First, we need you to "check in" on the menu on the left side of the page or click here to check in. It is crucial to the organizing committee that you do this. This will allow us to keep in contact with you for updates on the reunion and to obtain a database of people for the reunion. You will have your own user ID and password to update your information should there be any changes in your contact information. You can also click on the icon" Tell a Friend" icon at the bottom of this page to pass on the reunion information to a friend. Help us spread the word!
We, as former students and staff, will come together to celebrate our 50th Anniversary in the spring of 2010. On Friday May 28th and Saturday May 29th, 2010 when we will be having many events to take you back down memory lane. We hope you will be able to join us to celebrate Woodroffe's 50th in style.
Opened in 1960, it is hard to believe that 50 years have passed since the first students, some excited, some nervous, entered through the doors into the brave new world of Woodroffe High School, a brand new state of the art edifice of bricks & mortar which throbbed with the collective heartbeats of students and teachers alike.
A special 50th commemorative logo was created to celebrate our 50th year. It will appear throughout Ottawa on banners, posters and flyers and various other promotional materials. It was created by former alumni, Nancy (Zidichouski) Romanovitch, Class of '79. www.infinitidesign.ca
Shiny and new in 1960, Woodroffe still stands as a monument to all those who passed through and continue to pass through its doors. Highly visible in a physical sense from all points of the compass, Woodroffe stands tall on the Ottawa skyline proclaiming to one and all that is not just a building but a proud place of learning.
“FLORET QUI LABORAT” – “he prospers who labours”, (in these times of course we recognize, and we stand to be corrected by Mr. Wayne Pointen, our resident Latin Scholar), it should be translated as "prosperity comes through labour". This is Woodroffe’s official motto but of course high school is much more than just mottos and officialdom
High school is often called the greatest time of our lives. High school is full of fun activities like sports, dances, dating and learning to drive. It would be folly of course to think of high school as all fun and games. Many hours were filled with hard work in class, studying and writing exams. A number of us suffered tragedy with the unexpected loss of a classmate or friend which often brought an unwelcome sense of reality into our world. High school is over quickly however, and we move on to other responsibilities and friends. High school reunions are a great way to relive your high school years and reconnect with old friends.
For some it has been many years since you graduated from Woodroffe, for some only one year, but we suspect that you have probably lost touch with a number of your old friends. A reunion is a perfect way to rekindle those old friendships and memories and see how your friends’ lives have been progressing. Have they married, landed dream jobs, had children, bought their own house, started their own business, or traveled? Maybe they know people who are not attending the reunion who you would like to hear about. Attending your class reunion will help you reunite with people you would like to see again and who would like to see you!
High school is a time of many great or not so great memories. At Woodroffe’s 50th you can reminisce about the sports, the dances and the silly irrelevant drama of high school with the people who experienced them with you. Come celebrate your triumphs and struggles together. Many joys come and go but friendship is forever.
Many grads go to university, college or jobs far away and settle down some distance from their hometowns. The reunion at Woodroffe can be an excellent way to revisit the place you grew up and see how it changed. Check out the new stores and restaurants. Find out which friends still live here. Visiting people who stayed in Ottawa can be an enlightening experience.
If you have not seen your family in a while, visit them. Spend a week or a weekend. Even if you can only stay a day, have lunch together. They might enjoy recalling some of your high school antics with you.
Reunions are genuine; reunions are a way of showing your love for your old school and it is what makes us forever members of the Woodroffe High School community. Nelson Mandela reminds us “there is nothing like returning to a place that remains (relatively) unchanged to find the ways you have altered.” On a somewhat irreverent note however, the famed author Kurt Vonnegut opines that “true terror is when you wake up one morning and discover that your high school classmates are running the country.”
The organizing committee is now operating at warp speed and promises all of us many grand memories of our time at Woodroffe.
If you are a graduate or former staff of Woodroffe, now is your chance to be a part of the history of your former “home away from home" by attending the 50th reunion in May 2010. It is going to be a weekend jam packed with specials events and the opportunity to reconnect.
It is crucial to the organizing committee that you provide your contact information on the “Check In” tab on the left margin or click here. It will make the organizing committee's job much easier if we know how to reach you and keep you up to date. Pass on the reunion message by clicking on the tab at the bottom “Tell a Friend”. The more alumni who know, the better our success in reaching 5000+ graduates and staff. So please, we need everyone to “check in”.
We look forward to celebrating with you! See you in May.
Woodroffe High School 50th Reunion Committee
