May 29th was a very memorable night for all those who joined us to celebrate Western Laval High School’s 25 + 1 year reunion. It rekindled lots of friendships new and old, and really brought us all back to a time in history.

“Your Reunion Committee” (Eyal Baruch, Sheldon Cohen, Fran Cooperstone, Patricia Dufresne, Carl Kleinberg, Steven Kronish, Real Landreville, Nancy Marks, Sonia Paragamian, Rhonda Tatner, Brona Staviss, and Shari Rodin) all meet and talk on a regular basis. Last week 8 of us met for supper at Baton Rouge on Decarie Boulevard (unfortunately Eyal, Carl and Patricia couldn’t meet at the last moment due to work and Rhonda lives in Toronto). We all had a great time and of course we started to reminisce about the reunion.

It would be great to include anyone who wants to join us for dinner, but we can’t start making a zillion phone calls!! We have compiled over 200 e-mail addresses of classmates and wouldn’t it be great to communicate our messages to everyone at once? While in the planning stages of the reunion a suggestion was made by a classmate to start a Yahoo Group. For those of you who don’t know what that is, Yahoo! Groups is a free service that allows you to bring together family, friends, and associates through a web site and email group. It is easy to use and convenient because you can post an e-mail that will go to everyone who is registered in the Yahoo Group all at once, similar to the concept of a message board. Although all e-mail addresses are kept private, and are only seen by the moderator (who is in charge of the group), your e-mail address will be visible when and if you respond to a post. This Yahoo Group is private and will only be used by us. If you don't wish your address to be shown when responding to a post, please let us know and we will figure out some other way for you to respond without divulging your e-mail address. You do have to be registered to use this, your own e-mail address can be used since a yahoo address is not required, and if you have problems you can always e-mail for help.

This concept is great and a terrific way to communicate with everyone at once. We can let everyone know what months we are thinking of for the next reunion, ask opinions, take polls, suggestions, get volunteers, see if anyone wants to join us for a night out, share news, and just plain chit chat. We are hoping that everyone participates in this because it really is a great tool.

Everyone was sent an invitation to join our Yahoo Group for Western Laval 1978. Although the invitation expired, you may join by going to the link below and following the instructions.

Yahoo!Groups for Western Laval 1978

Please remember, if you have any problems, please e-mail us back and we’ll assist you.

“Your Reunion Committee”

Eyal, Sheldon, Fran, Patricia, Carl, Steven, Real, Nancy, Sonia, Rhonda, Brona, and Shari

Wow, almost two months have passed since our May 29th high school reunion, and we are still getting e-mails about how fantastic the night was!! Although we are not anywhere near planning stages for the next one, the consensus seems to be to hold it in 4 years time, and possibly during the month of June or July. If anyone would like to become involved or has any suggestions for us to keep on file, please let us know.

We had a surplus of $745.89 funds from the reunion, and have donated it to the Just For Kids Foundation on behalf of the graduating class of 1978 Western Laval High School. This foundation raises funds to purchase new, high-priority equipment for the Montreal Children's Hospital. Our donation is mentioned in the JFK’s newsletter, and can be seen online under the heading ‘ July 2004 newsletter’ located at The Just For Kids website.

The reunion photos taken by Ryan Blau of PBL Photography are amazing!! Although they may appear a bit grainy and blurry on the computer, they are super sharp and very clear. If you have not ordered a group photo, or want more information about it please contact Ryan at: (450) 681-3063 or cell: (514) 234-1584. You may also use the link PBL Photography located on the ‘After the Reunion’ website. For those of you who weren’t able to attend the reunion, please use the link to see photos from that evening.

We are so happy that so many people reconnected, and still are. If anyone would like to see a Yahoo Group Message forum created, please let us know and we can try to do it.

Have a great rest of the summer, and please if you have any e-mail changes, or address changes, let us know so that we may keep it on file.

Take care,
The Reunion Committee

Just for your information, the reunion photos taken by Ryan Blau of PBL Photography are amazing!! Although they may appear a bit grainy and blurry on the computer, they are super sharp and very clear.

If you have any questions, please call Ryan at (450) 681-3063 or cell: (514) 234-1584, and he’ll be happy to answer any of your questions.

A few people have requested a list of everyone’s e-mail or home addresses. When we sent out invitations and news about the reunion, we forgot to ask permission if we could create a list of personal contact information. We have had requests from quite a few people asking us to not disclose any of their information and we have to respect this. However, people can sign the guestbook inviting others to e-mail them, or you can drop us a line with the name of whom you would like to contact. We can write them and give them your e-mail and ask if they mind if we give you theirs.

I have this message from Howard Weintraub:

On the heels of the great feedback arising from our 26-year reunion, some people in Toronto have been thinking about organizing a periodic informal get-together in Toronto – maybe once or twice a year, as long as everyone thinks it’s a good idea.

If the WLHS grads from our year that are living in the Toronto area could forward me your e-mail address to hweintraub@sympatico.ca it would be appreciated.

I assure you that your e-mail address will be used solely for information on future get togethers in Toronto.

Thanks,
Howard Weintraub

Hey everyone!! Glad you are enjoying the reunion photos. For those of you who were at 'The Reunion' and took photos, please e-mail us at westernlaval78@yahoo.com and let us know because we would love to post them on the website.