Crescent Heights teacher Ben Taylor, mom Marlyn Lemire, Grade 11 student Remi Lemire - who received a score of 100% on his physics 30-1 diploma exam - dad Ryan Lemire, MHPSD board chair Catherine Wilson and superintendent Mark Davidson.--NEWS PHOTO SAMANTHA JOHNSON
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
Crescent Heights High School Grade 11 student Remi Lemire was honoured this week by board trustees after quite the academic achievement.
Lemire, along with his parents, was invited to Tuesday’s public board meeting of Medicine Hat Public School Division after scoring a perfect 100% on his physics 30-1 Diploma Exam.
While writing the test, Lemire was confident about most of the questions, and says he was able to take some time at the end to recheck the few he was unsure of before submitting his diploma exam.
“When I found out I got 100%, I was completely shocked and amazed. The first thing I did was tell my parents about the news and they were very excited as well,” said Lemire. “Then I immediately remembered the deal (teacher) Mr. Taylor (made) earlier that semester. If anyone got 100% on the diploma, he would dye his hair orange.”
Thanks to several presentations scheduled for Tuesday’s board meeting, the room was full when Lemire, the last to arrive, entered. As he walked in, every person in the room applauded to celebrate his accomplishment.
“When I walked into the room and everyone was clapping, I was pretty surprised,” he said. “I didn’t realize how big of a deal getting 100% on the physics diploma actually was so I was shocked to see so many people applauding my achievement. It was nice to see everyone sharing the excitement that I felt when I first learned that I got 100% on the diploma. I am very grateful for all the effort put in by everyone there.”
A diploma examination summary for MHPSD shows students are achieving higher than the provincial three-year average. In the acceptable category, a 50% or higher grade, 20.1% in math 30-1 and 12.5% in math 30-2 scored higher than the province and 11.9% and 11.6% in the same two courses achieved higher grades in excellence, 80% mark or more. In chemistry the percentage was 12.8% of students in acceptable and 14.3% in excellence scoring higher than the provincial average, a trend that continues for biology 30, English language arts 30-1, social studies 30-1 and science 30. Lower than the provincial average were marks in social studies 30-2 (-0.6% acceptable), English language arts 30-2 (-0.7% acceptable) and French language arts 30-1 (-7.7% acceptable).
“We are really pleased with what has been a pattern of steady improvement in our results on achievement tests and diploma exams to have arrived at a place where our students are achieving at or above the standard that is set or demonstrated by the province, it is an excellent place to be,” stated superintendent Mark Davidson. “Our staff at all levels have contributed a great deal to that success as have the children and families we serve.
“We have a far higher percentage of students who are achieving the standard and who are achieving the standard of excellence than before. That improvement has been slow and steady over the course of a number of years, which tells us we are helping our students learn more effectively and they are able to demonstrate that learning and the growth is consistent.
“It tells us the work we’ve done to shift teacher practice and shift the way we attend to the needs of students is having an institutional impact that’s benefiting the students.”
