The semester is winding down and students have been balancing extracurriculars and academics.
Students’ Council has organized multiple de-stress days for the Mustangs. Thursday, January 18 was teacher look-alike day; Monday, January 22 was a pyjama day; Tuesday, January 23 was anti-stress colouring day; and on Wednesday, January 24 the therapy dogs visited the school to show some love to the students.
On Thursday, January 18, the Mustangs played against Jeneusse-Nord. The juniors lost with a final score of 25-43, and the seniors’ lost with a final score of 42-80. Coach of the senior team, Mr. Trudeau, said, “This was definitely our best game in terms of how we played. We played real basketball.”
On Wednesday, January 17 the Mustangs girls’ volleyball teams travelled to Espanola for a regular NSSSA tournament. The seniors won 3 out of their 4 games, losing only to Elliot Lake. The seniors hope to defeat Elliot Lake at the next tournament so that they can host NSSSA at home.
On Friday, January 19, the MSS boys’ and girls’ hockey teams hosted back-to-back games as a fundraiser to help their friend and former teammate Connor Croft. Admission was two dollars for students and 5 dollars for adults. Following the national anthem, sung by Carissa Holliday, NHL legend Reggie Leach dropped the puck to kick-off the event for the MSS boys’ team versus the Lockerby Vikings at 7 pm. The boys played their hardest and won 4-3. At 8:30 pm the girls’ team played against the Espanola Spartans. The girls played an intense game, tying the game 3-3. The event raised $10,000 and the Espanola girls held a bake sale at their school and raised $100 to support Connor. All the proceeds from the event went to the Croft family.
Manitoulin Secondary School is participating in the Royal Canadian Legion Public Speaking Contest. MSS students who are interested can enter in the Intermediate or Senior division and compete at the Gore Bay Legion on February 15. Public speaking is a valuable experience for young people to develop confidence in public speaking, an important life skill. Students are allowed to choose their own topics for the contest. A 3-5 minute original speech is required for Intermediate students and a 5-7 minute speech for all Senior students. Competitors may be able to advance through Branch, Zone, District levels to the final Provincial Contest. Hopefully the talented speakers at MSS will progress to the Zone and Provincial Championships.
High school students across the Island will be studying hard for their culminating projects and final exams. Good luck, and ‘til next time, stay golden, Mustangs.
