2009-2010 High School

2009-2010 High School

Dedicating ourselves to holistic education

Luther College High School students benefit from a holistic education that comprises the intellectual, physical and spiritual components of individual development. Many of our student accomplishments in 2009-2010 demonstrated the holistic ways in which our students excel, and they included the following honours:

• The senior girls volleyball team tied for third place at Luther’s fall Senior Girls Volleyball Tournament.
• The following five members of the football team were named to the Regina Intercollegiate Football League all-star team: Landon Bigalky, Remington Winter, Sam Burke-Eggertson, Xavier Koslofski, and Eric Anderson.
• The senior boys basketball team beat the Campbell Tartans to capture the city title. Luther students Andrew Henry, Mitch Jones and Brendan Lee were named city all-stars.
• Another dedicated group of students participated in the high school Broadway musical production of Anne of Green Gables. Students, faculty, staff and parent volunteers came together in roles ranging from cast and crew members to make-up and costume artists to put on another excellent production.
• A total of five Focus 91 Awards were given to Jill Alport, Eric Anderson, Alix Donnelly, Austin Josephson and Keelay White. These awards are given to students who are involved in the community and who would not necessarily receive other recognition for their hard work. Strong academic performance is an important factor in the award, but it is not the only or even most important consideration.
• Kate Ross-Hopley, a full IB Diploma student and active student leader, was awarded the Governor General’s Bronze Medal. The award was presented in chapel by His Honour the Honourable Dr Gordon L Barnhart, SOM, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.
• Senior-level student Kate Richards was awarded a $2 000 provincial award by the Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation Loran Awards.
• Billy Hamilton was awarded a Centennial Merit Plus and Academic Gold Scholarship. Marika Cameron, Katie Schmirler, Jessica Winter, Rachel Frontain were all awarded Centennial Merit and Academic Gold Scholarships. It is quite rare to win both a Centennial Merit and Academic Gold Scholarship, and the fact that so many Luther students accomplished this feat speaks to their outstanding academic performance.

 

Helping the global community

During the month of February, the Luther Student Representative Council, with the assistance of teacher Jon Graf, organised a Haiti fundraiser competition between Teacher Advisory Groups (TAGs). Each TAG was challenged to raise as much money as possible, with the top three TAGs winning a Pizza Party donated by Mr Hao Tran. Each TAG had to develop its own fundraising strategy. There were raffles, a bake sale, bottle collections, and a movie night. One TAG even sold "Excuse Slips" allowing students to hand in assignments a day late without penalty. Through all these activities, the TAGs raise over $10 000 for the relief effort in Haiti.

 

Celebrating professional development

Dr Gregory Akulov, who teaches calculus and IB math, published another article in a Manitoba periodical. This article explained a formula for the slope of an angle bisector. Mr Akulov also has been contributing to provincial math curriculum development.

Many faculty undertook additional education while continuing their full time duties at the school. Sherri Andrews, Jay Willimott, Toni Jestadt and Nancy Ostime currently are pursuing Master’s degrees. Principal Mark Anderson is nearing completion of his doctorate.

 

Continuing traditions

The high school once again welcomed the participation of students, parents, alumni and the general public in several longstanding Luther College traditions.

Once again, the high school produced a Broadway musical, this time bringing Anne of Green Gables to an enthusiastic audience. Every year our students play to packed houses (about 500 per performance). The community outreach is immeasurable. The high school is indebted to Mrs Gail Fry who so ably and passionately served as Musical Director for two decades. Sarah Hognestad (grade 11) played the role of Anne.

The annual Candlelight Service of Lessons and Carols took place in early December in the fully packed, festively decorated high school gymnasium. The service highlights traditional Christmas choral music interspersed with gospel accounts of Christ’s birth. Those who attend consistently comment on how spiritually moving they find the services to be.

The Luther Invitational Tournament celebrated its 58^th year. Luther College welcomed the Oak Park Raiders, Winnipeg; Balfour Redmen, Regina; Holy Cross Crusaders, Saskatoon; Handsworth Royals, Vancouver; Cardston Cougars, Cardston; Campbell Tartans, Regina; and the Harry Ainlay Titans, Edmonton. In honour of the Olympic Games being held in Vancouver during the same time, LIT 58 was centred on the theme “Oympics Through the Ages.” Students, staff, faculty and friends all gave a warm welcome to Luther’s very own Berbel Knoll as the tournament’s special guest. It was a rousing weekend of basketball. The Luther College Lions defeated the Balfour Redmen in the bronze medal game, and the final came down to a contest between the Holy Cross Crusaders and the Oak Park Raiders, with the Crusaders capturing the tournament title.

The High School also celebrated another successful year of its annual Senior Girls Volleyball Tournament, All-College Banquet and Fine Arts Night. The Volleyball Tournament welcomed eight senior teams from Southern Saskatchewan. Amongst the festivities were a team breakfast and a pep rally, and the event enjoyed strong student support. All-College remains one of the most important traditions at the school. All the teachers, staff and students once again dressed in their finest and sat down together for a meal in the gym. The meal was catered by the cafeteria and served by parents, and the event is followed by student entertainment. Fine Arts Night has increased in popularity over the past few years. The event features various stations scattered throughout the school which feature student art work, musical performances, the band, student films, improv scenes, and a performance of the One Act play.

 

Maintaining our facilities

During the summer and fall, the high school campus chemistry and biology rooms were completely renovated, and one classroom was converted to become a new Junior Science Room and lab. This $725 000 project has resulted in state-of-the art classroom and lab facilities which are modelled after the new $60 million lab building constructed on the U of R campus. This commitment to providing students with quality learning spaces is central to our attempts to offer students a strong liberal arts education. We expect that students graduating from our science programs should feel at home in any lab on any university in the country. The gymnasium roof was also replaced, addressing a series of leakage issues within that space.