My Blue is Happy

Posted on February 8, 2017 by dlbowes

My sister says that blue is sad, like a lonely song, but my blue is happy like my favourite jeans and a splash in the pool on a hot day.

This is the opening line in the book My Blue is Happy by Jessica Young. A lyrical ode to colours and the unique way we as individuals perceive them.

We have been working hard with the JKs this year to help them recognize the many different emotions they experience throughout the day. We want to teach them to recognize when they are feeling happy, sad, frustrated, worried, calm or silly. We want to teach them that it is okay to have these feelings, and give them the resources and strategies to help regulate them.

It was on a day like any other that we decided to read, My Blue is Happy. As I sat there reading, I didn’t know how much it would mean to the JKs sitting, listening so quietly on the carpet, or to be honest how much it would affect me.

We live in a world that is so rich with colour I think sometimes we forget to appreciate it. Eventually each colour seems to bleed into the next, and before you know it when you think of colour you think of them as society has inadvertently taught you to: “I’m green with envy”, “I feel blue”, “I’m so angry I see red!” and so on. When you really think about it, it is actually quite sad.

So, when the story was finished we asked our students to close their eyes and think of a colour and how it makes them feel. The next day we read the story again and afterwards put on quiet music, and put out white paper and watercolour paints. We asked them to explore with the colours, and to think about how they felt with each colour they used.

Afterwards one student told me “blue makes me feel like an ocean; calm and relaxed”. Another told me that green makes them feel brave. Each student saw these colours in a way completely unique to them.

My hope for my students is that they never stop appreciating the beauty that is around them, and that they never stop seeing these colours in the way that is meaningful to them.

It was later that day as I sat in the hall waiting for one of my students to wash their hands that I found myself staring out the window, watching the snow falling and thought:

My white is peaceful, like slowly falling snow and clouds floating across the sky.

I encourage you to close your eyes now and think of a colour. Do you have one? Good! Now tell me, how does it make you feel?

U13 Boys Great Performance at the CAIS National Basketball Tournament

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Anthony Kolozetti

It was an action-packed three days of basketball as the KCS U13 boys participated in the CAIS National Tournament at Hillfield Strathallan College in Hamilton. Playing a grueling seven game schedule, the boys worked very hard throughout the tournament. Thanks to excellent teamwork and resilient play, the U13 Boys made it to the Division 2 semi-final match where they lost to Holy Trinity.

The prestigious CAIS National Tournament invites basketball teams from across Canada to participate. For the past five years, the U13 boys have represented our school both locally, and as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia.

Each year at the tournament, a single team is awarded the coveted Statham Award for Team Sportsmanship. The recipient of this award is chosen by the sixteen coaches, and given to the team that best exemplifies the true athletic spirit and character of the game of basketball. This year we are pleased to announce that KCS was chosen to receive this notable award!

Additionally, a student from each team is awarded the Jeff Trickett Award for his sportsmanship, heart, and hard work. Congratulations to Rocky for receiving this honour!

Special thanks to the Tevlin family for their continued generous support of KCS through the Tevlin Family Fund for Sport and Outdoor Education. A grant from the Tevlin Family Fund paid for the tournament entrance fee and coaches’ travel expenses allowing our boys to hone their competitive edge and showcase the exemplary sportsmanship skills present at KCS.

Congratulations U13 boys!

The KCS Spirit

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Anthony Kolozetti

Once a month, the halls of KCS are filled with students dressed in the colours of their favourite sports teams, looking cozy in their pyjamas or perhaps looking a little wild for crazy hair day. In January, excitement was in the air as the students celebrated their teams and enjoyed a wonderful Pizza Lunch courtesy of our Parent Network and today’s spirit day is no different.

Always high energy, KCS Spirit Days also represent KCS’s commitment to citizenship and the key habit of making the world a better place. January’s Sports Day was organized by our Grade 3 classes. Under the leadership of our Citizenship Co-ordinator, Ms. Shelley Gaudet, the Grade 3 classes worked collaboratively to select, plan and promote the theme of Sports for their Spirit Day. From Pajamas and House colours, to “Dress Up” and Opposites Day, classes from Grades 1 to 8 will have an opportunity to be the driving force behind one of our fantastic Spirit Days.

Perhaps the greatest message delivered on Spirit Day is working collectively to make the world a better place. In addition to dressing up, the students donate $2 to support the Get Ahead Project or GAP through The Leacock Foundation. Where do all of those Toonies go, you may ask? Ms. Gaudet sums it up wonderfully: “As the world becomes a more global community, students learn how this affects their lives and those around them. KCS continues to support the Get Ahead Project School (GAP), serving children from underprivileged communities in Queenstown, South Africa. They are invited to donate $2 to the school during each Spirit Day…and as a result… KCS has helped GAP’s technology budget annually in an effort to provide sustainable funding for the school. In addition, many classes have written letters, sent sports equipment, and made scrapbooks for the students in South Africa.”

Well done KCS!

The five-minute challenge

Posted on February 2, 2017 by KCSMATTERS

What can five minutes do? It can help change the world. This is the main message that went home with 160 members of the KCS community after the Encouraging Dialogue Speaker Series presented by Kingsway College School in partnership with the KCS Parent Network.

Volunteerism: Choices That Make a Difference featured a panel of non-profit leaders sharing their experiences and engaging in lively discussion with the audience. Alex Robertson, CEO of Camp Oochigeas, Kristine Gaston, Executive Director of The Leacock Foundation, Martha McClew, Provincial Director for The Terry Fox Foundation, James Noronha, Program Director for Special Olympics Ontario and Gohulan Rajalingham, Special Olympian were joined by keynote speaker and host of the evening, Canadian football legend Michael “Pinball” Clemons.

With a focus on instilling the habits of volunteerism in our children early to follow them through life, panelists encouraged the audience to help children find their passion and to teach by example. Feel uncomfortable and feel nervous. Show your children that is how you are feeling and show them that volunteering can be hard. And show them that it’s all worth it.

Pinball and our panelists issued a challenge: start with five minutes a day. Just five minutes to make someone’s day better. Soon, those five minutes turns to twenty, then an hour. Before you know it, a habit has formed that will help our children become volunteer leaders of tomorrow.

What is truly remarkable about our passionate KCS community is the level of volunteerism we see at the school every day. This event, for example, was made possible by the generosity of two volunteers from the KCS Parent Network. Parent volunteers who devoted hours of their time to ensuring that this annual event was the best one yet and provided our community with an unforgettable experience.

It just takes five minutes to help change the world. What will you do with your five minutes today?

A Dialogue on Volunteerism

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Anthony Kolozetti

Electric. Motivating. Inspiring.

These are just a few of the words that could be used to describe Tuesday’s fantastic assembly in Canada Hall. Thanks to the generous support of the Kingsway College School Parent Network for the Talk That Matters Speaker series, KCS proudly welcomed an impressive panel of guest speakers whose message of volunteerism electrified our students, staff and faculty. Canadian Football legend, Michael “Pinball” Clemons, Program Director for Special Olympics Ontario, James Noronha, and Special Olympian Gohulan Rajlingam shared uplifting stories of how they came to embrace volunteerism.

With his energetic and engaging style, Pinball Clemons asked the students to pause and reflect on what it means to be in the service of others. Like The Good Samaritan or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Pinball reminded the audience of people who believed in the goodness that comes from standing up for others. He spoke eloquently of his own mother, who worked very hard to raise him by herself and instill in him a deep understanding of giving back to the community.

James Noronha and Gohulan Rajlingam each shared personal stories of how the Special Olympics presented them with many opportunities to build community spirit, celebrate exceptional athletes in multiple sports and cultivate a tightly knit network of friends and families whose generous spirit connected them forever. James also explained how he was drawn to volunteerism as a thirteen-year-old student. By typing and mailing a simple letter to the Trillium Hospital, James began his lifelong journey of helping others. After listening to these wonderful stories, what may be holding you back from reaching out and making a difference?

What makes a community great? Without a doubt, it’s when we stand up and help others with the gift of time. Whether it is investing 5 minutes a day to make someone’s morning brighter, or five hours filling the Wall of Service, these simple gestures have the power to make a big difference. We all win when volunteerism becomes a part of who we are.

A very special thank you to our Parent Network volunteers, Mrs. Alison Bell and Dr. Christina Semler for their tremendous support of this unforgettable event. Now that deserves a Pinball Clemons high five!