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Wednesday, December 13, 2006 · Page 14 Maplewood Tiger Tales BY GRACE TESKEY Students at Holy Name School participate in an Advent Wreath Blessing ceremony Dec. 5. Holy Name Hawk Happenings The Christmas season has officially begun! On Dec. 5, staff and students gathered in the gymnasium to participate in an Advent wreath blessing ceremony, orchestrated and organized by Grades 8M and 8U. With Father Larry officiating, students learned about the true meaning of Christmas and the importance of the Advent season. After being blessed in this special ceremony, Advent wreaths were placed on prayer tables located in each classroom. The ceremony also ended on a high note as students in Grades 6FM and 6LM treated all those in attendance to a beautiful liturgical dance appropriate for the season. The main message conveyed through this dance was of the coming of Emmanuel and that we should "slow down to listen and slow down to hear" of all of His goodness. Congratulations to the Grade 6's on a job well done! Their fluid and meaningful movements and sincerity were seen and felt throughout the room. The school community thanks you for your wonderful performance. A big thank you goes out to all those who participated in the ceremony - especially to the Grade 8 students and teachers for their organization of and leadership in this event, HNS Mission Club representatives from each classroom who were a part of the opening procession, and the Grade 6 students who ended the ceremony with a lovely and heartfelt liturgical dance. It's that time of year again. Mr. Bondy's grade 7 class raffle was held again this year. Every year around this time, Mr. Bondy's grade 7 students raffle off an entire gingerbread village. It is made by Mrs. Bondy. All of the profits are used to buy presents for the less fortunate children in our community. "It's cool. The money goes to a good cause," says grade 5 student Tamsin. The tickets were sold for a week in the front hallway and directly to the classrooms. This year's lucky winner was Matthew Krutsch. Not only did he win the village but there was a special surprise in one of the houses. The grade seven students purchased toys at the Home Hardware in Essex and donated them to the Salvation Army for distribution. Thank you to all those who contributed to this good cause by purchasing tickets. Thanks also to Essex Home Hardware for their support. by Melanie Boissonneault and Amanada Desjardins The wheels on the bus go round and round...and the bus takes you to the Walkerville Institute for the Arts in Windsor. On Thursday, November 23 the grade 7 and 8 classes from Maplewood went to see the play, "The Diary of Anne Frank" performed by attending students Walkerville. The play was approximately two hours long. This emotional play about the Holocaust was based on a true story. After the play the students, teachers and chaperones had lunch at McDonalds. We would like to thank everyone for making this field trip possible. A special thanks goes out to all of our chaperones. BY NICOLE NANTAIS AND VICKI VAN GENT Maplewood has been busily preparing for the Christmas holidays. Many events have already taken place and many more are planned. The first to take place was our cookie dough fundraiser for the music programme. Mr. Hencher and Mrs. Blencoe would like to thank all those who supported this fundraiser to help keep our music programme strong. Our annual winter concert is taking place on Wednesday, December 13. Students from grades 3 to 5 and the STEPS programme have been working to put on a great production. The Concert Band and smaller groups have been practising their Christmas music. Mrs. Blencoe, our vocal music teacher, is preparing the choir to sing beautifully at the concert. There is a Christmas play called "Special Delivery". A letter carrier has to make many Christmas deliveries and is overwhelmed by the number of packages to be delivered. Each package means something special and a lesson is learned by all. This should be a great show. There will also be other performances as well. We are looking forward to having a huge audience. Canned goods for the Essex Food Bank will be collected the night of the concert as well. Last but not least is our annual canned food drive. Our goal is for each student to bring in at least one can to place under our Christmas tree in the front foyer. All of this food will be donated to the Essex Food Bank to help families in our community. For each can a student brings in, 25 points will be awarded to their house team. We can't wait to see how many cans Maplewood can bring in this holiday season. Have a happy and safe 2006 holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Maplewood staff and students. Red Raider News BY KYLE WALKER SPECIAL TO THE FREE PRESS On Nov. 6 the wrestling team competed in the Riverside Novice Wrestling Tournament. Naomi Gagne won three straight matches and won the gold medal in her weight division. Brittney Grondin took silver in the division. For the boys, Kevin McGuire won the silver medal in his weight division and Mitchell Cameron won the bronze medal. The senior boys' basketball team defeated Herman in their first game of the season Dec. 7. The Raiders took control of the whole game and finished with a score of 59-43. The senior girls' opened their volleyball season Dec. 7. They played and defeated Herman with three straight sets. The game scores were 25-18, 25-19, and 25-18. The junior girls' volleyball team opened their season as well on Dec. 7. They also played and defeated Herman with three straight sets. The scores were 2521, 16-1, and 25-14. The girls are making a strong entrance into their first year at the AAA/AAAA division. For the first time in Sun Parlor Junior School News BIG SALE We now accept HEATING & COOLING FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER ORDER EARLY FOR CHRISTMAS WE ARE HAVING A YOUR ENERGY EFFICIENCY STORE! 21% OFF Sun Parlor Junior School recently hosted a Scholastic Book Fair. Many students and parents came to add exciting new books to their home libraries. Every dollar spent at the fair added up to new books for our library ­ $781.14 in new books in fact! Brandon Bechard in 2C was the winner of $25 in books, as was his classroom teacher, Mr. Grant. Special thanks to Mr. Mike Costin, Mrs. Jodi Penner, and Mrs. Judi Wijngaarden for helping to run the fair. Raider basketball history, Kelsey Balkwill was named AAA/AAAA league MVP by the referees association. Kelsey was acknowledged for demonstrating excellent offensive as well as defensive skills. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 12 Month No Payment, No Interest Financing. 10 year warranty on parts and labour. *Certain Conditions apply. See store for details. Gift Certificates Available for the person that has everything We have Sweet Christmas Baskets, Candles & Gifts. Essex County's Finest Sweetener. Spread it Around. 32D Arthur Ave., Essex ON N8M 2M9 Come In & Pick Up a FREE Energy Savings Kit E-mail: sx_craig@yahoo.ca 519-776-4021 238 E County Rd 14 Hours: Mon. to Sat. 9-5 519-839-4000 Call Abe 919-0157 or 325-0733 FREE ESTIMATES