The final few weeks of class are here. If you haven't already let our Admissions Department know your child's departure details, please do so before June 15, 2013.

The school year is coming to a close. End-of-year testing is approaching fast and students are eagerly awaiting the Summer break that follows. For all of our students who will be returning to Fulford Academy, we hope you have a wonderful vacation and we look forward to seeing your refreshed faces in the Summer and/or Fall; for all of our students who will be moving on to their next school, we would like to say thank you for letting us be a part of your lives. You have enriched our school with your spirit and we are proud of your efforts. We will be sad to see you go but, at the same time, we are confident that you will continue on to great things. 

We would like to extend an invitation to those who wish to attend the graduation ceremony at Fulford Academy on June 21st to please join us at 11:30am.

With the end of the school year comes final report cards as students always anxiously await for their final marks, please be aware they will not be sent out until after July 5th   

Photo courtesy of Nadya Maskurova

Alsu and Aliya Kurbanova graduated from Bishop's University on May 31st and we couldn't be more proud of our Fulford Alumni. Alsu graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finances and Aliya graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resources. 

Alsu and Aliya attended our Summer School Program four years in a row (2004-2007) before attending Appleby College (2008-2009) followed by Bishop's University (2009-2013). We cannot wait to hear about Alsu and Aliya's future plans and successes.

On Saturday, May 4th, the entire Fulford Academy student body partook in the fun and informative activities at the annual Leeds-Grenville Multicultural Festival. We arrived early in the day eager to set up so that we could enter the impressively full arena and walk around to the various vendors and info stations. The students were impressed by all of the cultures that were present at the Festival.

One of the highlights of the visit was the chance to taste foods from around the world. Many of the students opted for Indian cuisine, and followed it up with the cakes from the Netherlands stall. "I liked the Chinese food best," Andrew told me later that evening. It was great seeing the students trying new things.  

Another highlight of the day was when Sinan won an award for his Turkish presentation. It was a great honor for him. He was thrilled that the prizes included gift-certificates for places that he frequents, such as Starbucks, Tim Horton's, and Walmart. He has since put them to good use.

Overall, the day was a great success. Everyone enjoyed themselves and learned a lot. The students were very well-behaved and were great ambassadors to the school. More photos of our students at the Multicultural Festival are on our Facebook Page. 

Fulford Academy's Olympic Games have continued throughout the month of May. On May 5th, students in Fraser, Green, Beatty and Jones House competed against each other in tug-o-war, hockey and soccer. It was great to see the students in each house working together, especially in the tug-o-war! It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and after all of their hard work students enjoyed a nice big watermelon!

 On May 22nd, the weather gods were shining on us again and we were able to get outside for a big game of soccer. Beatty and Green House joined forces to take on Jones and Fraser House, and we had all students playing at once! It was a close game but Beatty and Green pulled out a 2-1 victory! View more Fulford Olympics photos online. 

It was a cool May morning when Fulford students boarded their bus to Wilderness Tours for our white water rafting trip. Despite the early hour, the excitement was palpable. After a seemingly quick drive, we arrived at our destination. We were briefed on what to expect that day, instructed to put on our wetsuits and board another bus to the river. This is where our real adventure began. We started out slow, getting the hang of paddling together; towards our first rapid!  

From then on the trip was a joyous blur of swimming, tackling rapids and a delicious BBQ lunch. We learned quite a bit about rafting in general and our tour guides showed us many interesting things about the mighty Ottawa river. Everyone had an absolute blast and I'm sure we'll be seeing those rapids again soon!  We have more photos of our white water rafting trip on our Facebook Page.

On Saturday, May 18th, we traveled to Canada's Wonderland and Niagara Falls. Canada's Wonderland is the largest amusement park in Canada. It has 16 roller coasters and a number of attractions. The park added a new roller coaster called Leviathan in 2012. Leviathan is one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world. Many students started their day off with a ride on the Leviathan. We spent 6 hours in the park before returning to our bus. Our bus driver, Nick, drove us to Niagara Falls and we arrived at our hotel shortly after 8pm.

The "Show You Care...Bid On A Chair" fundraiser for the Brockville Cardiovascular Program (BCP) was on May 30th and raised over $58,000.  There were 27 Adirondack chairs put up for bids that were locally crafted and decorated, and sponsored by businesses in the community. The event was fully community-supported.

The grade 9 visual art students at Fulford Academy painted two chairs for this important cause. Since Fulford students are international, the theme for both chairs was "Design and Pattern from Around the World." The young artists used the four Fulford house colours (red, blue, yellow and red) and designs and patterns found from their home countries. Both chairs raised $500 at auction. Congratulations to those students for a job well done!

On May 25th, Fulford Academy participated in Ontario's annual "Doors Open" day. Many of our student leaders volunteered to provide a kind greeting, a big smile and warm welcome as people as far away as New York stopped by to see what our school is all about. With over 40 visitors, our students were very busy answering questions, informing the public about their educational goals and even offering them a welcomed treat of cookies, juice, tea and coffee.  

Many students were asked their general impressions of studying in Canada as well as their take on Fulford Academy in general. We were glad to hear that all of the students involved reported greatly enjoying what Brockville has to offer in addition to Canadian culture and that Fulford feels like a second family to them. Fulford Academy treated all of the students who participated in our "Open Doors Day" to a free movie at our local movie theatre as a special reward for volunteering.