Board are still working towards welcoming Kindergarten to grade 12 students to the brand new Granite Ridge Education Centre on the first day of classes after the Christmas holidays.

But it will take a lot of work for a lot of people before and during the holidays for that to happen.

A newsletter went home to parents of children who have been attending at the former Sharbot Lake public and high schools this week. It outlined some of the features of the new 65,000 square foot school, and said that the board still hopes that the students will have an opportunity to “tour the new building and become familiar with the new surroundings before the holiday break.”

In order for that to happen - indeed in order for the new building to open on January 6 - an occupancy permit needs to be issued by the Central Frontenac Township building department. An inspection is scheduled for Monday, December 16, but Jeremy Neven, Chief Building Official for Central Frontenac Township, said he will make himself available after, even through the holidays, in case all the requirements for an occupancy permit are not met when he does his first formal inspection next Monday. “There are so many details, so much that needs to be in place and fully functional before the health and safety requirements are met for an occupancy permit to be issued,” he said.

He also said that he will need the Ministry of the Environment to complete their inspection of the new septic system on the site before he can issue the occupancy permit.

School board employees are presently able to enter the site in order to move in equipment and begin setting up the school, but they are wearing hard hats and work boots and working under the supervision of Pre-Eng, the company that is responsible for the construction.

Heather Highet, the principal of Granite Ridge, has been seconded to work directly on the transition to the new building since November 1.

She said that all the new furniture for the school is being delivered and put in place this week, and 25 SMART boards, one for each of the classrooms in the new school, have already been installed. Teachers are also well into preparations to move their materials over to the new building as soon as the occupancy permit is issued.

“The kids finish on the 19th and the moving is planned for Friday the 20th and the weekend following. Then the board shuts down for a week over Christmas, and we will be back at it on January 2, so we will be ready to welcome students to the new building on January 6.”

Among the features of the school that will be popular with students and community members alike is one that young athletes and their fans in North and Central Frontenac have been waiting decades for - a 6,300 square foot gym with bleachers that will hold 150 spectators. There will also be a weight room capable of holding Powerfit classes with all new equipment. And thespians and theatre lovers will have access to a 1,000 square foot stage in the new cafetorium with seating capacity for 250 for concerts and performances.

The new building will also include a number of features that should ensure its comfort and efficient operation into the future.

Once the students are in place in the new building, work will begin on the demolition of the existing building, a process that will take a couple of months to complete. In the spring, final landscaping work will take place to complete the elementary school sports field and the parking lot.

Heather Highet said that a further newsletter is planned for next week to provide parents with details about how to access the school in early January. The board expects to hold public tours of the new building once the dust, and the students, teachers and staff, have settled in the new building.

On December 6, "Frosty Friday" was held at North Addington Education Centre. The secondary students participated in a fun-filled day of activities, like tug-of-war, "Minute to win it," and NAEC’s "Next Top Model." The high school was divided into four house groups; N, A, E, and C, and competed against each other for the honour of winning the title of best house.

The day started off with a pancake breakfast provided by the school to the elementary and secondary students. After eating, the houses split up to work on their house cheer until going off to one of four different activities. The activities were short competitions for each house individually. They competed in "Minute to win it," "Molding minds", three-legged race, and six-person skiing. After a break for lunch, the houses cheered themselves on in a cheer off, and then had a tug-of-war tournament. A sled race after that, finished the physical activities. Then, the most anticipated activity of the day, NAEC’s top model! Four lovely guys showed their confident sides and competed in a fierce beauty pageant.

At the end of the day, and a long battle, N house was declared the winner! All students had an exciting day and enjoyed the formal that evening. The day was organized by the NAEC Students Council.

Big changes are underway at Sydenham High School as the construction of the brand-new 14,000 sq.ft. state of the art learning facility is nearing completion.

Located on the west side of the school with frontage on Rutledge Road and Mill Street, the addition includes a new 5000 sq. ft. gym that has a 26 ft. ceiling and is equipped with wheelchair-accessible men's and women's change rooms, and a bright south-facing computer lab lined with newly milled maple/ walnut counter tops that will house 30 work stations. The addition also includes a wheelchair-accessible drama facility complete with a mini theatre with 90 retractable seats, an attached controls room, plus ample change rooms and a storage room for props.

The new space also houses the school's “Foods Program” facility which includes a traditional classroom to which is attached a new state of the art industrial kitchen in a bright room with floor to ceiling south-facing windows. The kitchen boasts ample stainless steel counter tops and a array of shiny new stainless steel appliances, numerous gas stoves, and convection ovens plus a large walk-in fridge and two free-standing freezers.

I toured the new facility with Vice-Principal Brent Pickering as the builders continued their work polishing the new terrazzo floors. He said that the project has actually been in the works for six years. Construction began 14 months ago and is slated to be finished before the second semester starts in February.

The project was made possible with provincial funding through the capital expenditures budgets and cost over $3 million. Initially the addition was to include just four new classrooms but thanks to the input of SHS teachers Jeff Sanderson and Leslie Lawlor, who worked closely with the Limestone District School Board's Director of Education, Brenda Hunter, the project was reconfigured with the goal of creating a space that would best fit the needs of the students at Sydenham.

A tour of the school's current facilities, which the new facility will be replacing, demonstrates why both students and staff at the school are excited. The drama facility is currently located in an old storage room, a small black 600 sq. ft. space that can barely contain the class that I saw working there. Similarly, the Foods Program facility is presently housed in a cramped old science lab, making instruction and practical work hands on kitchen work difficult at the best of times.

The project was designed by Armando Sardinha of H.M. Sardinha Architect Inc of Kingston and is being constructed by Cupido Construction of Kingston.

Pickering says that the new space will offer students a top-notch learning facility and will also give members of the community at large a new space where they can carry out their own events.

“The new drama space and the theatre in particular will be a great asset to various groups and organizations in the community. The new foods program space will give students a real leg up when they go looking for jobs in the hospitality industry since they will be learning on equipment used in the industry.”

The new addition will also mean that two of the school's three portables will be able to be used for much needed storage space.

Also in the works are plans for two new electronic signs, which will let the community know of school events and which will also promote local community events.

Tabitha Kirby, who is the lead foods program teacher at the school, said she is looking forward to moving into the new facility. “I am thrilled that the students will have the opportunity to work in an industrial kitchen that reflects real life situations, which will really help their employability. The new space also means that we can do larger caterings than those we are doing right now.”

Right now the students prepare the hot lunches at Loughborough Public School and cater SHS's end of year graduation.

Pickering said that staff who have had a chance to tour the new addition come out with the same standard response: “It is an amazing space and will be a great new learning facility for the students and a place for the community to take advantage of as well.”

Gary Auerbach uses his skills as both a former world freestyle Frisbee champion and as an inspirational speaker to help young people learn the tools they need to be successful.

Auerbach, who won the World Freestyle Frisbee Championship in 1995 while living in Toronto, has been speaking to youth at school assembly programs for close to two decades.

He made a special visit to Land O'Lakes Public School in Mountain Grove on November 21, where he engaged the entire school in an assembly and conducted small workshops focused around Frisbee skills. “It's not so much about showing them what I can do with a Frisbee but showing them what they can do with one,” Auberbach said. “Frisbee is the perfect life-long physical activity that they can do with family and friends and it gets them outside, away from all the little screened boxes and puts a fun circle in their hands.”

Auerbach was invited to the school after LOLPS student support teacher Kathy Bateman saw Auerbach years ago at an Ontario Physical and Health Educators' Association conference. “I loved what he did and have wanted to get him to come to Mountain Grove for years now,” Bateman said.

Auerbach, who is a citizen of both Canada and the United States, now works and lives in Winchester, Virginia but comes to Canada often to visit family and friends. Mountain Grove was just one of the two Canadian stops on this trip and he captured the attention of the LOLPS students from the get go. He demonstrated the many ways to throw, roll, balance, juggle, flip and handle a huge assortment of Frisbees in all shapes, colours and sizes. He told of the history of the Frisbee and how it was modeled after tin pie pans made at the Frisbee Pie Company in Connecticut, where workers liked to toss the tin plates around on their breaks. After plastic was later invented, the first Frisbees, which were then called flying saucers, were made from it. Later they would be named Frisbees after the owners of the Connecticut pie company.

Auerbach delivered a polished performance and his lively sense of humor and friendly delivery had students smiling, laughing, and generally falling in love with the game. What staff liked most about him was his underlying message. LOLPS Principal Emily Yanch said Auerbach's presentation fit in perfectly with the school board's focus on the development of “growth mind set” in students. “The idea is to encourage effort and perseverance in students and to show them how both pay off in terms of becoming life-long learners,” Yanch said.

Auerbach's presentation reinforced those ideas. When he demonstrated one “next to impossible” under the leg move but did not succeed, he quipped, “It's okay to mess up but not to give up." He then tried the move again with the words “Take two!”. He had the students mesmerized with the huge assortment of Frisbees he performed with: a yo-yo style Frisbee, a long-tailed Frisbee, a tiny baby one, a kite-tailed one, a huge oversized yellow one, a pizza Frisbee, a feather-tailed Frisbee, one ninja, one Elvis and a recycled plastic Frisbee, a flying saucer, and one with raised markers, which is used by the visually impaired.

He spoke of initially being scared of Frisbees but gradually overcoming his fear. After a lot of practice he became good at it and later on a world champion. He likened the flight of a Frisbee to the way an airplane wing works. "Throw it straight - it goes straight; tilt it upwards and it flies upwards.” He showed how to angle or blank its flight, and how to fly it upside down.

Auerbach invited any students with new Frisbee ideas to let him know. The students I spoke to said the presentation inspired them to play the game and some even said they planned on making their own yo-yo style Frisbee at home.

On November 12, NAEC students attended breakdancing workshops with professional dancers Melly Mel and Rahime. The Grade 5/6, 6/7, 7/8, and Restart classes, as well as nearly 30 Secondary students, took to the floor in a high energy dance workout. Melly Mel and Rahime took students through a series of moves, slowly at first, and then at an increased pace. They then put the moves together, so that students were performing a full dance sequence.

The workshops were geared to the ages of the students, so Rahime and Melly Mel had students doing different moves and routines.The students really enjoyed the high energy workshop, and felt they had really worked hard. The next day student Josie Chaisson remarked on how much work it had been. “It was really fun, but my legs are really stiff today,” she said. “Imagine how they must have felt after doing a whole day of dancing!” The workshop was one of the many offered by MASC, an arts organization based in Ottawa.

The workshop was subsidized by a generous donation from The Crabtree Foundation, which made it possible for NAEC to afford a full-day workshop. It was also subsidized by The North Addington Guild, which helps NAEC students experience arts opportunities they would otherwise not be able to. Readers interested in learning more are directed to www.masconline.ca and www.bboyizm.ca

Special guests at NAEC’s Remembrance Day assembly was a visiting group of paratroopers from Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, based at CFB Petawawa. The assembly featured several students. Breanna Tryon and Cassandra Parks-Delyea were the emcees. Ms. Buck’s Grade 5/6 class recited “In Flanders Field”, and Sierra Baldacchin, Camille Cote and Madi Lessard recited it in French. Mrs. Fuller’s Grade 1 class sang “It’s a Small World”, and Mrs. Snider’s Kindergarten class recited a poem called “Poppy, poppy”.

Sgt. Cornish introduced the paratroopers to the assembly, and a short video outlined the history of the Canadian Armed Forces. As in previous years, the visiting paratroopers ate lunch with the secondary and elementary students, played with them, and visited classes to talk to them about life in the Armed Forces. Students had a variety of questions prepared for the visitors, ranging from personal interests to skills needed in the Armed Forces. As well as chatting with students about life in the forces, the visitors also watched Ms. Buck and Ms. Cuthill's classes performing a "cup song", which involved a coordinated, rhythmic performance in which students clapped and banged cups on the floor.

Students Adam Smith and Troy Clelland with Geoffrey Murray (centre).

High school students aren’t commonly known to continue their school work over the holidays, but some at Sharbot Lake HS did just that this past Christmas.

Students in the construction technology class under the instruction of Geoff Murray are building acoustic guitars and many are eager to get their projects finished so that they can…yes… play them.

The challenging project is being offered to students from grade 9-12 and was developed by Geoff Murray with the help of music teacher Claudio Valentini.

Recognizing the popularity of guitar playing in the student population (it’s by far the largest of Valentini’s music classes in the school), Murray and Valentini thought the acoustic guitar project would be a way to engage the students by giving them a technical construction experience while simultaneously providing them with a finished, usable object that they can take home, be proud of, and grow with.

Valentini explains, “For some people playing a guitar that they themselves have built is a very personal kind of experience and they can fine tune it the way they like it.”

Murray added, “Local guitar maker Bob Miller has been cheering us on all of the way. He’s lent us books and blades, has supplied some of the fretting materials, and advised us about certain production techniques. Miller also visited the school, giving advice and encouragement.”

Students can choose the acoustic guitar project in lieu of writing the final theoretical exam, since the project constitutes an in depth study. It teaches them hands- on construction processes, finishing skills and requires a concrete understanding of various related materials, design practices and terminology.

Unlike guitar projects that exist in other schools, Murray’s project is based on the design of a standard Yamaha C40 style acoustic guitar. The students are constructing their guitars from door skin mahogany, an affordable material that keeps the cost down to $30, whereas other guitar projects can cost $300 - $400.

The students begin with the tricky technique of shaping the thin pieces of mahogany to form the sides of the guitar body using the hot post technique. Thin strips of mahogany are dampened with water and bent over a hot cylindrical container that has been heated up with a propane blowtorch. The process must be slow and steady so that the wood does not crack.

Once shaped the pieces are lined with purling and glued up. Top and bottom body pieces are cut and then glued together. The neck is constructed and attached and later the frets are drawn in, grooved out and mounted in place along with strings, and tuning pegs.

Once construction is complete the guitar can be painted and finished. On the first day back at class, Murray demonstrated air brush painting to his students as a finishing technique that they can apply to their guitars. The students’ projects are all at various stages of production and they immediately took up where they left off before the Christmas break.

Grade 12 student Troy Leland, who plays the guitar and is in his second year in the shop program, began chiseling out the neck of his guitar prior to gluing it up to the body. “You want to make sure it [the neck] fits properly and is really straight. It has to be all one piece so that it sounds nice,” he said

I asked Troy what he likes about this project.

“It’s something that I can play that I made,” he said. “Playing guitar is like a passion to me. So just being able to say I made this myself and to be able to play it is great.”. He also said that this would not be the last guitar that he makes.

Grade 11 student Kris Newlove worked over the holidays on his guitar at home, making the inner supports and gluing them up and shaping the neck. He took extra precaution in building the neck to ensure its stability. “I placed the grains two different ways to prevent warping. I’ve worked on it so far for 10 hours but I am working very slowly and carefully and trying to be very precise and to get everything just right.”

Adam Smith similarly is at a critical point in construction and is gluing on the purling, the flexible band of notched pieces that the top and bottom pieces of the guitar body are glued to.

Once constructed and finished the project does not end there. Students can also design and make cases or bags for their guitars in Geoffrey Murray’s fabric course, “Anything Fabric.”

Like all good ideas, the project is taking on a life of its own and plans are in the works to continue the guitar project into other areas of the school.

Science teacher David Gervais is planning a coffee house at the school at a later date that will feature students playing on the acoustic guitars they made themselves.

The Sydenham High School (SHS) track team had a good overall showing at last week's Eastern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association (EOSSA) track meet on May 19 and 20, and were particularly strong in the 400, 800, and 1500 metre events.

Among the midget aged girls, SHS star Nicole Armstrong was dominant, winning the 400 metres by a full 2 seconds in a time of 59.44. Nicole also took the 800 metres in a time of 2.24.34, almost 6 seconds ahead of the second place finisher, and her winning 1500 metre time of 4.54.20 was ten seconds ahead of the second place time.

Had Nicole Armstrong been racing with the older athletes in the Senior Division, her times would have placed her in the top three in each race.

Among sprinters, SHS has a very promising junior girls runner, Emelyn Fauvel, who won the 100 metre final in 13.04 seconds. Her time was fastest of any woman’s 100 metre runner in all age groups, save for her own 12.93 time in the preliminary race.

The other area of dominance for SHS was in the senior men's 400 metre race, where SHS runners swept the podium and added the 4th place finisher for good measure. Hayden Peters won the race in 50.22 seconds, Wade Embury finished second in 50.59, Kieran Doyle was third in 50.72 and Matt Fouzies ran fourth in 52.62.

Surprisingly, the senior men did not win the 4 x 400 metre Relay, finishing second in 3.23.04, almost a second behind Thousand Islands High School. Thousand Islands had held their senior men's 400 metre runners out of the individual event to focus on the 4 x 400.

The women's relay teams fared better. SHS won the junior 400 x 100 metre relay in 52.48 seconds, and the 4 x 400 metre open relay in 4:06.09

Other medalists for SHS included Garrett Fraser-Morris, 2nd in the men's 100 metre ambulatory race in 14.66 seconds; Ben Trickey, 2nd in the junior men's 400 metre division 53.15 seconds; Ben Trickey 2nd again in the junior men's 800 metre race in 2.07.77.

Kieran Doyle took 3rd in the men's 800 senior division in 1.57.89, and Nick Belore completed the junior 3000 metre race in 9.57.90, also good for 3rd place. Dylan O'Sullivan finished 3rd in the men's 3000 metre senior race in 8.45.19, and Ben Fisher came 3rd in the senior men's 100 metre hurdles in 15.96 seconds. Hayden Peters won the men's 400 metre hurdles competition in 57.34 seconds, edging out Matt Fouzie who finished second in 57.39 seconds.

In the midget girls' 100 metre division, Melanie Martin finished 2nd in 13.48 seconds. Michela Gossage finished 2nd in the women's 800 metre senior division in 2.23.98.

Lacey Tryon won the women's 1500 metre steeplechase (open division) in 5:29.21; Kayla Gibson finished 3rd in the women's 300 metre hurdles in 50.38 seconds; and Kiercy Latimer came 3rd in the senior women's 400 metre hurdles competition in 1:07.62.

In the jumping competition Celina Grey won the midget women's long jump competition with a jump of 5.04 metres as well as the triple jump competition in the same division with a distance of 10.16 metres. Finally Amanda Tibbutt finished 3rd in the senior women's triple jump competition with a distance of 10.13 metres.

SLHS medalist

Sharbot Lake High School athletes also competed in the EOSSA meet. The best finish by an SLHS athlete was Jessica hole, who finished in 2nd place in the midget women's shot put competition with a throw of 8.37 metres.

The Hinchinbrooke School of Rock has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 2005. What started as a noon-hour gathering of three students has blossomed into a structured extra-curricular program involving upwards of 20 dedicated young musicians in grades seven and eight.

The School of Rock runs from January to June each year, with rehearsals on Wednesday and Thursday after school. The program can accommodate such a large number of students thanks to many generous grants from the Limestone Learning Foundation, which has allowed them to purchase guitars, basses, amplifiers, as well as sound and recording equipment. They have also received a number of donations of instruments.

Students participating in the program learn the foundations of music by playing rock, pop and country. This year's program has two bands – one for experienced players from last year's program, and one for beginners new to the program. They learn everything from The Rolling Stones to The White Stripes, Chuck Berry, Avril Lavigne and Three Dog Night. The School of Rock students and their teacher, Ms. Julia Schall, would like to invite the public to attend their end of the year concert at the Oddfellows Hall in Parham on Saturday, June 4 at 7pm. There will be performances by Army of Eight, High Maintenance and hopefully last year's rockers, HD Supply.