With March in full swing let鈥檚 hope that means spring is increasingly closer than we could possible wish for as it鈥檚 time for winter to say goodbye for this year.
It鈥檚 a big weekend in Saskatchewan with two of the favorite Television events taking place. Telemiracle 39 runs its annual 20 hour telethon starting Saturday at 9 p.m. and I know there are many who seek to nest up for the weekend and watch as much of that telethon as they can; cheering on the success stories and entertainment along the way.
The Brier is into its final weekend and curling enthusiasts will be glued to the playoffs to see who will be our next Canadian men鈥檚 curling champion. Of course, after a visit to the Unity Curling Club by Team Laycock, who hosted a junior clinic here, additional fans gained in Unity will be cheering loud and proud for Team Saskatchewan, represented by Team Laycock.
Congratulations to the junior girls鈥� curling team who sailed through district playdowns undefeated to capture district gold. After capturing double gold at district playdowns, UCHS was also cheering loud for their senior boys鈥� and girl鈥檚 curling teams who were competing at regionals Feb. 27 and 28. Congratulations to Kyla Van de Meutter, Heather Wood, Robyn Sperle, Megan Babchuk and coach Kyla Snell on a well-played event earning them a spot at high school provincial playdowns this weekend in Prince Albert. Badminton season is in the beginning stages and track and field season will begin early April with indoor practices.
St. Peter鈥檚 school has one very busy March that includes the second reporting period, wrapping up a school fundraiser and preparing for oratory and music festival. As well, teachers and students have been busy learning a variety of new outcomes in many different experiences both inside and outside of the classroom. March 10 the school will host oratory night at 7 p.m. This is a great opportunity for the students to develop their public speaking and memorization abilities. March 17 is St. Patrick鈥檚 Day and staff and students are encouraged to wear their green to experience the 鈥渓uck 鈥榦 the Irish.鈥� Report cards come out March 16 with student led conferences taking place March 18 and 19 from 4 鈥� 7 p.m. In addition to the student led conferences, the school will host the March Book Fair. March 19, Father Greg will lead the students and staff in a day of adoration.
Grade 2 students at St. Peter鈥檚 School are continuing their preparation for the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation. As they embark on this wonderful journey growing in faith and love they will focus on stories leading to Easter.
The school community council wants St. Peter鈥檚 families to 鈥渟ave the date鈥� as they are hosting a family dance and silent auction April 17 from 7 鈥� 10 p.m. with proceeds to the school for various projects. Former principal Dan Wilgenbusch and his friends will feature the live music. Come out for an evening of fun and fellowship. Families need to RSVP by April 2.
Also upcoming in April is the school portion of the Unity Music Festival being hosted in St. Peter鈥檚 gym on Wednesday, April 22. This event will include class entries in choral speaking, chorus and mixed ensemble as well as the talents of the Grade 3 鈥� 6 choir under the direction of Mrs. Keller. Another bonus is the different band entries featuring solos, duets, small groups and the large Grade 5 and 6 band. The Grade 1 and 4 classrooms will also be performing at the festival. This is a wonderful opportunity for many of the children to practice and perform both musically and in choral speaking.
Congratulations to Sydney Greenwald in Grade 3. Sydney submitted a colored poster in the annual Remembrance Day Legion competition and won first place at the local, zone and district levels. From there her poster was sent to the provincial level and again took first place. Her poster continues on to the dominion level in Ottawa. Good job to Sydney on this wonderful accomplishment! The school and local legion are very proud of her representation of St. Peter鈥檚 School and Unity and we wish her the best of luck at the Dominion level.
The return from school break at Unity Public School also means a whirlwind of activity that includes practices for upcoming music festival, more division curling for Grades 4, 5 and 6 as well as stepping into the next paces of their curriculum. UPS also has some upcoming spirit days to keep the fun in the hallways. Grade 6 students are completing their fundraising efforts for their year-end field trip to celebrate their years at UPS before they move on to the high school. The second report cards will be out soon.
At Unity Composite High School let鈥檚 just say 鈥渢here鈥檚 a whole lot of shaking going on!鈥� Grade 12s have applied for post-secondary schools and are working on their scholarship applications. The next step at UCHS is three-way conferences to discuss their results, a job shadow in a career of interest, portfolio updates and a mock interview process. Grade 10s are updating and adding to career portfolios while Grade 9s are beginning their career portfolios and are looking forward to 鈥渢ake your kid to work day.鈥�
To celebrate French Second-Language Education Week in Saskatchewan, Ms. Riddell planned some fun activity for students. This year鈥檚 theme was 鈥淗ow does French come alive in your school?鈥� or 鈥淐omment fais-tu vivre le fran莽ais dans ton 茅cole?鈥� To celebrate this week, albeit a little early, there was a French winter carnival on Jan. 28. The Grade 9 students from UCHS, after learning about the carnival in their French classes, planned and ran this event for the UPS students. The Grade 9 students did a fabulous job of being activity leaders for seven different activities during the course of the morning, which included a craft, music, dancing, hockey, an obstacle course, a bean bag toss game and a food break. Students also got to have their pictures taken with Bon-homme, the snowman mascot, using the green screen. Great fun was had by all.
With junior basketball over, senior basketball is in the tail end of their seasons as they prepare for districts and conferences playoffs hoping to earn a provincial berth. Senior basketball will hold a tournament and dance this weekend including the official 鈥減ink game鈥� Saturday at noon with proceeds going towards the Canadian Cancer Society. Come out for burger or come out to support the cause, it will be a great game featuring senior girls vs senior boys.
That鈥檚 not all at UCHS as the travel club is just weeks away from their trip to Spain and Morocco, while also already planning for the next excursion to Costa Rica with meetings of the early planning stages underway. The regional drama festival and spring production for the drama club is only five weeks away so the drama club students are in high gear preparing for these events. And, the next phase of the @UCHSActivate campaign is 鈥淗ey Dude, Include!鈥� Watch their twitter account for all the latest updates on this great campaign.
This weekend the Unity Skating Club holds their final showcase event for their season with the year-end Ice Carnival tonight in the theme of 鈥淪ummer.鈥� Tickets are available at the door and skaters appreciate the fan support as they showcase their season of learning. Program begins at 7 p.m. so make sure and get a seat early as this event often fills up quickly.
You can be sure the Unity Curling Club will have the Brier on the big screens in their lounge. This weekend, the curling club takes a small breather from their many weeks of bonspiel events thus far. Up next for the club is the annual Bramiche Farm Ladies鈥� Open starting March 13 running through the weekend. Please register at the club at 306-228-2212 as an individual or as a team. League curlers are in the final leg of their season as well. The last event of the season at the UCC will be the year-end fun spiel running March 20 and 21.
The Daffodils are coming. This is a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society and orders will need to be in by Wednesday, March 11 so watch for order forms coming to your business as well as posters and contact information around town.
It鈥檚 that time of year that Christians begin the season of Lent. Churches in Unity will once again hold the Lenten Luncheon series that started March 5 at the Anglican Church, followed by March 12 at Unity United Church, March 19 at St. Peter鈥檚 Catholic Church finishing up on March 26 at the Baptist Church. Everyone is welcome to attend this short worship service as well as enjoying fellowship over lunch. There will be an offering basket at each event.
The annual 鈥淲ay of the Cross Walk鈥� will once again take place Good Friday April 3 beginning at 10 a.m. starting at Unity United Church and ending with hot chocolate and hot cross buns at the Anglican Church hall. Everyone is welcome to journey the Stations of the Cross together.
The annual Ducks Unlimited Banquet and Auction is set for Saturday, March 21 at the Unity Community Centre. Tickets are available from Bill Fraser or Cinema Satellite.
The Unity Wildlife Federation will be running firearm safety classes starting March 31. Applications are available at the Unity Schools and the RM of Round Valley or by calling Merv Bosch at 306-228-2248.
Coffee row folks certainly are chatting up the two biggest events this weekend that include Telemiracle and the Brier finale. Weather draws many sighs as well as accompanying theories of what鈥檚 next as far as winter and potential spring and its much anticipated arrival. As consistent as the cup of coffee they enjoy, reviewing life in their community and in their province is part of what these folks do and their wisdom and laughter offers plenty of smiles by those who experience it. No matter what side of the story topic these folks are on, one can always be reassured that they will reconvene again tomorrow. So you see we keep busy in Unity with activities and wisdom from our friends on coffee row. Until next week.
