vol9issue25_grad

DTSS ~ Class of 2012 • 1

June 22, 2012

The Columbia Valley Pioneer Presents...

The Class of 2012

Starting this week, David Thompson Secondary School’s graduating class of 2012 is celebrating 13 years of hard work, friendship, and memories. Turn the page for a look at all the grads, a trip back to elementary school for four students, and a graduating triple-threat.

Photo by Kristian Rasmussen

Hats off to all our 2012 grads! everyday banking

loans & lines of credit

student mastercard

term deposits

online & mobile banking

TFSAs

You make your community proud. As you follow your soaring dreams, let Kootenay Savings make life on the ground easier with our unique financial solutions for students. Wherever you’re studying, we’re with you all the way. better. together.

kscu.com

2 • DTSS ~ Class of 2012

June 22, 2012

Anderson, Caoimhe

Arif, Elizabeth

Baertschi, Kimberly

Banville, Jacob

Becker, Hayden

Beggs, Blake

Belcher, Jade

Benson, Caitlynn

Bialkoski, Morgan

Bond, Morgan

Congratulations to our Grads!

Jesse and Thomas

Congratulations to the class of 2012 From the Akisqnuk First Nation

Congratulations Class of 2012!

Anglz

H A I R & TA N N I N G S T U D I O

CONGRATULATIONS to the class of

2012

Barb J. Smith, CGA 1022A 7th Ave Invermere, BC 250-342-8304 - bjsacct@telus.net

3rd Avenue, Invermere • 250-342-3227

BAVIN GLASSWORKS & BAVIN GLASS CABIN

Congratulations to the Class of 2012.

Athalmer Hwy.

250-342-6816

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2012. www.bighornmeadows.ca

7th Avenue, Invermere • 250-342-9268

College of the RoCkies - Invermere Campus

Congratulations to Olivia Rad and all the 2012 grads.

Congratulations

Invest in the Future!

Congratulations 2012 Grads!

Invermere Branch • 250-342-9237

MAY THE FUTURE HOLD ALL OF YOUR DREAMS GRADS OF 2012

2012 Grads! www.cotr.bc.ca www.cotr.bc.ca

info@cvchamber.com

Canwest Propane would like to congratulate all the Invermere grads of 2012.

Invermere • 250-341-3206

D

o not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2012!

914 – 8th Avenue, PO Box 339, Invermere, BC V0A 1K0 Ph: 250-342-9281 • Fax: 250-342-2934 E-mail: info@invermere.net

DTSS ~ Class of 2012 • 3

June 22, 2012

Campbell, Kelsey

Carlow, Benjamin

Charbonneau, Benoit

Clare, Thomas

Cranch, Baxter

Doucette, Jesse

Downey, Jordan

Durning, Jessica

Ellingboe, Sawyer

Elliott, Mitchell

Congratulations

Congratulations TO THE GRADUATES OF 2012

Tyler “Bellies” Gulbe, Martina “Barbados” Shovar, Morgan ‘Z” Bialkoski, Cody Horning, Masha Salimovskaya and Travis “T-Bones” Nyrose.

Good luck in the future from Michael, Amy Lee, Chrispy.

350 Laurier, Invermere • 250-342-9933 Fairmont Hot Springs Resort congratulates the Class of 2012 and celebrates the achievements of our graduating student employees: Caoimhe Anderson Morgan Bond Baxter Cranch Jordan Downey Amanda El Wakeel

Gracy Jones Michael Santini Breanna Sass Bayley Vander Maaten

SMALL ENGINE

INVERMERE • 250-341-6887

Jason Elford, CFP • 250-342-5052

Congratulations to all the Grads of 2012!

From everyone at

Fire’D UP

Breakfast & Burgers in Radium Hot Springs

Flooring

Congratulations DJ Cake B. and all the grads of 2012.

Invermere 250-342-6649

Congratulations

Congratulations to Kate and Holly and the class of 2012.

GODLIEN

Invermere, BC V0A 1KO Ph: 250-342-8604 Fax: 250-342-0492 Toll Free: 1-800-342-8604

Live in the Moment, Plan for the Future

to the grads of 2012!

Would like to wish all the grads the best in the future

Congratulations to the class of 2012!

Main Street, Invermere

250-342-0402

926 - 7th Avenue, Invermere • 250-342-4406

4 • DTSS ~ Class of 2012

June 22, 2012

Elwakeel, Amanda

Feissel, Nathan

Feldmann, Stephanie

Grocutt, Kyra

Gulbe, Tyler

Hall, Desmond

Congratulations to the class of 2012!

Invermere Bottle Depot & Recycle Centre

Industrial Rd. #2, Invermere • 250-342-7272

Congratulations!

All the Best to the Grads of 2012

Invermere Dry Cleaners Ltd. Dry Cleaning • Laundry • Alterations Repair • Bachelor Service 507A - 7th Ave., Invermere • 250-342-6610

LIVE WELL WITH

CONGRATULATIONS 2012 GRADS! 250 342 2999 palliserprinting.com

Radium Supermart

Congratulations to Sawyer Ellingboe and all the rest of the 2012 grads.

Box 206, Radium, BC, V0A 1M0 • 250-347-9988

INVERMERE 250-342-8877

Glassford, Holly

Halwa, Julia

Godlien, Kate

Hart-McAllister, Raven

Best wishes to the class of 2012

LAMBERT-KIPP PHARMACY LTD.

1301 - 7 Avenue, Invermere th

250-342-6612

Congratulations to Emily and her classmates.

Congratulations Class of 2012.

We are particularly proud of you Mary, Henry & Lily.

Congratulations Grads of 2012 From Jason, Tanya and all the staff at

MaxWell Realty Invermere

Glenn Pomeroy

926-7th Avenue, Invermere, B.C.

Invermere • 250-342-9692

Congratulations to the Grad Class of 2012, we wish you the best!

Best wishes to Jordan Downey, Kelsey Shaver-Reichenauer and the grads of 2012!

Congratulations to 2012 DTSS Graduate

Max Regitnig We are sorry you’re leaving us behind!

Love, your family.

7th Ave. Invermere • 250-342-6415

Invermere Industrial Park

250-342-8331

DTSS ~ Class of 2012 • 5

June 22, 2012

Hembling, Tristen

Hemmelgarn, Christopher

Hollick, Cody

Horning, Cody

Hemmelgarn, Tannis

Horning, Cooper

Congratulations to Tristen Hembling-Harvey From the management and staff at…

Congratulations to the class of 2012. Your future is blooming ahead of you. [p] 250.342.7559 [f] 250.342.7558 [e] contemporary_flowers@yahoo.ca

Congratulations Grads of 2012!

13th Street, Invermere

250-342-6978

Congratulations to the class of 2012. All the best in your future endeavours.

Hillary, Erin

Hul, Dominic

Ivers, Daniel

Congratulations to GreekofGrill all Tony’s the Grads 2012!

Tony’s Greek Grill

Hwy 93/95 and the Crossroads • Invermere

In Fairmont

Live your dreams, class of 2012!

Congratulations In Fairmont to all the grads of 2012

CVCC Award Winner: 2000-2003, 2005-2012

906 - 7th Ave., Invermere 250-342-3330

Congratulations to Kate and Holly and the grads of 2012.

INDERMERE WV ALLEY Golf Course

141 Industrial Rd. 2 • 250-342-9424

Hendry, Morgan

Tee Times (250) 342-3004

Valley V Hair H Styling S

Best wishes to the grads of 2012.

Have a fun and safe Grad!

1313 7th Ave., Invermere, BC • 250-342-6355

250-688-HAWK www.valleyhawk.com

Congratulations to Emily and all her graduating friends.

As you go out into the world, look out for #1 and don’t step in #2! Congrats to all grads!

MaxWell Realty Invermere

Daniel Zurgilgen 926-7th Avenue, Invermere, B.C.

250-345-6233 • www.fairmontpizza.ca

6 • DTSS ~ Class of 2012

June 22, 2012

Fro m t h e p l ayg ro u n d to p o l is h e d g radu ate s

We sat down with a student from each of the valley’s elementary schools as they prepare to fly the nest after graduating high school. They reminisced over their time at David Thompson Secondary School, and shared their plans for the future.

Breton Trask (page 11)

Kelsey Shaver-Reichenauer (page 11)

Breton, the son of Byron and Adele Trask, grew up in the valley and passed through Laird Elementary School on his way to David Thompson Secondary. After graduating, Breton plans to continue his education at the University of Alberta studying for a Bachelor of Science honours degree.

“I have my path pretty well set for me,” Breton said. “I am really excited to follow through with that now.”

Breton is hoping to go into dentistry, but his pathway wasn’t always so clearly laid out. While playing hockey in Calgary as a goalie, Breton was injured and used his time off the ice to dive into science studies.

After learning more about biology and how the human body functions he chose to pursue a career in the sciences.

Breton said he’s most looking forward to getting out and making new friends on campus at U of A. “It is going to be awesome,” he said. “I am going to meet tons of new people.”

Though he’s excited to head out of the valley, Breton will never forget the times he enjoyed during his school years. “ My favourite high school memory is manhunt,” he said. “Me and a few other students organized a manhunt game, which covered the area from Tim Hortons to CastleRock. There were about 140 of us driving around in the middle of the night with giant flashlights trying to catch each other.”

Kelsey grew up in Columere and went to Martin Morigeau Elementary in Canal Flats. She is the daughter of Susan Shaver and Brian Dovauo.

The valley local has prescribed the perfect mixture for her future, heading to Ontario to study as a pharmacy technician.

“I decided to take the pharmacy technician program because I am really interested in the science aspect of the job and helping people,” said Kelsey, who will attend Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. “I am glad to be done high school and going onto something bigger.”

Although she is excited about her new adventures, Kelsey said she will miss the friends that she has made and the enjoyable experiences while at David Thompson Secondary.

“I would say that my maturity level has increased and I became a lot closer with everybody coming in from different schools,” she said.

One of her most cherished memories of high school was a very special class trip last year, she added.

“I like the trips that we have taken, especially when we went to Calgary for Cirque Du Soleil last year,” she said. “The performance was amazing.”

Kelsey is excited to leave for college and hopes to broaden her horizons even more in the future by travelling around Europe.

“I really want to get out and see the world outside Invermere.”

Stefen Seel (page 11)

Breanna Sass (page 10)

J.A. Laird Elementary

Martin Morigeau Elementary

Edgewater Elementary

Windermere Elementary

Stefen, son of Rod Seel and Birgit Koster, has spent his entire life in the valley and already has a goal in mind for his post-secondary plans.

“I will be playing hockey and hopefully getting a scholarship in the U.S.,” he said. “ It feels great to be graduating — it is such a relief.”

Stefen plans to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree at a U.S. university and is happy to go where the opportunity takes him if offered a scholarship.

At high school Stefen chose to pursue a course load filled with chemistry and physics, which he said was “extremely interesting.”

Graduation and a new future ahead is an exciting prospect for the Grade 12 student, but he will never forget his time at high school and the teachers that helped shape his experience, he said.

“My fondest memory of high school is probably listening to Mr. Kopp tell some pretty funny stories about hunting with Mr. Sage,” he said.

When asked how he has changed from Grade 8 to graduation, the 6’4” hockey player pointed to an obvious altitude adjustment.

“I have definitely got a lot taller,” he joked.

All kidding aside, the valley native has learned some life lessons while at David Thompson that he thinks will help him in the future.

“I think you get a lot more mature from Grade 8 to Grade 12 and you begin to realize your responsibilities in life.”

Breanna grew up in Fairmont Hot Springs and wants to pursue a career in the sciences at the University of Calgary next fall.

“I got the idea to go into the sciences because I really like helping people,” she said. “My dad [David Sass] has spinal disease and I really want to help out other people who are suffering from it.”

The end of high school is exhilarating for Breanna, but also a little nerve-wracking, she confessed.

“I am really proud of myself and what I have accomplished, but the uncertainty of everything in the future makes me worry.”

The grad has fond memories of her time at David Thompson Secondary School, including a tenacious Tim Hortons coffee regime.

“I would say that the race for Roll Up The Rim was my fondest high school story,” she said. “It was intense. We bought so many coffees and so many teas, but we didn’t even come close to winning.”

Breanna has been an avid athlete throughout high school, playing volleyball, soccer and basketball. An enjoyable high school experience helped to shape the person Breanna is today, she said.

“I have definitely matured. I have grown up as a person and my personality has changed,” she said. “It is still me though!”

Breanna’s parents are David Sass and Margie Serediuk.

DTSS ~ Class of 2012 • 7

June 22, 2012

TRIPLE THREAT

The Smith triplets — Mary, Lily, and Henry — have journeyed through school together. Now they prepare to take to the stage at graduation as a trio.

By Kristian Rasmussen Pioneer Staff Sometimes the best things come in threes. Henry, Mary and Lily Smith are valley triplets set to graduate this year, who said the experience of travelling through the school system as a triple threat is something they wouldn’t give up for the world.

“We are in a lot of the same classes, like calculus and the sciences, so we help each other out with homework,” Mary said. “If one person doesn’t get the problem it is really nice because we already have someone there to answer our questions and help us out. It probably helps us get better marks.”

Outside of homework assignments, being a triplet also comes with its own social network.

“We have a big group of friends, but if you’re bored you can always hang out with each other I guess,” Henry joked.

The benefits of being a Smith triplet also included sharing experiences together.

“We are in all the same classes and we are graduating the same year,” Lily said. “It is nice to have more than just one person go through it all.”

Although graduation is an exhilaTHREE’S COMPANY — Triplets Mary (left), Henry (middle), and Lily (right) will have three times the fun this graduation.

rating time for the Smiths, goodbyes looming over the horizon.

After spending elementary and high school together, the three teens will head in different directions to pursue their futures.

Mary will say goodbye to her mom, Louise Helmer, and siblings and head to Montreal to study for a Bachelor of Science at McGill University. She hopes to go to medical school and her ultimate goal is to work for Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian organization that provides medical care in foreign countries to victims of war and disaster.

“Since elementary, I decided that I wanted to be a doctor because I really like all the aspects of the medical world,” she said. “When I got into high school sciences I found that I was actually really interested in the field.”

Henry is putting his experience working for the family company, Max Helmer Construction, to use when he attends Lethbridge College to gain a diploma in civil engineering. He then plans to transfer to the University of British Columbia to gain a Bachelor of Civil Engineering.

“I would like to get that practical experience so that I can

come back and work in a small town,” he said.

Lily has big plans for her future at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, where she will be working towards a Bachelor of Science.

“I find life sciences and the human body really interesting,” she said. “I am excited to move to a new town and go to university. I want to gain more knowledge about the world and about my program.”

But despite bright futures ahead of them, the triplets agree they will never forget their time at Eileen Madson Primary School, Laird Elementary and of course David Thompson Secondary School.

“It is going to be kind of a sad time because we don’t have all the support that we used to have, like our families, friends, and teachers,” Mary said. “Now we have to step out of the box and experience something new.

Photos by Kristian Rasmussen

8 • DTSS ~ Class of 2012

June 22, 2012

Jenkins, Aaron

Jensen, Caitlin

Jensen, Dominique

Jones, Benjamin

Jones, Gracy

Juras, Angelica

Kazakoff, Caleb

Kelly, Scott

Kendall, Dana

Kurtz, Benjamin

All the best to the class of 2012 PO Box 159, Canal Flats, B.C. V0B 1B0 Phone: 250-349-5462 Fax: 250-349-5460 village@canalflats.ca

All the best to the class of 2012 Radium Hot Springs, Golden and Cranbrook

www.PrestigeHotelsAndResorts.com

Congratulations to Caitlynn Benson and the class of 2012.

CON“GRAD”ULATIONS! RT and the class of 2012

Congratulatons to Alisha Trozzo and the class of 2012.

H w y 9 3 / 9 5 , I n v e r m e r e B. C .

Congratulations grads, your future is about to shape up!

Congratulations to Blake Beggs, Zack Opheim, Ellen Wilker, Breton Trask and the grads of 2012.

18 Hole Championship Course Copperpointgolf.com 1-877-418-4653 250-341-3392

Rockies West Realty

Indepently Owned and Operated

Best wishes to the grads of 2012.

Congratulations to the class of 2012.

valley valleyfitness centre

VFC

shapeupinvermere.com

shape

invermere

Independently Owned and Operated 410 Borden St., Athalmer Ph 250-342-6226

Warbrick Towing & Salvage warbrick@shaw.ca • Cell: 250-342-5851

Still want to congratulate your grad?

Contact Dean Midyette to place your congratulatory advertisement.

HWY 93/95 south of Fairmont Hot Springs 250-342-2166 • thehoodoo.com

www.columbiavalleypioneer.com • Email: info@cv-pioneer.com

N E W S PA P E R

8, 1008 8th Ave. Invermere, B.C. Ph: (250) 341-6299 Fax: (250) 341-6229

DTSS ~ Class of 2012 • 9

June 22, 2012

Lang, McKenna-Margaret

Langridge, Travis

Larrabee, Amber

Lightfoot, Blayr

Lindsay, Savannah

Little, Courtney

Livingston, Jared

Lochhead, Sarah

Logan, Hayden

MacLean, Sean

Matheson, Jeffery

McDonald, Haley

McNeil, Ryan

Milligan, Anya

Mitchell, Micah

Nelson, Riley

Nicholas, Aaron

Nikirk, Holly

Nyrose, Travis

Ollenberger, Felicia

10 • DTSS ~ Class of 2012

June 22, 2012

Opheim, Zackary

Pal, Mackenzie

Peck, Bradley

Pietrosky, Levi

Pilote, Chelsea

Purdy, Ryley

Puskaric, Shanice

Rad, Olivia

Regitnig, Max

Reiss, Joshua

Reiter, Adam

Rice, Robert-Tye

Ritsch, Jesse

Ross, Hailey

Sage, Brendan

Salimovskaya, Maria

Sam, Brandon

Sanchez, Mike

Santini, Michael

Sass, Breanna

DTSS ~ Class of 2012 • 11

June 22, 2012

Schager, Samantha

Seel, Colton

Seel, Stefen

Shaver-Reichenauer, Kelsey

Shovar, Martina

Smedstad, Hannah

Smith, Henry

Smith, Lily

Smith, Mary

Snihor, McKaylynn

Swartz, Rhemi-Lee

Thierbach, Antoinette

Thompson, Ciona

Thomson, Matthew

Tomalty, Jesse

Trask, Breton

Trozzo, Alisha

Trudel, Marie-Eve

Vander Maaten, Bayley

Verwey, Kayla

12 • DTSS ~ Class of 2012

June 22, 2012

Vincent, Luke

Von Niessen, Riley

Wagner, Jackie

Weaver, Colton

Weismiller, David

Weller, Kyron

Westergaard, Alanna

Wilker, Ellen

Wojnar, Kayli

Zurgilgen, Emily

Look how far you have come!

All the best from everyone at the

N E W S PA P E R

#8, 1008 - 8th Avenue PO Box 868, Invermere, BC V0A 1K0

Ph: 250.341.6299 Fax: 250.341.6229 www.columbiavalleypioneer.com info@cv-pioneer.com