As the school year draws to an end, the local high schools look back at the year

The weather is getting nicer and no doubt the attention span is getting shorter as the school year winds down for another year.

The two local high schools Prince Rupert Senior Secondary and Charles Hays Senior Secondary both held year end assemblies in the week past to celebrate their year of achievement. The Daily News wrapped up the year for them with reports in Friday’s paper.

Charles Hays students celebrate excellence
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Friday, June 15, 2007

Charles Hays Secondary School held its annual Celebration Assembly recently to honour the top students in the areas of academia, public service and more for the 2006-2007 school year.

The Stage Band Performance trophy for Outstanding Achievement went to student and aspiring musician Katherine Punnett, while the Global Achievement Award was presented to Lawrence Brown. The Food Studies award went to Lauren Kroeker, and the top Textiles Studies student this year was Hailey Bjorndal.

Graduating student Katelyn Brown was given the Arts award, and classmate Hailcy Bickle received the award for First Nations Art.

Also recognized for academic achievement were Ravleen Sandhu in Tourism and Danielle Hidber in Marketing.

The sciences were well represented on Thursday by David Bell, Alaura Bruce, and Emilie Crowley, who were top students in Biology, Physics and Chemistry respectively. This year's overall Top Science Student award was taken home by David Beil.

While Sm'algyax awards were absent from this year's ceremony, Nicole Ogilvie was the top French student. Alaura Bruce was honoured for English, Cara Warren for Communications, Selena Bray for Literature, and Robyn Helin for Law. Devon Clifton was awarded top student in First Nations Studies, while Brandon Haldane was the highest graded History student.

Comparative Civilizations student Emilie Crowley also won for her outstanding grades.
This year's B.C. Colleges math competition winner was Michael Wong, while Alaura Bruce and Josh Melegrito were recognized as the top Grade 12 Math students.

The Chris Marcinkewicze Award for School Spirit was given to both Smni Fahlman and Alex Volney, and this year's Governor General's Award recipient was Kayla Sankey.

The Top All Around Student for Charles Hays this year was Christopher Stokes, who was pleased with winning the award, in addition to receiving recognition as Charles Hays' Top Male Athlete.

"Yeah, I worked very hard for it," said Stokes, looking back at his unblemished academic career. "Next year, I'm going to UNBC for Bio-Medical Studies, and I hope to get my degree there."
The last awards given out were to commemorate the graduating students who throughout each school term, had kept their grades above an 80 per cent average. The Always on Honour Roll students include David Beil, Alaura Bruce, Emilie Crowley, William Germscheid, Brandon Haldane, Aja Lihou, Diana Oliviera, Katherine Punnet and Christopher Stokes.

"This graduating class runs very deep," said Charles Hays Principal Sandra Jones. "We had more students on Honour Roll every single term for their school career than ever before. Which is outstanding, because it was a fairly big class. So we're very happy with where these students are headed."


PRSS reflects on successful year
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Friday, June 15, 2007

The annual awards of excellence for Prince Rupert Secondary School were given out in a ceremony this Wednesday morning, and this year there was no shortage of deserving graduates.
Principal Sheila Wells opened the ceremony with a warm address to all the students, congratulating them on their accomplishments.

"Take some time to reflect upon your successes for the year, and look carefully at the areas that you can improve," Wells told her students. "Set some new goals, and commit to trying something different next year. Many of you have worked hard and excelled in several areas, but learning is lifelong, so don't stop now."

The Service to the School Awards were presented to the much deserving students who helped organize various special events as well as day-to-day student operations during the school year.
Kayli Vandermeer and Kari Morgan were recognized for their work on the year book with an award for that presented by Larry Hope, while Student Council President Nick Adey presented awards to the other 11 students that made up this year's PRSS Student Council which was comprised of Elisha Seabrook, Sean Carlson, Sarah Ling, Nikki-Lee Page, Brian Payne, Catherine Collins, Siobhan Zelweitro, Kate McWilliams, Stephen Huddlestone and Callie Hill.

Students Ryan Hermanson and Aaron Flaten were awarded for their behind-the-scenes' work, and Stephanie Ware and Jenna Cann were given special recognition for organizing the school's Breakfast Club program.

Graduating student Kate Christison received the Top Academic Award plaque for her outstanding grades, and Joel Carlson was given the prestigious Governor General's Award for the 2005-2006 school year.

Proficiency Awards are given out each year to students who excel in their own areas of expertise. Excellence plaques and trophies were given to Matthew Gee for Information Technology, Kate Christison for Math and Science, Sarah Rowse for Mathematics, Kari Morgan for Visual Arts, and Alexandra van Vianen for Humanities.

Principal Sheila Wells continued as presenter for the Awards of Honour, which commend individuals that have worked toward making PRSS a better institution. The Outstanding School Spirit award was taken home by Alexandra Van Vianen, while Sarah Ling and Elisha Seabrook both received the award for Outstanding School Service. The coveted Outstanding All-Round Student was given to Kate Christison, who won 10 academic awards in total on Wednesday morning.

"I was surprised [to win] because there were a lot of girls in the class and we all competed with marks throughout the school year," said Christison who is looking forward to continuing her education next year.

"I'm going to Prince George for nursing at UNBC in September, and I'm very excited."