With the start of a new school year on Tuesday the new Student Leadership Council (SLC) co-Presidents at Ecole St. Marry are looking to bring back traditions.
Cruickshank said the pair have set about bringing back traditions from the past to the school and use these traditions to bring the school together. He said students were very separated going into Grade 9 and 10, so this year they’re bringing back older traditions, like Souls Week, which is named after All Souls Day.
“Because we were all very separated going into Grade 9 and 10,” Cruickshank said.
One example that they have thought about is Souls Week, which is named after All Souls Day on Nov. 2.
“St Mary’s used to have this games week, those called Souls Week, and many years ago, they stopped doing it before COVID. We have heard about it from a few different teachers and it’s definitely like a school pride event (or) school spirit event where groups form and teachers kind of take charge of the groups and compete in games,” Cruickshank explained. “We were told that it kind of brings the school together.”
Groups could be clubs, friend groups or sports teams.
“Everyone is working together, bringing it all together in this one big week, and that’s what we kind of want,” Cruickshank added.
Malenfant said he heard about the event from his father who was also part of St. Mary’s SLC and organized a Souls Week.
“He kind of reintroduced me about and then me and Evan started talking about it,” Malenfant explained.
This year’s Grade 12 class started Grade 9 in 2021 and began school secluded to classrooms for three hours a day and not interacting with other students because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Malenfant said they took being able to interact with their fellow students for granted. He’s hopeful new SLC events like Souls Day can help bring that back.
“If there’s an opportunity, I’m going to take it because at the beginning of high school, there was nothing,” he explained. “There was just, ‘you go to school, you go home.’ Now, there’s so many things. There are clubs after school and we just are able to cherish that innocence of teenage years.”
Cruickshank agreed and said they want to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.
“It felt going into Grade 10 like we were still in Grade 9 in a way, because we didn’t get to see much of the school or experience it for the most part we still felt we were like we were new at the school,” Cruickshank said.
There will be a few other unexpected changes for St. Mary students this school year. The school was damaged by the June flood in downtown Prince Albert and the Lecture Theatre was damaged. Cruickshank is involved behind the scenes and Malenfant is involved on the stage with Upstage Productions.
Both students said there is still some uncertainty as to what will be happening with drama.
“We have no idea. I mean I’ve heard little tidbits from friends from across the city that I have done other drama productions with but I’m still unsure,” Malenfant said.
As of right now all productions will be done at the EA Rawlinson Centre.
“It might be completely different,” he added. “Hopefully it’ll stay somewhat the same, you never know.”
This will be like doing the large production twice, which both Malenfant and Cruickshank enjoy.
The Band Room was also destroyed in the flood and this changed another part of the school year.
“I’m also part of a band. I’m all music, too, and I walked downstairs hoping to go talk to my band teacher, but no, it’s all boarded up all there,” Malenfant said.
The repairs are expected to be finished in December on a good percentage of the damage.
“That’s what’s going to suck a little bit, but I guess we’re all pretty hopeful that it’ll stay the same, like I said before, and be a smooth ride out this year,” Malenfant said.
Cruickshank said Upstage Productions director Jason Van Otterloo always tries to find a way to get the program going.
In entering Grade 12 and starting a term as co-presidents, the two students feel like they have risen through the ranks.
“You show those leadership qualities when you are in those younger grades, then next thing you know, Grade 12 comes around and you are president,” Malenfant said.
“When I see an opportunity open, take it because you never know what could happen. You never know what could come out of it.
“Not taking a risk, that could alter some other consequence in life, and then your kind of hooped in a way. I just kind of try to put my hands on everything just to put myself be there and be there and be part of hopefully St. Mary history.”
Cruickshank said that he is exited to take on the responsibilities that they have as both students and leaders.
“It’s definitely a very unique experience that not many students get to have it,” he said. “I know juggling all these things might be stressful, but … definitely I will remember this for just my life.”
Malenfant said all of that would be worth it. They are also trying to make Ecole St. Mary a more welcoming place.
“Both of us really want to make the school more of a home for other kids because they might have something going on behind the scenes. We just want to make St Mary’s an open place for everyone and fun,” Malenfant said.
“We just want to make it a bit more open to everybody and make the school year more fun because a lot of people dread school. We want to make it a fun place and a place you want to go to,” he added.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
