The Centennial C.V.I. (for credit) Martial Arts class held its last class of the semester today which included a board break and belt ceremony. Sensei Tom Cako (Tri-City Training) and Sensei Amanda McAlpine (Tri-City Training) began the program last year and have had the pleasure of seeing the grade 11 program expand to include grade 12 students as well.
"It has been a privilege to be a part of this program," said Sensei Tom, "Our hope is that you can 'give back' in some way to someone... we are so proud of each unique individual and feel each person has something special to offer the world." Sometimes it takes an experience in a Martial Arts class to highlight some of those specialties. "At the end of the day, it's really about character. We have had the privilege of witnessing some incredible acts of good character and we couldn't be prouder of these kids!"
Each of the students broke a board and then participated in the belt ceremony. Many of the students have faced challenges this past semester and all the teachers were proud to see them "step up" and "push through". The students voted Matthew Poon as the recipient of this year's "Character Award" and Dave Nguyen as the winner of the "Most Improved Student Award".
Both Sensei Amanda and Sensei Tom are very proud of all the students and look forward to seeing their continued development. We wish them all the best!