Co-op of the Week
Elise Hodgins
Dunnville

This week’s Co-op of the Week is with Kristin Colbert.  Colbert is a grade 12 student at Dunnville Secondary School and is taking her co-op placement at the Dunnville Veterinary Clinic.  Colbert is very familiar with this co-op setting because she had her co-op placement at the Veterinarian Clinic last year when she was in Grade 11.  When Colbert is at her co-op she has many different responsibilities to the business, but she also has responsibility to get her credit for school.  Colbert also completes assignments for school that show how her placement helps her decide what she wants to do in the future.  When Colbert is at the Vet Clinic she helps the veterinarians by setting up for surgeries.  She also sometimes gives vaccines to rescue animals at the clinic.  Colbert also gets to view some of the surgeries for the different clients’ pets.  “I love viewing the surgeries because I get to learn new things,” said Colbert.  She also gets to get into the lab at the Vet Clinic and view some blood work being done.  At the Dunnville Vet Clinic they treat many animals from dogs and cats to reptiles and birds.  Just recently Colbert has started as an employee at the Dunnville Veterinarian Clinic.  She started on Saturday, December 5, 2009.  As an employee Colbert does many things from answering phones and assisting clients’ with their bills, to taking clients to their specific rooms for their pet’s check-ups.  Colbert is hoping to learn enough from this experience to work in this field and she wants to work her way to become a veterinary technician.  So, if you are visiting the Vet Clinic or taking your pet in for a check-up, don’t forget to say hello to Kristin Colbert!

Jolly Jingle Bonanza
Nicole Denis
Dunnville

And the competition begins! Last week D.S.S. kicked off their annual Jolly Jingle Bonanza Food, Clothing, and Toy drive. The students represented their corresponding homeroom classrooms by earning points for each item they brought in from November 30 to December 11. On each day this past week certain items that the students brought in were worth more points than others. On Monday any clothing item was worth double points and on Tuesday boxed potatoes were worth triple points, with points climbing as the week went on.  Students were further encouraged to participate for first prize, a homeroom breakfast!
Every morning student council played the game "Name That Tune" for some additional points to earn. Student council played a clip of Christmas songs every morning where each class tried to guess what the title of the clip was as well as the artist. Each class received a point for the name of the song and the artist if they guessed correctly. This is only the beginning of the Christmas excitement student council has planned for this year. A door-decorating contest and Red and Green Day were held last week. This week candy grams will be sent out, photos with Santa will be taken, and the school will gather in the gym to watch a Christmas Story! It’s only the beginning of another great Christmas at D.S.S. 

Sears Drama Festival In motion at DSS
Michael D. Woloshyn
Dunnville

All the drama fanatics of Dunnville Secondary School have been practicing a play to present at the Light House Theater in Port Dover. For the past few weeks and the many weeks to come, the students involved in the play have been meeting and practicing in room 110 to prepare for their big presentation during the week of February 20-28. The play was written by a Grade 10 student named Ben Smith. Smith, along with being the one who wrote the play, is also directing and acting in the play. The play is called A Midsummer’s Nightmare and is about a director who is trying to put on a play by William Shakespeare (called A Midsummer’s Night Dream). The only problem is instead of getting the cast he wanted, he got a cast full of people who really don’t know what they are doing. Smith does not want to give too much about his play away and is keeping a surprise ending that you will only know about if you see it. However, he did share his thoughts on it and said, "I feel this play is going to be a good success whether we win or not. After all, it is my first attempt at writing and directing a play.” Good luck Ben and everyone else who is part of the play, and have fun practicing for the upcoming performance in February.

12 Days of Christmas at DSS
Elise Hodgins
Dunnville

The week was full of Christmas Spirit at DSS!  Dunnville Secondary School’ s Student Council put on their 12 Days of Christmas and it started on Thursday, December 3rd.  The 12 Days of Christmas is a 12 day event that Student Council organizes and they put on a new Christmas event everyday.  On Thursday, December 3 it was Red and Green Day.  Many of the students of DSS dressed in their best Red and Green outfits.  Many of the teachers also participated in the event.  “It’s nice to see our school getting in the Christmas Spirit with crazy red and green outfits,” said Paige Fagan who was one of many students that participated in this fun event.  The next event for the 12 Days of Christmas was a Door Decorating Contest which took place on Friday, December 4th.  The Door Decorating Contest is where each class decorates their door with different Christmas decorations.  The doors are then judged by some staff members and a winner is determined.  This year’s second place winner was Mr. Steinbach’s class, and first place was Miss Maciuk’s class.  Other classes also received honorable mention.   These events get everyone into the Christmas Spirit and are fun for all.  The next events that are coming up for the 12 Days of Christmas are Hot Chocolate and Cookies Day and Photos with Santa.  DSS will be full of Christmas Cheer this week. Happy Holidays!  

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Campaign
Nicole Denis
Dunnville

Want to make a child in need dance for joy? Once again this year students from D.S.S. filled shoeboxes with toys, hygiene products and other items to be sent to children in developing countries. D.S.S. sent out 47 overflowing shoeboxes last week to children in need. Last year D.S.S. packed 88 shoeboxes and the goal for this year was to match that number. Mr. Andrew Preston was this year’s campaign organizer as was he is previous years. “Even though we didn’t meet our goal for this year, we were able to send out nearly 50 shoeboxes,” said Preston. He was pleased with the amount of support the campaign received this year.  Items such as toothbrushes, school supplies and toys were packed tightly into every one of the shoeboxes and enough loose items were received to fill over 3 additional boxes.  Preston said, “…we had more than enough.” This Christmas, instead of trying to find the perfect gift for the person who has everything, how about buying a gift for a person who has nothing? It will only take a few minutes and it will hardly cost anything; but, a few simple items like a toothbrush, bar of soap, face cloth, hair brush, candy, school supplies and a few little toys, just enough to fit in a shoe box, can change a child’s life. Good work D.S.S.!

Stress in the Halls of DSS
Michael D. Woloshyn
Dunnville

The students of Dunnville Secondary School have filled the halls with a lot of worrying and stress. The grade 12 Students are mainly the ones who are experiencing the worst of these stressful times, because they are the ones who need to apply to college or university. Along with applying to college and university, the senior students of Dunnville Secondary also have a great deal of homework to deal with, not to mention applying for scholarships. Because many of the grade 12 students, along with a few other senior students, are stressed out, the Suicide Intervention Team decided to run a stress management clinic to help students cope with their stress. The clinic was held on Wednesday, December 2nd, and was open to anyone wanting to sign up. The clinic was held in two separate sessions, one during first period classes and another during the second period classes (both of which filled up quickly). During the sessions the students got to learn how to deal with their stress by learning many ways of how to relax from, and avoid more unwanted stress. A grade 12 student named Justin Rotko said he felt the clinic was a very educational experience that he learned many useful things from. Another clinic will be held next year for people wanting help coping with stress, so any of the students who missed it this year (and are not graduating) will have a chance to experience it next year.

Student of the Week
Dunnville
Karen Bunz

This week it was a tough decision to choose who was going to be the student of the week because there are a lot of people that do so much for Dunnville Secondary School.  It all came down to one person for student of the week, Amanda Visser.  Visser is involved in a lot of clubs and teams throughout the school year.  She has played volleyball and basketball for four years.  She is also into drama and music, participating in the Sears Drama Festival, the Robin Hood play, Arts Night, Vocal group and Band.  Visser is also a part of the Suicide Intervention Team and Student Council.  “I like being on sports teams because it makes school a fun place to be, and gives you the opportunity to make new amazing friends.  If I never played sports or joined any clubs I probably would not have ever met the amazing people at our school,” commented Visser.  Even though school seems to be stressful right now for her, she still holds her head held high and is an enjoyable person to be around.  Visser is trying her hardest to maintain her good average so she can go off to university.  She is planning on going to Brock University for psychology to one day become a child therapist.  Visser is truly an inspiration to her friends and family.  If times get tough she keeps moving forward.  She has a fun, loving personality and can easily get along with anyone.  Visser may have a lot on her plate, like school, sports, homework and work, but she still works hard to be the person she is today.  Keep up the amazing work and never give up!

Working Out in the Weight Cage
Dunnville
Karen Bunz

The weight cage, which is located in the main gym in the balcony, at Dunnville Secondary School, is a place to train, get in shape for a sport or just to workout.  It has a great deal of equipment to use for several different exercises.  You don’t need any experience to workout in the cage.  Mr. Ens, a teacher at DSS, will help you learn how to get into shape or show you how all of the equipment works and what muscles it will work.  Ens can also help train you if you need assistance.  It would be like having your own personal trainer.  The weight cage is open from Monday to Thursday after school, 3:30pm to 4:30pm.  Working out is a great way to stay healthy.  The weight cage is for anyone and everyone who is interested in working out.  If you have a student card you can bring your friends along and workout together.  It is always better if you have someone there with you.  People who love to workout and get serious could compete in power lifting competitions.  It is a low cost of $10.00 a year to workout.  This cost helps cover the cost of replacing cables or broken equipment.  So if you are interested in staying healthy and working out why not see what the weight cage and Mr. Ens can do for you.  Get your dream body you have always dreamed of, or just go out and try it for fun.  For more information and details on the weight cage see Mr. Ens at the High School.  “You are only as strong as your weakest muscle.”