Friends of the Trojans Committee is very excited to announce that HTHS Alumni Brianne Kinden, a graphic artist has agreed to lend her skills to designing a great new logo for the Friends Committee. This logo will be the new face and brand of the committee for years to come. Once we have some samples we will share them here with everyone. Stay tuned!!!
Last year the Friends of the Trojans hosted their first ever Casino Night and Auction. By the end of the night we were pretty sure we had a winning formula; guests stayed later then ever, the bar was crazy busy, the casino tables were packed. Someone said it was the best party ever held in a high school gymnasium (admittedly that same lady had to be helped to their car), but I think her slurred comment was dead on.
It was such a great time we knew we had to do it again. But we couldn’t just settle for keeping things the same, this group is all about raising the bar. We were determined to make this year’s Casino Night and Auction even better than last year, but how? The Friends of the Trojans got together at Cheers and debated all the ways to make this happen. It was the third round of drinks and we were getting nowhere, when someone burped and said, “how about dropping drop the price to 10 bucks?” What a great idea!
The Casino Night & Auction is being held on Saturday, April 12th. It’s at the Harrison Trimble Gymnasium, and the doors open at 7:00 pm. If you buy your tickets before the event they’re $10 ($15 at the door). With each ticket you receive $100 dollars of Casino money to play with. You can gamble and try to increase your loot, or maybe you just want to hang on to it, because at the end of the night that fake money could win you real prizes. This is how: we’re offering items up for bid in our first ever Casino money auction!
We love to have fun, but as always this event is all about raising funds for the students of Harrison Trimble. So we encourage HTHS parents and alumni to come out and support us, and in turn support our favourite high school! Go to http://friendsofthetrojans.ca/2013/06/06/casino-wrap-up/ for a look at last year’s event
The students of HTHS had a visitor today! Cyrus The Hypnotist took time out to drop by the school, and everyone in attendance was treated to a sneak peek of his upcoming show. He took the stage in the auditorium and had the students enthralled, as he led them through an exercise that demonstrates the power of hypnosis and the mind’s imagination.
Master Hypnotist Cyrus with Student Council rep Alex Eastabrooks
Cyrus it so entertaining to watch, when he’s on the stage he just grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. The HTHS auditorium is the perfect venue for his show, and based on the reaction from the people in the seats, I’d say today was a great teaser for the real thing! Can’t wait for next Saturday, January 18th.
Reminder to the students that Grad Council will be selling tickets at lunch hours. Tickets are only $20 when you buy early ($25 at the door), and some of the proceeds for each ticket sold by the Grads goes directly to them!
The Friends of the Trojans promised a big announcement when we released our upcoming event calendar, and this is it! Cyrus The Hypnotist is bringing his amazing stage show to the HTHS auditorium. His show is a huge hit in venues all across Canada, and he won rave reviews just recently when he packed Casino NB. How we ever managed to convince him to squeeze us into his busy schedule…well, let’s just say there was some begging and pleading involved. But it’s gonna be so worth it. Cyrus said he’ll infuse some maroon and white in the show to tailor it specifically to the Harrison Trimble community. This show is destined to go down in the school’s history, and I wouldn’t wait too long to get tickets because it looks like the event will be sold out.
For those you that haven’t seen Cyrus perform before, I can tell you from personal experience the show is both hilarious and mind-blowing. You will be on the edge of your seat for the entire time, as you truly can’t wait to see what is going to happen next. I saw him perform in an intimate setting, where it was more stripped-down then his big stage shows, but that didn’t matter. I watched him make a room full of people laugh so hard I thought they might be sick after!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=650m6rWMLyU
Part of the magic of these shows is that so much of the entertainment comes from the volunteers. Who is going to go up there and be hypnotized by Cyrus? Some people can’t wait to give it a try, others are more timid. I think I’m in the timid category, but part of me would still like to do it. Because what goes on up there in such a mystery, I’d love to “peak behind the curtains” so to speak, and see for myself. It definitely ramps up the entertainment factor when you know one of the volunteers. You get to pepper them with questions afterwards, to try to get some answers to explain, “how can this be?”
A little secret – if you or someone you know wants to hypnotized, then your best bet is to be in the front rows. But how do you get those precious seats? If you buy tickets as a group of ten or more, you’ll be glad to hear that we have reserved the first 5 rows for you! Again it’s the first 5 rows only, so I wouldn’t wait too long to get you 10 pack and reserve your seats.
It’s going to be a great night of entertainment at HTHS. The students are going to love it, and it’s a great opportunity for student and their families to go together and share in the fun.
The show is 7:30 pm on Saturday, January 18th in the Harrison Trimble auditorium. Tickets are $25 at the door (if there’s any left), but they’re only $20 if you buy your tickets now.
How do I get my tickets? You can always contact the Friends of the Trojans by phone 850-2893 or by email <mail@FriendsOfTheTrojans.ca>. Tickets are available in the HTHS office, and if you happen to be out doing your Christmas shopping, you can drop by Sears Hair Studio in Champlain Mall during their business hours and get tickets there.
Remember that all the proceeds to this show goes back to the students to support activities for them, so here is a chance to support the school while having fun!
The first meeting of this new school year will be held Wednesday, Sept 25nd at 7 PM in the staff room (2nd/main floor) of Harrison Trimble High School. The inaugural meeting is when we invite anyone and everyone to come out, and we explain what it is we do and discuss ways parents can get involved. We’re eager to find some helpers, as we have an ambitious line up of events we’re looking forward to putting on.
Here are the events we’re planning, and if there is one that you’d be interested in pitching in with, then drop by on Wednesday and say hi. It’s fun, and a great way to contribute to our favourite high school!
If you’d like to help out, but can’t make it to the meeting on Wednesday, no problem. You can contact Darlene Tozer, President by email at mail@FriendsOfTheTrojans.ca or call 850-2893.
Event calendar for the 2013-2014 school year
It’s been a tradition that every year the Friends of the Trojans host a reception for the graduates and their guests following the graduation ceremony. There’s a little bit of work to it, but it’s well worth it to be able to offer some refreshments and snacks to the large crowd that gathers after the graduation ceremony. Thanks to those that helped out – some Grade 11 parents, and also some former Trimble grads. Kudos to the Friends members that organized this event and ran it like they’d been doing it for years.
There is no duty more rewarding for us then presenting the annual Friends of the Trojans $500 bursaries to ten deserving graduates. Usually our giving is from a distance- we listen to a request from a group, and after a sober discussion of the merits, we’d reply by writing out a cheque. That’s fine, but it doesn’t come with the same warm feeling that we get during the graduation ceremony, when we get to single out a single student, give them a pat on the back, and say “here’s a little something in appreciation for your being an outstanding Trojan.”
The downside is the painful process of deciding who to grant them to, because we only have 10 to give out. This year the task was made much harder-there were over 30 student applications! All of these applications were top-notch, from deserving students. There was very little to separate them-good grades, school involvement, community service, most of the applicants nailed all of these categories. There has been years in which applicants of this quality would have been an easy choice, but apparently 2013 was a bumper crop of excellent grads. So it is with a tinge of sadness that we announce our ten bursary winners from the grad class of 2013.
Elizabeth King, Baylee Stockford, Evan Fitzsimmons, Eibhlin Storey, Katelyn Gillis, Lirah Steeves, Mallory Dalrymple, Kelsey Foster, Rachel Hawkes, Tyler Pavlovic
With the date for Casino Night and Auction fast approaching, a couple of us Friends set up camp at the HTHS Course Fair. We offered a chance to win free tickets for the March 23rd event, and many of you stopped by and filled out a ballot. We’re happy to announce that from those entries a lucky winner was drawn! Congrats to Kyle Graham, you’ve won 2 free tickets.
Hey, free tickets are great, but what makes this even better is that with each ticket you receive $100 of Casino chips! Depending on if you’re able to hang onto that stash or make it bigger at our HTHS Casino, then you’ll have the chance to exchange those chips for prizes. Who knows, maybe Mr. Graham will walk away with a 55 inch big screen TV for the trouble of filling out a ballot!
Not everyone that walked by filled out a ballot. I guess they were skeptical about entering a draw, fearful they would somehow get swindled in the deal. They acted nervously and tried to avoid eye contact with us. When we asked, “would you like to fill out a ballot to win?” they jumped back defensively, clutching their purses or wallets for dear life.
I’m not sure why but I came up with 4 possibilities.
I want to applaud the students and their parents that attended the Course Fair this evening. Great job in taking time to think about your future careers, starting with selecting courses that will get you there. Earlier that day I’d had the opportunity to present at a business workshop. One of the other presenters said something that would make for a great quote to put on a T-Shirt…
“The world is run by those who show up!”
She was stressing the importance of being involved-specifically to join groups with similiar goals, and add your voice to make things happen in your favour. I think the words apply equally to career and business. Success doesn’t just depend on what you know or how well you do something, but also on the people that you are connected to.
Parents, this is a great lesson for our kids. Sign up, get involved, raise your hand! Get to know people and let them get to know you! Being part of a great network is a sure way to help achieve the career of your dreams!
About this time every year the Friends of the Trojans hold a major fundraiser. We talked to many people that have come out and supported this event year after year. For the most part their comments were kind, but they left us with this suggestion-“you should try something new”.
Well, we listened in a big way!
This year’s major fundraiser is Casino Night, with live and silent auction. It’ll take place Saturday, March 23rd at HTHS, with the doors opening at 7pm. We have spared no expense to bring our guests a night of top-notch gaming action. We have 10 blackjack tables, a double-roulette table, 3 Texas Hold’em tables, 3 prize wheel tables, all staffed by professional dealers. For the cost of their $15 ticket our guests will receive $100 ‘casino’ dollars to try their luck at our tables. But guests won’t be playing just for the fun of it-there will be nice prizes up for grabs too!
For those that enjoy our live and silent auctions every year, don’t fret – we are bringing them back again this year for your shopping pleasure. The friends members are out in force, canvasing the local business community for many items and gift cards that have typically totalled over $15,000!
It’s going to be so much fun, we just can’t wait to host this thing! Get together with your friends and make plans to come out and join the party. You can get tickets by emailing <mail@FriendsOfTheTrojans.ca> or call 850-2893.
In the unlikely event that you haven’t heard, there are plans in the works to build a new artificial turf field at Harrison Trimble High School. The Friends of the Trojans think the opportunity to have this facility at our school is a great thing. When we were approached by the Woody Hayes Field Committee we came forth with a big show of support…25,000 big, actually!
In a bold move the committee has promised $25,000 towards the field’s costs over the next 5 years. Just to be clear, we don’t have this money to give yet. We are pledging to work hard through our fundraising efforts to meet this total. The decision to do this, to give every penny that was asked of us, was not an easy one to make. It may mean sacrificing some of our other worthy contributions. This is the most money the group has ever committed before. So it’s understandable that at the Friends meeting there was some back and forth “discussion” that took place (I still have the bite marks)! But the members felt confident that the construction of this new field is the most important thing to happen at HTHS in our time here, and we want to be a part of it.
It’s easy to single out the sports teams as being the big winners with having this facility in their backyard, but there are less obvious blessings as well. The field will be a lasting source of pride-it will showcase HTHS to it’s many visitors; it will promote fundraising opputunities; it’ll be a gathering place for the Trojan community. My daughter is already excited about what it will be like hosting Homecoming next year at our brand new shiny facility!
Above all else, what convinced the Friends of the Trojans to go ahead with a commitment of this size was what we’re hearing from everyone else – the parents, students, alumini and Trimble supporters. People told us again and again that the new Woody Hayes field was a top priority that they strongly supported. So with a determined group this size behind us we’re ready to unveil our big spring fundraiser. It’s going to be a big deal…something totally new that we haven’t done before! Stay tuned!
Friends of the Trojans Committee is very excited to announce that HTHS Alumni Brianne Kinden, a graphic artist has agreed to lend her skills to designing a great new logo for the Friends Committee. This logo will be the new face and brand of the committee for years to come. Once we have some samples […]
It’s our last push to spread the word about the Casino Night and Auction that takes place this weekend, Sat. Apr 12th. Tickets are available at the HTHS office for $10. There are still auction items coming in, but the amount and quality of stuff that we’ve got so far is awesome! As of this […]
Last year the Friends of the Trojans hosted their first ever Casino Night and Auction. By the end of the night we were pretty sure we had a winning formula; guests stayed later then ever, the bar was crazy busy, the casino tables were packed. Someone said it was the best party ever held in […]
The students of HTHS had a visitor today! Cyrus The Hypnotist took time out to drop by the school, and everyone in attendance was treated to a sneak peek of his upcoming show. He took the stage in the auditorium and had the students enthralled, as he led them through an exercise that demonstrates the […]
What if I said that the most potent and sophisticated entity in all the universe is known to exist right here on Earth? In fact it can be found in the very room you’re reading this in! It’s something so amazing it’s considered to be the crowning glory of all creation. This thing, this fantastical […]
Friends of the Trojans 