45 Students Celebrate High School Graduation

Forty-five grade 12 students crossed the stage at Blackville School on Thursday evening, June 22, to receive their high school diplomas.

The valedictorian was Gregory Campbell and the salutatorian was Jensen Urquhart. Reverend Graham Russell gave the invocation and the benediction was given by John Stewart.

Joan MacMillan, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Anglophone North School District, Ron Ecker from the District Education Council and Blackville School Principal Rodney Buggie addressed the staff, graduates and their guests.

Later that evening after the graduation ceremony, the graduates had their all night Safe Grad event at the school.

Middle School Year-End Awards

Grade 8 students Macaully Gillespie, Jacob Bell, Nicholas Donovan,
Asia Duffy, Chiara McEvoy received Good Attendance Certificates

Middle school students were recognized and congratulated on the last day of school this Friday. 

Students received awards and participation certificates.

The middle school staff would like to wish the students a wonderful summer, and they look forward to seeing them again in September.   

For more photos, click here. 

Photos by Mrs. Angela Moody

Blackville School Prom 2017

The prom for the Blackville School 2017 graduates and their guests was on Saturday, June 17.

The graduation ceremony is this Thursday evening, June 23.

For more photos from prom day, click here.

Photos by Jules Keenan

Grade 5 and 8 Spring Banquets

Grade 8 students at their banquet

Both grades 5 and 8 classes held their spring banquets this week to celebrate the students entering middle school and high school.

Both banquets involved presenting students with awards, having dinner with their fellow classmates, and taking pictures at a photo booth.

The grade 5 students were presented with various academic awards, with some students receiving Bronze B recognitions for excellent academic standing.

Grade 5 students at their banquet

The grade 8 students were presented with their own individual awards that were personal to them.

The Blackville staff congratulates all award recipients and wish all the students good luck in the 2017-18 school year.

To see more pictures from the Grade 5 banquet, click here.

To see more photos from the Grade 8 banquet, click here.

Article by Paulina Sturgeon and Veronica Pond
Photos by Jules Keenan

Blackville School Choir Recommended for National Level Competition

The Blackville School Senior Girls Choir received some major recognitions at the New Brunswick Music Festival.

The choir was awarded first place, receiving the Prix Paul J. Bourret Award.

The choir was also recommended to compete at the national level at the National Music Festival, based on their tape recording that was sent to Mount Allison to be judged.

It is expected that the Girls Choir will send a tape to be judged at the national level.

This was the last year of choir for three students, Cameron Hambrook, Rayna MacVicar and Jensen Urquhart are graduating this year. It is also the last year for Choir Director and music teacher Cathy Frenette who is retiring this year.

Article by Paulina Sturgeon and Veronica Pond
Photo by Jules Keenan

Blackville School Recognition Day 2017

The middle and high school students, coaches, teachers, parents, and other family members gathered in the gym for a presentation of awards for academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities on the morning of June 5. Ryley Hallihan and Lauren Vickers, the grad executives, served as this year's Masters of Ceremonies.

 Jensen Urquhart and Jesse Frenette

Jensen Urquhart (grade 12) and Jesse Frenette (grade 11) were awarded the Outstanding Female and Male in Academic and Extracurricular Activities, respectively.

Kailey Donovan (grade 12) was awarded the Fenton Sturgeon Memorial Award. The award is presented to a grade 12 student who has been participating in sports through all four years of high school, while special consideration is given to students who have volunteered their time to coach younger athletes outside of school hours.

High School Female and Male Athlete of the Year were awarded to Abby Donovan (grade 11) and Daniel Richard (grade 11).

Daniel Richard and Abby Donovan

Middle School Female and Male Athlete of the Year were awarded to Andrea Lynch (grade 8) and Keaton Walls (grade 8).

Daniel Richard (grade 11) was also awarded the Kathy McCormack Award, which recognizes athletes who are outstanding school ambassadors.

Cameron Hambrook (grade 12) was awarded the School Spirit Award, which is awarded to a student who shows an outstanding example of school spirit.

Riley Keenan (grade 12) and Kailey Donovan (grade 12) were awarded an athletic letter, a new award this year, given to students who have accumulated a total of twelve points during their time in high school. One point is awarded for every varsity sport the student has been a part of, with extra points being awarded for things like being captain and winning a regional or provincial title. 

For more pictures from the recognition day, click here

Article by Veronica Pond and Paulina Sturgeon
Photos by Jules Keenan and Ms. Trudy Underhill

Spring Concert Held on May 30

The Blackville School elementary and girls choirs, along with the jazz band, performed for the community at the annual Band and Choir Spring Concert on May 30.

This was the final performance of the school year for band members, and the second last performance for the choir.

It was also the last time many of the students would be directed by music teacher Catherine Frenette, who will be retiring.

Both the choirs and the band had been practicing for this event and dedicating time out of their days to make sure that it went well, and they really delivered.

The concert started off with four songs performed by the jazz band and grade nine music class. They began with "In the Mood" which was followed by the Beatles song "Hey Jude." "Hello" by Adele was then sung by Amber Walls in grade eleven, and accompanied by a few members of the jazz band.

The band then ended their performance with "Rock Around the Clock". The community always respond well to the jazz band's concerts, and this was no exception. The final band performance of the year went smoothly, and the members should be proud of themselves.


A short intermission followed, and the choir took the stage. A wide range of group songs, solos, and duets were performed, and every member did an excellent job with their pieces.

The songs were sung perfectly, and the audience could tell that a lot of practice had went into this performance. The choirs at Blackville have never disappointed at a concert, and they certainly kept it up. Clearly the long hours of rehearsals paid off.

There is no shortage of musical talent at Blackville School, and the annual Spring Concert is an excellent representation. All performers did a great job, along with Ms. Frenette. It's safe to say that practice really does make for a perfect concert.

For more pictures from the concert click here.

Article by Veronica Pond and Paulina Strugeon
Photos by Jules Keenan

Students Reflect on New Grade 11 Course

Some of the Human Physiology students
during the fetal pig dissection

As the last week of the 2017 school year comes closer, students have an opportunity to reflect on a new class that started being offered at Blackville School, Human Physiology.

Offered at the grade 11 level, this class, taught by Mrs. T. Underhill, aims to teach students the fundamentals of human biology, from bone and muscle structure to the nervous system.

The students took part in many projects such as creating videos to teach people about muscles, cooking normal recipes versus their healthy alternative, and, of course, dissecting fetal pigs, as pigs share much of the same physiology in comparison to humans.

Commenting on their learning experience, students said the class made them more passionate about the sciences or even interested them in pursuing a career in science. Below are student responses and also some comments from Mrs. T. Underhill about her experiences teaching this new curriculum.

Grade 11 student Noah Donovan

Did you enjoy this class?
Yeah, it was pretty good
What unit or project did you find the most enjoyable?
The muscle unit because we got to make a video for it, ours starred a host named "Del Toid" quizzing people about muscles. We also wrote a song called "These are the Muscles I Know." It was genius.
Are you any more interested in the sciences than you were before this class and would you recommend other students to take part in human physiology?
I am, yes. Definitely yeah

Grade 11 student Jules Keenan

Did you enjoy this class?
I did
What unit or project did you find the most enjoyable?
The muscle unit because we did a really fun video for it.
Are you any more interested in the sciences than you were before this class and would you recommend other students to take part in human physiology?
Not incredibly. I would because it's really fun, even if you don't like sciences, because I don't and I enjoyed it.

Grade 11 students Jules Keenan and Nick Hallihan
during the fetal pig dissection

Grade 11 student Nick Hallihan

Did you enjoy this class?
Yes I enjoyed it very much
What unit or project did you find the most enjoyable?
I found the skeletal system unit very fun because we got to do this cool project where we identified dead bodies by the bones and stuff, it was really fun.
Are you any more interested in the sciences than you were before this class and would you recommend other students to take part in human physiology?
Yes I'd say so. Yeah, it's really fun, you should take it.

Ms. T. Underhill

What do you enjoy about teaching high school sciences like biology and human physiology?
I would say the best part about teaching both biology and human physiology is when students start to understand the reason why their body works as it does, as well as, how other factors (both living and non-living) play such a large role in their world.
What are the biggest differences between biology and human physiology?
With Biology 110 students explore all kingdoms and representatives from each. With Human Physiology we focus specifically on the systems of the human body, as well as, the added bonus of a wellness component.
Most of the students seemed really engaged and excited to take part in class, how do you motivate this many students to be passionate about class?
With this being the first year we offered Human Physiology nobody, myself included, really knew what to expect. I think the small class size of 14 allowed students to feel more comfortable when participating in the activities. The hands-on approach was definitely an aspect of the course that the students seemed to enjoy.

The Grade 11 Human Physiology class

Are you expecting to continue to teach Human Physiology to grade 11 students?
I really hope to be able to teach/offer Human Physiology in the 2017-2018 school year. With so many changes in schedules it is really hard to say at this point. I know Mr. Buggie will do his best to try and offer Human Physiology next year.

Article and photos by Veronica Pond and Paulina Sturgeon