4th Line Theatre Announces 2022 Young Company Members

4th Line Theatre, Trent University’s Traill College and Lakefield College School have announced the 2022 Young Company, a group of young, diverse regional artists and performers, who will work with industry professionals to produce livestream virtual play readings and performance pieces this summer.

2021 Young Company.

This announcement comes as part of the Emerging VOICES Youth Apprenticeship Program.

“We are so pleased to support 4th Line Theatre’s Young Company program,” said Anne-Marie Kee, Head of School and Foundation of Lakefield College School. “As an independent school with a robust co-curricular arts program, we have seen first-hand how important the performing arts can be in a young person’s development, offering a venue for them to express themselves creatively and build confidence, both on and off the stage. We hope to see more young performers flourish at 4th Line Theatre.”

Following the success of 2021 Young Company, 4th Line Theatre have partnered with Lakefield College School to further develop the exciting Young Company initiative. Young Company members will train with industry professionals Victoria Cutler, Pat Maitland, Rebecca Birrell, Simone Georges and Melissa Wotherspoon to bring scripts to life and create original work.

The 2022 Young Company is led by Young Company Coordinator Rebecca Birrell and its members are: Mackenzie Airhart, Norah Appleby, Sarah Bubteina, Jack Chesla, Zoe Dunaway, Aimee Gordon, Ava Imeson, Laurin Isiekwena, Annie Mancini, Sidney Moon, Ivy Morgan, Neveah Taylor and Bunni Verbal.

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City Of Peterborough Accepting Applications For Youth Council

The City of Peterborough is now accepting applications for the Peterborough Youth Council 2022-2023 term.

File Photo.

Young people between the ages of 12 and 21 who live or attend school in Peterborough are invited to apply to become a member of the Peterborough Youth Council.

The Peterborough Youth Council is a voice for youth in the community. Members can bring their ideas and energy to organizing and being involved in community events. This is a volunteer position, and the volunteer hours can be used towards students’ Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

Youth are invited to visit the City’s website at peterborough.ca/YouthCouncil to learn more and complete an online application. Applications are due by July 25 at 4:30 p.m.

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Two Peterborough Area Students Awarded Peterborough Petes Education Fund

The Peterborough Petes have announced Chase DeNoble and Bella Smollen as the 2022 Education Fund recipients.

DeNoble was the goalie for the Petes AAA U18 team and was selected as the winner by his coach, Scott Roche. Denoble, a St. Peter Secondary student, is attending Laurentian University for a sports management and commerce degree next year.

“After playing 9 years in the Peterborough minor hockey system, it is an honour to be recognized,” said DeNoble. “I’ve had a great time playing in the Petes minor system all these years and I really appreciate this award.”

Smollen played for the Peterborough U18AA IceKats and was selected by her coach, Jay Legault. Smollen is a Haliburton Highlands Secondary student and will be attending university next year.

“Bella was a very focused player who is mature and a natural leader. She is very passionate about hockey and academics. She was very dedicated to doing well in school last year and balanced her hockey and academics very well,” said Legault.

The Petes Education fund gives out scholarships to 2 graduating minor hockey players (Petes AAA U18 and IceKats AA U18) as selected by their coaches. The Petes Education fund also gives out $500.00 scholarships to St. Peter, Holy Cross, Adam Scott, Crestwood, Kenner and TASS for the school to select a winner from their student body as a student who has worked hard and improved over their high school years, not necessarily as an athlete or hockey player.

“On behalf of the Petes Education Fund we are pleased to present these scholarships to such great young student athletes. We wish them all the best in their post secondary studies,” said Rod McGillis, secretary and treasurer of the Petes Education fund.

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Winners Of 2022 Bierk Art Fund Bursaries Announced

The Electric City Culture Council (EC3) has announced the winners of the 2022 Bierk Art Fund Bursaries as Austin Bowie and Ashleigh Gillen. Each student will receive a $1,000 bursary to pursue post-secondary studies in the Visual Arts or Architecture.

The Bierk Art Fund Bursary program was developed and administered by EC3 to support young artists in the community. Annually, they provide bursaries of $1,000 each to two graduating high school students in the City or County of Peterborough.

Austin Bowie is graduating from the Visual Arts Program at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School, and will study visual arts at NSCAD (Nova Scotia School of Art and Design) in the fall.

“I want to pursue a career in the arts and continue studying arts because it is my passion and what makes me happy,” said Bowie. “I not only love creating art, but also enjoy being able to speak and teach others the things I have discovered, whether it be from my own practice or researching other artists / movements / techniques and more.”

Ashleigh Gillen is graduating from Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational Institution, in the Arts and Culture Special High Skills Major program, and will be studying at Carleton University’s Azrieli School of Architecture in the fall.

“Art is my passion. I am excited to expand my knowledge of art, design and their practical applications. I want to combine art in multimedia with my other interests like science and social consciousness,” she said. “I am interested in the combination of styles, textures and media to communicate ideas through art.”

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Youth Art Mentorship Program Presents 'Being In The World' At The Art Gallery Of Peterborough

The Art Gallery of Peterborough invites the public to celebrate the opening of Being in the World, works from the Youth Art Mentorship Program on June 25 at 4 p.m.

SPENCER J. HARRISON IN HIS STUDIO. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ART GALLERY OF PETERBOROUGH.

This exhibition is the culmination of the Youth Art Mentorship Program (YAM), which began in Fall 2021 to provide a unique opportunity for youth artists to gain hands-on experience and insights supporting their future careers in the arts.

Selected by a jury of arts professionals, these young artists worked with mentor Spencer J. Harrison to produce an exhibition that speaks to the process of navigating being.

"Working with artists at this stage in their careers is fantastic; they are unencumbered by the art world around them and make honest work interpreting their worlds,” said Harrison. “These young artists each made very different artwork that really reveals how they see and understand their surroundings. I believe they will teach us and change the world."

YAM fostered three artists.

Sama Hojabri, a grade 12 art student enrolled in the Thomas A. Stewart Integrated Arts program for Visual Arts, was born in Tehran, Iran and grew up in a family with an artistic background.

She mainly uses pencil crayons and acrylic paint, but she has also experimented with pen and ink, collage, wood engraving, sculpture, ceramics, screen printing, oil painting, encaustic, digital, charcoal, photography, graphite, and watercolor.

Toula Pappas received her first set of pencil crayons when she was six years old, which led her to her first art class at the Art Gallery of Peterborough.

She has won many poster contests and art competitions including the Top Art Student Award at St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School in Grade 10, and she was selected to paint a mural for the school’s GSA club.

Enzo Stimpson has been invested in art from a very young age and in recent years has found passion in photography. He was brought up in an extremely artistic household and always felt drawn to the arts rather than sports or academics.

Stimpson began started making comics at a young age and quickly became fond of charcoals and other mediums but didn't find that any of them 'clicked' until taking a photography class with local artists Jason Wilkins and Daniel Crawford. Stimpson is a grade 12 student in the Integrated Arts Program at TASS for visual arts.

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Lakefield Literary Festival's Young Writers Contest Names Record Number Of Winners

Seven winners for the Lakefield Literary Festival’s Young Writers Contest have been announced including, for the first time ever, a three way tie for the senior fiction category.

Winners in front of St Peter Secondary. Photo by Angela O’Grady

This year saw 92 entries to the contest from local schools throughout the Peterborough region.

2022 Young Writers Winners: 

• Junior Fiction: Kellan MacKenzie, Grade 10, SPSS 

• Junior Non-fiction: Madeleine Hill, Grade 10, SPSS 

• Junior Poetry: Kellan MacKenzie, Grade 10, SPSS 

• Senior Fiction: Clementine MacLeod, Grade 11, Adam Scott. Justin Ehlert, Grade 12, PACE. Hailey Cavanagh, Grade 11, SPSS. 

• Senior Non-fiction: Toula Pappas, Grade 11, SPSS 

• Senior Poetry: Abigail Auger, Grade 12, SPSS

Each of the winners will receive $200.00, a commemorative plaque, and publication in the Festival’s ebook.

Justin Ehlert, who attends PACE, was one of three winners in the Senior Fiction category.

Ehlert calls his piece ‘meta-fiction’.

“There was two layers,” he said. “One was me talking about my thought process as I was writing the story and then the story itself was about a man who recently lost his father.”

He says his story started with the setting, a lake, then he built a character around that and went from there.

“Truthfully I’m more of a reader than a writer,” he said. “I started this piece as an assignment and my teacher encouraged me to finish it and to submit it.”

Elhert says winning this contest may encourage him to write more in the future, though he doesn’t plan on making a career out of it.

Keeping writing as a hobby was a common theme among winners.

Abigail Auger, a grade 12 student at St Peter says she worries if she made a career of writing she would begin to see it as a chore.

Her poem which was inspired by the television series Gossip Girl won her first place in the Senior Poetry category.

She plans to attend Trent University to study Forensics.

Contest Co-Organizer and retired teacher Andrew Milner says he looks forward to reading entries every year.

“They’re such mature writers, it’s fascinating to see what they come up with every year,” he said.

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Photos: Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run Lit Up The Track At St Peter Secondary School

Students at St. Peter’s Secondary School welcomed students from Crestwood and Holy Cross to their Special Olympic Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) on Wednesday.

LETR is the largest public awareness and grassroots fundraising organization for Special Olympics globally.

“The Peterborough Police Service has been a strong supporter of the torch run for many years now, and over the years have raised 100’s of thousands of dollars,” said Inspector Neil Collins with the Peterborough Police. “The Peterborough Police Service is happy to champion all our athletes and encourage acceptance and inclusion for all.”

Wednesday’s event saw students participating in standing long jump, shotput, 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m races.

They ended the events with the athletes oath ‘Let me win, but if I cannot win let me be brave in the attempt.’

Following events and speeches, students, teachers and law enforcement carried the torch around St. Peter’s track.

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JA Northern and Eastern Ontario Recognizes Community Members At Hall Of Fame Event

JA Northern and Eastern Ontario (JA-NEO) celebrated and recognized local students, a teacher, and a volunteer for their outstanding efforts and contributions, last week.

Photo courtesy of JA-NEO

JA-NEO offers financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and work readiness education to students across Northern and Eastern Ontario.

The awards were presented at the annual JA-NEO Business Hall of Fame event held at the Loomex Group Hangar at the Peterborough Airport.

This year’s special recognitions included:

• Student of the Year - Kayla Scroggins

• Outstanding Contribution to Education - Sarah Taylor

• Lifetime Volunteer Recognition Award - Tania-Joy Bartlett

“We are thrilled to celebrate this year’s awards winners and recognize how their dedication, involvement, and achievements help to inspire others to become involved in JA,” said John McNutt, President and CEO, JA-NEO. “I want to congratulate each of the award winners on their success, and we look forward to your continued success.”

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Local Dance Champion Has Fundraiser Set Up To Perform at Disneyland

It is an opportunity of a lifetime for 17-year-old Rhiannon King as her family set up a GoFundMe to send her to Disneyland in Anaheim, Ca. to dance with the Lightning Elite Disney Performance Team.

Melissa King (left), Rhiannon King (middle) and Jason King (right) gazing at Rhiannon’s first-place medals and scholarship certificates after winning the senior solos at Star Beat Dance Champions in Niagara Falls. Melissa is a paraplegic and Jason is blind. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

King received the opportunity after she placed first at the Star Beat Dance Champions in Niagara Falls in the senior solo division on the May 12-15 weekend. The win also earned her a $1,000 scholarship toward the trip to California.

"I was so shocked," said King. "I was crying, I started jumping up and down and my teammates were really happy for me too.”

The GoFundMe is requesting $7,000 which pays for the flight, insurance, dance equipment and food. It was set up on May 15 shortly after King had received the opportunity.

The seven-day trip allows King the chance to meet with top industry professionals and work with dancers around the world according to the King family.

"It's her foot in the door," said Jason King, Rhiannon's father. "For many dancers, they don't those opportunities and the fact that this opportunity has come virtually at the end of her novice career per se, it's a dream come true for everyone."

Rhiannon has been dancing since she was three and danced competitively roughly when she was six. She has danced in ballet, jazz, hip-hop, contemporary, musical theatre, tap and more throughout her life.

She has aspirations to attend York University for dance. Rhiannon wants to make dance her career by performing in her mid-20s and eventually opening a dance studio.

"I'm really proud of her for what she's accomplished and I know she'll succeed with whatever she decides to do,” said Melissa King, Rhiannon’s mother. “She has a natural talent for dancing I noticed that (in) the first year."

To donate to Rhiannon’s GoFundMe, click here.

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PVNC Presents Students With Annual Catholic Student Leadership Awards

As part of Catholic Education Week, which runs May 1 to 6, Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board (PVNC) honoured 38 students with a Catholic Student Leadership Award during a ceremony at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School in Peterborough on Wednesday.

One student was selected from each elementary and secondary school and winners were presented with a special medallion.

Award recipients were nominated by principals, teachers and in some cases, fellow students. Each demonstrated outstanding qualities in Catholic leadership, family commitment, involvement in school affairs, involvement in community activities and dedication to a difficult situation or task.

“These award winners are true role models who embody the goals of our Catholic Graduate Expectations,” said Braden Leal, Chairperson of the Board. “Catholic Education Week affords us a perfect time to pay tribute to the student leaders in our schools and reflect on the importance of faith in our lives, and the role it plays in Catholic education.”

A full list of recipients is below:

Faith Griffiths, St. Mary CES, Lindsay

Niamh Walsh, STA Virtual Elementary School

James Gouin, STA Virtual Secondary School

Jayden Hopkins, St. John CES, Peterborough

Ruby Briand, Holy Cross CSS, Peterborough

William White, St. Peter CSS, Peterborough

Quinten Fowler, St. Paul CES, Peterborough

Makenzie Nichols, Holy Trinity CSS, Courtice

Chase Hudson, St. Stephen CSS, Bowmanville

Lola Bittner, St. Catherine CES, Peterborough

Avery Pick, St. Patrick CES, Peterborough

Michel Gagné, St. Michael CES, Cobourg

Liam Cook, Immaculate Conception CES, Peterborough

Anna Golobic, St. Francis of Assisi CES, Newcastle

Alena Vuong, Holy Family CES, Bowmanville

Elizabeth Payne, St. Joseph CES, Bowmanville

Katie Payne, St. Paul CES, Norwood

Matteo Crimi, Notre Dame CES, Cobourg

Cheyenne Hudson, St. Elizabeth CES, Bownmanville

Rees Tewsley, St. Anne CES, Peterborough

Keira deLaPlante, St. Joseph CES, Douro

Emma MacDonald, Monsignor Leo Cleary CES, Courtice

Chloe McMahon, Monsignor O’Donoghue CES, Peterborough

Sydney MacLellan, St. Paul CES, Lakefield

Janey King, St. Mary CES, Campbellford

Eva Winn, St. Luke CES, Downeyville

Hunter Young, St. Teresa CES, Peterborough

Connor James, St. Mother Teresa CES, Courtice

Emma Smith, St. Mary CES, Grafton

Daniel Zito, Good Shepherd CES, Courtice

Jessica Harris, St. Mary CSS, Cobourg

Alisha Byrne, St. Thomas Aquinas CSS, Lindsay

Addison Gerelus, St. Martin CES, Ennismore

Madison Mohr, St. John Paul II CES, Lindsay

Raina Willson, St. Dominic CES, Lindsay

Ayaji Antolin, St. Joseph CES, Cobourg

Donny Drake, St. Anthony CES, Port Hope

Josiah McMahon, St. Alphonsus CES

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