December Issue
So...What Happens After Post-Secondary Applications?
By Miranda Beare
So, you’ve applied to college or university...congratulations! Applying to post-secondary education is probably one of the most serious and important decisions that potential grads have to make. But what happens after applying to OUAC (Ontario Universities’ Application Centre), or Ontario Colleges?
First, you should know that dates are important. Dates are vital to your successful; admission into any institution. For university and college applicants, the absolute last day to finalize admissions to OUAC or ontariocolleges.ca is January 9th,2008. If you have not finalized your admissions to the programs you wish to the programs you wish to apply to, you will not be considered for your program. Also in the month of January, the earliest offers for admission and scholarships will be given to those applicants who have maintained exceptionally high marks. But, don’t worry if you don’t get an early offer of admission; the universities and colleges that you are applying to may need more time to consider your application, and will need to look at your first semester final marks, as well as your second semester midterm marks. In April and May 2008, the offers of acceptance or rejection will be sent out to all applicants. May 28, 2008 is the first day that Ontario universities and colleges will require a response to the offer of admission.
So you’ve applied and now you’re wondering how you are going to pay for it all? You can consider applying for OSAP. Even if you don’t think you are eligible, apply anyway. You might just qualify! Also, if you are eligible, you may also be able to receive scholarships, which, unlike loans, will not have to be paid back. A lot of money goes untouched because students don’t feel like applying for them, or think that they will have a lot of competition from other students. Go to www.studentawards.com for more information. It is Canada’s largest database of all kinds of monetary awards.
Applying to university or college is a very stressful time in every graduation student’s life. However, with the help of guidance counsellors and the may resources both online and through the school, you can make the best choice possible to ensure success in your post-secondary studies.
By Jessa Hoffman
This tradition of giving, on the part of Lockerby Composite School and the Children’s Aid Society, is going on its fifth year.
Families who are having difficulties making end’s meet and who cannot spare enough money to assure a happy Christmas can contact the Children’s Aid Society to be a part of this event. Families give their wish lists to Children’s Aid to be passed on to the school.
On Thursday, December 6th, homeroom representatives were called down to the main office to pick their family to adopt. Soon after the announcement, all the families had a home. During the next few weeks, homerooms will be pooling their money, canned food items, and lightly used or new items to give to needy families.
In previous years, students have taken to this event by storm. Technology classes have made cabinets in the woodworking shop, practically new kitchen sets have been brought in, and very generous gift certificates have been handed out. One year, a very fortunate daughter from one of the adopted families received a full set of new hockey equipment. Also, the president of the hockey association was contacted and was touched by the story. He provided her with free hockey registration for a year and a hockey summer camp trip.
The mastermind behind all of this generosity and giving is Mr. Laberge. He works extremely hard each year to make this event a success. According to him, “Running this event is the most exhausting thing, mentally and physically, I do all year. But, it is also the most gratifying.”
“A yearbook is something to treasure for years to come,” and Lockerby’s Drama Club delivered this message on November 29, 2007 in their performance of “The Yearbook”.
The Drama Club, led by the dynamic duo of Ms. Morin and Mrs. Romero, began their second year, performing the play “Yearbook”. It was “Written to counteract the constant barrage of negative stories about youth saturating the media today, Yearbook is a positive play about the humor, determination and caring that exists in every school.”, says Ms. Morin. In Yearbook, Susan and Beth enlist the help of Jack and Eric to move the boxes of hot-off-the-press yearbooks that have just arrived. Between loads, they stop to flip through the yearbook’s pages, reminiscing about the year’s highlights through flashbacks. “I loved the message that was put out in the “Yearbook,” said Ms. Morin, who also directed previous Drama Club performances last year.
After rehearsing virtually everyday since the end of September, the play went off smoothly and delivered a deep message. “The play Yearbook reflected many aspects of our own school and I think that’s why it was so appealing,” said Drama Club president, Melissa Smith. The cast consisted of talented students from grade nine through twelve. “The cast and crew of Yearbook were such a wonderful group of people to work with. I was very proud of all the actors and technicians.” stated Ms. Morin.
With a fourth play under their belts, the Drama Club is eager to move on to their next project. In the near future, the Drama Club will be hosting “Lockerby Idol”, which is similar to the extremely popular singing competition, Canadian Idol. The Drama Club will, once again, perform at the Sears Ontario Drama Festival. You should also watch for a Spring Production in May. The Drama Club hopes to see everyone there!
By Jessica Bryce
Lockerby’s Photography Club had a busy month of November. First, they set out on a goal of enhancing the school’s beauty by organizing a fieldtrip to A.Y. Jackson Lookout early in the month. Most recently, they learned tips and tricks of the trade from local photographer, Don Johnston.
In early November, a group of Lockerby students, sharing a passion of photography, set out to Onaping’s A.Y. Jackson Lookout. They ventured out on a stunning and scenic hike to get some amazing pictures. The weather was agreeable and the cameras were snapping. Students in the club were asked to choose their top five photos to be displayed in the new digital frame in the main foyer. Results were wonderful, and the trip proved to be an excitement-filled success. Take a look at the digital frame next time you’re walking through the foyer.
Recently, some members of the club were honoured with the presence of Lively, Ontario, outdoor photographer, Mr. Don Johnston. The presentation was intriguing and enjoyable. Mr. Johnston’s visit was well received by the members of the club. He shared tips and tricks of outdoor photography, and displayed some of his breathtaking work. The Lockerby Photography Club would like to thank Mr. Johnston greatly.
What are the plans for the New Year for the Photography Club? Well, keep your eyes open for a contest, open to the students of Lockerby. More information will be arriving next semester.
If you love snapping pictures left, right, and centre, and wish to join the club, don’t be shy. The Photography Club always welcomes new members. They meet almost every Thursday in room 115 at lunch. Listen to announcements for more details.
Over the last few weeks, the Junior and Senior Lockerby Reach for the Top teams competed in tournaments hosted by local high schools, in preparation for their city championships in 2008. The Junior and Senior teams placed third and fourth, respectively.
On November 23, the six members of the Junior team competed at Confederation Secondary School. The team started out with a strong, tense first game against Lasalle, defeating them in a tie-breaker 320-310. The team lost only one game, to Lo-Ellen, and finished in third place out of eight teams.
"We have great camaraderie and sportsmanship," said Justin Palkovits, captain of the junior team, "The only place we have to go is up!"
All six members of the team contributed significantly to the team's point scores: Justin, Blake, Chris, Ryan, Katrina, and Perry. The team was coached by Mrs. Heffern. The senior team had their turn December 7, in a tournament involving eleven teams of grade eleven and twelve players. Their seven participating members began by winning against Confederation. Although losing a few games later, the team picked up their speed on the buzzers and won their last three straight. They finished fourth out of eleven teams with a record of 5-3.
"We have a good all around team," said Pat Brunet, the captain of the senior team, "but we were missing key players that could have made for a better outcome." The seven members of the team in attendance included Matt Labonte, Allen Sylvestre, Pat Brunet, Stephanie Sindori, Ryan Norton, Zachary Courtemanche, and Ben Huneault. The team was coached by Mr. Walton.
The teams will play their second and third championship tournaments in 2008. With a local victory, the Lockerby senior team would be eligible to compete at the provincial championships in Toronto.
By John-Wesley McGraw
Undoubtedly, everyone has heard of the Light Bulb Exchange, organized by the Green Committee over the past few months. But how familiar is everyone with the details of this amazing initiative? The answer is that most of us could use a better explanation. Let’s get started.
At the end of October, over 60 students went door-to-door bearing a special gift: a compact fluorescent bulb. For the mere price of someone’s old, inefficient incandescent light bulb, they received a free CFL. By accepting the new bulb, people all around Sudbury will benefit by reduced energy consumption, by helping the environment, and by saving themselves money! It’s a win-win-win scenario. This was made possible by the generous donation of one-thousand CFLs from Sudbury Hydro.
However, after the exchange, the Green Committee was left with, of course, many upon many incandescent bulbs. What could be done with such an enormous amount of old lights? The solution was creative and innovative: the bulbs were painted and they were reused as Christmas ornaments. Over two Saturdays, the painted bulbs, now Christmas ornaments, were sold at local malls. For the nominal price of three dollars, you received a wonderful tree ornament. All of the proceeds from the sale are being donated to the Blue Door Café, also known as the Sudbury Soup Kitchen. Therefore, not only did this initiative help the environment, it also helped people in need!
The Green Committee would like to thank everyone who has supported us in our initiative, including everyone who has purchased a bulb, or donated their time and energies to paint bulbs.
What other exciting environmental initiatives lie around the bend? Lockerby should be looking forward to the Canned Food Drive, a Gingerbread Cookie sale, and more events after the holiday break.
By Curtis Cameron
The best of the best came together to end the 2007 senior girls basketball season at Lockerby’s gym last Thursday night. The SDSSAA senior girls basketball all-star game came down to a missed shot with one second left as Team Gordon defeated Team Poulin 62-60. The large crowd was treated to some very exciting back and forth basketball, highlighted by a 3 point shooting competition during the half time.
Three Vikings participated in the all-star game; Sara McCulligh and Kaitlin Sheridan played on Team Poulin, in white, while Steph Farrell played on Team Gordon, in black. Sheridan and Farrell also got to shoot in the 3 point competition. Sheridan helped Team Poulin win the 3 point shooting competition 22-13. The game had a great atmosphere to it as all the girls had fun on the court. They played with smiles, poked fun at each other’s miscues, and were all just out there to have a good time. This mentality provided the fans with an exciting game.
The score went back and forth during the first half as Team Poulin lead 26-24 at halftime. Team Gordon fought back to take the lead after the third quarter 39-37. In the fourth quarter, Team Poulin came within one point of Team Gordon with 5.7 seconds left but could not get another basket as Team Gordon sunk a free throw to pull away, and win the game 62-60. Sheridan finished with 7 points, McCulligh with 4 points and Farrell with 3 points. After the game this is what Kaitlin Sheridan thought “It was so fun to get everyone together. We hardly ever get to play with and against each other in this type of environment, so it was great to get to experience that.”
The 3 point shooting consisted of 4 players from each team in a head-to-head format. Each player had 60 seconds to sink as many 3 point shots. Each 3 pointer sunk counted towards the team’s total. The winning team got to start with the ball in the second half.
Layout Editor: Ms. Edington Teacher Advisor Ms. Levan Editors: Kaitlin Sheridan, John McGraw Writers: Curtis Cameron, Melissa Smith, Jessa Hoffman, Miranda Beare, Jessica Bryce, Zachary Courtemanche, John-Wesley McGraw
