Positive Press
Positive Press
This feature includes news stories that have been covered by the media and celebrate SCDSB student, staff and volunteer achievements, initiatives and commitment to character. If you see a positive story in the media that features SCDSB students, staff and volunteers, please e-mail the link or story headline, date and publication name to webadmin@scdsb.on.ca.
Week of March 8 - 12, 2010
Rock hard for Haiti
Orillia Packet & Times - March 6
Orillia's own Like Animals will join a roster of six other bands performing at tonight's all-ages benefit concert Hardcore 4 Haiti. "It's a good way to get involved and raise awareness of the situation in Haiti. There are lots of bands playing and it's for a good cause, so there's really no reason not to come out," said Like Animals drummer Will Tennant. The event is the handiwork of Grade 12 Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute student Sammi Skellington-Clarke.
Recycle your old cellphone to save a lowland gorilla
The Orillia Packet & Times - March 9
Area high school students are working with the Metro Toronto Zoo in a cellphone recycling project that may help protect the habitat of lowland gorillas. "It's an easy way to help the environment. It takes nothing for someone to drop a phone into a box," said Claire Bisset. Bisset and fellow Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute student Jill Heron took on the initiative and have brought friends from other high schools in on the project. Collection boxes have been set up at Park Street Collegiate Institute and Twin Lakes Secondary School as well.
Teen tells MPPs how his life was saved
The Toronto Sun - March 9
Brandon Koskitalo went to Queen’s Park Tuesday with his heart on his sleeve. The Penetanguishene teen was appealing to MPPs on behalf of the Heart and Stroke Foundation to make automated external defibrillators mandatory in schools. Koskitalo, 14, knows the difference an AED can make. One in his school saved him when he went into cardiac arrest last year.
Boys sharing a good laugh
The Barrie Examiner - March 11
These guys are never at a loss for words. Seventeen-year-olds Gavin Pounds, Jake Cadenhead, Chris Gattrell and Jeff McConkey, as well as 14-year-old Connery Ballantyne, all students at Barrie North Collegiate, went into the lion's den which is improvisational comedy and came out with gold at last weekend's Canadian Improv Games held in Toronto.
MSS curlers set to make history
The Midland Mirror - March 12
Two curling teams from Midland Secondary School will be making history when they step on the ice in Scarborough next week.The rinks, skipped by Scott Brandon and Kristen Fry, ignited a double celebration at the school by winning the B finals at the Georgian Bay Secondary School Association (GBSSA) curling championships on March 2 and 4 at the Penetanguishene Curling Club.
Week of March 1 - 5, 2010
Kids Turn Old Milk Bags into Sleeping Mats
http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2472471
Orillia Packet & Times - March 2
Regent Park Public School's crochet club has been hard at work recycling plastic milk bags into sleeping mats for children in Haiti. "We were asked if we wanted to help, so, of course, we wanted to contribute," said club member Skylar Hoover, 12. Each child-sized mat is made from 150 colourful milk bags -- not the transparent bags that hold the actual milk -- cut into strips, knotted and woven together.
Spreading Literacy at Sunnybrae
The Innisfil Scope - March 3
The Brennan Family was among about 100 students, parents and staff from Sunnybrae and Innisfil Central public schools who participated in a literacy night last week. The free event, which was held at Sunnybrae, featured a book fair and guest speaker and award winning Ontario author Richard Scrimger. Parents were also given advice on spurring literacy outside of the school environment.
Hockey for Haiti
Midland Free Press - March 3
Midland Secondary School hosted its Annual Staff/Student hockey game last Friday. The game between teachers and Grade 12 graduates is a tradition of over 30 years, but this year's game carries with it not only tradition, but also a noble cause. Due to the recent crisis in Haiti, proceeds from this year's game will go toward both Haiti relief and the purchase of a "ShelterBox" for earthquake victims.
Golden moment for Jamieson
Orillia Today - March 4
Orillia resident Dave Jamieson had a Sidney Crosby moment at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but it wasn’t related to ‘The Goal’.
The goaltending coach with Canada’s women’s gold-medal winning hockey team, Jamieson is still smiling from 17 days of excitement on Canada’s west coast. The celebrations continued on March 1, when Jamieson returned to his teaching duties and was welcomed back by staff and students at East Oro Public School.
Bradford High team makes history
The Bradford Topic - March 4
The Bradford District High School Buccaneers senior girls volleyball team won the Georgian Bay Secondary School Association AAA championship last Thursday. The Bucs beat Midland Secondary School three games to none in the final.
Week of February 22 - 26, 2010
Barrie Central wins achievement award
http://www.simcoe.com/article/156031
The Simcoe – February 22
Barrie Central Collegiate was honoured with the Dr. Bette M. Stephenson Recognition of Achievement during a provincial ceremony on Feb. 16. The award credits the school’s dedication to student achievement and its use of Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) results to that end. EQAO also praised the school’s leadership, positive attitude and sincere effort to help every student succeed.
Local boarder out, but thrilled
The Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin – February 24
The youngest member of Canada's Olympic team failed to qualify for the final in Thursday's women's open halfpipe final at the 2010 Winter Games, yet youth was still served. Despite falling in both of her qualifying runs, snowboarder Palmer Taylor didn't sound the least bit disappointed as she recalled taking part in a once-in-a- lifetime experience she hopes to repeat four years from now in Sochi, Russia.
Elmvale students off to Nunavut
The Barrie Advance – February 25
Students from Elmvale District High School are set to take off on a trip of a lifetime. Thirteen students from teacher Carly Smith’s Grade 11 English class will head to Nunavut on a one-week exchange starting May 18. Students from Nunavut will arrive in Elmvale the following week. The students and the school have been busy raising funds for the $10,000-plus trip. EDHS will host a fundraising dinner and dance Feb. 26 at the school.
Student wins Loren scholarship
Orillia Today – February 26
Emma Harrington dreams of becoming a brain surgeon. “It is an opportunity to positively affect someone,” the Grade 12 student said during an end-of-day interview at her school, Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute. While acknowledging the road to her goal is a long one, the local teen knows the journey has been made a tad smoother. Harrington was among a handful of Canadian students recently awarded a prestigious $75,000 scholarship that will cover the cost of a four-year undergraduate degree, including tuition, room and board.
NIGHT IN THE COLD: Park Street students spend the night outdoors to raise awareness of homelessness
The Orillia Packet & Times – February 26
Students at Park Street Collegiate Institute spent Thursday night outdoors in blizzard-like conditions to raise awareness of homelessness in the community. "This weather makes it more realistic. Homeless people do this 365 days a year. I think we can do it for one night," said Grade 12 student Katie Nicholson, one of more than a dozen students who suffered through snow squalls to ensure the group's message was received.
Week of February 15 - 19, 2010
Student athletes double as sports administrators
http://www.barrieadvance.com/barrieadvance/article/155619
The Barrie Advance – February 16
They are not only young athletes, but also learning how to be junior sports administrators at the same time. Students belonging to Holly Meadows Public School’s athletic council are combining their physical skills with practical experience setting up, and staging tournaments. They also run the inter-mural sport programs within the school.
Showing their Canadian pride
http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2451715
The Barrie Examiner – February 17
Showing their Canadian Pride, nearly 600 students at Eastview Secondary School crammed into the schools cafeteria Tuesday while participating in a National Flag day event. Declared in 1996, flag day marks the day in 1965 when the red and white maple leaf flag was first raised over Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Many schools throughout the region took part, Tuesday.
Helping their own
http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2452357
Orillia Packet & Times – February 17
Students at Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute are hosting an international artisans' fair this week with the goal of raising $8,500 to build a school in Ecuador. The sale is being organized by the ODCVI Free The Children committee and the school will be built through Free The Children's Adopt-a-Village program. Founded by Grade 12 student Sehar Seikhe under the supervision of faculty member Ashley Knight, the committee is comprised of about 15 student members who are committed to helping other children gain access to education.
Japanese students arrive
http://www.innisfilscope.com/news/2010-02-17/News/Japanese_students_arrive.html
Innisfil Scope – February 17
Emily Moffatt has always wanted to visit Japan. Instead, the Nantyr Shores Secondary School student got the next best thing — a Japanese comrade, Koji Komazaki, will be staying in her house. About 120 Japanese students have travelled several thousand kilometres, and will be staying in the Simcoe County area for the next month. Twenty of those students will board with Nantyr Shores Secondary School peers, learning about Canadian culture in the process.
Ski-club training benefits local student athletes
http://www.simcoe.com/article/155891
The Simcoe – February 18
It’s been 10 years since Jim MacMillan established a cross-country ski team at Penetanguishene Secondary School, and the hard work has obviously paid off. Recently, two other area schools – Midland Secondary School and Elmvale District High School – began their own racing programs, both of which are slowly but steadily growing. MacMillan, a teacher at EDHS, was paramount in the program’s launch at PSS and is also responsible for the beginning of a ski team five years ago in Elmvale.
