The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor The Flin Flon School Board is applauding a pair of high school students who are fighting for female equality. Callum Spencer and Jayde Clendenning attended last week's board meeting to discuss their role in producing a song and video for the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC). 'Great job. You guys should be proud of yourselves,' Trustee Murray Skeavington, board chair, told the Hapnot Collegiate students. As The Reminder previously reported, Spencer and Clendenning were among eight Manitoba teens who wrote and performed Unbreakable, a song about the empowerment of women and girls. Its accompanying three-minute video was also produced by the teens, hitting YouTube six weeks ago and the Manitoba legislature shortly thereafter. Out of a pool of 20 applicants, Spencer and Clendenning were the only participants chosen from outside of southern Manitoba. Describing the production process and sharing the video with the board, the teens said the experience taught them a lot about the plight of women. Spencer, a Grade 11 student, and Clendenning, in Grade 9, applied to become part of the production after learning about it from their band teacher, Anna Jardine, who also addressed the trustees. 'Definitely if I could,' said Spencer when asked if he would take part in the program again. In December, the eight teens gathered in Winnipeg, where they took in presentations on the plight of women. In January, they returned to the capital to record the song and video. The instrumental work of both Spencer, who plays drums and guitar, and Clendenning, who plays saxophone and bass, are heard. Spencer also has a vocal solo, while Clendenning sang as part of the group. As of late last week the video was approaching 3,400 views on YouTube _ an average of more than 560 views each week since its launch. To view the video, go to YouTube and search 'Unbreakable Manitoba'. Other highlights from last week's board meeting: Superintendent Blaine Veitch congratulated Hapnot student Mikayla Gawiak on winning the regional Manitoba School Boards Association Student Citizenship Award. He called the award 'a very nice memento for her' and one that speaks highly of Flin Flon students. Gawiak was scheduled to receive her award in Winnipeg last week. Veitch reminded parents, students and the general public that the front entrance of Hapnot is a fire lane, meaning no parking or idling is permitted. He said new signage has been ordered and will be installed at the school as soon as it arrives. The announcement follows recent protests in front of Hapnot by Trustee Vicki Davie and some junior high students, who used placards and pamphlets to encourage compliance with the fire lane law. Veitch commended Davie for her work on this matter. Trustees reviewed a letter from a former employee thanking the school division for hiring him 40 years ago. Richard Lyons spent 18 years in the division's maintenance department before moving to Winnipeg to work as the assistant manager of facilities and maintenance for the St. James-Assiniboia School Division. 'I thoroughly enjoyed putting my skills to use in your service that in turn (led) to my employment with the St. James-Assiniboia (School Division),' wrote Lyons, a former Flin Flon city councillor. Lyons will soon retire from St. James-Assiniboia and is planning 'many annual summer trips' back to Flin Flon.
