Bishop Hamilton Graduates 2024
Congratulations to Our Graduating Class of 2024!
You did it graduates! With your perseverance, hard work and dedication you are now graduates of Bishop Hamilton Montessori School. We are proud of our graduates and want to congratulate each one of you as you embark on your new adventures.
Meet the Bishop Hamilton Graduates
Wesley L., Bishop Hamilton Graduate (2024)
Bonjour. Je m’appelle Wesley. J’ai 14 ans. Ever Since I started attending BHMS 12 years ago it has been like a 2nd home to me. I have made lifelong friendships and memories at this school that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Some of my favourite memories were being able to be a part of Marketplace both as a little kid in Junior Elementary and as a slightly bigger kid in Junior High. I remember being a little kid and walking around the gym amazed at what the Junior High students were doing, and then in a blink of an eye now I’m the one doing it.
I am thankful to my parents for allowing me to have the privilege to attend this amazing school and be taught by so many wonderful teachers. They have taught me so much from Toddler to Junior High. I am also grateful for all the trips that I have had the opportunity to attend, from the field trips in Junior Elementary to the Junior High trips like the Bike Trip, Canoe Trip, and of course Les Voyage a Quebec et Montreal. These trips have taught me not only about educational topics but also about things like perseverance, teamwork and leadership. I am grateful to have been able to be a part of events like Terry Fox, Marketplace, Winter Fun Day, and Poetry Cafe. I’m sure I’m probably forgetting a few but this just shows how many wonderful things I have been able to be a part of during my time at BHMS. I have learned many things from being a part of these events, like learning how to write a financial statement for Marketplace thanks to Mr. MacKay, and learning how to do one of the hardest activities ever, for the Poetry Cafe… public speaking. I believe that my time at BHMS has helped shape the person I am and prepared me for high school and the years to come. Merci.
Ckai C., Bishop Hamilton Graduate (2024)
Bonjour. Si tu ne le savais pas déjà, mon nom est Ckai. For non french speakers, my name is Ckai spelt with a “C”. And yes, I am clarifying that my name starts with a C, as it is very necessary that I tell you this.
Now, if I was asked to describe my BHMS experience in a phrase, that would be: Different, but in a good way. In 2020, when I first came, it was a radically different experience from Prince Philip Elementary school, my old school in Niagara. The teachers at BHMS knew you almost personally since there are so few kids in the class, which was a lot different from public school. C’était nouveau pour moi, âgé de 11 ans. This was new for an 11 year old me, as he had never experienced something like this before.
In November of 2020, that same boy started his journey here, learning, solving problems, having laughs, and making very fond memories of which I still hold today. I can attribute this to my teachers, as my experience at BHMS would not have been as good as it was if they weren’t there.
I have to give thanks to Mrs Dalpra, Mrs Campbell and Mrs MacDonald in Red Oak, to Mrs Flindall, and Mr MacKay for all the great things they have taught me. If not for them, I wouldn’t have learned to persevere, to have self confidence, and to have self discipline. Oh, and if I missed any of your names, don’t worry, I still remember you. This school helped me to prepare for things I didn’t even realize, like high school, and well, the rest of my time on this plane of existence.
My gratitude for this school will stay with me forever, and reaching the end of my time here, I can tell myself how lucky I am to have decided to spend four years here. This school also introduced me to people like those four who are also graduating, which I am also grateful for. I know for a fact that BHMS has shaped who I am now, and whoever I will be in the years to come. I know for a fact that that guy will remember the several unforgettable experiences I had here. Thank you for listening to my speech. Merci.
Victoria L., Bishop Hamilton Graduate (2024)
Nine years ago I stepped foot into the BHMS building, a carefree four year old at the time. I was small, I had bangs, and didn’t really know what was going on most of the time; a fairly different person compared to one standing in front of you right now. Who you see here is a confident, hard-working, independent young person, who still doesn’t really know what is going on but who feels amazing about who they are and what they have done so far in their life.
BHMS is a very big reason for this. It has always been there to throw challenge after challenge at me and make me overcome them, never really letting up but always leaving room for me to take a deep breath and laugh. Ça a été un véri-table tour de montagnes russes. I would love to thank every single one of the wonderful teachers that have taught me throughout my experience here. From Ms. McIlhinney and Ms. D’Souza in Purple Violet, to Ms. Armand and Ms. Francine in Willow, to Ms. Dalpra in Red Oak, to Ms. Flindall and Mr. Mackay in Junior High, you have all been incredible and inspiring figures in my life, and are people I strive to be-come as I grow up. Vous occupez tous une place spéciale dans mon cœur, même avec tout le travail que tu m’as fait faire.
I would love to thank all the specialty teachers that have taught me this past year. Mr. Vesna for being patient enough to answer every single one of my annoying questions and helping me succeed. Mme. Robard pour toujours corriger mon travail et me montrer où vont les accents. Ms. Cooper for teaching me how to play four different kinds of instruments and waiting for me while I hyperventilate. Mr. McKendry for making awesome skits and being super funny. Mr. Mackay for showing me cool math stuff. Ms. Flindall for reading all of my immense blocks of writing and helping me organise my chaotic ideas and workload. From trips like the french and bike trips, to just simple lessons you have taught me perseverance and resilience, from the neverending, hilly roads on the bike trip and all the difficult, multi-step projects assigned in class; self-confidence, from the several presentations that I have created and all of the concerts and plays that I have performed in; and optimism and dedication, from all the assignments that never seemed to run out of pages, but who were definitely worth the gruelling effort. For all of this, I thank you again.
My last thanks are reserved to the two most important people in my life: mom and dad. You two have literally been here since the very beginning of my life, you have lived through every tantrum, every crying fit, every weird phase, every argument. You have helped me when I didn’t deserve it, you have been there to hug me when I needed it, vous étiez là pour faire des blagues seulement nous com-prenons. What I’m trying to say here is, you two are awesome and I thank you so much that words don’t even hold enough value for the things that I mean. I speak to all of you now when I say this, teachers, past peers, parents…I have certainly not loved every single moment of it, but BHMS has been one of the longest and most worthwhile experiences of my life. I have learned so much already, but hope to continue in high school at Bell, a brand new journey BHMS has prepared me to begin. Merci pour tous les souvenirs.
Elizabeth M., Bishop Hamilton Graduate (2024)
Bonjour, Je m’appelle Elizabeth. Je suis dans cette école depuis 6 ans. Six years ago, I remember my parents telling me I was switching schools. I was frustrated, of course, having made some friends in grades 1 and 2, but I had no idea what was coming.
BHMS was a little overwhelming at first since I had been at public school for 2 years, but eventually, I found myself enjoying all the trips, and materials. I am grateful to BHMS for all the great experiences and opportunities I had. For example, I learned to cook some basic foods and treats. Je fais aussi un burger cake à un moment donné.
All the new friends I made along the way at BHMS, all the trips and experiences make up for leaving my old ones back in grade 2. Some of my favourite memories are the camping trips. Both the Bike Trips and Canoe Trips. This was mostly because, no homework of course, but also, I’ve always loved a good campfire and camp food. Smores, tacos, pasta, burnt pancakes, all great camp food filled with great memories for me.
I would like to thank all my teachers, both current and past, who have taught and helped me along the way to graduation. I would also like to thank my parents, for enrolling me here, and always being there for all those last-minute projects. The yearbook quote I chose is “What’s comin’ will come, and we’ll meet it when it does,” by Rubeus Hagrid (J. K. Rowling). Or “Ce qui arrive viendra et nous y répondrons quand ce sera le cas”.
I chose this quote because I feel life is just a ton of hurdles, some big, some small. There’s only so much we can do to prepare for them, we just have to jump them one at a time, once they come along. Thank you for listening. Merci pour m’avoir écouté.
Zachary Z., Bishop Hamilton Graduate (2024)
Quite a while ago a child who could barely think at that time appeared in BHMS. If you couldn’t guess, that child was me. Hello, my name is Zachary and I’ve been at BHMS for a really long time.
I don’t really remember much from Toddler to Casa except for the fact that I was really good at holding the dustbin. I remember a decent amount from Junior Elementary, like the time we did the thing with the volcano but the best part of Junior Elementary is a tie between taking the rabbit home or graduation.
There were a few things that I really liked about Red Oak first was the medieval family tree assignment, it was really fun even though we never really completed it, second, the heliocentrism thing was also really fun but what sets it apart from the medieval family thing was that I actually completed it, it was super awesome!
Now it’s Junior High time, and adjusting to Junior High was a bit difficult. It was mostly due to the absence of a rack and tubes. For those who don’t know, racks and tubes are something that helps you with division. I was doing division just fine without racks and tubes, but racks and tubes were really fun to use.
In Junior High, the first really different thing we did was the canoe trip. On the first two days, I was as good as dead, but on the others, I was slightly less dead than before. Also, there was rain.The next thing I want to talk about is the French trip, the French trip was way less tiring than the canoe trip, but that just means more energy to speak French like how I’m going to do for the next five sentences.
Le voyage en français était donc bien plus agréable que le voyage en canoë, principalement à cause de l’absence de moustiques. Pendant le voyage en français, en gros, nous nous promenions et faisions des trucs sympas, mais c’était pour le premier, lors du deuxième voyage, les choses étaient beaucoup plus intéressantes. Tout d’abord, lors de la première activité que nous avons faite, j’ai été trahi par quelqu’un que je ne nommerai pas et à cause de cela, j’ai obtenu la quatrième place, j’aurais eu la deuxième place sans cela. deuxièmement, pendant le voyage, il y a eu plus de dialogue que l’année dernière malgré le fait qu’il y avait moins de monde, et à cause de cela, les gens en ont dit plus, et parce que les gens en ont dit plus, nous avons créé le mot “majestical”, maintenant pourquoi pensez-vous que c’est un mot sympa, eh bien vous ne le feriez pas parce que vous ne l’avez pas créé, mais maintenant, c’est devenu un incontournable au collège, si un aliment de base avait la force d’une guimauve à moitié fondue. et enfin et surtout, la boule de métal, la boule de métal c’était génial, c’était super cool, il fallait être là. That was a lot of French.
Anyway, the bike trip was wild with all the biking. Ms. Flindall said the first day is always the hardest day of the bike trip, but I disagree strongly. I personally thought the first day wasn’t so bad but the second day was like I was in a pit that’s slowly being filled with acid.
So in Amherst, Ms. Sasouni was cooking dinner for us and I got to cut watermelon so I had an idea. This wouldn’t have worked if I was paired with anyone else aside from the person I was paired with. I decided to express my creativity not in the medium of words, but in sculpture carving! Here are some reviews from customers: “WHAT IS THAT”, “HAHAHAHAHAHA”, and “I AM NOT EATING THAT”.
So that takes us to this week, in which nothing really happened. When I look back at my life I ask myself “Why, just why”, and my answer is always the same “Because I wanted to”. This 13 – 14 % of my yearly life was half enjoyable with a mediocre to a good experience for me at least. I’d like to thank my mom for helping me not die when I was dying that one time and for providing me with the proper supplies. I’d also like to thank my teachers for y’know, teaching me. I’d also like to thank my friends because if I had no friends school would’ve been a lot harder.