Botwood Collegiate rallies behind student’s illness
By RYAN COOKE
“The greater the adversary, the greater the strength
needed.”
A sign with the slogan marked on it sits on the gymnasium
stage amidst a sea of orange, as students from Botwood Collegiate gather round
to sign it.
The sign is for their classmate, Jordan Chippett, and the
orange clothing is for leukemia awareness.
Last week, the school was shocked to hear the news.
Chippett, an honour roll student, captain of the hockey team and one of the
most beloved students in the school, has leukemia.
Principal Jim Hibbs says the news shook the school, but
rather than wallow in despair, the students came together to support their
friend.
The day after the news broke, many of Chippett’s close
friends showed up to school wearing orange clothing. By the end of the week, the
orange support had spread as fast as the news of his illness.
“The number of
students who came in independently wanting to do something to support Jordan
speaks volumes of the impact he’s had on everybody in this school,” said Hibbs.
Hibbs describes Chippett as a “silent leader”, who treats
everybody with respect and receives the same respect from all his peers.
A standout hockey player, musician, and active member of the
church community, Chippett has received support from far and wide. Dozens upon
dozens of friends have reached out to him through writing messages of support
on his Facebook page.
His closest friends took the lead at Botwood Collegiate in
fundraising for Jordan, who will undergo chemotherapy treatments for the next
six months, and additional treatments at intervals for the next three years.
“It’s expensive,” said friend and teammate Jaden Diamond.
“Travelling and staying in hotels. It’s not cheap. ”
“Every little bit counts,” adds Emily Paul, Chippett’s
girlfriend.
Paul led the way, coming up with the idea to sell t-shirts
at the school. The shirts are white with an orange ribbon on the front, and the
orange number seven on the back, Chippett’s hockey number since he was a child.
The t-shirts were also being sold at Memorial Academy in
Botwood, where staff and students also donned orange clothing in support of
their former student.
Despite the shock of the news, Paul says Chippett is not the
kind of guy to get down on things, and remains in good spirits.
“He’s just out there enjoying the free food for now,” she
laughs.
Other students have come up with their own ideas for showing
their support as well.
The sign in the gymnasium was put together by fellow
students Nikita Herron and Donna Buckley. They said they’ve known Jordan for so
long that when they heard the news, they felt compelled to do something to help
out.
“We just want him to know that if he needs anything, we’re
just around the corner,” said Buckley.
“Ever since we found out last week, everything has been
orange,” said Herron. “Bracelets, ribbons, t-shirts, Orange Day…It’s been in
support of Jordan Chippett.”
Hibbs says the support the school has generated for the
Chippett family is what every school administrator is proud to see from their
students.
“What we try to do as a school community is raise good
citizens. And I think that’s exactly what we’ve seen here with the way they’ve
responded to meet the needs of another person.”
The responses from students and teachers (namely Natasha
Burry and Lianne O’Reilly) have been typical of the reputation the school has
for caring and respect, Hibbs says.
“They’ve stepped up and they continue to do it again and
again. I can’t say I’m even surprised.”
Botwood Collegiate students Brandon White (left), Dylan Rose (center) and Ryan Benson (right) lend their free time to selling t-shirts to support their friend, Jordan Chippett, who was diagnosed with leukemia last week. Ryan Cooke photo.
Students at Memorial Academy in Botwood also joined in on Orange Day, wearing the Leukemia Awareness colour to support Jordan Chippett, a high school student diagnosed with leukemia last week. Ryan Cooke photo.
No comments:
Post a Comment