We’ve now completed the first two weeks of the 2013/14 school year, and for the first time in KCS history, we now have classes in PK-SK.  Here are a half dozen observations I’ve made during the our first eight days together.

1. There’s a lot more singing going on in the PK-SK classrooms than in other classrooms in the school.  I’ve witnessed the singing of instructions, singing goodbye at the end of the day, and singing about various topics the students are learning about.  I like it.  I’m considering mandating more singing by our grade 7 and 8 teachers.
2. There’s even more energy in the school than before.  So many times over the years, I’ve heard from current and prospective families what a wonderful feeling they have when they enter KCS during a school day (and when you are a prospective family it is important to visit a school during the day; otherwise all you are doing is touring a building).  We’ve just taken that feeling to the next level.
3. Uniforms look great on children at this age.  Over the past year, we’ve had many discussions about uniforms for our youngest students.  According to most moms that I’ve run into during the first few weeks of school, just for the cute factor alone, this was the right decision.
4. Things take a lot more time.  I watched a class of 16 JK students come in from outside on the play structure, change their shoes, wash their hands and then line up to go back to their classroom.  It reminded me of the times during the summer when my children were the same age, and I was taking them to the park.  It always seemed to take forever to get Alyssa and Brandon ready and out the front door.  It seems to me that our PK-SK teachers possess a truckload of patience as well as some magical powers in order to do all four things in ten minutes.
5. Days don’t get much better than when you start it with a handshake, a fist bump, a high five, or the occasional hug around your kneecap, from a three, four or five year old.
6. Finally, it’s a lot harder to remember the names of 154 new students.  In the past we would have approximately 50 new students a year (the majority in grade 1) and I would try to know all their names in the first week.  This year, I’ve given myself until the end of September.  Let’s see how I do.

Derek Logan
Head of School