May 6th, 2017

The Vista Hills Grand Opening ceremony was an extremely memorable experience for all in attendance.  The event opened, as our school did on the first day of school, with the entertaining VH Hawk Line Drumline (including our very own Mr. Ripley), who received all guests as they entered the front doors and sparked the excitement for the evening right from the start.

 

We were blessed to be joined by so many special guests and dignitaries, many of whom who shared positive and meaningful reflections on our school and community, as well as sharing some special gifts with our community.  Special guests included:

  • John Bryant- Director of Education for WRDSB
  • Elaine Ranney – Superintendent of Student Achievement and Well-Being
  • Ted Martin (who brought greetings from the Board), Carol Millar, Kathleen Woodcock, Kathi Smith – WRDSB Trustees
  • MPPs Catherine Fife (Kitchener-Waterloo) and MPP Daiene Vernile (Kitchener-Centre)
  • Ashley Teeter from the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario
  • Todd McDougall – WRDSB Project Manager
  • Ed Bourdeau and Kevin Church from the Ventin Group Architects
  • Matt Postma from TRP Construction
  • And Donna and John Gutscher – descendants of the Greyerbiehl family farm, upon which our school is built

 

Our Primary, Junior and Intermediate / Advanced Choirs performed beautifully, combining to sing a lovely song entitled “I am a Small Part of the World” providing a strong reminder of hope and optimism our collective future.    Thanks to Mme Capa, Mrs. Marshall, Ms. Dicknoether, Mrs. Heathcote, Mr. McWebb, and Mme G,  as well as student accompanist Angela Lee.  The VH student drumline, under the direction of Mr. Ripley and Mrs. Carlaw, also entertained with a strong , moving , motivating and just plain cool piece.  Finally, the newly released and polished school song “I Can Be a HERO” was sung loud and proud by all student and staff who were in attendance.

The Grand Opening Committee, lead by Mrs. Schofield, Mme Catton and Mrs. Sayer, and including Miss Parry, Mrs. Marshall, Mme Capa, Mme G, Mrs Patten, Miss Perry, and Ms. Frey, deserves special recognition for their months of organization and preparation, and for creating an evening to remember, and of which we can all be proud.

 

The official program for the evening can be found in the link below:

17WSB011_vistahills_program_final

 

The time capsule items were shared through a moving video connected top our school song, and the items remain on display in the front foyer display case.

 

As we continue to grow and evolve as a school community, we look forward to continuing to develop, enhance and sophisticate what “weareVH” means.

Special thanks to our wonderful VH staff for all they have done, and will continue to do to help us realize our school vision statement ““living and learning in
a 21st-century culture of innovation and collaboration, with a foundation of solid character and strong community.”

 

Thank you to our school council for their tireless efforts to enhance and support the school vision and the educational experiences for ALL students.  The School Council also had a great display of our fund raising campaign for our Outdoor Play Space . . . the “GIVE.  DONATE. PLAY.” banner will be on display until we reach our goal of $100 000!  Please help us get there, starting with our Walk-a-Thon fund raiser on Friday June 9th.