The Giving Season

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In the past 2 weeks, we have held our annual Christmas Concerts. It was the first time we have been able to gather for this tradition since 2019. It was wonderful to see all our families in the audience as they watched their children perform. When you see the smiles, you cannot help but feel a warmth and joy that comes out at this time of year. I ended the evening by reading a letter about the difference that the KCS community donations had recently made to 11 families identified by The George Hull Centre. Each family had their own story and needs ranging from resettling to a new country due to war in their home country, a single mom who recently lost her four-year-old child to cancer, families affected by mental health issues, to families torn apart by domestic violence. The KCS community has been providing financial support through the Reason for the Season for 17 years. This is a Parent Network driven event and our volunteers do a fantastic job collecting for those who are in need.

It got me thinking about some of the other things that have been happening at KCS and I wanted to share more about our students’ initiatives at KCS that also make me proud to be part of such a giving community. In the Junior School, students organized and collected gently used books to donate to the Children’s Book Bank in Toronto. They collected 22 boxes full of books for children who might not be able to afford to buy their own books. The organizing committee of students for this project were overwhelmed by the generosity they saw.

The Junior School also organized and held a food drive to support the Mississauga Food Bank. The Grade 5 class delivered the donations to the Food Bank and spent some time volunteering and sorting the donations on-site. Food insecurity is a huge issue, and sadly with the price of food escalating, the needs are increasing. Watching our students bring in their donations and seeing that they understand that others in the city are struggling and hungry, shows me that KCS’s Citizenship Door to Learning does make a difference. Students are learning to have empathy and to care for others.

Our Senior School students were also incredibly active. The Grade 9s learned about food insecurity as part of the curriculum in math and geography. In both courses they learned about the factors that influence food insecurity in Toronto and throughout Canada. As part of their learning, they visited the Four Villages Community Health Centre at Jane and Dundas to take action to mitigate food insecurity in the city. The Senior School also initiated a toy drive and delivered toys to the local Fire Department. As well, our students headed out into the city and donated food directly to those in need.

It has always been important at KCS to ensure that Citizenship is part of what we teach. At school, we know that academics are important. Sports and arts as well. At KCS, we also believe that becoming an empathetic, honest, good person is also integral to our students’ education. As I think about the last month and the activities led by students, parents, faculty, and staff to support and help others, I feel that warmth and joy. As the Head of School, I feel proud knowing that KCS and its team of educators, support staff, and volunteers have helped to instill a sense of citizenship in all our students.

It is the season of giving and I wish to thank everyone in the KCS community for their generosity towards others. I wish you all a great holiday season.

KCS Head of School

Derek Logan

KCS Student Leadership in the Classroom

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KCS students in Grade 7 have been working on their leadership projects. They were inspired by Autumn Peltier, a clean water activist. Students designed projects of their choice. Here is a sample of just some of the projects that they have been working on at school. 

Our group decided to make a presentation to tell the Grade 3 classes more about water pollution. We presented a slideshow, played a game of Kahoot, and did a little demonstration to show how much water we actually have to drink. We also told them about the ways we are polluting our water as well as helping it. We gave them a coloring sheet at the end of our presentation that had some messages about what is happening to fish in the ocean. Some of the messages were: “Less waste, more fish, better life” and “One ocean, one future.” We feel that it went pretty well and the Grade 3 students learned a lot about water pollution.

By: Zoe, Olivia, Abigail, Lauren

Our group decided to present what we learned to the Grade 2 students and teach them about water pollution. We started with a warm-up game because they just got back from their outdoor time, so they could be a little more active. After a few minutes, we started the presentation. We told them about plastic pollution and asked them if they knew about it. We also asked them if they could guess what else was in the water. After teaching them some ways to keep the water clean, we played a game. The purpose of this game was to simulate picking up garbage from the ocean. Each of the students got plastic bags, except for three of them. The three students were “it” and could tag those with bags. The students with the bags would collect dodgeballs, and put them in their bags. The winner was given a special sticker at the end of the game. Our presentation ended up going very well, and all of the students and presenters had fun. 

By: Kate, Sara, Maggie, Amelia

Our group came up with the idea to send a letter to the Legislative Office of Ontario, more specifically Premier Ford. We decided to send this letter to raise awareness about the lack of clean water in Indigenous communities. We believe that it is poisoning the youth, and these marginalized people are at a loss for necessities. In the letter we explained why the government should divert funds towards clean water in Indigenous communities. From oil spills to diseases in the water, the Indigenous communities have been through enough. We recognized this is not right. We believe that the need for clean water, which is key toward our well-being, should be recognized and be a priority. Overall, the Canadian government has not been vigilant enough towards protecting the original inhabitants of this land.

By: Henry, Oscar, and Murad

KCS Athletes Knock it out of the Court

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U14 Girls Basketball Season

By Shelley Gaudet, Citizenship Education Coordinator & Grade 7 Teacher

We were very happy to participate in the CISAA basketball league this year. The team participated in regular season games, which were very fun to watch. It was exciting for the team to travel to other schools, and we even ran into friends from other places when we arrived on their campuses! We also played very exciting home games. It was wonderful that we could invite fans to our games and they were very supportive.

This year, KCS hosted the very first KCS Invitational Basketball Tournament at Olympia Sports Camp. You can learn more about our experience here. In addition to winning the tournament, we had an amazing time together and made new friends from other teams. The season wrapped up on November 5. We travelled to Holy Trinity School and played in the play-offs for our division. After a very tough loss against one of the teams from our tournament, we qualified for the consolation game. KCS won the consolation and were happy to bring home our medals.

Ms. Cross, Ms. Field, and I would like to thank the players on the team for their excellent sportsmanship, and for bringing the school rules with them wherever we went throughout the season. We saw excellent teamwork, and we had a lot of fun! Thank you to the team for a wonderful season!

U14 Girls Volleyball Season

Written by Sophie and Amelie, Grade 7 and 8 Students

On Thursday, November 24, the U14 Girls Volleyball Team competed in a tournament at Pakmen Courts in Mississauga. We competed against three other schools: John Knox, Newton’s Grove, and Holy Name of Mary College School (HNMCS). We played two games against each school. At the end of the round robin, we beat HNMCS to make it to the semi-finals. We ended up playing HNMCS again and lost to them by a few points. Overall, we tried our best, played fair, and of course, had a lot of fun!

U14 Boys Volleyball Season

Written by Thomas and Justin, Grade 8 Students

The U14 boys’ volleyball team travelled to the Pakman Volleyball Center on Monday, November 21 to compete in the PSAA tournament. We won 2 out of 3 of our round robin games and finished 2nd in our division. We were faced with a tough semi-final game against MacLachlan College. We won this game which put us in the finals, facing a strong Sherwood Heights team.

We started strong winning the first set 25-21. Sherwood Heights battled back and won the second set 25-22. This meant a third and final set up to 15 to determine the champion of the tournament. The final set came down to the wire with us winning 16-14 and that meant we were champions of the tournament.

Our team showed great sportsmanship and displayed our three school rules throughout the whole tournament and we were proud to represent KCS. Coming out as champions was the icing on the cake. Thank you to Mr. Hnatko for helping us learn the sport of volleyball, but more importantly helping us understand that there will be ups and downs in every game, and if we were able to control our emotions while supporting and encouraging our teammates, we would likely be pleased with the final result. Another thank-you goes out to Ms. Pagani for travelling to the tournament with us and coaching us along the way.

Inaugural KCS Invitational Basketball Tournament Success!

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From October 12-14, the U14 girls’ basketball team went to a tournament at Olympia Sports camp for three days and two nights! We had such an amazing time competing in a four team tournament with Havergal College and two Holy Trinity School teams. KCS was the host of the tournament, and it was the very first year!

We all participated in a very educational basketball workshop with Melanie Gerin Lajoie who taught us proper shooting technique, dribbling drills, and helped us prepare for the games which started the next day. We also had a great time participating in exciting team building activities that helped us meet all of the amazing girls on the other teams! 

The first night that we were there, we got to play an extremely exciting game of Minute to Win It, where we participated in activities like ping pong cups, Oreo stack, and creating our own team cheer and name – which we decided was “Live, Laugh, Love, Cougars”! Our team ended up victorious winning this very competitive Minute to Win It game.

The next day, the round robin games started and it was time to put all of the skills that we had been taught to the test. The first game we played was against the second Holy Trinity School team. After a hard fight and lots of teamwork we came out with a big victory. The score of the game was 20-10 for KCS! We had won our first game. We were thrilled that we won but knew our next game was just around the corner and we had to fight as hard as we did in the last game that we had just played. 

Barely 10 minutes after, the next game started where we faced the first Holy Trinity School team. This game was an incredibly hard battle against a team that had lots of very competitive and aggressive players. After lots of 50/50 balls and fouls we ended up losing by 1 point with a finishing score of 8-9. We were upset, but knew if we continued to try our best, we could come out successful. Our final game of the day was against the current undefeated team, and also the tallest- Havergal. We were all nervous for this game as we knew it would be a hard fight. 

Throughout the game, we tried lots of new things and had lots of successful baskets and plays. In the third quarter, we had a tremendous come back of 10 points and were so close to tying up the game. Unfortunately, we lost the game by 1 point, with a final score of 18-19. Even though we were very disappointed, we persevered and did not give up. 

After the games on the first day, our team and the Havergal team got to go on the Giant Swing. The Giant Swing is a double person swing that’s lifted up 60 feet in the air by a rope by the rest of the team. You drop yourselves and go free falling- flying backwards over the lake as you swing uncontrollably in the air! It was very scary but so much fun and a great chance to make friends with the other teams! 

The next day was game day. It was our final chance to prove ourselves and to snag the win. In the round robin games, we finished in 3rd place which means we would play the 2nd place team. During the game, we played our hearts out. And even though this team beat us by one point before, we beat them by 14 points! That means that we moved on to the finals! 

The final was the last game of the whole tournament, and it was all up to this. We played our hearts out, tried our best, took every shot we could get, and worked together to the best of our abilities. The U14 girls’ basketball team is happy to announce that we have won the tournament at Camp Olympia!! Thank you Ms. Field for organizing the entire tournament! 

Written by the players on the U14 Girls’ Basketball Team

A New Way for School Spirit

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Four houses. Twenty new house captains. Add an original way to introduce them to the KCS community, and you’ve got a fantastic performance that launched the new school year!

The new, highly anticipated house captains of the 2022-2023 school year were recently announced at KCS’ annual Terry Fox Run assembly, and they are ready and eager to create games and challenges that will raise school spirit this year. In addition to the remarkable, eye-capturing spectacles put on by each house, an original, unique way to finish off the presentation was created, and it was a stupendous success!

All of the house captains performed a coherent rap together about each house to the tune of the popular television show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The house captains from each house sang one verse from the song with their respective houses. A highlight of the show was Ms. Griffin, who introduced the house captains with her enthusiastic verse in the rap. As the grand finale, Mr. Logan appeared to finish off the rap, and it indubitably got the whole crowd cheering. The house captain rap was a brilliant production and idea, and it clearly brought the students and faculty of KCS together to cheer for each of their houses.

Liesl K., Grade 8 student and house captain, had a pivotal role in the creation of the rap. She came up with the idea to showcase a rap to the school in the first place. Liesl was inspired with simply one thought: how can we, as house captains, generate school spirit, friendly competition between houses, but also unite the school as one? As we all know, the essential answer was to compose a rap! She had a variety of other ideas, like doing a dance or just singing a regular song, but in all, the rap checked off all of the boxes on her list. She chose a rap because it was fast-paced and energetic, and it was easy for all of the house captains to individually contribute their ideas. It was something fresh for the community, and even Mr. Logan said that the rap had never been done before at KCS. Liesl also chose a rap because she enjoys frequently writing raps herself, and knows how engaging and enticing it is to have the sensation of making the lyrics rhyme, or finishing a verse. 

Liesl was not the only person who wrote this rap, but rather, the comprehensive team of house captains were tasked to write the lyrics to the verse depending on what house they were in. They had to ensure that each verse blended with the one before, and that it related to their house and what their house stands for. Liesl motivated the house captains to partake in this added performance by creating “special lyrics meetings” that were dedicated to just brainstorming and writing. Some house captains mentioned that it was sometimes difficult to think of rhyming words and ingenious verses, but with ideas flowing like streams from their fellow leaders, they were rapidly able to come up with a solution. The creation of the rap was a beneficial way for the house captains to begin collaborating with each other.

As the audience was applauding the rap after it was finished, anyone would be able to recognize the flashes of satisfaction, delight and rapture dancing across Liesl and the house captains’ faces, joyous at the success that was a reward for their laborious work. They were clearly jubilant that the rap had achieved the level of triumph they had wanted. Mr. Logan affirmed that he had been nervous “backstage” before coming on to do his part, but the copious support and encouragement from the students and teachers alike helped him forget about that anxiety. The cheering and applause motivated everyone. Each student did not only belong to their house, but to the KCS community as a whole. They were part of something bigger than themselves which is a crucial factor for their future. This is a pioneering message to many students in the KCS community; the fact that no matter where or who you are, you will always belong at KCS.

As Liesl said, “Does the rap have school spirit? Does it involve all of the students and teachers? Does it challenge the house captains? Does it make everyone happy? Yes! It does!” The rap was a commendable way of providing students with a feeling of pride for their own house, but also a feeling of belonging to KCS as a whole.

Written by Vivian L, Student Leader 

Founding Member of KCS Addresses Senior School at Tie Ceremony

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On Thursday, October 13, KCS held its Grade 9 Student Tie Presentation at St. George’s on the Hill. All Grade 9 students were presented with their school ties by Head of School, Derek Logan and Head of Senior School, Andrea Fanjoy. The Grade 10 students were also provided new ties (as KCS has changed its branding recently). The Senior School Tie Ceremony is the first special ceremony of the school year, a tradition that is now just two years old, and one that we’re sure will continue for years to come. 

This is a ceremony that will always give tribute to the founders and early students at the Senior School. Today, we were honoured to have one of the KCS founders address our Senior School students. The following is his address. We wanted to share his words with you and truly appreciate that the original vision is fulfilled.

“First of all, let me congratulate our Senior School students. It takes courage to do new unfamiliar things, to forge new ground, not only can it be unpredictable, but you have the responsibility of blazing a trail for those coming behind you. You are the new Kingsway College School pioneers, on a new path, one that will set the example for those just behind you as the Senior School progresses. And to the KCS parents: it is so easy to say “No” to something new, so thank you for saying “Yes”.

It was always the intention of the KCS founders to have a high school, but establishing a first class junior school was our top priority. So now, finally, another part of the original vision is fulfilled.

It always bothered me when other independent schools would refer to KCS as a ‘feeder school’ for their senior schools. Now, with this incredible facility, faculty, mind-expanding curriculum, and student body, those schools are soon going to start losing students to KCS.  So who’s the feeder school now?

It was 35 years ago this month that my wife Carol and I, our friends Doug and Shirray Langey, moved ahead with the concept for an independent school. Since then, KCS has always been going forward. Two of my children were lucky enough to attend KCS and, without exaggeration, will say that KCS is in their lives every day, with those great KCS values, how they treat other people and the knowledge of the world they gained. What a great investment!

So here we are today at another important point in time for KCS. I know how much effort and energy has gone into starting the Senior School. To all those involved in the getting the Senior School fulfilled, thank you for carrying the vision forward and for all your hard work.

And to the Senior School students. I know you will make us all proud.

Thank you”.

Peter Helston

  • Director of Advancement Hallie McClelland and Founding Member of KCS, Peter Helston
  • KCS Senior School Grade 9 Tie Ceremony 2022

Truth & Reconciliation Week at the Junior School

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The last week in September was National Truth & Reconciliation Week. KCS recognized Orange Shirt Day as a school on September 30. Our Junior School students were invited by student leaders, Liesl & Vivian, to contribute to a mural in our front lobby after we read the book ‘You Hold Me Up’ by Monique Gray Smith. Students also read fiction and non-fiction age-appropriate material in their library classes related to this topic. 

Here are some examples of the thoughtful learning that took place over the course of the week. 

In Kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2 Phys. Ed. classes, students have learned about different games played by Indigenous children and why they are culturally important. They have also been learning about the medicine wheel as a way of viewing the world.

In the Grade 1 Be Creative Club, students designed their own orange shirts with messages surrounding the theme ‘Every Child Matters’. In their Art class, they read the story ‘You Hold Me Up’ by Monique Gray Smith. Students each chose a person in their lives who holds them up and drew their portraits, which are on display in our Grade 1 hallway. Students also made animals masked, which were inspired by the story ‘Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox.’

Here is what some Grade 2 students shared with us in assembly about their learning: “In Grade 2, we listened to many different stories about the children at residential schools. We designed our own orange shirts, colorful dresses and made feathers. We learned that they took Phyllis’ orange shirt away from her at her residential school. We learned that children should never be treated like they were and that we need to make sure that it never happens again.”

The Grade 3 students shared their learning in assembly too! Here is their message about what they are learning: “In Grade 3, we learn all about communities in Canada, starting from when the Indigenous people were first here. In class, we’ve been learning about Indigenous people and how they were treated a long time ago. Indigenous people were forced to go to residential schools. They had to eat and sleep there, and they weren’t allowed to see their families. This was so sad. People cut their hair off, changed their names, and made everyone wear the same clothes. One girl wore an orange shirt, and it was taken away from her. These are a few of the reasons why we now have Orange Shirt Day. We want to remember the awful times that Indigenous people had and make sure this doesn’t happen again. The Grade 3s are thinking hard about how we can help make a difference and help make things right for Indigenous people today. We hope you will help!”

In Grade 7 History class, students learned about different perspectives about land in North America. There were very clear differences between how Europeans and Indigenous communities used the land. The Grade 7 students also completed a self-directed project about how education is a key part of reconciliation. For example, they explored how students in Sudbury brought a Pow-Wow to their school so that they could share the experience with their classmates.

Both Grade 7 and 8 attended a session online with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. We heard from artist Carey Newman about his project called the Witness Blanket. He gathered artifacts from people and places about the residential school experience and created a blanket from those artifacts. The blanket is an amazing 12 metres long and each of the artifacts tells a story. The blanket has been on tour across Canada and now is also an online exhibit that everyone can visit. The Grade 8 students also began their inquiry projects in History class. Their driving question is: How might we address and participate in the process of reconciliation? It will be interesting to see what they come up with in their research.

We are grateful and encouraged by the many different activities that were associated with Truth & Reconciliation Week at KCS. What we also know is that the learning continues throughout the year here. Our faculty has taken on this important responsibility and we are grateful for their thoughtful, respectful planning and engagement. 

Ms. Gaudet

Citizenship Education Coordinator & Grade 7 Teacher

The Future is Bright!

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Just a few weeks ago, I was standing out front of the KCS Junior School, taking first day of school photos of my son Adam. At that same moment, a staff member from KCS took a photo of Adam as he took his first step onto the new school bus to take him to the new Senior School site for his first day of Grade 10. He put his thumbs up, ready to go see the school building that would soon open and be his new learning environment for the year. What I felt was at this moment was pride, hope, a sense of belonging to a wonderful community and a sense of comfort that I was sending Adam to an amazing high school.

Today, I am feeling even more emotions for KCS and for all that they have done for my children. Adam and Julian started at KCS in Grades 2 and 3.  Julian graduated Grade 8 last year and is now at Appleby College. Adam graduated Grade 8 two years ago and decided to be in the founding class of the new KCS Senior School.

We cannot say enough good things about being a part of the KCS community. My family has been very active in the school and today, I am so happy that through our company Roadsport Auto Group, we will once again be the lead sponsor for The Future is Bright fundraising Gala on May 13, 2023. This will be our third time as lead KCS Gala sponsor and our hope is that others in the KCS community will join us as sponsors, auction item donors and supporters.

Over the last seven years we’ve been a part of the KCS community, we have felt compelled to support the school in many ways. We have given financial support to the Galas, the Humbertown Park project, the Entrepreneurship Fund, the Senior School build and more. I am currently the Chair of the Senior School Parent Network, have been a Junior School volunteer for the Parent Network, a member of the Campaign Cabinet for the Senior School Capital Campaign, a member of Gala planning committees and volunteered at numerous Fun Fairs (formerly known as the Welcome Back BBQ). My family even arranged a catered surprise lunch for the Senior School to finish up their first week of the school year. I have been active in any way that I could and continue to make giving to KCS a priority for my family. Our children deserve the very best education and experiences and I know that our donations help to ensure they get that. That is really the most important reason we give. Our support will provide additional experiences and access to the best education possible for my children and the children that will follow.

It has been a challenging couple of years, but now THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT, and I can’t wait to celebrate and have a great time at the Gala which will be held in the brand-new Senior School on Lake Shore Blvd – with my glow stick in hand!

Aneta Gauthier

Proud parent and supporter of KCS!

Welcome to 2022-23

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What a great start to the 2022-23 school year. From the return of teachers and staff readying to welcome JK to Grade 10 students to saying goodbye to the kids as they finished their first week of classes, it has all been such a positive start to what I feel is going to be a fantastic year. We are all looking forward to the return of all the things that we love about the KCS Junior School and the excitement and challenge of opening the new KCS Senior School on Lake Shore.

I would like to reflect on some of the great things that have happened in the past two weeks.

On Monday, August 29, all our teachers and staff gathered for our first meeting of the year. It was the first time our returning and new staff gathered in person, and I could see everyone face-to-face.  I heard so many of my staff say how happy they were to be seeing each other again and how much they had missed the comradery that comes with working side-by-side with each other. As much as we worked as a team during the past couple of years, I must admit that I prefer seeing everyone in the school and not on a screen. That full staff meeting was the highlight of the pre-school week. The energy and enthusiasm filled the room and I felt excited to be starting this year with such anticipation of a full return to “normal”.

As the week progressed, I enjoyed getting to know our new staff. We have hired new faculty for both the Junior and Senior Schools, and a new Director of Guidance for the Senior School, as we increase our enrolment and expand to offer Grade 10. We also hired a new Director of Marketing and welcomed back teachers who had been away on leave. One of the things that makes KCS such a great place is our sense of community.  That starts with relationships. Taking the time to get to know staff and show them that KCS is a great place to work is part of my role as Head of School. The onboarding and success of our team starts with me.

After a packed week, including our Senior School Curriculum Night, and the Labour Day weekend, the school year was about to begin.  The Junior School Curriculum Night on Tuesday, September 6, was a full house in Canada Hall.  I met parents who I had never come face-to-face with since they registered their child(ren) at KCS. Our teachers got to meet our parents and confidently talk about what to expect this year.  I reminded people that our musical will return next March, and Mr. Magee was so pleased to be able to inform everyone that we now have a crossing guard and that the corner of Wimbledon and Dundas will be getting a traffic light – both things we have been working on for many years. Hearing our parents’ laughter, the conversations and excitement about being able to come back inside KCS again, was wonderful.

But nothing was as thrilling or as fun for me as seeing our students on Wednesday morning.  From the newest JK students to our Senior School students getting on our new school bus, it was just amazing.  There were smiles and excitement for the most part.   I enjoyed seeing the teachers and staff smiling right back.  However, as I’ve seen in my almost 30 years of opening days, not every child is happy on their first day, and there were a few tears and a few children hugging their parent’s leg or slipping behind them and being shy.  And me, in the middle of all of it, thinking this is one of the reasons I chose education as a career. 

What a day! And what a week. Our youngest students visited the library for the first time, ever. All of our Junior School children were playing in Humbertown Park and you could hear the laughter as they participated in their Be Active sessions. Our Grade 7 and 8 students were immediately off to Norval and Canterbury Hills for their outdoor education trips ,and when we send out or Stay Connected Month in Review, parents will see some of the great team building and leadership activities that happened while they were there.

Although our Senior School opening unfortunately did not occur during that first week, our faculty enacted the contingency plan we had in place since the spring.  Our Grade 9 and 10 students made use of our new bus for their orientation week.  Place-based learning happened around the Senior School and downtown Toronto, and their week ended with a surprise lunch at the Junior School donated by one of our very generous families.  We look forward to opening our Senior School facility this week. 

As I said goodbye to our students on Friday as they were leaving after their first week of school, it was nice to know we had a start that was feeling like that of the 2019/20 school year.

See you around the school.

Derek Logan

Head of School

Starting 2022 at the KCS Junior School

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Happy new year! It was a big first week back full of new and exciting things – of course, being online presents its own set of new opportunities and experiences. 

It’s in times like these when the Habits of Mind, Body and Action become so important in our work, play, and interactions with each other. 

Despite not being able to be together in the school in person, activities resumed in each class swiftly last Wednesday online. While there is much to cover and many plans ready to be rolled out, I’m glad that students were able to take the time to reconnect with each other in their first Meets of the year. I know that we were all excited to see everyone again and to see what teachers had planned for the day. 

For many of us, this switch to online learning has become more familiar over the past couple of years, but for others, it is a brand new experience. It takes time to establish new routines and to learn how to mute, unmute, and listen, and be patient online. Persist and it will come together. I must thank each student, parent, and of course all faculty and staff for adjusting to online instruction this week with such a positive mindset. 

The beginning of the new year is a great time to set some goals and it will come as no surprise that this was a focus of some class discussions. The story Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution provided a discussion point for the SKs – if you are looking for a resolution, you might be inspired to follow Squirrel’s lead and resolve to be kind to someone each day.  

And a class discussion in Grade 1 prompted some writing about goals for 2022 and some reflections on favourite parts of 2021. Students thought about some positive changes they would like to promise to themselves in the upcoming year. What are some things that you want to get better at? What are some things that you may want to learn how to do? 

Students have begun their math and science lessons as well. In Grade 2, students have begun to explore states of matter, and there has been lots of activity on Google Classroom regarding math practice and homework across the grades.  

Our intermediate students have begun to focus on Black History Month. They have also engaged in a lesson to help them think critically about the role technology plays in developing countries. In Language Arts, a project on song analysis will call on students to focus their attention on identifying poetic devices in song lyrics and identifying tone, mood, and theme.

Virtual clubs also began last week! I have the opportunity to lead a Makerspace club on Wednesday afternoons with a great group of Grade 7 and 8 students. As a starting point, we began with a discussion about inspiration. What are you passionate about? What inspires you to want to explore your passions further? Lucky for these students, the club time is dedicated to exploring their passions, deciding on how to act on them, and sharing them with others.

A special shout out goes to the Grade 6s –  Happy Favourite Mug Funky Friday! What a fun class event to end the first week back.

While we all look forward to being back in the building together soon, I want to encourage everyone to keep trying their best each day as you always do. Remember to reach out for help, ask questions, and persist. Whether we are at the school, or at home, keep trying your best.