September has everyone back in the swing of things with school starting Sept. 2 and many organizations and events back from the summer hiatus.
Population explosion in area schools! The bells rang and streams of students made their way to area schools Sept. 2, making it official that summer was over and school was back in session. The influx proved to be positive in the majority of schools in our reading area.
St. Peter's Elementary School in Unity is showing 144 students enrolled in K- 6 as well as 39 students in the preschool program, which is an increase from last year for the pre-K program at St. Peter's. The school has 16 kids enrolled in kindergarten, which is down eight students from last year
In addition to the new principal, Tyson Volk, there is a new Grade 5 teacher, Miss Amy Noseworthy who came all the way from Whitehorse, Yukon for her first year of teaching. There are also two new EAs, Sandi Volk and Jordyn Risling.
St. Peter's School is a busy place as all programs are back in action including choir, the AR reading program and cross-country events which started Sept. 4 and will continue to the end of this month with practices and meets. The school is holding a "Back to School" sports day Sept. 14, with food, drink and tons of fun for staff and students.
Unity Public School was a very busy place on opening day showing enrolment numbers up at 231, including students from Pre- K to Grade 6. Due to large class numbers, this year's kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 classes will be split.
As for staff, Mrs. Tyler, the Grade 4 teacher enjoyed their newest family addition this summer and will be on maternity leave. She will be replaced by Janine Komar who arrived from Major. Jenna Pool has moved to one of the Grade 1 classrooms. Reina Leith is the intern in Grade 6. The pre-K teacher will be Sarah Govak from St. Vital School in North Battleford. Sheri Sloboda has taken on one of the Grade 2 classes. New EAs at UPS this year both moved over from UCHS, being Michelle Hayes and Liza Abrams.
UPS kicked off their first week back with an SCC hosted "welcome back" pancake breakfast Sept. 5 in the school courtyard. It was a beautiful morning to enjoy a hot meal and great fellow students, enjoy breakfast with the family and meet and greet all the staff.
UPS students are also into their cross-country season as well as the Earth Savers program and choir.
UPS would like to congratulate Mrs. Therese Robertson, kindergarten teacher, who received her 35-year award with the school division as well as the Anne-Marie Merle Service to children award, which was presented in June at the annual Living Sky School Division banquet.
Unity Composite High School was still counting at the close of opening day at school. Their current registration number sits at 250 students, which is up 15 from last year. In addition to a class of over 54 kids coming into Grade 7, the school saw many new faces.
The hallways were slightly different this year as students no longer have Mrs. Robertson at the helm, having been replaced by Ruth Cey at principal and Ken Parker at vice-principal. UCHS welcomes two new teachers, Karen Harris who arrived from Kitscoty, and Maureen Stang who came from the Macklin area. There will also be two new EAs at the school but the hiring process was not quite complete on opening day.
A new class of Grade 12s will begin their senior year and a near record high class of 55 students will begin their high school life as they migrate from their respective elementary schools into Grade 7.
UCHS sports starts with a bang with Warrior football and volleyball beginning their seasons as soon as school resumed. UCHS has welcome week activities planned for mid-September.
UCHS was pleased to learn 2014 graduate, Alison Kuhn was the recipient of a $20,000/four-year scholarship and summer internship through a program of the co-ops in Saskatchewan. The program called "Excellence in Ag" was won this year by all young women.
So it appears our communities are growing and so are our schools. This is a positive sign for rural communities reflecting that the lifestyle and community culture offered in small-town Saskatchewan is desirable, attracting new families to our towns.
UTEC, the Unity Transitional Education Centre, started classes Sept. 9 in the upstairs boardroom of the Unity Community Resource Centre. Classes run Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. and Wednesday evening from 7 - 10 p.m. U-Tech provides young adults with the opportunity to earn academic credits for graduation requirements in a flexible environment outside a high school building. Contact 306-228-2657 for more details.
Minor hockey registration has taken place and 3-on-3 hockey is slated to begin Sept. 29. Check out the website www.unityminorhockey if you need more details.
Unity Minor Football is also back in action with both flag and tackle divisions on the go. Teams are lined up for a season of skill development taking place in both practices and games. The annual Unity Minor Football Day is slated for Sept. 20 at Warrior Field. There will be a prize table, 50/50 tickets, hot food booth and games all day.
Applications for the annual trade show, taking place Oct. 3 and 4 are being accepted. Contact Irene at 306-228-3702. Fall fair booklets are now available to pick up for these entries.
The Candace Heitt Memorial Run is this Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Unity Golf Course. Registration forms are available at Heitt's Plumbing, CrossFit and Hair Accents. The three-person relay begins at 8 a.m. with all other races to follow. Contact 306-228-7826 for more details.
Here is a unique and fun sounding event upcoming in Unity. The Unity and District Chamber of Commerce is inviting all Unity and area business owners and managers to a networking social Sept. 15. You don't need to be a chamber member to attend. Burgers, salads and refreshments are only $5 with the event starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Adanac Hall on the museum grounds. Contact Helena at 306-228-8780 to reply so they know how much food to prepare for. A great opportunity to mix, mingle and network with fellow business folks.
This event is still in session - the weekly Unity farmers market. If you weren't able to grow a garden this year, or want enjoy some homebaked goodness, make sure to stop by the weekly market, held Thursdays starting at 2 p.m., at the Unity Friendship Centre, directly across from the Unity Credit Union. It features the best of homemade and homegrown products fresh and ready for you to enjoy. Why not check it out this week?
The ALS ice bucket challenge continues to motivate people to action. It has been fun watching numerous individual and group challenges taking place. People are having some harmless fun taking part, and at the same time donating money to a cause that matters, as well as bringing much needed awareness to this disease.
It's not just kids who are jumping back into activities this fall. In Unity adults can sign up for such classes as Pilates, contact 306-228-7838, or CrossFit, contact 306-228-2100. I haven't heard yet about yoga restarting however you can contact the Town of Unity who may have a complete list of classes being offered. As well there are a couple of choices for gyms in town that can be found under the business directory for the Town of Unity.
Again, may I remind folks reading this column from near or far, there are a number of job opportunities listed in our local paper or on the Town of Unity website at www.townofunity.com. Check it out!
Coffee row simply had the biggest smiles and happiest of conversations starting Aug. 28 when it was learned legendary hero, Weston Dressler, was coming back to the Riders! Those smiles grew even wider as the Riders took the Banjo Bowl game, winning their first seven-game in-season winning streak since 1970. However concern is evident for the recovery of Darian Durant.
Harvest predictions and calculations are also busy table topics as the wisdom and experience only known in community coffee tables can assess this year's crop production. You can bet discussion also includes the many activities and organizations that have reconvened this fall. So you see we keep busy in Unity with activities and wisdom from our friends on coffee row. Until next week.
