Abnormal Normalcy

Isaac Lavitt ’25

Copy Editor

This year was normal. That is abnormal. Over the past three years, the world has been struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. As we have returned to normalcy, we gained insight in our year without COVID and we grew as individuals and as a community.

In the fall of 2021, we returned for the first full year since the lockdowns. Grade nine students entered the school with face masks and apprehension, not knowing St. Paul’s before the world was turned upside-down. We looked onto a community that should have existed but was splintered.

Among the restrictions and irregularities, we found a place for ourselves. Still learning, we fought to find a status quo. As football, debate, and drama started their seasons, some joined, while other watched from the socially distanced sidelines. However, the year trudged onwards.

By March 15, restrictions were dropped; March 26 signalled the reunion of SPHS, BH, and SMA at The Walk. Throughout this time, the community was rebuilt. By June, hope for complete normalcy was in the air.

The 2022-2023 school year started with a bang. Cross country athletes won in provincials, Spirit and Mission weeks came and went, and Homecoming kicked off the year. Advent signaled hope for the school as the Spring Break trips to Europe were announced. TFR initiated new students into the brotherhood of St. Paul’s, welcoming newcomers to the rebuild St. Paul’s.

Students were in classrooms, hoodies were out, and the pandemic was long forgotten. Hockey broke into the finals against Garden City, and Winter Sports Day gave a well-deserved break to the students. We were also witness to student achievements in debate with many debaters qualifying for nationals’ tournaments and even international speech tournaments.

Volleyball and basketball reentered the gymnasiums, and rug-by and ultimate returned to the football fields.

The Class of ’23 played their fashion show and prepared for their graduation. The Bing Crosby saw rising stars of Tristian Whelan ’26, Thomas Basta ’25, and Hussian Syed ’24 taking the stage alongside Zach Sadowski ’26 (from class 9-3) who proved victorious in the Paul Herriott Spelling Bee.

Ryan Waller and James Chapman, as Team Lego, were elected to Student Council.

The dramatic society’s 13 Past Midnight proved to be a smash-ing success, reviving the former glory of St. Paul’s theatre with stunning performances from Ilia Mehr-Bakhsh, Jackson Lachaine, Oscar Lavitt, Bradley Barrientos, and Caleb Pereira who took cen-tre-erstage as grade 12 students in lead roles.

St. Paul’s High School is on a path of renewal. As new students enter the school, we welcome new voices and new opportunities. In every generation, there is an event that shakes the world. For us, it was COVID-19. With the world shaken, however, fruits are sure to fall. These occasions gave St. Paul’s the chance to rebuild better.