There was a certain air of expectancy and restrained excitement last Friday at Beurling Academy with the imminent arrival of a high-powered visitor, but when the time came, the BA auditorium erupted into a spontaneous applause not seen in a while as Liberal MP Justin Trudeau walked down the aisle to the welcoming cheers of the students.
Arriving around 9 a.m., he was greeted by two students who escorted him to the conference room and who noticeably had a sparkle in their eyes sitting face to face with a member of Canadian political royalty.
After welcome greetings by Principal David Abracen and senior VP Alix Adrien, it was on to the first stop and a chat with the Sec 5 Contemporary World class and teachers Tania Tabet and Sara Marquis.
Then it was on to the auditorium and a general assembly of the Grade 11 class, which listened to him talk about the environment, family, encouraging youth to get involved in the political process, amongst other topics, followed by a 20-minute question period where both he and the students engaged each other in a healthy dialogue.
Students Destini Maighan and Genevieve Reeves took care of the intro and words of thanks at the end followed by Destini’s presentation of a thank you gift to Justin which was a BA sweatshirt in a BA recyclable bag, which he promptly put on much to the delight of the students, which actually made him look like a senior as well.
For BA Principal David Abracen, a visit like this is immeasurable, but more importantly, the students came away feeling special.
“The students may have been initially impressed with meeting an MP, and although it was way before their time, our teachers definitely made them aware of what an important role his father played in the history of our country,” said Abracen.
“However, what really made them feel special was the interest he had in them and how seriously he took their questions. When he told them they are not the future, but the present, and challenged them to do something about it, it was the kind of teaching moment that does not come along too often.”
REMEMBRANCE DAY
It is one of those days that for those old enough, it is important to stop what you’re doing for a moment and think back of long lost relatives and of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice with their lives. And it’s the time when schools across Canada take also the time to let the younger generation know of those sacrifices made on their behalf and in some cases to let them know of the horrors of war. They do this by various expressions of respect, whether by a live event, or a video and/or slide presentations, and other means, and by also inviting representatives of Canada’s military or war veterans to bear witness of these sacrifices.
And it was no different this year for Verdun schools. At Verdun Elementary, the morning began with a solemn procession through the hallways of the school of a bagpipe and drum duo. One could see the young students obviously not fully understanding the reasons for this display of quietness and respect, which, later would be explained by the teaching staff in various forms throughout the day.
Then, it was over to Beurling Academy and to the auditorium for a General Assembly of students. The proceedings began with opening remarks by Principal David Abracen followed by student Maigan Curley who was acting as emcee, to be followed by Tishawna Callendar and a nice version of “Oh Canada”.
As is the custom at many of these events, there is either a Veteran or someone currently in the Armed Forces, taking part in a presentation, often by audio-visual means. On this day, second class Navy petty officer Carl Bouchard presented a slide show of various Remembrance Day scenes, which was followed by the moment of silence interspersed with the playing of Taps and the Last Post by Sec 5 student T.J. Vaudry.
MOVEMBER AND HOCKEY TICKETS ANYONE?
As most people know, for several years now, November has been replaced by Movember. It’s now the month where men in Canada grow a moustache in November in support of awareness and moral support combined with fundraising towards research and seeking a cure towards prostate cancer. The figures are there for everyone to see. Each year 4,400 men die of prostate cancer and one in six men will be diagnosed during his lifetime.
At Beurling Academy, this support has been passionately led by teacher and boys touch football coach Jeff Dort, and for the past 6 years, he and his fellow coaches along with the touch football teams have supported various charities. For the second year, they will be supporting via fundraising towards a cure for prostate cancer.
And this year, we are delighted to team up with Jeff Dort and his team by raffling off our always much sought after pair of “club seat” hockey tickets, courtesy of Verdun School Express and CJAD/800 News/Talk Radio. The game is on Thursday, Dec.15th against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre, and of course the concession is included along with other perks.
Raffle tickets are 5 for $5.00 or double your money and get 4 times the amount of tickets. Draw is on December 1st during parent-teacher interviews. So if you know any of the teachers involved or any of the players involved, do contact them and they will be delighted to sell you some, and we’re also lending a helping hand by selling tickets ourselves, so if you’re looking for a pair of hot seats for this big upcoming game, do give me a call at 514-766-8322 and we’ll take care of you or you can drop by at the school on Dec. 1st from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. or from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and we’ll be all there in the front to take care of you.