As the Grads are piped into the Closing Ceremony for the penultimate time and the Grade 10’s are gearing up to write their final provincial exams, the alluringly luxurious, long days of Summer are upon us. But before we can laze around without the encumbrance of responsibility, the Grads have to quite literally and metaphorically walk into the next stage of their lives. With Commencement and Grad Ball in the next week, the transition into a new era of life is thrust onto us. With people heading across the globe, it is perhaps our final time to come together as a class and champion the cohesion of familiarity that we have built.
The 2015-2016 school year was spectacular. Cavaliers rose the bar of excellence in all Strands! Not only did this year mark many new athletic records and academic accolades, but it was also a year brimming with artistic exploration and countless successful service initiatives.
Of note in Athletics were the numerous provincial banners that the Cavaliers brought home this year – a record breaking 5! The Senior Boys Basketball Team brought home the provincial banner for the first time in Cavalier history, the Senior Field Hockey Team won gold at provincials, the Ski Team brought back two champion banners, and the Senior Tennis Team won yet another Provincial Championship (their 10th Gold in 11 years)!
The Arts at Collingwood were also thriving this year! From the inaugural Gradual Exit Art Opening, to the Se4sons Dance Show, to the Dining Room play, to the Vanishing Point Art Exhibition, there was a continuous showcase of students’ artistic abilities for us to marvel at!
In Academics, Collingwood students continued to perform at the top! In the sciences, Jason Liang of Grade 11 was invited to a national Chemistry Competition where he placed amongst the top 10 in the nation, and Eva Cai of grade 11 won Bronze at the Canada Wide Science Fair. This year also marked students’ involvement in national debate competitions as well as a group of keen economics students performing superbly at the Harvard Economics Competition. The Grads’ placements into top universities across the US, Canada and UK were also a testament to the caliber of Cavalier academics.
The numerous Service initiatives this year were also a highlight! Roundsquare ran fundraisers to help international causes, organized the Hunger for Change fast, as well as did an amazing job with environmental awareness during earth week. Backpack Buddies continued to be a success at Collingwood, donating much-needed food bags to underprivileged children on the Downtown Eastside.
On another note, we also wanted to take this chance to thank the Ad Verum team for putting us in charge and allowing us to run the bustling behind-the-scenes machine of a publication. We have had a fantastic year of growth with over 50 published articles and counting, and the addition of numerous new instrumental members that have helped to kickstart the paper into full gear. We look forward to hearing about the growth in the future! In the 2015/2016 year alone, we introduced a new initiative, backed by Lucas Philipp, “Coffee House,” that allowed students across the board to dabble in the performing and literary arts in any creative way they wanted. Furthermore, we introduced the Ad Verum podcast, run by Samir Damji, and with the coordination of Simon Finnie and Annalise Wood, we made Ad Verum public on social media (follow our Instagram!) Although we are only fleeting members of the club, Ad Verum will surely live on to become immortalized as part of Collingwood.
Ad Verum has been a fantastic avenue to advocate for student interests and an excellent source of information from current events to sporting outcomes. We have been honoured to serve as co-Editor-in-Chief’s and will definitely be checking in in the future!
You can find Emily next year at the University of Toronto’s Trinity College and Kristine at Harvard University.
By: Kristine Falck and Emily Larman