YALE MAIL
May Edition

Principal's Message
Yale Secondary School is known as the school with the highest academic standing, wonderful arts and provincially ranked sports teams. Last Friday we demonstrated that Yale is also a school that can have fun! Under the guidance of staff member, Doug Primrose, the school hosted a Seven Aside Rugby tournament for schools from all over the Fraser Valley. We are proud to say that Yale was represented in all of the final games - but more importantly, there was a festive atmosphere as Yale staff and students ate hot dogs, listened to music and cheered on the players.

We are fortunate to be involved in a school that is "on fire" with enthusiasm - with staff and students who go the extra mile to make Yale one of the best schools in the province.

PAC
PAC meeting is on Thursday, May 8 at 7:00pm and it is the Annual General Meeting.

Garage Sale Fundraiser
Please support the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation by coming out to the
Yale Secondary School garage sale on Saturday, May 3rd. It's from 9:00am
until 3:00pm! All the profits will go directly to this worthy cause. Your support is very much appreciated. Direct any questions to Ms Rajabally at soraya_rajabally@sd34.bc.ca.

Volunteer Opportunity
Several Yale students work with WA Fraser students in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Teen Mentoring Program. If you are a grade 10 or 11 student, interested in being a Big Brother or Sister to a WA Fraser student next year, see Mrs. Roger for details. After undergoing a training session, you will be matched with a student from the middle school and arrange to meet with them for an hour each week.

Testimonials from Yale mentors:
"It was a great experience. My little buddy was positive and a great person to be around."
"It's really rewarding. It's just an hour a week but I feel even that small amount of time can make a huge difference in someone's life."
"Knowing that you are giving back to the community in some way ....."

Congratulations
... to Dwight Isaac, Steven Ratcliff, Wes Kraus and Michael Williams for completing the Roofing Contractors Association of BC Safety Orientation. They now have the opportunity to be apprenticed in a building trade. Students interested in this program next year should see Mrs. Roger for information.

Yale Canteen
The Canteen has been successfully up and running Monday to Friday since September, serving healthy entrees, salads, soups, sandwiches, snacks, bottled water and juice. With students making healthier choices every day, the number of meals is increasing, as is the efficient preparing, packaging and serving of the hungry students at Yale.

We need parent volunteers to keep the Canteen running every day of the week. Please contact Maya Leighton at the school or email maya_leighton@sd34.bc.ca

Theatre of Laughter
The annual Spring play produced by Yale Secondary School's Theatre of Laughter is the Michael Frayn farce "Noises Off". This play has been described as the funniest farce ever written. It is a farce about farce taking the clichés of the genre, and shaking them inventively through a series of kaleidoscopic patterns. Never missing a trick, it has as its first act a pastiche of traditional farce; as its second, a contemporary variant on the formula; as its third, an elaborate undermining of it.

The play opens with a touring theatre company dress-rehearsing a conventional farce called "Nothing On". Mixing mockery and homage, the author heaps into this play within a play a hilarious melee of stock theatre characters and situations. The characters, including the cheery housekeeper, outraged wife and squeaky blonde, stampede in and out of doors. Voices rise, props go missing, scenery doesn't always work and the action turns into a dizzy romp of sidesplitting fun. The play amounts to a celebration of truly awful theatre - a backstage explanation of how things got that way, and a magnificent coda of how they got worse. As one critic wrote, "the bad has never had it so good." Despite all this, the play makes you think as well as laugh.

Enjoy this festival of delirium at the Yale Secondary School Theatre (Drama Room) on May 9 and 10, 16 and 17. The performance starts at 7.00 p.m. Admission is $10. Tickets will be on sale at the door.

Yale Plant Sale:
Rain or shine on Saturday, May 24th from 9am to 2pm. Follow the signs to the rear of the school. Sale takes place in the Greenhouse/Garden area.

We have annuals, perennials, native plants, vegetables, herbs and hanging baskets/ flower and vegetable.

Please support the students of Horticulture 11. All plant material is student grown. Prices are very reasonable. Proceeds are used to purchase supplies for the following year. Thank you for your support.

Leadership
Student leadership has had yet another fun and eventful month. The 30-hour famine was held just a few weeks ago and it ran very smoothly. Students collected donations and spent the entire night at the school while participating in third-world-based activities. Thanks to those who donated their time and money! This past month's events were a success: "Change for Change" was held to see which grade could donate the most pocket change. Congratulations to the grade 10's who won this grade competition. All the proceeds went to the leadership program. Our very last dance of the year was held on April 24th with a "Welcome to the Jungle" theme and lastly our annual Canada Day in May will be held next month. Lion Pride hopes to get the entire student body involved and participating. while having fun and supporting the leadership program.

Key Club
Thanks to all who bought mushroom manure. The Key Club, along with Bateman and Abby Collegiate, were able to collect over $3000.00 towards setting up a trauma centre in a third world country. Thanks akso to all who came and participated in Ladies Night In, and to all the sponsors who donated their time. We were able to make another donation to breast cancer research on behalf of Yale. Only one event remains and that is the Relay for Life. If anyone would like to join the team, see Sarah Childs to register. The Key club has had a very successfull year thanks to many who have supported our endeavours. A number of students participated in the Key Club convention in Seattle and will bring leadership and guidance to the group for next year. Thanks to the great executive who will be graduating. Lawrence Lam, Emily Kuo, Mike Tran and Andrew de Las Heras, we wish you all the best. Thanks too to all the other grade 12's who are moving on. You have truly left your mark with the Yale Key Club, your school, community and nation. Keep up the giving spirit.

Track and Field
The Yale Lions are once again roaring through the Track and Field season! Despite the cool weather, a determined group of athletes have competed at three practice meets and at the Abbotsford/Mission Championship meets on April 23 and 24. Our athletes have done well, both in the Junior and Senior categories, including clear victories by the Senior boys relay team at each of the meets so far. If you are interested in this sport, please feel free to come out and watch the Upper Fraser Valley meet, held at the Rotary Stadium on Wednesday, April 30 (beginning at 3:00 p.m.) and Thursday, May 1 (beginning at 9:30 a.m.). A big thanks to all of the parents who have come on board with us again by helping in the area of transportation. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call either Ruth Neveu or Conrad Wiebe (coaches).

Water Polo
Yale has another BC champion! The Water Polo team went undefeated in winning the Tier 2 BC Water Polo Championships. Yale defeated Dover Bay of Nanaimo 5-4 in an exciting overtime game to take the gold. Congratulations to: Chris Vanjoff, Lawrence Lam, Ashton Ghag, Michelle Ghag, Brittany Utas, Kirsten Fisher, Curtis Yaffe, Shane King, Jake Kardosh, AJ Griffiths, Kent Lutton, Corey Van Egdom, Greg Wilhite and Adam Barclay. Special thanks go to Colin Draney & Alexa Tielmann (W. A. Fraser Middle), Nadia Bernard & Robbie Fisher (Robert Bateman), and Kristof Schlagentweit (MEI) for being an integral part of Yale's success in this tournament.

Chris Vanjoff was named the Tier 2 MVP and Ashton Ghag and Nadia Berard were named to the Tier 2 All Star Team.

Hats off to Linda Fisher for her hard work in organizing and liaising with BC Water Polo and Agnes (Aggie) Fritz for coaching. This is Yale's fist ever Water Polo win - way to go team!

Parent Partner Thank You Dinner
Thank you to our many Yale Parent Partners who have worked hard around Yale this year in various volunteer capacities. Our Canteen moms have ensured that hot, quality, inexpensive lunches are available daily, our PAC parents have ensured that we are meeting our goals and maintain our high level of excellence, our sports parents manned the doors, ran concession stands and roared in the crowd, our musical theatre parents worked on design, sets, props and costumes, plus our club parents worked many hours both in and out of the school. We're sure we missed more than one volunteer endeavour but we are proud of the many, many ways parents have and are engaged in their child's school. To show our deepest appreciation, parents who have volunteered at Yale will be receiving a phone call/letter of invitation to our annual thank you dinner hosted by the Yale Administration on Thursday, May 29. If you are interested in becoming a Parent Partner, feel free to contact Mr. Roger for details - no time committment is too small, no endeavour too little!

Jr. Cheer Try Out
Interested in trying out for Yale's competitive cheer program for next year? A tryout will be held Wednesday, May 7th from 3-5pm in the small gym at Yale for all junior (current grade 8,9,10) students interested in making the squad. Competitive cheerleading includes gymnastics (front/ back handspring, roundoff, front flip/tuck etc.) plus dance, and stunting (tossing into basket catches etc.). No experience is necessary but commitment is required. There will be a one-week summer camp plus one weekly manadatory practice starting in September. Athletes who do not make practices will not be part of the team. See Mrs. Pollastretti for more information.

Link Leaders - May Development Day
Grade 10 or 11 students interested in becoming a Link Leader for next year are encouraged to pick up and complete a Link Leader Application form available in the office. Link Leaders work with incoming freshman in a mentorship/ friendship capacity to guide new grade 9's in their first year at Yale. Link Leaders are required to attend the May Development Day plus two August training days and an August Link Crew day.

An optional information meeting will be held Tuesday, May 6 at lunch in B130 and/or May 8th at 2:45pm at B130. The May Development Day is May 22, from 3-5pm in the small gym, and attendance is required.

Grad News
Ceremonies for the grads of 2008 are happening on Friday, May 23, 7:30 pm at the Seven Oaks Alliance Church. Invitations are now being distributed to the grads.

Rehearsal for the ceremony is mandatory for all grads and is happening on Wednesday, May 21, 3:30 pm at the church. Caps and gowns will be distributed after the rehearsal.