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12 * WATERLOO CHRONICLE * Wednesday, May 23, 2007 School helps cancer patient reach his dream e balloons and streamers were I up, and the band was warming up with a special version of a new birthday song written just for the guest of honour â€" Shane Bernier â€" at Sandowne Public school last Friday. Teacher Shari Kartechner had already collected 400 handâ€"made birthday cards from the school of 380 students after her Grade 5 class spread the word around. Some kids were so excited by the special day they even made a couple of extra birthday greetâ€" ings. They tried out the video camera, and like most things technological, it didn‘t work when the music started. All in all it was a typical birthday party for a special sevenâ€"yearâ€"old. ‘Happy Birthday Shane‘ The only thing was missing at the festivies was the birthday boy. In fact, Bernier isn‘t even from Waterloo. But the sevenâ€"yearâ€"old cancer patient from Lancaster, Ont., touched the kids at the local school. They heard how he suffered from a relapse of his Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia after 108 cancer treatments. And they wanted to help him with his wish to set a new world record by collecting the most birthday cards in time for his May 30 birthday. So when Tristan Rea brought in the Internet plea posted at his mom‘s store, Waterloo‘s Household China and Gifts, his classmates jumped on the birthday bandwagon. "I just thought it was such a good cause," said Rea, 11. "I just brought it in and shared it with my class, and everyâ€" body started making cards." They were also convinced they could collect more than the 17 birthday cards from all the students in the classâ€" room and decided to go schoolâ€"wide with the plan. "They though it was a really cool thing to do," said Rea That birthdayâ€"card drive culminatâ€" ed in a school assembly which was videotaped and will be sent to Bernier as part of his upcoming birthday celeâ€" brations The prognosis is good for Bernier He may have to undergo a bone mar row transplant, but luckily his brother Jacob is a match. Still, there is no sign that the cancer has returned to his sysâ€" tem, although the treatment has taken a lot out of the Grade 3 student. And the kids at Sandowne wanted to * By Bos VRBANAC Chronicle Staff of Runners . . . Not Just End Rolis * Carpet * Berbers * baminate + Ceramic + Hardwood | 50 Victoria Street N., Kitchener + 519â€"570â€"2722 w | Canada‘s largest retail flooring chain! mi Gab Bobier, 11, on the base guitar, leads his classmates in a rendition of a birthday song they wrote specifically for Shane Bernier do something to pick up his spirits Megan Snyder has received quite a few birthday cards in her 11 years, and knows what kind of impact that can have on a kid. . "We thought about how we would feel if we were seven years old and we were sick," said Hailey O‘Driscoll. "We would want people to help fulfili our dreams, so why don‘t we help him." â€" Hailey O‘Driscoll Grade 5 student at Sandowne public school "It brings a smile to someone‘s face, and it can really liff their spirits," she said. "It feels good when you do someâ€" thing good." The class even came up with a speâ€" cially tailored song to support Bernier in his fight. Gab Bobier, 11, provided "We thought about how we would feel if we were seven years old and we were sick. We would want people to help fulfill our dreams, so why don‘t we help him." LIFESTYLE accompaniment on his base while O‘Driscoll led the chorus. "I recorded a song that 1 wrote before at a recording studio and I‘m actually singing again June 1 in downâ€" town Kitchener," said O‘Driscoll. "I gave an idea, and we all took ideas from that and put it together." "I was just trying to lay down the baseline and keep up with the melody," said Bobier. "I wanted to see him with 50 garbage bags filled with cards," said O‘Driscall. Rea hopes it all provides Bernier with a little lift as he continues in his treatments. "We hope it puts a smile on his face," he said, adding he has spread the idea to friends at Lester B. Pearson school and now has them involved. "We hape he doesn‘t give up, and eventually gets enough cards because it‘s a really good idea," said Snyder. Bernier has a long way to go to get a record. The current record holder is Craig Shergold, a British boys who collected an estimated 33â€"million cards The Area‘s LARGEST Selection ORSIWE Continued on page 18 Yard Sale for the Cure, hosted by 1â€"800â€"GOTâ€" JUNK2, will be held on May 26. The event will take place at 83 Erb St., from 8 a.m to 2 p.m. Volunteers from companies 1â€"800â€"GOTâ€"JUNK? and ReMax will be hosting this event in 17 markets across Canada. In Waterloo, hundreds of local residents are expected to come out to the yard sale and support the cause. Both days start at 8 p.m. Admission is $10, and no dance partner is required. __________ All proceeds raised will benefit breast cancer research and treatment. For more information, please visit www.yardsale forthecure.com. Tango and Latin dance classes will be held at the Waterloo Community Arts Centre on May 25 and June 9. The WCAC is located at 25 Regina St. S., in Water loo. For more information, contact Carlos at 519â€" B85â€"8206. The event will be held at the Erb Street Mennonâ€" ite Church, 131 Erb St. W., from 2â€"4 p.m. Admission is a suggested $2 donation per person to the Mennonite Coalition for Refugee Support. For information, call 519â€"886â€"3570. Shirley Lichti and John Hayes will take people up Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa with their slide show on May 27. oo A oneâ€"day workshop on Alzheimer‘s disease will be held on May 31 in the Forbes Banquet Hall at RIM Park. Daniel Kuhn will lead the event, which will look at personal perspectives on the disease, emotional conflicts of caring for a family member and the changing face of intimacy in the disease. The workshop is being presented by the Alzheimer societies of Kâ€"W, Guelphâ€"Wellington and Cambridge, and is being sponsored by the Gerontol ogy Interest Group of Waterloo Region. _ The event, which will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., costs $50, including lunch and refreshments. _ Registrations can be made by phone with a credit card by calling 519â€"650â€"1628, Yard Sale for the Cure Tango and Latin dance classes May 25 Oneâ€"day workshop on Alzheimer‘s disease Take a trip up Mount Kilimanjaro 1=~#