Senior School students enjoyed two talented and compelling guest speakers in Monday assembly, in honour of Black History month 2013. Sincere thanks to our guest speakers; Joanne St. Louis and Ian Keteki. 

Joanne St. Louis - Professor Joanne St. Lewis teaches in the Law Faculty at the University of Ottawa. She is the former Director of the Human Rights Research & Education Centre. She was co-counsel for the AFN on the human rights case on funding of on-reserve welfare services for First Nations children. She teaches courses in social justice.

Joanne was the first and only Black woman to be elected as a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada, in its 215 year history. The Law Society governs the over 41,000 lawyers in Ontario. She has held positions with the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Ontario Race Relations Directorate and was also Executive Director of the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF). From 1985-87, she was Special Assistant Government Affairs to the Grand Chief of the Crees of Quebec.

The Black Law Students Association of Canada presented her with their National Hero Award in 2012. She is the recipient of the United Nations Association of Canada 2009 Honoured Champion Award for the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day, the 2008 DreamKEEPERS Life Achievement Award from the Martin Luther King jr. Day Coalition and a 2001 Canadian Association of Black Lawyers Outstanding Achievement Award.

Ian Keteku is somewhat of a renaissance man when it comes to story telling. He is a poet, journalist, musician, amongst other things. This award winning artist is committed to using words as both an interpretation and cure for the human condition. Keteku is also the 2010 World Poetry Slam Champion. (http://www.ianketeku.com)

Wednesday night was a great night for the Ashbury College community at the Ottawa Sports Awards. A packed house that included Ottawa's greatest athletes past and present, the Mayor, City Councillors, MPP's, and many sports luminaries watched Ashbury athletes and coaches receive recognition for their outstanding achievements and efforts. Please join us in congratulating the following coaches, athletes and alumni: 

FEMALE COACH OF THE YEAR
Jen Boyd, Algonquin College/Ashbury College women’s rugby teams
One of the icons for women’s rugby in Ottawa, Boyd had a near perfect season in 2012 while coaching two different school teams. At Ashbury College, she helped the Colts earn their ninth medal at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ girls’ high school rugby championships. Playing in the 'AAA/AAAA' division for the province's biggest schools despite having an 'A' size student population, Ashbury captured the silver medal for the fourth time at last year's provincial championship at Twin Elm Rugby Park. Boyd also was named the Ottawa Sports Awards female coach of the year for 2007.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Quincy Korte-King (Grade 12), Snowboarding
In 2012, Quincy represented Canada at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, placing fifth in the halfpipe and seventh in slopestyle. She was also 14th in slopestyle in a U.S. Revolution Tour event. At the Canadian Open, she finished 26th in the halfpipe and 27th in slopestyle as a 16-year-old. Her mother Susan (Lula) Korte is a former national alpine ski team racer. Quincy is a repeat winner of this award for her sport.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
John Wright (Alumni ’09), Fencing
John is a member of the Ottawa Fencing Club and has been fencing for 13 years. In 2012, while competing with Canada’s National Team at a World Cup Event in Stockholm, he defeated the reigning world champion. Also, while competing in the Men’s Epee 3 person team event at the Argentina World Cup, John won a silver medal, defeating Team USA, the reigning World Team Champions. When not training, John now attends the University of Ottawa, majoring in history.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Julianne Zussman (Alumni ’04), Rugby
Julianne was born and raised in Ottawa. She attended Ashbury College before moving to Montreal to attend McGill University. Now a five-year member of the National Team, this 23-year-old helped Canada to an undefeated record at the NACRA regional women’s sevens World Cup qualifier last summer at Twin Elm Rugby Park. Now based in B.C. with the National Team, Julianne has 15 career international caps.

PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONS 
Ashbury Colts Junior Football - CISAA Independent Schools Junior League Champions

Victoria McIntryre (Grade 12) was recognized as a member of the Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club, National and Provincial Relay Champions. 

Coach Ian MacKinnon was recognized for his work with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gee’s Women’s Basketball Team, OUA Provincial Champions. 

Simon Clarke-Okah and Brook Simpson started a tradition for Ashbury rugby alumni to get together for an annual 7-a-side rugby tournament in NYC. For the past 6 years they have borrowed Ashbury jerseys to use at this tournament, but this year opted to have their own jerseys made - yes those are jerseys! From left to right the boys are: Matt Grey, Ryan Aimers, Daniel Taggart, Mark Charette, Matthew Cameron, Simon Clarke-Okah, Brook Simpson, non-Ashbury player, Teddy Taggart, Brendan McGovern, Jonathan Kauffman, Andrew McIntyre.

We have 6 IB Diploma grads participating in the third annual TEDxIB at the York School on Wednesday, November 14. Sabrina Alsaffar and Katie Gwozdecky were selected from a large pool of applicants and are 2 of 10 students who will perform their speeches live during the daylong activities. The remainder of the people presentering are all professional public speakers.

We are pleased to announce that our Model UN delegation (representing Denmark at the Secondary School United Nations Symposium) had a wonderful experience being part of a large group of 1100 students from five different countries representing all the member countries and committees of the United Nations.

We are proud of all our eight delegates: Alexander Cohen, Jonathan Kamel, Sasha Stojanovic, Jae You, Wanda Nyairo, Michelle Rugamba, Priyanka Goel and Melis Kirikoglu for being wonderful representatives of Ashbury College.

Congratulations to Alexander Cohen for winning The Lester B. Pearson Award for Peacemaking for his exemplary participation in the Berlin Conference of 1884: Scramble for Africa.

The Ashbury Competitive Tennis Team had another successful season this year, winning 1 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze at the City Championships. The B Division won bronze in the Mixed Doubles category, and gold in Boys Doubles. The A Division won bronze in the Mixed Doubles category as well, and silver in both Boys Doubles and Boys Singles. Alexander Wong, Mark Tyhurst and Konner Fung Kee Fung have also qualified for OFSAA for a second year in a row, and will be headed to Toronto to compete in the spring. 

Ashbury, through the excellent work of the debating team, has yet another reason to celebrate. We sent a team of three young men, Alex Cohen, William Richardson, and Jonathan Kamel, to Calgary to compete and they did just that. Alex Cohen came first in extemporaneous speaking; Jonathan Kamel finished second in persuasive speaking; and for his overall achievement William Richardson was selected to Team Canada for the World Public Speaking Tournament to be held in Durban, South Africa in April. Congratulations, to all three competitors!

"When David MacGillivary said goodbye to his two teenaged daughters on the first day of school this year, he meant it. Jessica, 16, and Taylor, 14, are new boarding students at Ashbury College, in Ottawa, while their father takes up a four-year posting at NORAD Command near Colorado Springs, Colo.

For mobile families in the armed forces and other international professions from diplomacy to business, or those who are simply on the move, boarding schools in Canada offer everything from continuity, Canadian values and curriculums to proximity with friends."

Read More (by Mary Godderham, The Globe and Mail)

With her portion of the winnings from last years' ACE Competition, Bessie Zhang (Grade 12) has launched a new version of the website Students Teaching Students. This month, STS will expand to include student support for two more schools: Colonel By High School and Lisgar Collegiate. Bessie has also registered a new non-profit organization named "MindSalut", which will support STS and a new program called "Students Helping Students".

Ashbury student Alexander Cohen '13 is the 2012 winner of the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize.

Read his Ottawa Citizen article about his recent drip to Dieppe here. 

Justin Yan '13, whose life was saved at the Ottawa Hospital, is giving his thanks with his artwork. CTV Ottawa’s Katie Griffin shares Justin Yan’s journey. WATCH VIDEO

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Gary Godkin as our new Head of Senior School, effective August 13, 2012. Gary is currently the Director of Senior School at St. Andrew’s College, a 112 year old day and boarding school of 600 students, in Aurora, Ontario. Welcome Gary, Geri-Lee and their three daughters (entering Grades 4, 6 and 8). We are excited for you to join the Ashbury community. 

Ashbury College placed 5th (out of 54 schools) in the National Capital School Athletic Association (NCSAA) high school sports rankings, and 2nd in the “Single A” league (up to 500 students). Ashbury is the highest ranked independent school on the NCSAA list. Congratulations to Stephanie Black, Katrine Lightstone and John Biewald who were named “Athletes of the Year” by the Ottawa Citizen.

Congratulations to the graduating class of 134 students, who are moving on to attend 38 top universities around the world. Canada is home to a number of internationally recognized institutions, and we take great pride in also knowing that many of our students are practicing Ashbury virtues - global citizenship and international service - by studying outside of Canada. Best of luck to all grads, as they move on to this next phase of their academic careers. 

Andrew Abou-Assaly ’14 has been selected by the Ontario Hockey League committee as Player of the Year for the Ottawa District Minor Hockey Association region. Andrew is one of six recipients of the Minor Hockey awards, presented annually to the midget level player who “best exemplifies outstanding ability and the qualities of sportsmanship and leadership.” Congratulations to Andrew, who also recently signed with the Ottawa 67’s. 

Michael Kourlas ’12 has been awarded one of forty Schulich Leader Scholarships for academic excellence in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Michael was selected from an elite group of 977 nominees nationwide, and he received a university entrance scholarship worth $60,000. Congratulations to Michael, who will start his studies at McGill University in the fall.

Thank you for another successful year. The Senior School Closing Ceremonies were a tremendous tribute to the achievements of our students and the positive spirit of the Ashbury community. Our School Captain, Surain Roberts, gave a memorable valedictory address. And as we do each year, we honoured the exceptional achievements of our Grade 9-12 students. Congratulations to the impressive list of students who received academic awards. 

Ashbury College has had a 100% university placement rate for the last 12 years. This year, 83% of graduates were admitted to their first choice university. 86% of the graduating class received $2.2 million dollars in scholarships. McGill University selected Michael Kourlas '12 as a recipient of the Schulich Leaders Scholarship, valued at over $60,000. This award recognizes academic excellence in undergraduate studies in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics. Congratulations to all of our graduating students. 

We wish you and your family a safe and healthy summer.

Sincerely, 

Tam Matthews
Headmaster

Congratulations to Ashbury's Fiyinfoluwa Ukiri who placed 3rd in Ontario in Junior Boys 300m hurdles at OFSAA, and to Victoria McIntryre who placed 4th in Senior Girls 200 Meter Dash. Thanks to all coaches, participants, parents, supporters and volunteers for another great Track & Field Season. OFSAA is the 2nd biggest high school track meet in the world and these are amazing results!

Congratulations to Phillipe Sly '07 recent winner of the Montreal International Music Competition. In addition to winning the voice category Grand Prize, Phillipe was also awarded four special prizes: Best Quebec Artist, Best Canadian Artist, Best Interpretation of a Given Canadian Work, and the Peoples Prize by public voting. Phillippe, award-winning bass baritone, graduated from Ashbury College in 2007 and made headlines last March when he won the 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. 

External Links:

CBC Radio Canada - June 9, 2012

Yesterday, the Ashbury Varsity Girls Rugby team played a strong semi-final game vs. Barrie Central... winning 13-12! The gold medal game will be played today at 1pm vs. Oakville. $7 NCSSAA entry fee. Hope to see you there! 

External Links: 

"Kicker lifts Ashbury into senior provincial rugby final" - Ottawa Citizen (06/06/2012)

"Queen Colts: Ashbury rugby dynasty’s latest chapter comes at home OFSAA" - sportsottawa.com (06/06/2012)

BREAKING NEWS - Ashbury Varsity Girls Rugby beat Arnprior with a penalty kick to win 13-12 in the last 2 minutes of play. The team will likely face #1 seed Barrie Central in Semis at 4 pm at Twin Elm fields. Kindly come out and support if you can.

The Society for Neuroscience Ottawa Chapter hosted a Brain Bee trivia competition for high school students in the Ottawa area. Congratulations to Ashbury's Adil Abdulla '12, who won the contest and is now going to McMaster University to participate in National Championships. 

The Brain Bee is a competition for high school students, grades 9 through 12. Students study topics on memory, sleep, intelligence, emotion, perception, stress, aging, brain-imaging, neurology, neurotransmitters, genetics, and brain disease. It is designed to stimulate interest and excitement about the brain and neuroscience research. The Brain Bee brought students from around the Ottawa area to Carleton to meet students and professors who are doing brain research. The top high school students from across Canada will be at McMaster University to compete for the right to be called the best brain in Canada. The challenging events will test their knowledge of neuroscience and their skills at patient diagnosis and neuroanatomy. The very top student will be given the opportunity to work as a summer intern in a neuroscience laboratory.

Congratulations, Adil!

The Michael Smith Challenge is an annual nationwide challenge exam open to students who have yet to take any Grade 11 science classes. The Challenge is named after Nobel laureate Michael Smith of the University of British Columbia. It is the only bilingual challenge exam written across Canada that covers all scientific fields taight at the Grade 10/Niveau 4 level. This year, 1735 students participated in the contest which consisted of questions covering; logical reasoning, biology, chemistry, physics and earth science.

Congratulations to Bradley Assalay '15, Sasha Rudolf '15 who finished in the top 10% in Canada, and Andrew Burwash '15 in the top 25%. 

Ashbury College is pleased to announce that it has surpassed it's target of $25,000, raising $33,808 for United Way this school year! Thank you to the many students, parents, staff, alumni and partners who contributed to the campaign and to the many volunteers who organized events and initiatives to raise funds. Working together, we are making a difference in our community and beyond. Thank you!

About United Way Ottawa
For 75 years, United Way Ottawa has worked with community partners and other key stakeholders, to direct resources where help is needed the most and where it will have the greatest impact. http://www.unitedwayottawa.ca 

Congratulations to the junior boys rugby team who won their 5th consecutive city championship! Nepean High School played a strong game and led at half with a score of 6-5. The Ashbury boys stayed the course and ended up winning 25-11. This wraps up another exceptional season on the field. Thank you all on behalf of the players and coaches for your understanding and support throughout the season. Besides the win, more importantly, the boys handled themselves with class and portrayed excellent sportsmanship throughout the entire season, representing the team and Ashbury extremely well.

Four of our five 4 x 100m relay teams move forward to OFSAA Regionals next week! The senior girls broke their own City record (Julie Robinson, Maddie Warren, Shannon Walton, Victoria McIntyre).

• Midget Boys 4 x 100m relay : Tommy Freidlich, Eric Di/Fayo Solola, Tim Chavez, Cole Rechan
• Junior Girls 4 x 100m relay : Leah Mousseau, Lindsay Brandys, Madeline Boyd, Megan McGinn
• Junior Boys 4 x 100m relay : Mitch Kurylowicz, Mikey O'Connor, Andrew Abou-Assaly, Curtis Paterson
• Open Girls 4 x 400m relay team 2nd overall (Emily Montgomery, Julie Robinson, Shannon Walton, Victoria McIntyre)

Individuals that also move forward:

• Victoria McIntyre in 200m and 400m
• Lindsay Brandys - 400m
• Maddie Warren in 100m
• Michael O'Connor  300m hurdles and sprint hurdles
• Fiyin Ukiri  sprint hurdles and 300m hurdles
• Caleb Mousseau  high jump
• Angie Mattix-Simon discus
• Tommy Freidlich discus
• Mitch Kurylowicz  triple jump
• Shannon Walton 800m
• Timothy Chavez 800m
• Julien Sasseville javelin
• Priya Muradia discus
• Andrew Abou-Assaly discus

Ashbury College is pleased to announce the seasonal opening of the schools' Green Roof Learning Centre, thanks to support from the environmental club, junior school staff and dedicated volunteers. 

Located above the school's theatre, the 525 square meter space features four sections: native grasses, native herbs, native flowers and vegetables. In addition, the outdoor learning centre is a complete classroom with tables and chairs. We are proud to report that the Ashbury College green roof is Canada's first outdoor teaching green roof.

Most recently, students have planted the following:

• radishes (ready to eat in June)
• strawberries (June)
• tomatoes (Fall)
• cucumbers (Fall)
• yellow and red peppers (Fall)
• pumpkins (Fall)
• squash (Fall)
• parsley (June and Fall)
• oregano (June and Fall)

Also thanks to the work of Ian Walker from Mariposa Farm, we are growing asparagus, strawberries, Saskatoon berries and chokecherries in the amphitheatre garden. 

Feel free to teach a class, read, draw, conduct experiments, weed or pick vegetables. Enjoy!

Ashbury College earned first place honours in the Fulford Debate League, in both junior and senior divisions. The Fulford is a league of the 22 top independent schools of Ontario. On May 12^th, Conor Assheton-Smith placed first in the grade 9-10 division and Alex Cohen placed first in the grade 11-12 division. In all, 12 Ashbury debaters at three Fulford tournaments contributed to the championship. They were, in the Junior Division, Conor Assheton-Smith, William Richardson, Jon Kamel, Sasha Stojanovic, Alessandro Eid-Ricci, Anthony Zhong. And in the Senior Division, Adil Abdulla, Michael Kourlas, Chanelle Zaphiropoulos, John Venner, Salma Eldanasoury, Alex Cohen. Thank you to coaches, Marilynne Sinclair and John Richardson. 

For the second time since 2009 an Ashbury student claimed the National Champion title at the Canadian Scholastic Achievement League, a national academic competition for 11,000 grade eight students. Congratulations to Anthony Cui ’16, National Champion, and to our school team (Anthony Cui, Jack Macmillan, Fred LePage, Katherine Roberts) for winning silver medal in the team championships. Anthony scored an outstanding 93/100 on the challenge (the national average was 54). 

On May 8^th, Ashbury unveiled plans to develop a state-of-the-art Creating Learning Centre, as a final step in our campus renewal plan. 250 parents, alumni, students, staff and supporters joined campaign co-chairs John Ruddy, Dave Seibel and Jamilah Taib-Murray to officially launch of the campaign. At the event, the Ashbury College Guild, chaired by Janice Macdonald, presented a id="mce_marker" million pledge in support of the new Learning Commons. Gary Zed, with wife Lisa and children Olivia ’13, Colin ’15 and Liam ’19 have made a $250,000 gift. The Ruddy Family announced a $1 million investment to the Ashbury Endowment, funding two full scholarships (Nicola ’10 and Sonya ’12 Ruddy Scholarships). Thank you to the many participants, supporters and volunteers who made this campaign event a great success. Please visit www.ashbury.ca/spark for more info. 

On April 23^rd, senior school students enjoyed a special presentation by Green Party Leader Elizabeth May (MP Saanich – Gulf Islands). Ms. May joined us in honour of Earth Day, following the previous week’s Earth Day events and activities. Amongst her many inspiring words, Ms. May encouraged students to challenge opinions, use their voice and become a part of a Canada’s important democratic process. 

On January 17, 2012, NASA announced the finalists of the global YouTube Space Lab competition, naming Katie Gwozdecky ‘13 one of 10 contenders in the Americas region! Students around the world designed real International Space Station experiments and - via YouTube - explained their scientific method in 2 minutes or less. A panel, led by Dr. Stephen Hawking, judged the 2,000 worldwide entries including Katie’s experiment on Intrinsic Blood Clotting. A regional winner for the Americas will be identified in February and all regional winners will compete in Washington, D.C. in March. Winners of the global competition will have their choice of traveling to Japan to watch their experiment launch in to space, or spending a week in Russia for actual cosmonaut training.

To watch Katie’s video, VOTE! and learn more about her experiment, please visit: http://goo.gl/GQ3e1

On December 26, Maggie Campbell hit the seas for the adventure of a lifetime. As a youth member of the 15-day Students on Ice Expedition, Maggie travelled to Antarctica with 59 other students and 30 educators from across the world. Their voyage included stops in beautiful Ushuaia, Argentina (the southernmost city in the world) and 12 days aboard a marine research vessel bound for the vast, cold and eerily quiet landscape of Antarctica. “It’s like being in an envelop of snow”, says Maggie. “You can see the mountains but you can’t tell where they end and where the clouds begin”. The expedition occurred during the Austral summer, when the weather is best and Antarctica becomes home to the greatest concentration of wildlife on Earth. Maggie observed some of natures’ greatest wonders first-hand – pure glacial water, icebergs, volcanoes, penguin rookeries, skua, whales and more. They visited Palmer Station, a 46-person research station on Anvers Island, the site of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s notorious shipwreck, and Deception Island, home to an active volcano. The group also participated in the first TEDx talk hosted from the continent (TEDx: Youth @ Antarctic Peninsula). “We lived and worked with students from across Canada, the U.S., India, Australia, Anaktuvuk and more… we all had the same passion for learning and the environment and it’s great to now have this global network of youth to connect with”.