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Week one

Earth Day At WJ Mouat Secondary School

Earth day is a special day world wide to help better understand and keep our planet a safe haven, for everyone underneath our planets atmosphere. Raising awareness about our earth’s safety and health is an increasingly growing activity, but before Earth Day was a date on our calendar the word “environment” was simply a word that was occasionally heard about in a spelling bee, not on the daily news. The first Earth day ranges way back to 1969 when five months before the first April 22 nd Earth Day the New York Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on the rising tide of environmental events. Each year, the April 22 nd Earth Day, marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

This time of year at WJ Mouat Secondary School is a busy and somewhat stressful time; so thinking about little things like “our planet” seems to be more of a difficult task then would be expected. Amongst the prepping for provincial exams, getting grad transitions completed before the due date, booking hair appointments for prom, and worrying about which type of transportation to rent for the grad walk, our planet is currently in turmoil. The students at Mouat need to take a stand, and on April 22 nd they showed signs of effort that if completed everyday, would save us all in the long run. As the morning announcements bellowed through the halls of our school, teachers and students among us turned off the lights and the overheads, and waited patiently in the dark for the daily reports to be finished. As most classrooms do not work through the announcements, the extra florescent lights beaming down at us at this time, is both unnecessary and hard on the eyes first thing in the morning. Students were encouraged to wear green to show their support to this special day, and many of us did. Upon entering the library there were strange green footprints, leading from the entrance. A sign above them read “measure your ecological footprints.” The idea getting across that the bigger your foot is, the more harmful you are to the planet. Of course this event does not do anything to save our planet; it does help to raise awareness to just how serious our earth is in danger. Although these small events may somewhat seem insignificant, they are more then a lot of people completed during this day. And if this was not impressive enough…I have heard rumors that Mouat is putting on an “Earth Week” later on before the end of this school year.

Pollution is embedded in our eco-system; floating in the air that we continually use and take for granted everyday. Although something as simple as turning the lights off when they are no longer needed or turning the faucet off while brushing your teeth in the morning, may not seem like this would save our world in even the slightest. In reality, if everyone in the world participated in earth friendly activities then it would be clear to us that our planet would no longer be in as much of a mess. Our planets health is not a laughing matter, and people young and old can do little steps to insuring that our earth stays a safe place to live in. So amongst the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the end of school year, think smart and think environment friendly.

By Michelle Huish

Week Two

Glow With The Flow

Driving past WJ Mouat Secondary last Thursday night, a faint neon glow could be seen illuminating from the windows and doors. The steady pounding of the dance music could be heard from miles away, and the excitement of the upcoming night, was rising. Black lights were spread throughout the cafeteria, which resulted in each student glowing florescent and bright as they swayed to the music. For all of us this was the last dance of the year, and for the grade 12s, this was the last school dance of their high school careers. Upon talking to a few grade 12 girls, I found out their exact feelings towards their last high school dance. It started out like any other school dance, groups of people dancing in the gym to mixed English and Punjabi music, although it may not have been any different than the other dances, for the grade 12s, it was. Knowing that this was their last dance, the seniors made it the best dance they have ever attended throughout the past four years. Constant jokes and laughs were shared between friends, and the excitement in the air was continually rising. As the night grew on, the sweet melody of the slow dances started to ring out through the air. The seniors began to confide in each other and gather in their groups of friends, that they have grown to know over their teenage years. Now the realization came upon them, they will no longer be considered teenagers for much longer, and their adulthood was coming to a beginning. Eyes began to brim with tears as they remembered all the good and the bad times they have shared together, and as the music played they began to think about their future. Will they lose touch with each other, or will they forever be friends and attend each other’s future weddings and baby showers? Even though we can say now that we will never lose touch with our best friends, life after high school is a long and busy journey, and sometimes it cannot be helped. Where will we be in ten years? Living in some exotic country helping the poor? Or maybe, living in a small house in the city, with a partner and 3 children. Whatever our lives may lead us, this is our time to shine and show the world that we are the future generation to make a difference in our world. So as for many of us this was just another school dance, but for the grade 12s it will be remembered forever as the last big event (besides prom on May 23 rd) during our high school careers. This dance will forever be cherished and remembered in every senior’s heart. And for those seniors that did not attend this dance for whatever reason, prom night will be just that much more memorable.

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On other news the excitement is rising and the tension is building among WJ Mouat’s seniors as prom vastly approaches. In exactly 25 days we will be on the dance floor dressed to the hilt in our expensive beautiful dresses and tuxes, and ready to enjoy that one last party before entering the “real world.” Hair appointments are being made at the last minute, transportation to the school for the hawk walk are scrambling to be made, and even alterations on the fitting of our outfits are being planned. Although the pressure is on to get everything just right before May 23 rd, somehow it will work itself out and prom night will be perfect.