Submitted by Emily Cameron
December was such an amazing month at our family of schools. We spent a lot of time cooking, dancing, singing, laughing, building culture, and practicing gratitude.
On December 11, members of the local food bank came to pick up over 875 lbs of food collected by Bruce Peninsula District School (BPDS) staff and students. What a great way to support those in need. Thank you to our BPDS families for your generosity. Secondary Student Council also collected 218 toonies for ‘Toonies for Turkeys’, an initiative which helps those in need purchase a turkey for the holiday season.
Speaking of turkey, on December 14, BPDS hosted its annual Festive Feast. This is a long-standing tradition at BPDS and has been made possible by the generosity of many community members, especially Tim Hayes, who donates all the food for the event. Every single staff and student in the school was able to come together and eat a home-cooked turkey dinner. (more Festive Feast here)
This kind of event requires the help of many people. By lending a hand, students were able to learn a lot about nutrition, cooking, cleaning up, and the importance of togetherness and giving. Many people contributed to this event: Secondary and Elementary Student’s Council, the grade 8 class, Tamieka Eby and Jordon Hurst (former BPDS students), Mrs. Cunningham, many staff members including our amazing custodial team, Mary Hewton and the staff at the Booth, and community volunteers Kara Hellyer and Cecile Myles. We really are so fortunate to live in such a wonderful community.
Early on the morning of December 15, 51 students from the K-5 choir and JK/SK class went carolling at the Bruce Peninsula Family Centre and the Golden Dawn Nursing Home! A big thank you to Mrs. Collins for starting the choir and organizing this! Also, thanks to Mrs. Clarke, the JK/SK co-op student Abigail, and volunteers – Jennie, Charlotte and Cecile for helping get all our littles where they were going safely! BPDS is so lucky to be within walking distance to the community and have such wonderful community support!
Also on December 15, Kim White from the branch Legion came to BPDS to present the awards for the Remembrance Day Literary and Poster contest. This is always a crowd favourite. Students and staff eagerly gathered in the gym to celebrate our talented writers and artists who took great care in commemorating Remembrance Day through their work. There were 111 entries between St Edmunds and BPDS students! That number alone is worth celebrating. The list of winners are as follows:
Poster Contest
Primary Poster- Black and White
1. Allison Elliott-Batista, 2. Emory Harpur, 3. Olvia Brown
Primary Poster- Colour
1. Adel Janknegt, 2. Olivia Brown, 3. Emory Harpur
Junior Poster- Black and White
1. Adalyn Cullen, 2. Avery Sachs, 3. Mabel Cameron
Junior Poster- Colour
1. Avery Sachs, 2. Autumn Liverance, 3. Aria Pitual
Intermediate Poster- Black and White
1. Lena Hofstrand, 2. Isis Brooks, 3. Eva Lewkowicz
Intermediate Poster- Colour
1. Morgan Kerton-Moir
Senior Poster- Colour
1. Trace Morrison
Literary Contest
Junior Poem
1. Trent Lyle, 2. Adalyn Cullen, 3. Avery Sachs
Junior Essay
1. Trent Lyle, 2. Emmett Stewart, 3. Owen Cameron
Intermediate Poem
1. Emery Cameron, 2. Kenzie Szymezko, 3. Nichole Hutchinson
December 15 proved to be a very busy day. After caroling and the Remembrance Day Assembly, students from grades 7-12 marched up to the arena to watch the Secondary Girls’ Tournament Hockey Team battle it out against the teacher/alumni team. The event was a fundraiser to raise money for the girls’ team which is hoping to go to a tournament in Toronto in the near future.
The game was a lot of fun – the final score 5-5 – and it was great to see the community come together to support the girls. Many former BPDS students played for the alumni team, as well as a few current staff. A big shout out to Mary Hewton and her staff at the Booth for helping support the girls by selling pizza and slushies and donating proceeds to the team. We would also like to thank Milt McLay and the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula for hosting us for the afternoon, as well as Blake Hellyer and James Wheeler for refereeing. Finally, thank you to Scott’s Home Hardware, The Dandelion, The Owen Sound Attack, and 8×8 Apparel for donating prizes and pucks used for the intermission activities.
The annual Elementary Winter Concert was held December 21 in front of an almost full gymnasium. Every elementary class participated in various activities including dancing, singing, skits, musical numbers, comedy routines and more! Many in the audience said it was the most entertaining concert they had ever been to! Way to go BPDS!
The secondary assembly also happened on December 21. Students were treated to a lip-sync battle – won by the teachers! – watched several videos made by our very own Communications and Design students, sang holiday carols, received some treats and prizes for the holiday trivia game, as well as took time to recognize the hard work of some student leaders and staff. One staff member we recognized was Mr. Pickett, who had been filling in as our supply Vice Principal two days a week since September. It was so nice to see his smiling face around the halls of BPDS again and we thank him for filling in for Mrs. Heels who will be back with us full time in January.
The entire last week of December was filled to the brim with fun holiday activities. Both Elementary and Secondary students participated in fun holiday themed dress up days, Secondary students held a 3-point shooting competition – won by Isis Brooks – there was hot chocolate, a movie day, non-denominational secret gift giving, and a whole lot of laughter. It was a great way to end 2023.
Upcoming events include Secondary Girls Volleyball, Elementary Volleyball, Secondary Girls Hockey, and the January Bottle Drive (to help support the grade 7/8 trip).
Thank you to everyone in our community for your continued support of our family of schools.
Important Dates are:
• January 15: University application deadline
• January 26: Secondary Exam period A
• January 29: Secondary Exam period B
• January 30: Secondary Exam period C
• January 31: Secondary Exam period D
• February 1: College application deadline
• February 2: PD day (no school)
• February 5: First day of semester 2 (Secondary)
• February 7: Outers guardian meeting (more information TBA)
• February 15: Grade 8 guardian meeting (more information TBA)
