From humble beginnings GV IDOL had generated momentum like few activities have in the past.
Idol finalists above were Brittany Boots and Stephanie McRae.
In early January signs went up around the school teasing the students with 'GV Idol is coming'. Kids were curious and asked lots of questions. Details intentionally leaked out to generate interest. In early February, after students returned to the new semester, five teachers and support staff sang the national anthem from Monday to Friday.
Judges Randy, Paula and Simon critiqued the singers with humour and tact. During the week the solid student contestants eagerly signed up for the event. Thirteen students signed up with each being given an assigned number and choosing a stage name like 'Fabulous Dreamz and Lola'. Each day (and sometimes twice a day) there were six singers singing the “true north strong and free”. On Friday, after all had sung, a democratic vote eliminated two contestants. In the following week there were seven more singers to be reduced to four. In the third week, eight semi-finalists were reduced to five. In the final week, we boiled things down to three contestants. On Thursday March 8th, the three finalists squared off in GV's auditorium. Prizes were up for grabs that heightened the enthusiasm.
Some schools are great. This activity at GV is the kind that makes a school soar !
Thursday, March 8 arrived and the three finalists were selected. BahDooBahDee Girl (Haley Johnston), 007 (Brittany Boots) and Anonymity (Stephanie McRae). At 12:40 students were called to the auditorium one class at a time. Upon entering, the theme song from American Idol piped through the auditorium. Seated in pre-arranged seats, students huddled together by class to eventually cast votes for their choice of winner. Students were welcomed by Mr. Pender, GV Idol MC, and all contestants were introduced and seated on stage. Judges, acted by staff, played the role of Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. The crowd howled with enthusiasm as each finalist was introduced. First singing was Haley Johnston (BahDooBahDee Girl), second, Brittany Boots (007) and third Stephanie McRae (Anonymity). It was a tough choice but the students selected Brittany Boots and Stephanie McRae to advance to the finals. A third prize Roots watch was given to Haley Johnston for her excellent performance.
During the vote process the crowd was entertained by Corbin Bouchard attempting to beat his record of completing Rubics Cube in under 2 minutes. Projected on the LCD screen the crowd watched his hands twirl and tumble the cube until it was completely colour coded. Then Dalton Renaud-Valade made the audience flip when he break danced on stage doing his famous ‘worm’. The teacher band - Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Edwards and Mr. McIntosh- belted out some tunes from the 70’s and 80’s. Mechanical dancing shoes performed on stage beckoning contestants to join the dance.
On to round two Brittany Boots (007)and Stephanie McRae (Anonymity) both sung with awesome voice, poise and presence. Each time a finalist sang all three judges gave rave reviews for their performances. At this level it is hard to get a negative comment from judges, even from Simon ! Anonymity won second prize, a gift certificate and Viking Wear. The top prize, an Ipod nano, went to Brittany Boots (007) for her great effort. Finally, Brittany entertained the crowd with the last song of the year at GV Idol. A standing ovation accompanied the applause with all of the contestants leaping to hug the winner. To end the event, Mr. Mcintosh and the band entertained the crowd with more tunes. Teachers came to the front facing the band swaying to the music. With two minutes to the bell the majority of students came to the front dancing to the loud, crisp sound of the teacher band. The bell rang, the tunes wrapped up, kids left with huge smiles and talked about it as they stepped onto the buses.
Pictured above is GV Idol winner Brittany Boots.
The appropriate timing of this event boosted school spirit to a new level. The media coverage along with local sponsorship and word of mouth puts GV on the map with another huge success. In choosing a school for my child, this is the kind of activity that separates exemplary from very good.
Click on the link below to listen and view the teacher's band.
Teacher Band
Teachers Band performs above. 
GVIS Staff and students dancing and cheering on the Teacher's Band.