Halloween Colouring Contest Winners

School's In Podcast for October 31, 2014

Host Kelsey Keenan shares news from Blackville School for the week of October 31st, 2014. School's In podcast are heard on Life Radio Friday evenings.  Podcast edited by Perry-Jay Peterson.

Viewpoint: Halloween

People's Picks (27 - 31 Oct)

Student of the week is Kiefer Crawford. Kiefer is from Barnettville, and his favourite sport is hunting. Kiefer's favourite class is Drama and he also likes to hunt in his spare time. Congratulations, Keifer!

Teacher of the week is Mrs. Angela Moody. Mrs. Moody obtained her education at the University of New Brunswick, and she has been teaching for a total of 8 years. Her favourite subject to teach is Language Arts and she enjoys attending her children's sport events in her spare time. Congratulations, Mrs. Moody!

Staff of the week is Mrs. Pam Underhill. Mrs. Underhill obtained her education at the University of New Brunswick, and has been teaching for 29 years. Mrs. Underhill's favourite subject to teach is Language Arts and she enjoys walking or reading during her spare time. Congratulations, Mrs. Underhill!

Shannon MacLeod visits the Journalism 120 Class

Shannon MacLeod came to visit the Journalism 120 class Tuesday, October 28. She is a journalist and photographer from the Miramichi Leader and came to mainly talk about criminal and court reporting. 

Left to right: Leah Hennessy, Graham Manderville, Shannon MacLeod,
Ashley Vickers, Brody Nash and Mariah Hallihan 

People's Picks (Oct. 20-24)

The student of the week is Lincoln Colford. Lincoln is in kindergarten and is from the Rapids. Lincoln's favourite part of school is recess. Congratulations, Lincoln!










The teacher of the week is Mrs. Lori-Ann Curtis. Mrs. Curtis graduated from Saint Thomas University with her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education, and she also graduated from the University New Brunswick with her Master of Education. Mrs Curtis's favourite class to teach is Language Arts, and she likes to sing and help out with choir in her spare time. Congratulations, Mrs. Curtis!


The staff of the week is Ms. Breau.  Ms. Breau is from Miramichi and has been teaching for 7 years now. She received her education from the University of New Brunswick. Ms. Breau enjoys spending what spare time she has with family. Congratulations, Ms. Breau!

Compiled by Trent Thibodeau and Dan Wilson

School's In Podcast for October 24, 2014

Host Leah Hennessy shares news from Blackville School for the week of October 24. School's In podcasts are heard on Life Radio , Friday evenings. Podcast edited by Perry Jay Peterson.

Opinion: Halloween, A Trick or a Treat?

Photo from http://morguefile.com/archive/#/?q=halloween

Some people do not celebrate Halloween for different reasons. Do you think Halloween is a holiday that everyone should celebrate? Do you enjoy or dislike Halloween?

Every year on October 31 we celebrate a holiday which we call Halloween. People celebrate Halloween by trick-or-treating or through Halloween parties, wearing costumes, carving jack o' lanterns, lighting fires, watching scary movies and listening to frightening stories, playing pranks and visiting haunted attractions. These Halloween activities make some people like Halloween but they are also activities that puts others off the idea of Halloween.

I think it is reasonable not to celebrate Halloween, because some people have personal reasons or even reasons that they are not willing to share with people about why (or why not) they celebrate Halloween. Others can be superstitious about things like the black cat for example, and the idea of Halloween just scares them.

If you had to ask me, I think that Halloween is more of a fun holiday then any of the other holidays, and it is also personally one of my favourites. It is nothing compared to Easter, Christmas or Thanksgiving- we do celebrate those in candy or activities, but none are like the activities that we would do on Halloween.

I find that Halloween is also a holiday that attracts mostly teenagers than any other age group- at least the trick part does. As we all know, teenagers love to have a good time, and Halloween is the perfect time to have fun. For example, some people take things way too far, such as tormenting the elders in the village that don't mean any harm to anyone. Some older people do not enjoy Halloween because of this. On the other hand, little children treat Halloween as a fun experience where they can dress up as their favourite movie character and go get free candy. We all know this because when you say the word treat a million little children get over excited.

One way that we could get more involved in the positive ways of Halloween are the activity we have here at school called "Trick or Peas". It is a great way to get involved in the community, school and even just have a positive out look on Halloween. You go door to door and ask for canned foods that we can use at school to send to our Food Bank and feed people in need. To get more information on "Trick or Peas" you can go to our High School Student Council.

Some people take part in the Halloween spirit, and others don't. Myself, I don't usually dress up on a dress up day or Halloween because I don't really like costumes. Although I don't dress up, it doesn't mean I don't have the Halloween spirit, it actually is one of my favourite holidays and I just choose to not dress up. To get some other people's opinions for the Blackville Talon I asked some of my Kindergarten co-op class a question to see what their view on Halloween was. The question I asked them was "Do you enjoy or dislike Halloween, and why?" here is what they had to say:

Kiara Dunnett (KN)- "I like Halloween because I get treats!"

Dallas Curtis (KN)- "I like Halloween because I like dressing up. My favourite costume is the Hulk."

I think that if you like Halloween then you can still go out and have a fun time but just make sure you keep in mind to have respect for others. Particularly those that may be frightened or if Halloween just isn't their thing.

Have a Happy Halloween and also put your input into the Halloween survey on the Blackville Talon!

By: Ashton O'Donnell 

Andy Thibodeau Presentation

Guest speaker Andy Thibodeau (top far right corner) with the Middle School WEB,
High School Boomerang and High School Student Council. 

Middle and High School students at Blackville School had a guest speaker on Wednesday, October 22. Andy Thibodeau is a motivational speaker and very comical. Both the students and teachers enjoyed his presentation that focused on being active caring members of the community and the importance of school involvement and spirit.

To see more photos from the Andy Thibodeau presentation today, click here!

Andy's Contact Information:

London, Canada

andypresentations.com

Facebook: Andy Thibodeau, Impact Speaker

youtube.com/andyspeaks

Photo taken by Riley Sherrard and Justin Donahue

Viewpoint: Hockey

School's In Podcast for October 17, 2014

Host Leah Hennessy shares news from Blackville School for the week of October 17. School's In podcasts are heard on Life Radio, Friday evenings. Podcast edited by Perry Jay Peterson.

Elementary Colouring Contest Winners

People's Picks (October 13-17)

The student of the week goes to Justin Donahue. His favourite class is Co-op. Water Polo is his favourite sport. He is from Blackville. In his spare time he likes to cruise around.

This week's teacher is Mr. Carter. He has been teaching for 12 years. His favourite subjects to teach are Journalism, English, and History. He went to university at UNB and St. Thomas for his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education and Memorial University for his Master of Education.

The staff member of the week is Loretta Gorbett. Her favourite class is law. Loretta is from Blackville. In her spare time she enjoys coaching and traveling.

By Dan Wilson and Trent Thibodeau 

Dungarvon ATV Club Donates $1000 to Blackville School

Front Row: (left to right) Bailey Curtis, Camden Curtis, Derek Gilchrist, Brayden Duffy and Abigail McEvoy

Back Row: (left to right) Principal Mr. Buggie, Blackville Mayor Andrew Hawkes, Ted Corcoran (President of Dungarvon ATV Club), LeRoy Stewart (Director of Region 4 ATV Federation), Carla Allison (Events Coordinator Dungarvon ATV Club) and Len Allison (Executive Member)

(Missing- Milton Sullivan and Emery Brophy, executive members of the ATV Club)

Photo by Moranda Frennette 

School's In Podcast for October 10, 2014

Host Leah Hennessy shares news from Blackville School for the week of October 10. School's In podcasts are heard on Life Radio, Friday evenings. Podcast edited by Perry Jay Peterson.
 

People's Picks (October 6-10)

Peoples Pick's Student of the Week is Laura Colford. Laura is from Blackville (Howard Road). Her favourite class is gym and enjoys spending her spare time playing soccer, which is also her favourite sport. Congratulations to Laura for being selected the student of the week!




Peoples Pick's Staff of the Week is Brent Wilson. Brent is from Blackville (Howard Road). Brent's favourite sport is baseball, and he enjoys watching it and resting in his spare time. Congratulations to Brent for being selected staff of the week!

Peoples Pick's Teacher of the Week is Mr. Mason. Mr. Mason has been teaching for 18 years and teaches Phys Ed in elementary and middle school. Mr. Mason graduated from the University of New Brunswick. Congratulations to Mr. Mason for being selected teacher of the week!

by Trent Thibodeau and Dan Wilson

Viewpoint: Hunting

Turtles find a winter home at Blackville School

Ashley with the turtles.

Blackville School has some new friends, but they're not students!

Grade 12 student Ashley Vickers worked during the summer at the Atlantic Salmon Museum in Doaktown. While she was there she had the opportunity to work with turtles.

The museum is closed for the winter leaving the turtles with nowhere to go. With Ashley's experience with them, Mr. Johnston, a teacher at the school, asked the principal, Mr. Buggie, if it would be okay if the turtles lived at Blackville School for the winter.

Harriet

Mr. Buggie stated that he has never received any unusual requests for animal sitting at the school before. His biggest concern was where to house them safely as well as what to do with them during holidays.

Ashleys loves having the turtles at the school. She said the care for the turtles is not a lot of work and does not take too much time. One day per week she has to stay after school for 45 minutes to clean the tanks.

Although the turtles have been welcomed with open arms, there is one person who shares the room with the new friends.

Houdini

Mrs. Sherrard is at Blackville School on Tuesdays and Thursdays to help students with the transition to the work force after graduation. She helps with resumes, interview preparation, and possible job shadowing. Mrs. Sherrard stated that she likes the turtles and doesn't mind sharing a room with them.

It also looks like there will also be an educational value for housing the turtles. There are plans underway so that next semester Ashley can spend some time educating younger students about the turtles.

by Mariah Hallihan

Destination Leadership: CSLC 2014

“Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”
- John C. Maxwell.

I have seen this quote before, but I had never actually experienced the full meaning of what the author of this quote was saying, until this past week. I had the opportunity to attend the annual Canadian Student Leadership Conference (CSLC) alongside 1000 other youthful leaders all converging on Kelowna, Colombia by plane, train and automobile.

These 1000 other students, just like me, were leading members of their school student bodies, either as part of a leadership class or holding a high position on the student council. Regardless of their reason for being chosen to attend, every student that was registered for CSLC 2014 was there to become a more effective leader in their school and in their lives. At CSLC 2014, we all took part in numerous leadership building activities, heard keynote speakers share their secrets on leadership and made friendships that would last forever.

            

Student Council Executive Members
Graham Manderville and Brooke Underhill
arriving at CSLC 2014

"Destination LEADERSHIP: Your ticket to Inspiration" was the conference motto. This is what the whole week was based on: getting inspired to become a better leader in your community and in your school. Numerous keynote speakers helped with this task by giving captivating one to two hour sessions; sharing adventures from their lives and their own thoughts on the traits of a great leader.

One such speaker was Micah Jacobson, the cofounder of the Boomerang and WEB program. He shared his thoughts on how to leave your mark as a leader, how to connect with people and how to inspire them to want to follow you. Jacobson spoke of being a great leader and ensuring that you are remembered after you leave school by making meaningful connections with people. Just by talking to everyone in your school, asking how they are, or even just saying hi, will make them remember you and how you took an interest in them, when no one else did. This is what great leaders do; they make sure everyone is heard and everyone is acknowledged. He also talked about how to lead by example and inspire the people that look up to you, how to be energetic and really take an interest in what you're doing.

Ta'Kaiya Blaney was another very inspirational speaker. She is a twelve-year-old Sliammon First Nation member from British Columbia, Canada. At such a young age she is already heavily involved in the environment and protecting marine and coastal wildlife. She has spoken across the world at numerous UN conferences about her thoughts and feelings on the state of the environment all over the globe. I had the privilege to hear her speak at CSLC 2014. She was very inspiring. She was passionate about what she believed in, and she also taught all of us to act the same way about leadership, really make an effort to be a good leader. Part of her message was to inspire others to act like you do when you’re leading and to do what you think is right, not what is popular.

Keynote speaker Micah Jacobson

                  
Three workshops were also part of the itinerary.  Each of the workshops was leadership or student council related, and focused on ideas such as event planning, how to build a stronger relationship with the students of your school or even how to mediate and get rid of stress. The workshops that I attended concerned building better character, global leadership and how to challenge your limits concerning how you lead.

The workshop about building better character was all centered on trying to connect with your fellow students more effectively, even though there might be some that you do not actually like, you still should try to make a connection. I learned that connections to fellow students result in allowing yourself to become a better leader, hearing from every social group and trying to satisfy everyone as best as you can. Global Leadership was all about helping people on a global stage by volunteering in poverty stricken countries or by going to children's hospitals and taking care of sick children in countries with a lack of medical supplies. Improving your leadership skills by taking it to a global level, and helping people who are less fortune than most people in our country. The final workshop that I attended, and the one that really stuck the most with me, was all about challenging yourself to be a better leader. Going outside of your comfort zone to try and improve your leadership skills, trying new tactics and not giving up when faced with a circumstance that is unfavorable.

Keynote speaker Ta'Kaiya Blaney

Even though it was a leadership conference, and serious issues were discussed, there was still time for entertainment and recreation. We played numerous games at an academic pep rally, during an organized chaos session and during our spirit group time. We learned choreographed dances, saw the 2010 Olympic Flame for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, walked the mountains of Kelowna, took a tour of the University of British Colombia Okanagan campus, attended a TEDx presentation, trade show, a downtown Kelowna Scavenger hunt and a kangaroo farm. These were just a few of the numerous activities that were included in our jam-packed schedule that started at 7:45 AM and usually ended around 11:00 PM. It was safe to say that sleep was something that the CSLC 2014 organizers did not regard as a crucial part to becoming a great leader.

                  

2010 Vancouver Olympic Flame 

I came home from CSLC 2014 a changed individual; my thoughts and viewpoints on leadership have grown in the short time that I spent at the conference. I plan on using some of these new skills at my own school, hopefully improving leadership and changing the student council for the better. The 2014 Canadian Student Council Leadership Conference was one of the best experiences I have ever had the pleasure of taking part in. It made me appreciate my role as student council president and as a leader in my community, and I am 100% inspired and motivated to continue my leadership journey. This is all thanks to CSLC 2014.

 by Graham Manderville

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Opinion: Longer Lunch Hour Welcomed, More Activities Required

At the beginning of this school year we were informed that we were not having a flex period anymore, and to top it all off… longer classes. The majority of us would agree that we were disappointed in this change and about the fact that it was no longer available to us.

Another change we had at the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year was that since we no longer had a flex period we now also had a longer lunch hour. This was somewhat exciting news at the start because last year we mostly complained that our 30 minute lunch was way too short. Now, that we have a 45 minute lunch we still find ourselves complaining, but about the fact that we think it’s now too long. Some enjoy the long lunch hour, and others just find that it drags on and gets boring.


To get to the point of some of our schools students, opinions on this, I decided to ask two grade 12 students what they thought about having a longer lunch hour and no flex period.

“I do not like it because I liked our flex better because it gave us time to do our homework, instead of having to go home and spend hours going home working on all the homework. Also, the lunch hour is very boring now and drags on.” –Leah Hennessy

"I like the longer lunch hour because the day goes by faster, more time to socialize and more free time. I don't like the new flex because I like doing my homework in school hours and it was relaxing." - Morgan Underhill

In my opinion there isn’t much that we can do about not having a flex period, but I think that if we did something about the lunch hour, it wouldn’t be so long and boring. For example, if we maybe did some activities or games to keep us busy for at least half of our lunch hour. I think that if we gathered students ideas we could have a fun and interesting lunch hour that could make our 2014-2015 school year fun and memorable one! 

What do you think? Do you have any ideas for lunch activities? If so, the high school student council would like to know. Stop in and visit them at lunch time in the student council office by the cafeteria. Make sure to voice your opinion on the longer lunch hour on the survey posted.

by Ashton O'Donnell