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\ * ■■■■ I i The Canadian Statesman. Bnwmanvillc. Mardi 4. 1998 Pane 11 BHS Students Make Friends Through Encounters with Canada by Skyla Dawn Cameron Picture over one hun- Jrcd tcary-cycd people, .inns around each other in _i large eirele, swaying to ; jsarali McLachlan's "I Will Kcmcmbcr You" at lour o'clock in the morning. Docs it seem unbelievable? unbelievable? Not really. But what if I told you these people were from all over the country, and they had met only six days before. Although it seems unlikely that in one week complete strangers could become the best of friends, it can happen. In fact it happens every week in Ottawa when 130 teens travel from till across Canada to meet at the Terry Fox Youth Centre. This wonderful organization organization is called Encounters with Canada, and it promotes promotes unity among young Canadians, and allows its participants to learn about the other provinces and different parts of Canada from one another. I arrived in Ottawa by train, and was bussed to the Terry Fox Youth Centre, where I was greeted greeted by many unfamiliar, yet friendly faces. We had plenty of time to explore the building, and meet the other participants. I was surprised at how willing everyone was to make friends. That first day was mainly a day of uneasy introductions. The rest of the week was fun, but busy! We toured the ' parliament buildings, skated on the canal, went to several museums and galleries, went to plays, the opera, and participated in several workshops including song writing, poetry, sculpture, painting, magic, Celtic crafts, and independent film and documentary. We also put on several group plays about our provinces and related to our experiences experiences at "Encounters". Friday was Variety night where participants were encouraged to display their talents. I met so many gifted gifted musicians, singers, artists, and writers, I whs in awe. At this point in the week, deep bonds of friendship had been made that none of us will ever forget. There was an all night dance that lasted from 11 p.m. Friday, until 4 a.m. Saturday. The last song, "I Will Remember You", was a very meaningful meaningful moment for all of us, because we were leaving that day. In fact, the first bus of people left at only thirty minutes after the dance ended. I was among the remaining participants, and we all gathered around the piano in the cafeteria where we sang such songs as "That's What Friends Arc For" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". There wasn't a dry eye left. During my week I learned about unity, love, acceptance, and friendship. friendship. I think what makes the week work is that it's a fresh start. There aren't any "cliques" or preconceived preconceived ideas about anyone. The only down side was that we only bad seven days together, and not longer. Some people don't believe that one can make best friends in such a short amount of time, but can friendship really be measured measured by how long you know someone? I didn't just leave friends behind that Saturday morning; I left a family. Public Speakers Four students took away top honours in their categories of public speaking at St. Stephen's Elementary School in February. The students arc Caoimhc O'Donnell (Intermediate Gold) and Laura I-Iisson (Intermediate Silver) along with Kicrsten Allorc (Junior Silver) and Laura Tangslcy (Junior Gold). Caoimhc spoke on politics and figure skating, while Laura Bisson's choice was horse ownership. ownership. In the Junior Division, Grade 6 student Kicrsten Allorc spoke about painter Tom Thompson and Grade 5 contestant Laura Tangslcy spoke about friendship. News From Courtice Courtice Secondary's School library has been automated. automated. This is good news for Librarian and students alike. Our librarian, Mrs. Kirby, is making it easier for students to take out books. She is making it easier on herself too. Now, missing and overdue books can be tracked down more quickly and efficiently. Visiting Courtice Secondary School's library would be much like visiting a public library. Students in the school, whether they use the library or not, now have library cards containing their name and bar code. There is now a computer scanner on the front desk. Library Automated It has not been an easy job, but it's done. All the books in the library were taken off the shelf, catalogued, re-numbered and then re-shelved. The computer computer system being used to keep track of all the books is Dynix. This is the same system that is used by most of the public libraries in our area. It was finally set up on Friday, February 20th. It took longer than expected due to a few minor complications. To find overdue or missing library books, Mrs. Kirby used to have to read through all of the cards in the out box. Now Dynix will make a list of overdue overdue books, and who has them, and down load it into the computer. computer. This list is called up and there the overdue culprit is - much easier than before. The library personnel, co-op students and volunteers included, included, are very excited about how much easier this new system will be. Corinne Hester LOSSA Update Unfortunately our Midget girls lost the LOSSA semi-final in a tough battle against G.L. Roberts. Good try, girls! On a happier note, the Junior girls, after defeating Central in the semi-finals, went on to play Brock in the finals. They lost their first match 11-15. They came back to win the next two matches 15-3 and 15-9 to take the gold. The Senior girls defeated Brock in the semifinals. semifinals. They defeated Port Perry in the finals with scores of 15-4 and 15-9. This makes their third straight LOSSA win. 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