Submitted by Lynn Crofts
The representatives of each age category for the Leaders of Tomorrow awards have been named. They will be recognized in a ceremony Apr. 8.
6-11 yrs - Raya Schamber
Raya Schamber is the perfect candidate fur the Leaders of Tomorrow award. It is important to recognize Raya for all her hard work, dedication, effort, empathy, compassion, leadership and work ethic, for she displays all these qualities not only in school, but also in the community.
Raya is a grade 5 student here at Gwynne School, where our student population ranges from Kindergarten- Grade 8. Being a small rural school with both Elementary and Junior High provides many opportunities for leadership and Raya ensures she is involved in all of them.
Raya is also seen displaying leadership qualities when involved in groups with the older students. She ensures her ideas are heard, acknowledged and put in place. Raya is a regular participant on intramural teams as well as a regular lunch supervisor for our Grade ½ classroom. She is also an active member of our GGRT (Gwynne’s Green Recycling Team) and is often seen lending a helping hand to any student or teacher in the hallway. Raya also helps to lead our school’s Glee club, often singing solos, and duets as well as helping other members learn their vocals and choreography and helps to plan the choreography for the routines. Raya also assists our school secretary in organizing our school book fair. Raya is also a member of the Gwynne School leadership Team where she helps plan school activities and creates posters to advertise for them.
Raya’s Leadership skills are seen out in the community as well. Raya plays club Volleyball, and basketball. She helps to lead warm-ups and contributes to her team by cheering on fellow athletes. Raya is the eldest of 4 children, therefore her leadership skills are strong at home. She assists her siblings with various tasks and helps with chores around the farm. Piano is a passion for Raya and she takes lessons and plays in recitals. This musical ability has led to her teaching herself the ukulele.
If Raya could volunteer anywhere she would love to volunteer at Neighbours Outreach. She wants to help people less fortunate, Raya is quoted saying, “people don’t seem to think about homelessness as much as they used to, and it is a big problem in Wetaskiwin. I want to help.”
She would also like to volunteer at a vet clinic. She would love to help animals and learn more about them so she can use that knowledge on the family farm.
Raya motivates others, by showing a lot of positive encouragement, restraining from peer pressure and being a positive role model. She is always lending a helping hand to her peers and encouraging them in all activities. Raya’s leadership skills stand out as she encourages others and positively guides them along on the tasks at hand. The way Raya is often the first one to volunteer for a task, the first one to help a peer, or staff member, and always with a smile on her face and a positive attitude makes her a positive role model and leader in our community.
Raya has many important characteristics, she is extremely kind, empathetic, sociable, and always helpful, but one that really stands out is her positive attitude. Raya is always smiling, and finding the good in all situations. She is always around to lend a hand to anybody whether they are in Kindergarten or a member of the staff, and it is always done with a smile.
Raya is a leader in our school and community for all of the above reasons, and perhaps most of all, because she is an extremely humbling individual. She never acts or contributes for praise or glory, only to lend a helping hand and make our school and community a better place to be at each day. The future is Raya’s to behold and I look forward to seeing all the good she will do for our world.
12-14 yrs - Charley-Anna Ware
Charley is a student who is more than deserving of this esteemed recognition. It is next to impossible to put into words all the leadership skills, and amazing personality traits that make up this young lady. It is important to recognize Charley for all her extremely hard work, dedication, effort, empathy, compassion, leadership and work ethic, she displays all these and more not only at school, but also in the community.
Charley is a grade 7 student at Gwynne School, where our student population ranges from Kindergarten- Grade 8. Being a small rural school with both Elementary and Junior High provides many opportunities for leadership and Charley takes advantage of them all. Charley is a regular participant on intramural teams as well as a regular lunch supervisor for our grade ¾ classroom. She is also an active member of our GGRT (Gwynne’s Green Recycling Team) and is often seen lending a helping hand to any student or teacher in the hallway. She is also a member of the school’s leadership team where she helps to plan school wide activities and she makes posters to advertise for the events. Charley also helps to lead our school’s Glee club, helping other members learn their vocals and choreography and cheering on those who need some extra encouragement. Charley also assists our school secretary in organizing our school book fair. She is also quick to notice any peers or other students who are alone or In need of a friend and includes them in her activity.
Charley’s leadership skills are seen out in the community as well. Charley plays on a local hockey team where she plays center. Her job is to score goals and she does her job well and with no mercy. Charley also leads her team in warm ups and helps to lead practices. She is currently in the running for captain or assistant captain. Charley is also involved In the Wetaskiwin and Camrose Drama clubs. She practices singing, participates in core workouts, and of course practices plays. Charley Is also famous for her one woman comedy acts which she presents at home. She often has her family in stitches. Evidently she also does this at school.
Charley would love to volunteer in a senior’s home, she strongly feels that everyone needs assistance and support. She believes everyone needs someone in their lives to be upbeat and happy. Bringing joy into the lives of senior citizens is important. Volunteering in a home would also give her the opportunity to meet great people and hear amazing stories about their experiences and gain from their wisdom. Charley is quoted saying, “some seniors are left alone and may not get any visitors so it would be nice to visit with them and bring them joy.”
Charley motivates others, by showing a lot of positive encouragement, restraining from peer pressure and being a positive role model. She is always lending a helping hand to her peers and encouraging them in all activities. Charley’s leadership skills stand out as she encourages others
and positively guides them along on the tasks at hand. The way Charley is often the first one to volunteer for a task, the first one to help a peer, or staff member, and always with a smile on
her face and a positive attitude make her a positive role model and leader in our community.
Charley has many important characteristics, she is extremely empathetic, gentle, kind, sociable, and always helpful, positive attitude, but one that really stands out is her encouragement of others. Charley is the first one to root for the underdog. She is always encouraging those around her and cheering them on to do their best at whatever goal is at hand. She is always around to lend a hand to anybody whether they are in Kindergarten or a member of the staff, and it is always done with a smile.
Charley is a leader in our school and community for all of the above reasons, and perhaps most of all, because she is an extremely humbling individual. She never acts or contributes for praise or glory, only to lend a helping hand and make our school and community a better place to be at each day. I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for Charley. I know that the world is a far better place with Charley in it.
15-17 yrs - Tyson Brown
Thank you for this opportunity to acknowledge the exceptional youth within the community. I am thrilled to submit a nomination for Tyson Brown, a 16 year old student at WCHS.
I first became aware of Tyson two years ago when I began teaching music at Norwood School. Tyson’s mother is a colleague of mine, and she was quick to tell me about how musical and involved in the arts her children are. She has every reason to be as proud as she is. Though I have never had the pleasure of teaching Tyson in the classroom, he has made himself very valuable to my music program at Norwood School and I know that his dedication, skill, and willingness to help out are reflected in many other areas of his life, too. After becoming aware of Tyson’s skill and desire to give back to his community. I invited him to accompany my Grade 3-6 choir at the Wetaskiwin Music Festival in 2018. He demonstrated professionalism, preparedness, and we were all very proud to have him perform alongside us. The children eagerly looked forward to the next time “Mrs. Brown’s son” would be with us in rehearsal. He has the ability to inspire younger children to reach high and rise to the occasion. In Spring 2018, my music program was gifted 30 ukuleles by our parent council. In between his busy final exam schedule and the beginning of baseball season, Tyson organized his life to spend a few afternoons tuning the ukuleles and offering his expertise to help get them classroom ready. He was quick to jump in and participate during elementary music classes, just itching to help out and participate wherever he could.
Tyson lives for music. He is a multi-instrumentalist (drums, guitar, bass, piano, voice) and has recently started exploring the world of audio recording and live sound. As a musician myself I am aware of the commitment it takes to learn a new instrument. Tyson jumps in head first and takes full advantage of learning opportunities that are presented to him and is always eager to seek out new experiences and connections. A list is provided outlining his exceptional community involvement and commitment to his own professional development, which already, at age sixteen, surpasses many adults that I know who are currently pursuing music as a career.
Since junior high school (and perhaps even before), teachers have relied on Tyson’s skill and willingness to help out. He has been actively involved in musical ensembles both within WCHS and the greater Wetaskiwin community. He is someone who the adults in his life rely on as a “right hand man,” whether that be setting up entire sound systems for WCHS events or DJ-ing NHL Alumni hockey games. He is reliable, communicates exceptionally well, is passionate about what he does, and his kindness is absolutely infectious. I am not the first to recognize his leadership qualities. Tyson was awarded the RBC Canada Make 150 Count award by Sacred Heart School. He was granted $150 to “make a contribution to the community”.
Tyson chose to sing and play his guitar and give away Canada paraphernalia to patients at the Stollery Children’s Hospital and the UofA hospital just prior to Canada’s sesquicentennial Canada Day. He is selfless with his time, skills, and energy and actively seeks out opportunities to share these with those around him.
h his time, skills, and energy and actively seeks out opportunities to share these with those around him.
As a teacher within WRPS and a teacher at Augustana, University of Alberta, I encounter many youth in my day-to-day activities. Tyson surpasses all of them in his eagerness to help, willingness to learn and desire to lend his expertise for the greater community good. I would not hesitate in presenting Tyson with this honor.
18-21 yrs - Ben Taje
I am nominating Ben Taja for leaders of tomorrow for a number of reasons. Ben has been a volunteer with Wetaskiwin and District Minor Football for over 6 years. In that time he has coached Bantam, Pee Wee, Atom and Novice, often on the same night. Ben is a dependable young man that is helpful and cheerful.
Everybody enjoys his leadership, he is kind, supportive, and his smile is infectious. Ben comes early and stays late. When you need something done ask Ben. If he can, he will help. If he can’t he will let you know he can’t.
Ben has been coaching with me for three years with the novice flag program. In that program we teach 4 to 7 year olds how to run throw and catch. Ben is a natural. You can watch the young people and how they respond to Ben. Working with those young athletes is not easy. There is a lot of ways they become distracted. You have to have gentle leadership but firm management. Ben has been working hard to develop those skills. He is an asset to our program and any program he supports. He is going to go on to do great things. He is truly a Leader of Tomorrow.
It is an honor to nominate Ben.
The Leaders of Tomorrow ceremony will be held Apr. 8 at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum Exhibit Gallery. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., ceremony from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. followed by an ice cream bar.