Yes, we’ve got Promise, right here in Pontiac County. Promise with a capital P and that rhymes with E and that stands for school, well, école (with apologies to The Music Man).
Consider the recent activities of some Pontiac students (you’ll find their stories on page 3).
Seth Martin, a student at École secondaire Sieur-de-Coulonge, has won a regional award for an article he wrote on the importance of getting involved in student government. Titled Un député, ça sert à quoi? (What is a representative for?), it encourages fellow students to step up and speak out, to advocate for their needs and those of others. First published in his school’s student newspaper, ESSC Express, it has also been published in Le Droit and can be read on page 6 of this weeks issue of THE EQUITY.
A handful of Grade 9 students at Pontiac High spent a week in mock university classes at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa to get a taste of what pursuing a degree might be like. Karlee-Rae Brownlee took classes at uOttawa in mental wellness. Josephine Hatton studied statistics and probability at Carleton. Sheridan Moffatt studied parks and nature protection at uOttawa.
And then there’s Ben Judd, also a PHS student as well as a student at that other great teaching institution, Shawville 4-H. He was the lone Quebec participant in a mock parliamentary debate for youth from across the country, convened in the Senate of Canada by the 4-H. Ben wrote introductions to his debating team’s arguments, including one on protecting agricultural land from housing development, and his team won.
The promise of a better world can be found in all the Seths, Karlee-Raes, Josephines, Sheridans, and Bens that have had the opportunity to learn about our world and step up to speak out in shaping its future.
And these are just a few of the many confidence-boosting, skill-developing, talent-nurturing, knowledge-expanding experiences available to Pontiac youth at all three of our local high schools and through the local 4-H. From animal husbandry to parliamentary debates, from maple tree tapping to firefighting, from sporting events to musical productions. We’ll keep bringing you the stories of what Pontiac’s youth are up to because they are up to some amazing things.
To the teachers, coaches and other mentors who routinely go above and beyond to help raise our kids to be such promising young citizens of the world, we must all be eternally grateful.
