Elementary Christmas Colouring Contest Winners

Elementary Christmas Concert 2014

Star Athletes of Blackville School for December

High School Boys: Josh Underhill

"Josh is a very good athlete, a good team leader and has great sportsmanship!" said coach Loretta Gorbett about Josh concerning his leadership, game play and attitude on and off the court. Josh has been an integral part of the High School Boys Basketball team since Grade 9 and now in Grade 11 is the starting point guard and hardly comes off the court. Josh also plays hockey and football outside of school.

High School Girls: Abby Donovan

"Abby has great work ethic and an awesome attitude," said coach Matthew Sturgeon about Abby's playing and attitude not only on the court, but off the court as well. Abby spends a fair amount of time on the court, despite only being in Grade 10. Abby looks forward to being a key figure in the basketball teams hierarchy for the remainder of her high school career. Abby also plays hockey and soccer.
                               

Middle School Boys: Denver Donovan

When asked about Denver Donovan's efforts with the middle school basketball team, coaches Josh Underhill and Connor Duffy said that "Denver is a really hard working kid. He listens very well and is a monster around the rim." Denver is a senior player on the basketball team seeing that he is in grade 8 and is looking forward to being on the senior boys team next year when he makes the jump to high school. Denver also plays hockey, soccer and volleyball.

Middle School Girls: Tori Sullivan

"She always keeps the team motivated, and she is kind to her teammates. She is an overall great athlete!" said coach Jessica Munn. Tori is a senior member of the middle school girls basketball team seeing she is in Grade 8, and plays a major leadership role on the team for the younger players. Tori also plays soccer and hockey.

Compiled by Larissa Bryenton, Graham Manderville, and Ashley Vickers

                                              

Elementary Christmas Concert 2014

KH & KN presenting their "Christmas Chant"

Blackville Elementary grades K to five had their annual Christmas Concert which was held in the cafeteria on December 16.

There was a huge turn out with many parents and people from the village who came to watch. MC's Jorja Donovan and Cohen Munn were a huge hit with their humour and great presentation of the classes from K to 5.

A majority of songs were sung including "Reindeer Love to Boogie" which was sung by KH and KN. Also 3TM did a great job with their song "Nuttin' for Christmas". Grade 1C sang "Reindeer Pokey" followed by Grade 3M singing "Feliz Navidad" and their intro saying "Merry Christmas" in different languages.

To view more pictures of the Elementary Christmas Concert click here!

By Ashton O'Donnell      
Photos by Jules Keenan

Band and Choir Night 2014

Elementary Choir 

Blackville School held their annual Band and Choir night. It took place in the school cafeteria on December 9.

The evening featured the Elementary Choir, School Girls Choir and the Blackville School Jazz Band/9T Band class. The MC's were Vice Principal Pamela Underhill and Principal Rodney Buggie.

Blackville School Girls Choir 

During the concert the audience heard "S.A.N.T.A" and "Ebenezer Scrooge" sung by the Elementary Choir, and "Carol of the Bells" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" from the School Girl's Choir.

The Blackville School Jazz Band/9T Band class played "Frosty the Snowman" and "Feliz Navidad." 

To view more pictures from Band and Choir night 2014 click here!

By Ashton O'Donnell
Photos by Noah Donovan

School's In Podcast for December 12, 2014

Hosts Leah Hennessey and Ashton O'Donnell share news from Blackville School for the week of December 12, 2014.  School's In podcast are heard on Life Radio Friday evenings.  Podcast is edited by Perry-Jay Peterson.

Tales From The Borderlands: Zer0 Sum Review

metro.co.uk

Embrace the chaotically hilarious world of Pandora once again in the new episodic graphic adventure game based on the Borderlands series in Tales From the Borderlands.  The game is developed by Telltale Games in partnership with Gearbox Software and 2K Games, featuring voices from Chris Hardwick as Vaughn,  and Patrick Warburton as your nemesis Vasquez.  Episode one of Tales From the Borderlands is named 'Zer0 Sum' and was released November 25, 2014 on PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, and PS4.


Tales From the Borderlands: Zer0 Sum puts you in the lives of Rhys (voiced by Troy Baker) and Fiona (voiced by Laura Bailey).  Rhys is a normal Hyperion employee who works with his best friend Vaughn, and is about to receive a promotion in the company.  Suddenly you learn that Vasquez, (who is one of those co-workers that you hate) kills the former boss and promotes himself to be your new boss.  Rhys and Vaughn embark on a journey to Pandora to screw over one of Vasquez's business deals, so that you can gain your promotion you truly deserved.  On the other hand, Fiona is a con-artist living on Pandora with her sister Sasha, who were taught by their adoptive mentor, Felix.  Rhys and Fiona get mixed into each others lives when they come to find out that the deal Fiona was about to rip was the deal that Rhys was about to go through with.  Rhys, Vaughn, Fiona and Sasha then set off to retrieve their stolen money from the leader bandit Bossanova.  This sends the group through a crazy journey into the monstrous world of Pandora.

Tales From the Borderlands: Zer0 Sum is the first instalment of the very first season of the newly loved series.  Telltale Games are known for their outstanding work on their other projects such as The Walking Dead Season 1 & 2, The Wolf Among Us, and their newly released Game of Thrones series.  As far as episodic games go Telltale Games is the master of creating them, and they certainly don't disappoint with Tales From the Broderlands.

twodashstash.com

The story of Tales From the Borderlands is without a doubt hilarious and super addictive. Each episode is approximately two and a half hours in length, and the time will fly by without even noticing.  All the game play mechanics are executed perfectly like the transitions between dialogue choices and action sequences. Although there are some rare occasions where the game will drop frames or even freeze for not even a second. The original Borderlands series is a full out first person shooter, and this take on Borderlands allows the player to get more of a story experience rather than focus on nonstop action which is nice.  I can tell from experience that the Tales From the Borderlands seems to run more smoothly on next-gen (Xbox One & PS4 & PC), rather than current-gen (Xbox 360 & PS3).  Another great feature added to Tales From the Borderlands is the fact that the actual choices you pick literally happen, and the crucial choices result in more intense and explosive events.

At first, I thought that Telltale Games would have a tough time creating an episodic adventure game out of the Borderlands series, but they sure nailed it.  Any Borderlands fan must play this game because it is going to be an awesome journey through out the rest of the season.  I've also been told that people who aren't that big into Borderlands will enjoy this game, and I don't disagree with this statement.  Tales From the Borderlands blew me away with the things they were able to alter from the original series.  They are able to set the stage perfectly for the next episode, which will leave you in wonder of what is in store for you during the next episode.  Needless to say, Tales From the Borderlands is a must buy, and is personally my favorite Telltale Games made to date.

 by Brody Nash

School's In Podcast for December 5, 2014

Hosts Leah Hennessey and Ashton O'Donnell share news from Blackville School for the week of December 5, 2014.  School's In podcast are heard on Life Radio Friday evenings. Podcast is edited by Perry-Jay Peterson.

Peoples Picks (Dec.1-5 )

Student of the week is Larissa Bryenton. Larissa is from Blackville and enjoys playing volleyball and working in her spare time. Larissa's favourite sport is volleyball. Congratulations, Larissa!

Teacher of the Week is Mr. Norton. Mr. Norton is from Boiestown and obtained his education through the University of New Brunswick and has been teaching for 11 years. Mr. Norton's favourite subject to teach is physics. Congratulations, Mr. Norton!

Staff of the Week is Jamie McNeil. Jaime likes to spend time with her family in her spare time and is from Blackville. Jaime has been working at Blackville with the cafeteria staff for six years. Congratulations, Jaime!

Compiled by Trent Thibodeau and Noah Hallihan

Viewpoint: Fly Fishing Club

Upcoming Christmas Events

Christmas Chaos Week

December 15 to 19

Monday- Jersey Day

Tuesday- Toque Day

Wednesday- Ugly Christmas Sweater Day

Thursday- Greed & Red Day

Friday- PJ Day

Dates to Remember...

December 9th- Band & Choir Night

December 16th- Elementary Christmas Concert

December 19th- Last Day before Christmas Break

Movie Night: 

December 4th at Blackville School. 

Cost- $5- includes movie, popcorn, and kool-aid jammers, there will be extra kool-aid jammers for sale $1.00 each

6:00 to 7:15- grades K-4 Movie: Elf on the Shelf and Smurfs Christmas

7:30 to 9:00- grades 5-8 Movie: Home Alone

Elementary Christmas Concert: 

The Blackville School K-5 Christmas Program will be presented on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 in the school cafeteria. There will be two performances of the program, the first at 9:00 a.m and the second at 10:30 a.m

Elementary Drama: 

Elementary Drama Production of "The Last Stop Before Christmas" will be at 6:00pm on Wednesday December 10th. Storm Date TBA. Admission- $3

Middle School Drama: is pleased to present their holiday production, "The Snow Show" on December 17, 7:30 pm at Blackville School. Tickets are $5

Christmas Dinners:

December 9th- Elementary Dinner $6 (storm date is December 10th)

December 10th- Middle School and High School $6.50 (storm date is December 11th)

Christmas Concert News:

Blackville School will be presenting its Choir and Band Christmas Concert on Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at 7:00 pm in the school cafeteria. (Storm Date- Wednesday, December 10/14) This concert will feature performances from the Blackville Elementary Choir, the Blackville School Jazz Band along with the grade 9T Instrumental class, and some vocal/instrumental solos and duets. Admission is at the door: adults $5.00   Students $2.00. Beverages, fudge, and tickets on a 50/50 draw will be available for sale at the canteen during the intermission. Choir and Band participants should be in the cafeteria on the night of the concert by 6:40 pm so they can tine and do a sound check. 

** December 15-19 students are encouraged to bring in winter clothing to their homeroom classes, if they can. All clothing will be donated to the local community outreach centre. 

On December 4th,  there will be a movie night here at the school
On December 5th, High School will be having their Christmas formal from 8:15 to 10:45 pm

On December 11th, Middle School will be having their Christmas formal

December 19th will be last day of classes for everyone, it will be a full day of classes!!

School Closure due to Weather:

Number for the weather line in 

Miramichi area is 778-SNOW (7669)

Opinion: Dress Code

We all have different ways to express ourselves, whether it is with music, opinions and even our clothing. You are your own "you," and no one can change that. Except when you walk into a school and you have to follow a "dress code." Many people have different opinions on this and it is one of the most talked about topics in high school, especially with high school girls.

In my opinion, I think that dress code doesn't allow people to express who they are, but then again there is a limit and people should know where to stop because they have gone too far. I think that a dress code applies more to girls because boys don't "reveal" themselves as many girls would. Also, some people have different views. Some girls feel more comfortable in a T-shirt and jeans while other girls like to express themselves more with a low cut shirt and skirt- just because they feel comfortable in it. I also think that dress code limits what people can wear and causes girls to feel self conscious about what they wear just so they aren't revealing themselves.

There is a limit, and you should dress to show that you have respect for yourself, but you should be able to express who you are too. Some people like to express themselves by their clothing.  To get some other opinions other than mine, I asked other students what they thought of the dress code. Here is what they had to say.

Gina Keenan (9U): "I think that the dress code is stupid. It shames girls of their bodies because we're forced to conceal everything."

Leah Hennessy (12U): "My personal opinion on dress code is that yes it can suck not being able to wear certain clothes in the summer when it is hot outside when you wish that you could be wearing lighter clothes, but at the same time I don't think I would want to see girls walking around showing their three B's. I also don't think that the girls dress code is stricter than the guys."

I couldn't agree more with Gina's opinion as it echoes the view of many female students about the dress code. We should all be able to show our individuality when we want to - no matter what the situation. I think that girls seem sexualized by dress code because they are forced to wear what is "permitted" on the school property to cover themselves up. But, then again like I said there is a certain extent to what we wear at school because you don't want to be showing off things others don't want to see.

Recently high school students in Fredericton have protested high school dress codes because they want to express themselves. They want to wear what they choose and not hide their bodies and wear clothing to please others. Also, check out the side panel of the Blackville Talon and give your opinion on whether you believe in the school's dress code or not.

By Ashton O'Donnell