10 Terrific Traditions

In honour of Youthink’s 10-year anniversary, we thought we’d delve into some school history by hearing about various time-tested school traditions. If your school didn’t make the list, submit your tradition to
Youthink.ca and we’ll post it online.

1. St. Joseph Tapes Up Teachers?
We have a yearly fundraising tradition called “Stuck For A Buck,” held near Terry Fox Run time. For this event, students bring a loonie or more to school which buys us a piece of tape that we get to use to stick a teacher to the wall of the gym! All the money is donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.
–Taisa Chernichko,
St. Joseph School, Calgary AB

2. Louis Riel’s Kind of Blue
This year, we ran an ongoing blue ribbon campaign inspired by a New York State teacher. Every person in our school was offered a blue ribbon that says, “You make a difference,” and teachers brought students up to the front of the classroom one by one to tell us why we make a difference.
–Alice Zhang,
Louis Riel School, Calgary AB

3. St. Gregory Rises Up
Five years ago, we started incorporating a very special element into our yearly Terry Fox run. We, along with students from Vincent Massey School, go to Turtle Hill and all line up to spell out the year’s theme word with our bodies (pictured) – that’s over 1,200 bodies! This year’s word was “rise.”
–Olivia Harrison, St. Gregory
Junior High School, Calgary AB

4. Louis St. Laurent’s SMASH!
Every year around Halloween, our school gymnasium is filled with thunderous cheering as the band plays and teams are welcomed. SMASH is a volleyball tournament that brings together competitive teams from high schools all across Alberta for a three-day test of skill and stamina. Volunteers from Louis act as chaperones to visiting teams, students work at the canteen and some also work as junior officials and scorekeepers.
–David Patterson,
Louis St. Laurent, Edmonton AB

5. St. Mary’s is Where I Wanna Be!
At St. Mary’s, we’ve adopted the song Beverly Hills by Weezer and made it our own! The words have been carefully chosen and cleverly adapted to fit the song and highlight the coolest aspects of our school. It’s quite unclear where this tradition began or who wrote the oh-so-witty lyrics, but each year, the teacher band plays it at the school talent show. When students go on school trips or need to showcase their Saints spirit, they simply holler the song for all to hear: Saint Mary’s High... That’s where I want to be! (yeah, yeah), Going to Saint Mary’s High...
–Alexandra Pulwicki,
St. Mary’s High School, Calgary AB

6. St. Helena’s Thespian Culture
Established nine years ago, Fine Arts Night is a special evening tradition where the grade 9 drama students put on a performance for parents, as well as students, in the month of May. During the year, the students come to a consensus about which famous or semi-famous play they’d like to perform. This year, the ninth-grade drama students chose to perform A Monster Ate My Homework by Tim Kelly.
–Hailee-Jean Lindgren, St. Helena Junior High School, Calgary AB

7. St. Martin de Porres Has Talent
For the last three years, our school has held a spectacular student talent show. Usually held in May, it is a chance for the students to strut their stuff! The talent show is also held as a fundraiser for various school projects, like Project Peru, where students donate money to schools in Peru. So, for a few dollars, parents and students get to enjoy dinner and watch a show.
–Lindsay Werboweski, St. Martin
de Porres High School, Airdrie AB

8. New Sarepta Hits the Runway
Every year, our school band puts together a fashion show extraordinaire. It’s fun, entertaining and rewarding. The students go to West Edmonton Mall and the stores lend them outfits to wear. Usually there’s a theme that the fashion show follows. The band raises money for trips, instruments and other stuff.
–Seth Muñoz, New Sarepta Community High School, New Sarepta AB

9. McNally’s Spirit of Giving
At my school, the most important tradition is our positive attitude towards giving. For example, in the last four years, McNally has raised $180,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society through its annual Bike-A-Thon. “Our World Our Vision” and “Recycle for Romano” are just two of the clubs that helped raise money towards this noble cause. Meanwhile, McNally hosted a rugby fundraiser game last month to help two students in Sierra Leone attend a global youth conference in Edmonton later this summer.
–Shibani Balasubramanian,
McNally High School, Edmonton AB

10. Talent at J. Percy Page
A screen displays the words, “J. Percy Page’s Fourth Annual Talent Show,” and all at once I am flooded with the sweet feeling of nostalgia. Our school’s annual talent show takes place in February of each year and ever since 2005, the event has steadily grown from a few brave students upon the opening of the first talent show to 36 performers at Page’s most recent show! These annual talent shows, with our stage, special panel of judges, student MCs and disk jockeys, make for a memorable event each year.
–Charlotte Mitchell,
J. Percy Page School, Edmonton AB