• Members of 4-H have been busy lately, with numerous competitions.
Cowichan Cobble Hill 4-H District Public Speaking was the first Valley 4-H event this year with several other communication events such as ed boards and demonstration events following this spring and summer.
The 4-H District Public Speaking event Senior winners were, in first place, Victoria Kovacs of the Cowichan Beef Club, speaking on “The 5 principles of exemplary leadership”, second place was Hailey Nolette from the Community Club speaking on “Book Obsessor”, and Angus Trombley also from the Community Club speaking on “Rock Climbing” placed third.
For the District Juniors Paisley Kovacs from the Cowichan Beef Club placed first place, second place was awarded to Makenna Breuker of the Community Club and Nishaa Dhami also of the Community Club placed third place.
4-H held their 4-H Education Board competition on April 27 with three members moving on to regional competition. First place was Will Lake, second place was Matthew Lake, Danielle Groenendijk finished third, and Luke Doran placed fourth.
4-H held their annual Demonstrations competition in early May with two teams moving on to regional competition up-island. The two team winners were Meredith Wilson and Cora Merchant from Community Club in first place and Cynthia and Jayden Barry from Horse Club in second place.
• The Cowichan High School graduating class of 1954 will be celebrating the 65th anniversary of their graduation on June 4 and 5, 2019, at the Ramada Inn, in Duncan.
There will be a meet and greet session on June 4, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. If there are members in the community from the CHS graduating classes of 1951-1957, they are welcome to stop by and say hello. Organizers ask that they contact Bob Wing at 250-746-5436 or Ann Hawkins at 1-250-752-7512, by May 20.
• #ShawniganCleanUp2019 was on Sunday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a community-wide coordinated effort launched from the Shawnigan Lake Community Centre in the heart of Shawnigan village.
Volunteers were dispatched to zones around the lake and along high traffic areas, equipped with bags, gloves, and tongs and the means to gather and deal with all of the litter to be sorted and hauled away. Refreshments plus related activities and info were shared.
All who participated enjoyed the benefits of many hearts working together to take care of our environment! New this year — finding Prize Eggs to win vouchers from sponsors! Many smiles were captured in front of the People of Action banner, too.
• At the invitation of Clements Centre Society, local businesses gathered Saturday, April 20, at the Oceanfront Cowichan Bay to be recognized for their Inclusive Hiring Practices.
“At Clements we envision a community in which everyone is included, valued and celebrated. For each of us, value and inclusion is most found in the places we work and play. The night was all about employers, with their inclusive hiring practices, these employers help us to achieve our vision,” said Dianne Hinton, CEO. “On behalf of the Clements Centre family we thank these employers for being the leaders in our community, for recognizing and celebrating the strengths in everyone.”
Over 26 employers were in attendance to receive certificates of excellence. Another 14 employers were invited but unable to attend.
Community Living BC provides funding for the Clements Centre Supported Employment program and also contributed to costs for the special evening. Given the success, Clements Centre hopes to make this an annual event.
If your business has inclusive hiring practices or for more information about Clements Centre’s Supported Employment Program contact Cindy Collins at 250-597-3386.
• Sahtlam Volunteer Fire Department ran its 11th annual Food Drive for the Cowichan Valley Basket Society on April 6 and 7.
“A huge thank you to all in the Sahtlam community who helped surpass last year’s totals with 770 pounds of food and $1,076.60!” said organizers.
Donations were delivered to the food bank in Duncan on Wednesday, May 1.
• Ten thousand students from across British Columbia competed, 209 made the provincial finals, including five students from SD 79, Cowichan Valley, in this year’s pan-provincial French public speaking competition, Concours d’art oratoire.
Emma Anzarut of École Cobble Hill won second place for Grade 7 early immersion.
Other finalists from Cowichan included Maeve Carlin of Cowichan Secondary, Koralie Magnan of École Mount Prevost, Nirva Megevand of École Cobble Hill and Chantelle Westgate of École Quamichan.
“Concours is an outstanding showcase and celebration of excellence in French language education,” said Greer Cummings, president of Canadian Parents for French BC & Yukon.
“Through participation in Concours, students develop their public speaking and relationship building skills in French, and ultimately the confidence to express their ideas clearly. These capacities are highly valued in today’s global society, making these students more adaptable and employable in a dynamic and competitive landscape. As effective communicators, these students will become the leaders of tomorrow. We are so proud of all our Concours participants. Bravo à vous toutes et tous pour votre belle participation!”
This year marked the 36th anniversary of the Canadian Parents for French BC & Yukon-sponsored Concours d’art oratoire. The provincial finals were hosted Saturday, May 4 at SFU Surrey.