Patience, persistence, and a belief in oneself.
That’s what it took for a select group of Woodstock and Bath-area students to reverse underachievement in their personal and academic lives, and rally to work toward achieving their potential.
Last Wednesday, district officials and the family, friends, and teachers who motivated their individual turnarounds gathered to honour them at two separate Turnaround Achievement Awards ceremonies.
The Woodstock Best Western hosted a ceremony for 16 Woodstock-area students sponsored by John and Betty Lou Craig of Craig Manufacturing. Betty Lou was master of ceremonies for the event which began with a presentation of awards to teachers and administrative assistants for their efforts throughout the school year.
“You’ve exhibited great perseverance and leadership,” John Craig told students. “The thing that I would ask you is to have a positive effect on those around you.”
Further upriver, parents, friends, and school officials gathered at Florenceville-Bristol’s Carleton North High School to honour nine Bath-area Turnaround Achievement Award winners at a ceremony sponsored by the Bath Lions.
Craig Manufacturing will be awarding an undisclosed amount in scholarships to some award recipients at a later date. The Bath Lions did not award scholarships but are considering doing so in the future.
Shay’s story
Shay Paul experienced more heartache in his first 18 years than most experience in a lifetime.
The Carleton North High School senior experienced his parents’ divorce when he was two years old. Then, in his Grade 10 year, Paul’s mother died.
“That hit me really deep, and I didn’t even want to come back to school because growing up she was always the one I really shared my feelings with the most,” he said. “She was there for me.”
Paul admits he let his schoolwork slip after his mother’s death. And things were compounded further when, in Grade 11, both his stepfather and maternal grandfather also died.
The deaths of his parents sparked a custody battle between his guardians—his stepfather’s family—and his biological father, who wanted him to move to Ontario.
“My father wanted to take me over to Toronto and I wanted to stay here where I built my friendships, you know? I didn’t want to go over to Toronto,” said Paul.
In the midst of this turbulence, Paul’s family and friends stepped up. He started living with his stepfather’s family while also remaining close to his birth family, particularly his maternal grandmother.
Staff & Faculty honours
Centreville Community School teachers Jill and Grant Robinson and their family rallied around Paul, as did the CNHS basketball team coaching staff.
Said Carleton North High School Principal Jason Smith, “As a school, we try to stay as neutral as we can, but we met with all parties and wrote letters of support for Shay to remain here in the community, because that was his choice.”
Paul’s support system kicked into overdrive.
“I had family telling me that my education was very important, especially now in high school,” he said. “They all really prompted me to keep going forward. And I promised to do my best because they said that’s what my mother and my stepfather would always want.”
That community and family support drove Paul’s forward momentum in school over the past two years. He’ll be graduating in June with a renewed focus on his future work and life prospects, and an enthusiastic base of support back home.
“I was already leaning towards Dalhousie for pharmacy because I have an aunt who works in pharmacy, and I’ve seen her work, and it seemed like something I would like,” said Paul. “But I’ve also worked with my [paternal] grandfather, and he is a mechanic, and I did like the hands-on work there too. So, I might just spend the year trying to see which one I’d rather do.”
Chelsea’s story
For John Caldwell School Grade 12 student Chelsea Stacey, anxiety hindered her progress academically and socially during the first two years of high school.
“She was very hyper, and it was very hard for her to focus,” said her father, Ryan Stacey. This inability to focus led to her struggling in most of her subjects.
But starting in her junior year, something changed: “I didn’t really enjoy being around people. But I wanted to push my limits and see what I could do,” she said.
So, Stacey began facing her fears by volunteering in the community. She volunteers on local committees and MCs the on-ice intermission for the Rapids Junior A hockey games in Grand Falls.
“This helped with motivation and putting myself out there so I’m not so enclosed,” she said.
Both her parents and school staff have noticed the positive change. Stacey has increased her grade point average over the last two years and has been on the honour roll at school consistently this school year.
“She really, really turned around by focusing on her studies, and helping with the community,” Ryan said.
Mya’s story
“I grew up and got over it.,” said Mya Brooks-Lisoway, a Grade 8 student at Nackawic Middle School.
The “it” she refers to is a level of interpersonal drama in middle school that often found Brooks-Lisoway “pushing herself into conflict frequently and then being overwhelmed when she would get into trouble,” said Nackawic Middle School Principal Stephen Jones.
“Students in upper grades often avoided Mya as she came with a ton of negative attitude,” Jones said.
So, Grade 6 was a challenge for Mya. But, as she said, she eventually ‘grew up and got over it.’ Mya started realizing her potential in Grade 7.
“Even in grade six, when she struggled, she always had a great energy,” Jones said. “She had to harness that. Things got better in grade seven, and you could tell it was getting better because she just wasn’t as dramatic.”
And the energy she put into drama in the past is now being used to mentor younger students. She has become quite popular with her peers and staff, he said.
Said Mya, “I think I just wanted to be a show-off when I was younger. I grew up a little bit.”
Woodstock-area Turnaround Achievement Award winners
Bath-area Turnaround Achievement Award recipients
