My name is Jordan Daniels and I am a grade 12 French immersion student at West Hill Secondary School. I am currently West Hill's Students Council President, and am involved in many other school activities such as Link Crew, Announcements Crew, Prom Committee, and the West Hill gymnastics team. Coming into high school in grade 9, the thing I was most looking forward to was being introduced to new opportunities. I was excited to engage myself in clubs and teams, because that's what high school is all about. I am grateful for the experiences that I have received throughout my four years of high school, and can only hope that future generations will have the privilege to experience similar, or even better opportunities.

My biggest focus during my four years of high school has been my involvement with extracurricular activities. With the amalgamation of both high schools, the possibilities would be endless for new opportunities. Ourhigh school would be able to successfully run a larger variety of clubs and teams, to benefit the diversity of different student groups throughout the school. Not only would teams become larger and more successful , but small clubs such as Me to We and the Gay/Straight alliance would be given a chance to grow in numbers. Our sports teams would also grow in numbers, giving them a better opportunity to qualify for higher ranked games and competitions. At the beginning of our training season for gymnastics, it was questionable whether or not it would be worth it for us to go to OFSAA this year. With the lack of people on the team, it is more expensive for each student to travel all the way to Windsor to compete. Our numbers came through and we are able to go, however the price of a bus and hotel rooms would be much cheaper if there were more people on the team. Amalgamating the schools would eliminate problems like this, as it allows for less expensive trips, and many more possibilities for clubs and teams in the future.

Participation also becomes a big factor in the idea of the amalgamation of both West Hill and OSCVI. Imagine the possibilities for school activities and spirit days with a larger population. Games in the cafeteria will become a greater success with more student interest, as well as intramurals becoming easier to run with a larger number. This past year West Hill has had a lot of difficulty with running intramural events because of low participation. More students in the building means a higher participation rate. Students look for activities with great turnouts, and this cannot happen when the student population is too small for the large success that students are looking for.

We can directly relate this to an event that West Hill and OSCVI both have trouble hosting every year. Dances are a huge part of the true high school experience. In grade 9, I remember being so excited for my first semi formal. However, with the decrease in the school population throughout the past few years, dances have been more difficult to run. Both schools attempted to run a dance back in the fall of 2015. The schools were both unsuccessful as there were not enough tickets sold, and therefore not enough money raised to afford to run the dances. Things quickly changed when both schools came together and organized a joint dance. Together, West Hill and OSCVI managed to sell over 300 tickets for the semi formal, and with communication and teamwork, we were able to run a great event that both schools enjoyed . This proves we can be more successful when working together rather than apart. When the students knew that there was going to be a large turnout, everybody jumped at the occasion to join in, which created a great success.

The amalgamation of both high schools will not only give more opportunities for extracurricular activities, but also to the academic stream. A combined high school will be able to offer more course opportunities to students looking to explore many different career options in the future. With the decrease in student population, courses have been taken out of the school system because there are simply not enough people to fill them up. For senior students, this creates many conflicts when trying to fit specific courses into a timetable with the correct amount of credits to graduate. Students looking to go into the social sciences stream simply don't have enough courses of interest for their future.

Students looking to go into fields such as science and engineering have many course requirements in order to be accepted into university. With a small population, many of these courses are only offered once throughout a semester, and can conflict with other course options. Students are having to find their own way to transfer between West Hill and OSCVI in order to complete their course requirements before graduating. We have also seen an increase of students staying an extra year in order to fulfill all of their course requirements. As a French immersion student, I have found it especially difficult to work around the lack of optional courses given to grade 12's going into the social sciences stream. I missed out on some great course opportunities, as they were only offered at the same time as my required French courses. With a larger school population, problems such as this one wont be as likely to occur, as there will be enough students to allow for courses to run more than once. A large population will give students a wide variety of courses that may lead to careers in the future, as high school starts the foundation for the rest of your life.

Overall, I want whatever happens to the schools in Owen Sound and the surrounding area to become a positive experience for all of us. Think of all of the new ideas and traditions that we can start as a new combined school. Think of the endless opportunities that will be given to students through these new experiences. Change is hard, however it does not always have to be taken from a negative light. Without change, new opportunities cannot arise, and new experiences cannot be developed. The whole idea of "new" cannot exist without the idea of change. West Hill understands that change is difficult, but we want to work together to establish new traditions and start something new that will benefit all students in Owen Sound. Change happens every moment of every day. We cannot keep things the same forever. So let's embrace the changes that are being offered to our schools, and be grateful for what the future will bring. Thank you for your time.