As of January 31, staff and students at Sydenham High School have been holding regular classes in the school’s new 14,000 square foot addition, which they have named the Wellness Wing. The brand-new facility, which cost over $3 million, includes four new components: a 5000 square foot gym facility with change rooms, office and storage space; a new state of the art hospitality/food section that includes an industrial kitchen, a serving area and an attached classroom; a new theatre arts facility equipped with a stage, retractable seating for 90 and a control booth; and a new computer lab.

When I visited the school on February 28 all four of the new components were being utilized.

Earlier that same week a number of activities were scheduled in the new facility by staff member Jeff Sanderson in an event called Wellness Week, which focused on activities to promote the physical and mental well-being of students and to give them an opportunity to explore the new wing and what exactly it has to offer.

Tabitha Kirby, who heads up the hospitality/foods programming at the school, was busy in the new kitchen with her grade 11 hospitality students, who were aproned and preparing a catered lunch for 100 students at Loughborough Public School. The students were assembling over 100 ham and cheese sandwiches as well as preparing hors d'oeuvres -smoked salmon and cream cheese canopies, cheese crisps topped with a bean pesto and Thai shrimp rolls that they would later snack on themselves. Tabitha said she is thrilled with the new facility, which includes a brand new industrial walk-in fridge and freezer, four new six-burner stove tops, four ovens plus one combi and one convection oven, and numerous stainless steel work stations plus an attached teaching classroom. “It's wonderful, gleaming, clean and very spacious and we are really excited since we are going to be able to do a lot of new things here that we could not do in our former classroom. We will also be able grow our own fresh herbs outdoors and will expand our composting as well”, Kirby said.

Grade 11 hospitality student Sam Earle said he is thrilled with the facility and it was part of the reason that he chose to relocate to SHS. “I heard about the new kitchen facility and wanted to come to Sydenham because I heard that it was brand-new and so advanced.”

In the new drama room, drama teacher Erik Rutherford was sitting with his grade 10 drama class in a large circle on the stage floor of the new theatre arts facility and said that the facility is helping to raise the bar for the theatre arts program at the school. “It feels a bit like Harry Potter, where we have moved from the little dark hideaway under the stairs to Hogwarts. This new space offers a great learning environment and the new theatre especially gives students not only a large activity space but also a state of the art theatre facility where they can experience what it feels like to perform on stage in front of an audience.”

SHS drama students will be presenting this year’s school play in the new theatre facility with an original multi-media play titled Macdeath, which is based on the Shakespeare's Macbeth but set in the 1990s grunge scene. Show dates will be announced. Jess Sherman, who will be playing one of the leads, said that the new facility raises the bar for students. “It feels like what we are doing here is more serious and more important because of the new facility.”

The new theatre space is fully wheelchair accessible and can be used by various community groups. It is also fully equipped with audio-visual equipment for presentations.

In the new gym, which boasts a floating hardwood floor, 26-foot ceilings, new change rooms, a storage room and an office space plus lots of natural light, a grade nine volleyball tournament was underway and Vice-Principal Brent Pickering said the new gym will allow more physical activities to take place at the school on any given day. “Before this new gym was built we typically had five phys-ed classes booked at one time and only three teaching spaces. With the new gym we can place all five classes in the two gyms.” Extra-curricular sports at the school will also benefit as a result of more available gym space both before and after regular school hours and the space will also be made available to community groups as well.

Vice-Principal Pickering said the new wing will help both teaching and learning at SHS. “These new facilities are state of the art and with them we are able to offer students more and better programming at SHS, which is exciting for both students and staff here.”

Staff are raffling off the 76 new lockers in the new wing as a school fundraiser for the local food bank and students are flocking in in droves to enjoy their colorful and spacious new wing.

The official public grand opening of the new wing will take place in April and the public will be invited to tour the new facility.

Feature Article - February 22, 2007

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Feature Article - February 22, 2007

New Leo Club at SHS

Amanda Edgar, a grade 12 student at SHS, is hoping to start a new service club at Sydenham. Leo Clubs are junior affiliates of Lions’ Clubs, intended for people aged 12-18, who are interested in meeting new people and contributing to their communities, both local and international. The club motto is: ‘Leadership, Experience and Opportunity ," and their goal is "to provide the youth of the world an opportunity for development and contribution, individually and collectively, as responsible members of the local, national and international community."

Edgar, who belonged to a Leo club in Chalk River before moving to South Frontenac, said club participation can count as community service hours, and described various events the Chalk River group had organized, including dances, roadside garbage pick-ups and cancer fundraisers.

The SHS Leo Club will be sponsored by the Sydenham and District Lions Club: they plan to meet every second Tuesday evening: the first meeting will be Tuesday, February 27, 7:00 pm, at SHS: everyone welcome.

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Feature Article - April 26, 2007

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Feature Article - April 26, 2007

Bye-Bye Birdie at Sydenham HighSchool

by Jeff Green

The Sydenham High School Arts Department presented a winsome production of Bye Bye Birdie last weekend.

Bye Bye Birdie was written, and is set, in 1960, the pre-Beatles era when Elvis was king. Konrad Birdie (Ben Aarsen) is the fictional rock ’n roll star of the title, and his being drafted into the army is the impetus for the action of the play.

Although Birdie is the object of adulation for most of the characters, the play is really about a kind of love triangle between Birdie’s manager Albert Peterson (Josh Campsall), his long-suffering secretary Rose Alvarez (Emily Bashall) and his smothering mother Mrs. Peterson (Maureen McLaren).

When Albert and Rose decide to send Birdie to Sweet Apple, Ohio on a publicity stunt to bestow a kiss on one lucky girl, it sends the whole town into a tizzy.

The strength of the SHS production of Bye Bye Birdie lay in the exuberant way the performers played with what is, admittedly, a bit of a thin plotline.

Through a well designed set, extremely quick set changes, and bright costumes featuring more poodle skirts than you can shake a stick at, the performers managed to play with the material just enough for the audience to be aware that this is really a play from a bygone innocent era, without the whole production descending into a farce.

Many of the characters were aided by wireless headset microphones, which took a minute to get used but enabled the singers to concentrate on their pitch without worrying so much about volume. Since the production was backed up by a full 18-piece orchestra, and the SHS cafeteria does not have the greatest acoustics in the world, the headsets served the production well.

Emily Bashall as Rose Alvarez did a great job both singing and acting throughout the play, and Josh Campsall was particularly good at portraying music manager Albert Peterson’s insincerity and his desperate desire to please the two women in his life, all the while making him a likeable character.

As the self-described long-suffering mother, Maureen McLaren as Mrs. Peterson had some of the best lines of the play, and she played it for all it was worth, whining her way through the production.

Ben Aarsen played Birdie as a cross between Elvis and Justin Timberlake, knowing exactly how to move while talking and crooning his way through the play. It couldn’t have been hard to cast him for the role.

Kristen Pye had a difficult role to play as Kim McAfee, a 15-year-old trying to negotiate the transition into adulthood just as she is chosen to be the girl that will receive Birdie’s one last kiss before he joins the army. She did a good job singing, and portraying both Kim McAfee’s vulnerability and the dismissiveness she reserves for her parents.

Matt Allen as Mr. MacAfee and Amy Mansall as Mrs. MacAfee played the 50s sitcom-style parents with wit, and Megan Tidman as Kim’s younger sister Myrtle did a fine job standing up to her father as he unleashed his frustration towards Kim upon her.

(One minor note about the script at this point. Although the dated nature of the script is well understood when seeing a play like Bye Bye Birdie, the offhanded cruelty that Mr. McAfee expresses towards Myrtle, which was no doubt intended as innocent humour by the playwright, comes off as a sour note as compared to the rest of the play, which maintains a feeling of innocent fun in spite of all the stereotypes the characters embody)

Josh Freeman was excellent as Kim’s hapless boyfriend Hugo, and Tamara Jellema should be mentioned for her completely convincing rendition of a small-town teenage girl infatuated with a pop star. She was well supported by the other members of the fan club and the chorus dancers and singers.

In a production like Bye Bye Birdie, with 32 performers going on and off the stage, dozens of set changes, numerous songs, and a large orchestra, there was a lot of backstage work involved in making sure the play ran seamlessly.

Artistic Director Daniel Raponi, musical director Michael Verner, stage manager Vanessa Pignataro, and vocal Coach Kristin Stevens all deserve recognition for their efforts in creating such an enjoyable production at Sydenham High School.

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Oct 9/08 - Bubba Bowl Draws Crowd

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Feature Article - October 9, 2008 Third annual Bubba Bowl Draws a Huge CrowdBy Julie Druker

SHS junior Golden Eagles looking tough near half time at the Bubba Bowl in Sydenham on Saturday night

The Bubba Bowl was named for Alex “Bubba” Turcotte, a well loved and respected grade 12 Sydenham High School student who tragically and suddenly passed away in his sleep almost a decade ago. The score board on the Sydenham football field was erected in Alex’s honour years back and the school has ever since focused on raising funds in his memory to support SHS football.

According to Jim Latimer, head coach for SHS’s Golden Eagles junior team, the Bubba Bowl began three years ago when the idea occurred to Jim to light up Sydenham’s home field and have an evening game.

Sometimes called “Friday Night Lights”, the event is also known as the “Bubba Bowl” and it continues to honour Alex.

SHS English teacher Annette Blin was in the stands at the bowl and remembered Alex as an “outstanding kid all around, a great athlete, and a really great person.”

This year the school is focusing on raising funds to purchase a permanent lighting system for the field so that evening games can be a regular occurrence instead of a one-time annual event.

Funds were raised the evening of the bowl through the canteen and cash donations that were made at the gate.

The band Bauder Road started off the event and played at the lake end of the field early in the evening pre-game time.

Shortly after, SHS’s junior Golden Eagles took on their historic rivals, the Regiopolis Panthers, in an exciting game that ended with an Eagles’ victory. The score was 28 to13, leaving the SHS juniors in first place.

The SHS seniors took on Regiopolis in the second game, which drew even more local football enthusiasts and the crowd swelled to over 2000.

Pre-game, Gary Rasmussen, offensive coach for the SHS seniors, predicted a close game and a real struggle. “Traditional Sydenham/Regi football is just straight ahead running with a lot of hard hits and a little bit of passing but it’ll be mostly a running game.” He added, “The team that turns over the ball the least will probably win the game.”

The Eagles did just that and clinched the win, 42-4 putting the SHS senior Golden Eagles in the top three teams.

Rasmussen spoke of Sydenham football in general and credited Jim Latimer for bringing the sport to a new level in recent years. “The players that we’re getting now from junior are better prepared than they have ever been in the history of Sydenham football. We‘re a deeper team at the skilled positions than we have ever been.”

I spoke to junior eagles players # 48 Tyler Harvey and #38 Josh Vanniedek at half time during their game (the score was 14-6 for the Eagles).Tyler said, “Traditionally the Regi games are pretty close, usually with only a 3 point spread.”

Josh made a great interception that unfortunately was called back due to an interference call. Both team members credited quarterback Steve Knapton with his first rate plays.

The Bubba Bowl continues on as a community tradition at SHS and coach Latimer has definite plans to raise funds and acquire permanent lighting on the Sydenham field. He mentioned a suggestion by Brian Powley (the commentator for this year’s bowl) to have donors purchase the individual field lights and be recognized by a permanent name plaque affixed to the light.

No matter how the donations are raised, a permanently lit field would offer football players and enthusiasts more opportunities to play and watch games on their home turf at night.

Dec 11/08 - Sydenham HS Swim Team

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Feature Article - December 11, 2008 New Swim team on deck at Sydenham HighBy Julie Druker

The new swim team at Sydenham High School with coach Shannon Myers (at left)

A pep rally at the Sydenham High School gym on December 2 included a newly formed team - the first ever swim team in the school's history.

The team, which formed early this school year, boasts 15 members and is still in its infancy.

Well known marathon swimmers Jenna and Natalie Lambert of Harrowsmith are both students at the school. They approached SHS teacher Shannon Myers, who is also a neighbour of the Lambert family, to see if it would be possible to get a swim team going.

“The girls wanted a chance to swim with their school peers on a team,” Myers said.

Jenna and Natalie swim 5 days a week and compete with the Kingston Y Penguins team and they both have big marathon swims under their belts. They also wanted an opportunity to be able to represent their school in sport but did not have time outside of their rigorous swimming schedules to join any other school team.

Myers came on board as coach for two reasons. Not only would a school team give the Lamberts a chance to swim for their school and to train alongside their peers but it would also give students who may be athletic but are not interested in joining other sports teams at the school the option of joining the swim team.

Shannon Myers has been teaching at Sydenham for five years, but before that she taught swimming and has worked as a lifeguard.

“The focus this year is fun and fitness and if we can pick up some technical skills and team work skills we’ll have been very successful,” she said.

She also said that the SHS is planning to compete in the EOSSAA meet this year as long as there are at least 6 members of the swim team who are interested in competing.

The team swims in the pool at the YMCA in Kingston on their off school hours. The Lamberts’ YMCA coach, legendary marathon simmer Vicki Keith, is also co-coaching the Sydenham team alongside Shannon Myers.

“There are still a lot of bumps to get over but we’re definitely getting there,” Myers added.

No doubt exciting waters lie ahead for the members of SHS’s newest sports team.

Back to HomeFeature Article - December 3, 2009 Movember at SHSBy Jeff Green

Staff  and students at Sydenham High School sport their 'staches.

It all tarted on November 1, when about 20 male teachers and senior students at Sydenham High School arrived at school in a particularly clean-shaven state.

And it culminated on Monday, November 30, when a group of moustachioed men, and some sympathetic women teachers who drew on moustaches for the occasion, celebrated the end of the Movember fundraising drive for the Prostate Cancer Association.

The SHS event was initiated by teachers Mark Richards and Greg Legge, linking to the Movember movement that has become an international phenomenon.

It started back in Australia, where they call moustaches mos. After drinking a few beers some friends were lamenting the demise of the fashionable moustache, which had gone into the dustbin of fashionable history since the 1980s, along with big hair, shoulder pads and the Canadian mullet.

They wanted to bring it back, and they decided to hold a moustache-growing contest. They also figured they might was well raise some money too, so they contacted the Prostate Cancer Foundation in Australia, and the rest is a hairy bit of history,

Mo Bros in Australia, South Africa, and throughout Europe and North America have turned November into Movember, raising money and awareness about prostate cancer, which is as common in men as breast cancer is in women.

While prostate cancer is curable in 95% of cases, early detection is critical, but there are no symptoms in the early stages.

So the message from the Prostate Cancer Society is for men to know their risk factors and to consider screening when they reach their forties and fifties.

The money raised in Canada during Movember goes directly to the Canadian foundation, and is used for research into prostate cancer and to fund public awareness campaigns.

“When people ask about our growing moustaches during Movember it also gives an opportunity to talk about prostate cancer, which is good as well,” said Brian Legge at SHS, “and cancer in general is something that affects us all.”

The Movember website includes a section devoted to the Sydenham High School Mo show, which lists the participants and has space available for photos as the month progresses. The comments section allows for supporters to comment, rib the men about their moustaches, and generally create a buzz around the event.

As the month crew to a close, over $1400 had been raised officially at SHS, and more money was coming in, including about $150 from the “mo sisters” who painted on moustaches for the final day of the event. The total will be available by the end of the week.

But in terms of converting the Sydenham men to the ranks of the moustachioed, Movember has been less successful. All of the men said they planned to shave immediately, citing itchiness and their wives’ dislike of moustaches.

On a national level, Movember is a growing phenomenon. This year’s target of $4 million has been surpassed easily, and the total stands at $6.5 million and counting.

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. 

 

Judging by their current standings in KASSAA (Kingston Area Secondary Schools Athletic Association), the Sydenham Golden Eagles junior and senior girls' volleyball teams arepoised to go far this season.

Both teams are tied for first place and if their games against the LCVI Lancers, which took place in Sydenham on January 16 are any indication, it looks like Sydenham has got what it takes as the league goes on hiatus for a two-week exam break.

The seniors girls, who are tied with Regiopolis with perfect 10-0 records, were strong from the start in their face-off against the LCVI Lancers last Thursday (January 16), taking first set 25-17. The Lancers put up a fight, though, and in the second set demonstrated their determination, tying it up 8-8 after Sydenham took an early lead, and then taking the lead by two points later on.

Golden Eagles Tiffany Amos served up a couple of aces to bring Sydenham back into the lead with the Lancers fighting back hard once again to tie it up 15-15. It was an all out back and forth battle to the end of the set, which included a number of very exciting volleys. With the score tied 22 Sydenham scored on a spike and then put the set away 25-22.

Sydenham came out strong in the third set again with #2 Golden Eagle Alanna Walsh serving Sydenham’s way to an early four-point lead. The Lancers tried to fight back but when Sydenham power/setter Krissy Berndt served another couple of aces the Lancers appeared to lose a bit of steam, missing a few much-needed points at the net and hitting some overly strong returns that came down outside the line. Sydenham's Berndt then hit a number of powerful spikes and the set was soon over 25-11. The three-point win leaves Sydenham’s seniors undefeated thus far in the season.

I spoke with Sydenham senior power/setter Krissy Berndt following the win; the grade 13 student said she returned to do her fifth year at Sydenham partly to be able to play another season since last year’s season was quashed as a result of the strikes. She said the team has been working hard on getting their communication down while also working on their defense. “We're really hoping to continue on this season playing like we did today as a team and our goal is to go all the way,” Berndt said. She credited the team’s coaches, Katie May and Scott Cashol, as a big reason why the team is playing so well.

Katie May teaches Phys Ed and Science at Sydenham and has been coaching the senior team at Sydenham for the past seven years. She played volleyball as a left side hitter at the University of Toronto for five years as an undergraduate. May said her focus for the seniors this year has been on communication, defense, hard work and instilling a positive attitude. She credited the team as a group for their success so far this season.

“This is a wonderful group of players who are really committed to the whole team experience in terms of sharing the hard work as well as their failures and successes. Not only do they want to work hard and improve, but they are also really striving to soak up what we are teaching them.”

Brian English coaches Sydenham's junior team, which is tied atop the bunched up the KASSAA standings with four other teams that all have a 7-2 record. Their game against the Lancers took place following the seniors' game. The first set was close throughout. The score was tied at 15 before Sydenham pulled away with a 4 point service and ended up taking the set 25-20. In the second it was all Sydenham, who were up early on and at one point led 15-1 before they closed out the second 25-7. The final set clinched the juniors' three set win as they stayed in control throughout and beat the Lancers 25-14.

Brian English said the game was a big one for the juniors who earlier in the week lost to LaSalle for their second loss of the season. “This game was a great one in getting back our confidence as a team,”

He added that the Sydenham juniors, like most junior teams in the KAASSAA this year, "have struggled because they did not have a season last year. A lot of the work in positioning and systems that you would normally take for granted as being in place is not because there was no season last year…That and the fact that the grade nine players last year did not have a chance to play.”

In their win against the Lancers, the Golden Eagles were led by Junior right side hitter Jaymie Richmond who scored four key service points and by power/libero Kaleigh Churchmuch who got in a few great digs and dives, thereby making a couple of exceptional and exciting points for the team.

On a slightly different note, it has just been announced that Leslie Lawlor, Sydenham High School Teacher-Coach, has been chosen as the Coaches Association of Ontario Award of Excellence recipient for this year. A well deserved reward for a career of commitment to student athletes!

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.”