Oskars come to Seaway

There may not have been an actual red carpet, but the Students’ Council of Seaway District High School made sure that the seventh annual Oskar night at the school was filled with pomp and circumstance.

“We always have a really big turn out of students for Oskar night,” said Hayley Smith, vice president and Nikki Devries, student senate. “The event is really popular with kids at Seaway. Everyone wants to know who actually won in the 12 categories. It’s a semi formal occasion, so we also have a Much Music Video dance after the Oskar presentations. Everyone looks great and has fun.”

Oskars, held at the high school on Thursday, March 21, began with students’ council seven years ago, and the tradition has continued and grown since then.

There are 12 categories (a few of them fairly unique) and students are nominated in the junior and senior divisions of each by their peers. Then there is a secret ballot and the top three finishers in a category are entered into the contest for the coveted Oskar.

“Suspense is really high, and everyone comes out to see who the final winners will be,” said Hayley Smith. 

There were two hosts at this year’s Oskars, Brodey Casselman and Ryan Brown. The contenders for Oskars were shown to the crowd in special video clips (just like their Hollywood counterparts), and the winners announced.

The gold plated Oskars (who may have been “Barbies” in another life) are treasured by the winners. At the celebration, 28 statues were handed out.

Each students’ council generally adds a special category or two of its own to the event. In 2013, Most Likely to Appear in Duck Dynasty and Most Likely to be ID’d at 30 were selected.

Winners of these categories were (sen.) Ryan Brown and (jun.) Collin McCooeye (Ducks) and (sen.) Eric Swank and (jun.) Zach Thompson (ID).

Other Oskar winners in the 2013 competition included:

Leading Lads – Brodey Casselman (S), Toby Mullin (J).

Leading Ladies – Sarah Dickey (S), Allison Lee (J).

Biggest Athlete – Vicki Van Hoof (S), Andrew Jarvis (J).

Dynamic Duo – Bailey Wells, Danielle Whitteker (S), Peyton Bradford, Mackenzie Barkley (J).

Most Dedicated – Sam Venema (S), Lyndsay Venema (J).

Most Unique Style – Ashley Dupuis (S), Dani-Shae Barkley (J).

Class Clown – Josh O’Connor (S), Evan Mullin (J).

Best Hair – Casey McNairn (S), Mackenzie Barkley (J).

Biggest Gamer – Nick Madden (S), Chris Goupil (J).

Cinderella and Prince Charming – Travis McNeilly and Valarie Stewart (S), Tristan Hanes and Alyssa Mayhew (J).