Bear Blast
For the Week of June 24, 2024
Working together; succeeding together.
For Brandon
My first visit to PPCS, as the newly appointed principal was about this time of year. I had come to meet some of the staff and to get a tour of the building. The staff was having a lunch and asked me to join. A few of us were sitting in the conference room eating (although I can't recall why we were in the conference room) and I was sitting with Barb Baxter, Diane Kistner, and Brandon. I was actually sitting right next to Brandon. He suddenly coughed, which startled me and made me jump. After that he could not stop giggling. I remember that he laughed and laughed, taking great joy in the fact that he had made me jump. That was the start of what would be 11 years of amazing and extraordinary experiences with Brandon.
When you were in Brandon's presence, it took only a few seconds to recognize his amazing (although mischievous personality). Brandon could convey so very much with his eyes, he had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to have a good laugh. One of his favorite things was when a teacher would scold another student, he took great pleasure in that. Brandon loved to attend pep rallies and greatly enjoyed it when the crowd would get amped up and loud. He loved to smile and laugh and his laugh was infections. One day this year, we were having a lockdown drill. Brandon, Mrs. Henry, and the grade 10 Bear Bites crew, and myself found ourselves in the back pantry, waiting quietly for the RCMP to walk around to see how we had done at being quiet and still. Brandon, on the other hand found the situation hilarious and started to laugh. In laughing, a noise, that I can only describe as a goose honking, started to come out of his trach. This made the students giggle, which in turn, made him laugh harder. This of course caused him to honk louder, which only fed into the mayhem. Mrs. Henry tried very hard to get him to be quiet, but there was no stopping it, by the end were all laughing (definitely failed the lock down drill).
Brandon loved to be around his fellow students, and his fellow students loved to be around him. Everywhere he went, he spread joy. There would almost always be someone, staff or student chatting with Brandon and giving his hand a squeeze. He loved to visit with Mr. Hamelin, always cracking a big smile when he heard his voice. I said earlier that Brandon showed his emotion with his eyes. He could very quickly let you know if was not happy about something and often would express his distaste for Mondays. If Brandon felt the conversation needed to end, he would simply pretend to sleep. There were eye rolls and side eyes like any other grade 11 student. When Brandon was happy, you knew it, when he was not happy, you also knew it.
Brandon was lucky enough to have some amazing supports over the years, Diane Kistner, Karla Kwiatkowski, and Lisa Henry were his direct supports, while Gwen Levick, Shari Boutin, CJ Binkley, Angela Althouse, Mayleen Sabayton, and Jylene Newberry also supported him throughout the years. One thing they all shared was that working with Brandon, although challenging at times, was the single most rewarding work they had every done. Brandon had many needs, but he gave back far more that he every took. Brandon taught us so much about perseverance and acceptance. He showed us that differences not only should be celebrated, but that they were the source of super powers. Brandon made our school better, by just being there. Our students learned that there was so much more to Brandon that outward appearance; a truly amazing life lesson. Our students learned that so much could be said without words. Brandon did not judge and he was an amazing listener. Many, many younger students were happy to read to Brandon or to share their work with him and he loved it. Brandon loved it when I teased him about not pulling his weight when Bear Bites made lunches (we made him supervisor), but we learned that he loved to crush the chips for taco salad, so that was his job. It didn't matter what he did, just being there made the experience better for all of us.
Our halls will not be the same, his absence has left a void in our school family. We will miss him a great deal, but are so very grateful for the time we got with him and so very thankful that his family shared him with us. Thank you Brandon, for teaching us all so much, for being such an amazing and important member of our school community, and for being our resident super hero.
Looking for Coaches
Bears Athletics is looking for coaches for the upcoming school year, mainly Sr. Boys Basketball and an assistant for Sr Girls Volleyball but if you are interested in others let us know. Please contact Mr. Bloski for details.
Can You Guess What I Am
Each week, Mr. Mielke will post a pic of a strange object. Submit your answers of what you think it is to ppcs@nesd.ca. All the correct answers will be put into a draw for a weekly prize.
Last week's winner was Mitch Kiehn
This week, can you identify this toy that was popular in the early 90s?
Around PPCS
Greenwater Days
Grade 9 Games of Chance
Grade 5 Wax Museum
The grade 5 students chose a famous person and researched them. They presented their research in the form of a wax museum, taking on the role of their famous person.
Grade 5 Science - Reaction Time
Around the Community
Swimming Lessons
Larwood Shaw Memorial Pool is very happy to be able to offer swimming lessons this summer. Several local youth have completed the needed training to be instructors and are ready to get going. To register visit https://forms.gle/g8BkbjUfjPFLryPXA.
Next Staff vs. Student is
Family Calendar
Volunteers and Athletes of the Month
Volunteer of the Month
Autum and JR get the nod in our final month of recognition. A huge thanks for them for keeping the athlete picture board updated and helping out with an odd job now and then to keep Bears Athletics rolling. Best wishes to Autum as she leaves us this year and we are sure you will leave your own mark on Athletics.
Athletes of the Month
Harleigh Pohl
Harleigh is a no brainer for our Athlete of the month with her strong performance at Nessac track. I was only able to watch from a distance but she flat out smoked her competition in the 100 and 200m. She also physically dominated long and triple jump. She is very motivated and works very hard at practice and on her own so we are not surprised of her accomplishments. Keep up the training Harleigh and good luck in Stoon.
Breanne Strnad
Breanne Strnad is new to Bears Athletics but as proven to be very goal oriented and dedicated. She is in the gym jumping whenever she can and takes her practice and performance very seriously. With her work ethic she will be one to watch in the future as she will only continue to improve. Great attitude Breanne.
Hot Lunches
Check Your Punch Card Balance
Please note, as we get used to this new system, please be aware that punch card balances may be up to 1 week behind.
Once you click the link below and find your child's account number, you will see a number to the left of their account number (i.e. 17). That number will not change, so you only have to remember that number going forward.
We hope that this will help our families.