Fall activities ramping up with volleyball and soccer

It was a sunny, summer morning Sept. 1 when the school buses arrived. Soon the hallways were full of excited people welcoming a new school year. The elementary students wore their new backpacks, the Grade 1 class arrived eager to start their first full year of school and the high school students returned with ideas for their final years of classes.

The school's enrollment for this year is about 145 students. There are still students arriving to register so the number is not finalized.

Fifteen new kindergarten students will arrive Friday. They will be attending on Tuesdays and Fridays this year, which is a change from last school year when they attended Tuesdays and Thursdays in the first semester.

The school community council, known as the SCC, held their first meeting of the year on the evening of Sept. 1. Greg Ferris will once again be serving as the council chairman. Tracey Meena is a new member and Lori Harris will no longer be a member of the SCC. Thanks, Lori, for all your work .

Volleyball and soccer practices are beginning again and gearing up for a busy season. Coaching the junior girls' volleyball team will be Kim Voegeli and Cathy Gillatt. The junior boys' will be coached by Michelle Nelson and the senior girls' team will be coached by Kandice Walker and Krista Nickell. The senior girls' team will be hosting a tournament at the school Saturday, Sept. 24.

Ryan Nickell will be coaching the senior girls' soccer team. They will be holding the provincial playoffs in North Battleford in October.

Jean Brehon is already involved in organizing graduation activities for the class of 2017. This is usually a top priority for the Grade 12 students at this time of the year.

The school's annual welcome back breakfast was held Thursday morning. Staff and SLC members arrived early to prepare the fruit, muffins and coffee for students, staff and community members. It is always a nice way to welcome a new school year.

As part of the Practical and Applied Arts 10/20/30 course, several students will be accompanying Mr. Nickell on an outdoor education canoe trip. This year, Maymont School is partnering with Medstead for the trip. The canoes will be launched at Devil's Lake and will be picked up at Otter Rapids. They will have opportunities to camp, portage and body surf down rapids. They depart Sunday and return on Thursday, Sept. 15.

 Special thanks to former student, Taylor Reiley for volunteering to spread out the new wood chips. Taylor used his dad's bobcat to spread the wood chips around the playground to make it safer for students.

 Mrs. Christine Combres, the administrative assistant, had a busy summer helping to organize the Richard Reunion celebrating 100 years since Richard was established. It was a big undertaking and Christine spent many, many hours making sure things ran smoothly.

Maymont School's Grade 11 student, Brayden Harris, is a pitcher for the Warman Poly Plus Pride Fastball Club. He spent his spring and summer on the ball diamond capturing a provincial title in July and a silver medal at the U16 Boy’s National Championship in Owen Sound, Ont.

The Pride’s first game of the championship against Nova Scotia was a 3-0 win. Brayden got the start and went the distance pitching a complete-game one-hitter while striking out 11.

In game two versus Kitchener Waterloo, Ont. the Prides' bats came alive winning 12-1 and finishing day one at 2 and 0.

Day two, the Pride faced a tough challenge having to play three games in the extreme heat and humidity. The first game of the day was against Saskatchewan’s second best team the Prince Albert Astros with the Astros sneaking out a 5-4 victory.

Brayden returned to the mound in the second game of the day against Newfoundland and again threw all seven innings giving up four hits, two earned runs and striking out 10 in an 8-3 win.

Due to delays, the Pride had a 15-minute break and returned to the diamond to play Ontario’s top ranked Shallow Lake Sting. Brayden was right back on the mound pitching two innings of no-hit ball before being pulled due to concerns over the heat. The Pride ended up losing 14-7 and sat with a record of 3 and 2.

With two games on day three the Pride split games losing to Ontario’s Belmore Sting and beating the Napanee Express. Brayden picked up the win against Napanee and the team had a 4-3 record and finished the round robin in third place.

The Pride won their first game of the playoffs 7-3 with Brayden pitching the complete game and striking out 11. Game two versus Kitchener Waterloo saw Pride pitcher Oakley Durham of Delisle throw a complete game shutout and Warman’s Troy Kosmynka hit a three-run homerun in a 5-0 victory that put the top Saskatchewan club in the gold medal game against the hosts from Ontario.

Brayden started the gold medal game, but the Pride felt the pressure of playing the hosts in front of a packed ball park and committed four errors early and fell short, losing the game 5-4. It was a tough loss for these young men who came so close to capturing a national title, but coming home the second best team in Canada isn’t so bad!