Their eyes were wide as saucers. They screamed. They squealed. Their bodies jiggled with joy and laughter as they watched what their teddy bears got up to in the library over the weekend. The world has many places that are truly awesome. Last weekend, in the eyes of the grade ones, our library was one of those most special places.

Hartley the Bear, the host of the party!

During a Friday Pyjama Day, with Ms Hoggarth’s help, Hartley the Bear, the KCS library mascot, announced that he would be hosting a party over the weekend for the teddy bears of all the grade one students. The party would begin when all ‘their people’ left at the end of the day. Cameras were set up to capture the shenanigans.

You can see the results here. What you can’t see is the response of the grade ones when they watched their imaginations come to life. Of course, the teddy bears’ activity came about as a result of some human friends. It wasn’t real. But the wonder and surprise, the awe and appreciation, was real. It was a lesson that goes as follows: your imagination is valued, things you imagine can come true, libraries can be magical places, and school can have wonderful surprises that will make you smile with appreciation for years to come.

Thank you, Hartley and friends, for making this unforgettable experience happen. You are nurturing a Habit that is boundless in value. The awe and appreciation you have inspired reach far beyond the grade ones.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics

If you don’t have tickets for next week’s production of The Big Bad Musical (March 1-3 @ 7 p.m.) you are going to miss out on an outstanding production.  I’ve been attending KCS musicals for the past thirteen years:  Aladdin, Annie, Fiddler on the Roof, Grease (the elementary school version of course!), The Sound of Music, as well as many others.  I can still remember watching my first KCS musical, Alice in Wonderland, with my daughter, Alyssa.  We marveled over the amazing costumes (especially the caterpillar) and the terrific sets.  But what I loved most was seeing and listening to the students on stage singing and participating in a production that would have terrified me to be part of when I was their age.  The last musical I was involved in was in grade 3.  I was a rock.  A piece of cardboard in the shape of a boulder was painted gray.  The teacher’s instructions were as follows:  “Derek, you are the rock in this production.  I want you to hold this up on the stage and crouch behind it.  The audience shouldn’t see you.”  My parents are still laughing about this one.

There are still a few remaining seats for Saturday night.  Don’t delay.  From the sounds of the rehearsals that make their way up to my office every Wednesday afternoon, next week’s shows promise to be another KCS hit.

Derek Logan
Head of School

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These posters are the finalists in our Big Bad Musical Poster Contest. See all of the entries on our Facebook photo album.

“…I like donating things. You should try it. It needs to be simple and it needs to make someone happy.” -Teagan (grade 2)

I wish every seven year-old could come to KCS for grade two. That way more people would learn to make the world better.

As part of their year-long study of citizenship, the grade two students are asked to perform acts of kindness. With the help of their parents, they conjure up dozens of ways in which to help others and our planet. When done, they write about their acts and then share their accounts at assembly.

Here is what this year’s grade twos have done to make the world better:

• Nine students donated to food banks
• Eleven students donated to Goodwill
• Five either donated to or did something nice for hospitals
• Six helped homeless people and a women’s shelter
• Eight donated to charities such as the Children’s Wish Foundation, Unicef, Youth Unlimited, World Wildlife Fund and the Aga Khan Foundation
• Seven contributed locally by helping a neighbour, helping a family in need, picking up litter, donating to their former nursery school and recycling old batteries
• Two donated books to a book drive

This is just the beginning. Since their first week at KCS, they have seen students of all ages get up in assemblies and share their acts of service, written on “bricks” for our Wall of Service. They have seen students from grades three to eight sharing leadership projects that make a difference in our school and beyond. And they have been greeted in the foyer with food drives and book drives and shoe drives and winter coat drives. The “Act of Kindness” unit is their launching pad for many acts to come. It is the beginning of a habit that matters on a global scale.

Teagan is in grade two. Her quote, however, captures a wisdom way beyond her years. If only every seven year-old could come to KCS for grade two.

Yesterday, my daughter, Alyssa appeared on Canada AM.  My wife, Heather, and I sat in the studio audience.  The show was dedicated to talking about the issue of mental health.  I want to thank so many of you who have stopped by, sent emails, and left messages of support and encouragement for Alyssa and our family.

As you may know, Heather and I, and more importantly, Alyssa, feel it is time to encourage dialogue about the topic of mental health.  In fact, Alyssa has led Heather and I along this path for the past year or so.  She has spoken about this topic already at an Annual General Meeting for The Rock in Burlington, a public speaking competition, during the organization of a workshop for The New Mentality, on television, etc.  Over that year, Heather and I have been hesitant about Alyssa’s speaking in front of others, but we have come to realize her story and our family’s story in dealing with what happened with Alyssa, can help to bring about positive change in this area of health care.  We realize that significant change won’t happen without people speaking out and sharing their stories.

If you attended our information evening on January 14^th entitled, “Encouraging Dialogue:  Mental Health and Our Children”, you will remember Sarah Cannon and Shannon Stach.  They also appear in the videos located on the Canada AM website.  I encourage you to take the time to watch the segments below. (please note, each video is preceded by a commercial and the same introduction)

• How mental illness is affecting one teen and one family. Also, spotting the signs and symptoms. http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html?video=615232

• Canada AM opens the floor to questions related to mental illness, stigma, and how to find help. http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html?video=615249

• TSN’s Michael Landsberg on his personal experience with mental illness — and breaking stigma. http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html?video=615225

Please consider forwarding this blog post with the above links to your friends and family. Some of them may benefit from hearing the messages.

Derek Logan
Head of School

Please note: If the links above are no longer working please go to http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html and click Must Watch Clips and choose Mental Health from the scrolling menu on the left.

I first proved my mettle on a canoe trip. I was 10 years old and this was an extended family ‘vacation’ on the Restigouche River in New Brunswick. It wasn’t how I would have chosen to spend a holiday, and the endless nipping of sand flies, physical exertion, sleeping on rocks, perpetual paddling, lack of plumbing and terror of rapids together represented the challenge I had to overcome. Of course I did.

As I recall, the next time I stared down a daunting challenge was my first experience with exams. I was in grade 7 and we wrote 10 exams, two each day for five days straight.

I have written before about how quickly the world is changing. You have no doubt read the work of others who say the same. Some things, however, don’t change. In fact, some things have always been. While the things that change are important, it is equally important to note the things that don’t.

One of these things is the rite of passage.

Rites of passage have served to infuse maturity throughout time and across cultures. When I first thought of the significance of this, it was in a graduate course that focused on the most jaw-dropping of examples. In some societies these rites of passage, often for mere pre-teens, can include extreme pain, deprivation and well-founded fear. In these cases, the rites of passage are often singular events where the individual begins a child and leaves an outright adult within a matter of days. However arduous the challenges, those who emerge feel proud, mighty and mature.

What in the world does this have to do with KCS?

In today’s world, rites of passage may take place in a rugged outdoor experience. They can also be a significant school or life challenge.  As I reflect on my canoe trip and my first experience with exams, they were rites of passage that left me feeling proud and mightier than I had before.

Our grade 6-8 students have just finished exams. I know exams have been a trial for many of our students, and their families. Since the Christmas holidays, life hasn’t been the same. Students have been studying daily, either willingly, or with prodding, yelling, angst and frustration. They have worked exceptionally hard preparing for this unusual academic challenge.

If your child wrote exams and at times you questioned what this was all for, it is about more than learning how to write exams. Yes, there are many ‘practical’ reasons for why writing exams is beneficial. I’ve written about them elsewhere. What I haven’t written about before, and what may even matter more, is how exams also connect our students to something timeless. Rites of passage, in whatever form they take, are proven sources of hard-won resilience and pride.

Now is the time to celebrate their rite of passage. Your child is not as he/she used to be. While they have not made a full leap into adulthood, they deserve to feel proud of themselves, mightier and more mature, and to feel that those around them see them as such.

This is also a time to share the stories of your own rites of passage.  Your child can now better understand what you mean when doing so.

What were the rites of passage that helped make you the adult you became?

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics

Last week my Dad and I went to the Leafs game.  Normally, when I have Leaf tickets I bring my son or daughter with me.  My wife, Heather, is no longer an option.  I tried this twice.  The first time we went was at the Gardens.  After the first period ended Heather turned to me and asked, “Is it over?”  The second time she read magazines throughout the game.  Embarrassing.  Last week both my kids were involved in extra-curricular activities that night, so I decided to ask my Dad to come to the game.  He accepted and we made arrangements.

After I asked my Dad to come, I started thinking about whether we had ever attended a Leafs game together.  We had watched many games on television over the years and he always came to the various sports games I played in.  When I was growing up, I probably attended less than a half dozen games at the Gardens, but when I thought about it, I realized I either went with my friends or my uncles.  I shared this thought with my mom and she said she didn’t recall my Dad and I going to a game together.

We had a great time.  Terrific seats, the Leafs won, excellent hot dogs and peanuts.  My advice:  don’t wait 45 years to do something with someone you care about.

Derek Logan
Head of School