Hillelian Vlogs!

Thanks to an idea courtesy of our fellow student Alexander Brewster, Brooke and I have decided we're gonna make vlogs! I mean what's a blog without some regular videos? Videos... on a blog.... blog posts in video form...video blogs... vlogs, duh.

So, Brooke and I have come together and made our plan of action. We'll be posting monthly vlogs at the end of each month, summing up anything and everything that happened concerning Hillel during that month. So, videos we take of assemblies, classes, school events, sporting events, clubs will be mashed up into one big vlog that we'll post at the end of each month.

But we want your help and input, we want these videos to be something you look forward to watching, so what better way to do that than have you send in videos or pictures you take yourselves...funny videos or pictures of your friends at school, funny things that happen in class, during school or at different school or class activities. Send them in secretly, don't let them know and when we post it you'll all be dying of laughter all over again.

Sounds good right? So, look out for the first one next week friday summing up the past two terms, and after Easter we'll start the end-of-the-month vlogs!


Alysia

Peer Counsellor Advice Post #1 - Bullying

To this day... 

Everyday, people all around the world are bullied. It can result in serious emotional or physical pain. So before you do or say something mean, think, what if someone did that to you? Also, if you are aware of someone being bullied, speak up! Tell a teacher, a parent, a friend, or just anyone that you know you can trust. We have the power to stop bullying, one step at a time.

The video above is the original video, with all the animation and transitions but this is another version from a TED talk that the poet, Shane Koyczan, did recently. Let's you really hear his voice, and see his expressions...shows you his true feeling. Yes, I cried quite a bit. 

Racquel Thwaites, Ashlee Touzalin and Leah Brown - our peer counsellors in training! 

Congrats to the new Student Council Executive Body! So what's next?

As I would normally say, "new Student Council Exec body in the House!"

About a month ago, a new Student Council Executive body was voted in here at Hillel Academy, school of democracy and universal student suffrage. As you all should know, the entire student body voted and decided that you really can't go 'wong' with Megan Wong. Congratulations again, Megan! 

Because we know it takes some time to get used to the new leadership position and responsibilities involved - we gave our new Student Council president, Megan Wong, some time before interviewing her about what's to come for the SC!

1. Who is in the new executive body?

President - Megan Wong

Vice President - Jodi Chung 

Secretary - Bradley Chen See 

Assistant Secretary - Kieran Cousins

Treasurers - Julia Foote and Kathrina Dabdoub

Upper Coordinators - Suhaas Romani, Shania Gloudon

Lower Coordinators - Ally Fatta, Arianna Dabdoub

2. How do you feel being the new president of the council, especially about making a name for yourself in the club seeing as a new member?

Firstly, I'm extremely honored to have been voted as President out of so many worthy opponents and I feel as if I can really make a change in my year as Student Council President. Of course making that change would require me to be liked by the council members so I really I feel as though they respect me and value my suggestions. I think campaigning through the election period really helped me  in the "making a name for myself" part. I walk around the school and most kids greet me with a smile, wave or say 'Hey' and it really makes me feel welcomed.

3. How has the council responded to you being president, how have the meetings gone so far? 

In our first meeting Jodi and I worked together to run it. It was my first time running one, of course, but I felt like I was in control. I had Jodi by my side and we work really well together in terms of keeping the council in order and initiating discussions. I felt like the council really engaged in the discussion and  new sense of order was brought to the meeting which I hadn't witnessed before. I guess Jodi and I really do make a great team!

4. As president what are your personal goals for the upcoming year? 

Personally, I'd really like to cover the walk ways that aren't sheltered during the rain and become a part of the National Secondary Students' Council. But a pressing matter expressed by the student body is the speed of the internet. I know the school has been trying to fix this (covering the walkways) but perhaps adding a little more persistence to the requests will show them how urgent this issue really is. I really want to make the student council a bit more prevalent and noticed in the school by increasing the number of meetings we have, as well as the number of projects. Our main focus however, is really just improving the school in any way we can. Though we haven't planned out every activity we plan to pursue, Jodi and I have great expectations and plans for the coming year. 

5. What are the recent happenings in SC? What are the new projects the council is planning for the upcoming months and what problems are they planning on addressing?

Well, we were recently asked by the PTA to promote the party Frenzy but difficulties with that arose so it was postponed. With that in mind, we have been discussing new ways to promote and even new types of fundraisers in general, ideas such as a family barbecue or a party with a different theme are among those in the mix.  Although that isn't exactly our project we do want to help in the process as much as we possibly can. Another idea which my vice president, Jodi and I thought would benefit the school is installing a suggestion box in a central location. We know its hard for you guys to remember your suggestions for us until your student council representative asks or you have the oppurtunity to tell them, so we feel this may be a great way for us to get your opinions as soon as possible.  

President Megan Wong and Vice President Jodi-Ann Chung! 

Unfortunately our Vice President wasn't here for this picture session, but here is the current Executive Body minus the Vice President, Jodi-Ann Chung!

Left to right: Kathrina Dabdoub, Julia Foote, Shania Gloudon, Megan Wong, Bradley Chen-See, Ally Fatta, Suhaas Ramani

Alysia

Interhouse Water Polo!

On Friday, March 1, 2013, Hillel Academy hosted its annual Inter-House Water Polo competition. This gave students, parents and teachers the pleasure of yet again cheering their various houses as the members of Maccabees, Sinai, Carmel and Masada were given the opportunity to showcase their skills in the pool.

The competition took the form of a Round-Robyn – every team played against each other and then the points were tallied. The team with the most wins won the overall competition. The competition proceeded as follows:

Carmel 2 vs Sinai 4

Maccabees 6 vs Masada 2

Masada 0 vs Carmel 3

Sinai 3 vs Maccabees 4

Carmel 1 vs Maccabees 3

Masada 0 vs Sianai 3

The goal scorers in the Competition were:

·      Jacob Adam

·      Adam Chin

·      Alex Cassali

·      Nicholas Chen

·      Steven Duhaney

·      Joel Fletcher

·      O’brien Francis

·      Zachary Jardine  

·      Max Murphy

·      Blake Nash

·      Timothy Skyers

·      Joshua Wright

At the end of the day, 1^st place went Maccabees, 2^nd place went to Sinai, 3^rd place went to Carmel and 4^th place went to Masada. Congratulations to everyone on a job well done! Thank you for your support and good luck to all houses in the next set of events coming our way: The 3K Road Race, Cheerleading and the ultimate showdown- Sports Day!

Timothy Skyers 

Peer Counselling Advice Column Coming Soon!

What's a newsletter without an advice column?

Every newspaper has one, it's like a pre-requisite to having a successful newsletter... so I guess the Hillelian's a bit behind huh? 

Not for long! Starting this week we'll be having weekly/bi-weekly posts filled with advice, motivation, positive thinking and just all round.... I'm not sure what else, but it promises to be something you look forward to reading! The posts will be written by your peer counsellors, your fellow students who know what the real issues among the student body are - whether it's work ethic, confidence, public speaking, different insecurities... These posts will be geared anonymously towards the student body and will hopefully help you through those rough patches.

So look out for the first post coming very,very soon! 

Alysia