The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, April 29, 2016 | 12 WOSS prepares to celebrate 50 years of education by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff White Oaks Secondary School (WOSS) is marking its milestone anniversary in a big way with a weekend of events. It starts Friday, May 13 with a pub night at Monaghan's, 1289 Marlborough Ct., featuring performances by alumni. The night begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes Michael Przysiezny, Lisa McCallum, Theories of the Mind (Adam Scot and Jason McGibbon), The Guy/Master of Carpets (Faisal Bhabha, Dar Dowlatshahi, Chris Brown and Chris Muns), The Meltdown (Chris Iskander, Scott Everatt, Craig Burnatowski and Paul Iskander Alexander), Hellsworthy (Adam Scott, Kyle Hosick, Mike Lett, Chris Elsworthy and Steve Czotar), Chrysanthemum (Joseph Wilson, Simon Parks, Lucas Preston and Stephen Bell) and Nine Lives and Counting (Craig Burnatowski, Peter Alexander, Jason Hutchings and Scott Everatt). Saturday, May 14, will begin with a past and present staff breakfast at the WOSS North Campus at 8:30 a.m. Special Education teacher Fonda BUY DIRECT FROM THE MANUFACTURER WE WILL BEAT ANY COMPETING OFFER BY 10 Loft, who is on the planning committee, said there will be food trucks between 10 a.m.-3 p.m., a showcase of memorabilia from the past 50 years between 10 a.m.4 p.m. and a number of alumni events, including an alumni play in a performance at 1:30 p.m., band and choir concert in the cafeteria at 2:30 p.m. and alumni verses current WOSS stunts in football, soccer, basketball and volleyball between 12-2 p.m. outside the South Campus. Art activities and displays will take place in classrooms T108 and T118 between 10 a.m.-4 p.m. while amusing, light-hearted debate with audience participation will be held in the cafeteria between 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The celebrations will end with a party at St. Volodymyrs Cultural Centre, 1280 Dundas St. W., Saturday, between 6-11 p.m. The night features live performances, photo booth, guest speakers and more. Tickets for the Saturday night event costs $40. Loft said WOSS is creating a Wall of Fame to recognize exceptional graduates and past teachers. About five people will be chosen to represent each decade over the 50 years and will be celebrated during Saturday night's festivities. Hamish Guthrie One already named as an inductee is English teacher and debate coach Hamish Guthrie, who is in his 40th year teaching at the school. He has been coaching the debate team for 33 years and in the past, has taught drama and coached soccer. "I'm very touched by it. I feel very honoured," he said. "If I'm any good at my job, it's because I've had a chance to learn all sorts of things from other wonderful people around me. Many of them are teachers who are far younger than I am," he said. He admitted after so many years, he continues to enjoy work each day because of the people he works with and impressive kids he continues to teach and coach. Guthrie's admiration for principal John Stieva and the positive change he brought about over the last decade, has also motivated him, he noted. "He brought in the IB (International Baccalaureate) program, he accomplished the union of the two schools (south and north campus) more successfully than any other principal, above all, he has really worked to help bring the school to a happy, healthy, comfortable climate for all sorts of students," Guthrie said, adding it's a well-rounded school that boasts strong academics and well-supported programs like music, sports, drama and technology. He adds he's looking forward to celebrating White Oaks' milestone anniversary as it has much to be proud of. Some of Guthrie's favourite memories include taking a group of Model UN students down to the United Nations conference at Columbia University in New York during 1997 and coming home as the second best delegation at the conference. He's also extremely proud of all the debate teams he's coached over the years and how well they do in competitions across the province, country and world. "I wanted an opportunity for the students at White Oaks to show that they could be as good at debate as any school in the country and these students rose to the challenge," he said. Guthrie noted many of his students have gone on to become doctors, professors, lawyers and musicians, including Blue Rodeo's Glenn Milchem. He says he's excited about running into past students, staff and teachers and taking a retrospective look at the school's 50 years in the community. "It's a really good opportunity for the public in Halton to see White Oaks as it really is," he said. "There's a wonderful sense that it's really coming into itself and it's becoming a more and more creative and interesting place." He noted it's always been a great school, but with the new programs, it's poised to become even greater. To register or for more information about White Oaks' celebrations, visit www.wossweb.com. % Excellence in Education Gle~burnie Scªool Pre-K (2.8 yrs) to Grade 8 Enriched Education for Active Minds Inquiry-based Learning: S.T.E.M M. approach (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Studies in Economics and Emotional Intelligence WE PAY THE HST! We Match rnment The Gove senior discounts · bonded & insured · family owned & operated w o e ti N a c o locally owned and manufactured in hamilton L 352 Dosco Drive Rebate r Energy Sta ViSit our Showroom today buy direct from the factory and SaVe big n Glenburnie Summer Camps Academic, Vacation & Mus ical Theatre 1-877-662-4440 www.customdirectwindows.com Stoney Creek Over 20,000 sq ft manufacturing facility! July 4 to 29 · JK to Grade 5 · Open to All 2035 Upper Middle Rd. East Oakville (Ford Dr. / Ninth Line / 403) (905) 338-6236 · www.GlenburnieSchool.com