by Sandi Kuntsi
April showers bring spring sign-ups and the end of a great gymnastics season. The MSS Gymnastics team competed at the NOSSA Championship in Sudbury on Monday, April 3, performing well against strong competition. In Level 1, Summer Beaudin placed 8th on vault, 10th on bars, 10th on floor, and 7th overall; and Morgan Wall placed 11th on the beam. In Level 2, Kendra Jordison and Zabrina Cosby performed well, making MSS proud. In Level 3, Mackenzie Cortes placed 1st on vault, 6th on bars, 3rd on beam, qualifying her for OFSAA in all three events. Mackenzie placed 2nd overall in her level. Team captain Yohana Ogbamichael placed 9th on beam and 7th on floor, and Roxy Rojas-Brizuela rounded out the competition with a strong floor routine.
The Open Aerobic Gymnastics team who won OFSAA gold last year competed in a harder category this year and failed to qualify for OFSAA by just 0.1 points. The field was extremely strong, and though this was a heartbreaking result, the athletes were proud of the results. The Open Aerobic Gymnastics team was Eden Beaudin, Jill Cooper, Alyssa Green, Yohana Ogbamichael, and Roxy Rojas-Brizuela. Team member Donnshai Bruleigh, who was unable to compete due to an injury, managed the team through the day and kept everyone organized.
The Novice Aerobic Gymnastics team placed third in their division, qualifying them for OFSAA. The Novice Aerobic Gymnastics team includes Summer Beaudin, Mackenzie Cortes, Zabrina Cosby and Kendra Jordison. OFSAA this year is in Belleville on April 9-11. Coaches Mrs. Theijsmeijer and Ms. Ferguson are, “extremely proud of the Mustangs, who brought their A-game to the competition and did their school proud.”
On April 6, the Relay for Life Committee held their Kick-Off assembly. This year’s committee consists of Garret Gauthier, Nea Saunders, Yohana Ogbamichael, Shelby Hester, Kristina Renwick, Carissa Holliday, Kendra Jordison, Victoria MacDonald, Isaac Gosse, Eden Beaudin, Jessica Marshall, Dakota Legge and Sarah Hovingh. As students and staff piled into the cafeteria, 130 students received slips of paper. A short video, directed by Garret Gauthier, was displayed, making students laugh and cheer as the symbolic relay baton made its way to MSS from across Manitoulin. Following this introduction, Garret, Carissa, Kendra, Jessica and Yohana brought the audience back down to earth by telling them that in 2016, an estimated 202,400 Canadians were diagnosed with a variety of different cancers—breast, prostate, lung, and bone. Jessica Marshall asked all the students who received slips of paper to stand up. The students were told that the 130 standing up represented the number of people who would have cancer in a group of 400 people.
Kendra Jordison, a Grade 11 student, shared a moving personal story about her mother’s battle with cancer. Following this speech, a video was shown of various staff and students telling who/what they are going to relay for. This video inspired many students to sign up for the event.
Kendra said, “Relay for Life is important to me because it hits close to home and I have seen how cancer affects a person and their families,” about how Relay for Life is important to her.
photos by Sandi Kuntsi
Relay for Life at MSS has raised over $200,000 over the six past years. This year the theme for Relay is ‘Kickin’ Cancer, Let’s Give Cancer the Boot!’ There is a $15 registration fee that gets participants a t-shirt, a luminary to place around the track, and the opportunity to participate in a fun-filled Relay for Life. The Manitoulin community is already organizing teams and starting fundraising for the event while the committee is planning activities for the MSS Relay for Life. More information can be found at http://bit.ly/ManitoulinR4L.
Share/Go Green is doing an Emergency Collection to raise money for the Famine Crisis in Somalia. In Somalia, 2.9 million people are at risk of going into famine without international support. This is reported the largest disaster the UN has ever faced. SHARE will be collecting donations on Wednesday, April 12 and Thursday, April 13. Every dollar can save a life. If parents would like to donate, it would be greatly appreciated, and cheques can be payable to Manitoulin Secondary School.
Students interested in performing have lots of opportunity this month. Mr. Theijsmeijer is preparing the Spring Talent Show. Students interested in performing in the talent show can sign-up with Mr. Theijsmeijer. SHARE/Go Green is holding a May 4 coffee house to raise money to donate to WE. Org projects in Kenya and community or student performers can talk to Ms. Wilson.
Hopefully, April will bring better weather and fun events for MSS. ‘Til next time, stay golden, Mustangs.
