The Giving Season

Posted on December 22, 2022 by KCSMATTERS

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

Posted on December 7, 2022 by KCSMATTERS

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

A New Way for School Spirit

Posted on November 2, 2022 by KCSMATTERS

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

Truth & Reconciliation Week at the Junior School

Posted on October 5, 2022 by KCSMATTERS

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

KCS Engages in CAIS Green Schools National Student Discussion

Posted on November 20, 2019 by jomulvaney

KCS students are taking climate action seriously. On November 5, six students from Grades 7 & 8 connected with 20 other CAIS Green School students from across the country in the first national online discussion forum. The students thoroughly enjoyed connecting and sharing their sustainability work, while learning a lot and having fun collaborating with other environmentally responsible fellow students from other schools, nation-wide.

“I got lots of notes and it was fun to learn. I’m glad I participated in it. The best idea I heard was that one of the schools has a green roof,” KCS Grade 7 student, Robert expressed enthusiastically.

Fellow Grade 7 student Sophia really enjoyed taking part in the forum as well, “I thought it was very fun. I liked the idea that we got to say what was happening in the school. It was very informative. There were a lot of schools in the meeting and they did lots of different things, which was cool to learn about.”

One of the ideas the KCS students liked and wish to initiate is a KCS “Sweater Day”, in collaboration with National Sweater Day held in February – where the entire KCS community would participate by sporting a sweater and turning down the heat, wear another layer and save some energy for a day, and perhaps even a week!

Other green initiatives discussed that generated excitement were:

Set up proper recycling and compost bins in each classroom
Conduct food waste competition, grade vs grade or house vs house
Grow plants in the science lab in the winter
Install solar panels
Run Trash-less Tuesdays
Remove plastic utensils
Help clean up Humbertown Park
And more…

Grade 7 and 8 students from across the country were invited to participate in these national conversations about sustainability with independent schools. This was the first for independent schools, and it’s a great way to share what other schools are doing. The CAIS Green Schools project is interested to hear and share what student are doing at their schools to advance sustainability goals.

Our thanks to the following students for their sharing their time and wisdom to help make our school a greener place!

Grade 8: Maya, Maia & Jack

Grade 7: Sienna, Sophia & Robert

green

Orange Shirts & Student-Driven Leadership

Posted on October 7, 2019 by KCSMATTERS

As one of the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission reminds us, education is an important aspect of reconciliation. At KCS, we are working hard to educate ourselves so that the future looks better for everyone. On September 30^th KCS took part in the nationwide Orange Shirt Day for the first time ever. It was all thanks to Liesl and Vivian, two young grade 5 students who decided to make a difference at their school and in their community. This is their story, told in their own words…

Liesl’s Story

My name is Liesl and I am 10 years old. My friend Vivian and I learned about the history of residential schools and the inequalities faced in education in Canada today. We made a presentation to educate our classmates last year, and this year we decided that it would be a good idea to think about Orange Shirt Day.

Our first job was to get our school ready for KCS’s first Orange Shirt Day, which is a day to remember the impact of residential schools on Indigenous people. We had to do a lot of preparation for Orange Shirt Day, but we got help from Ms. Gaudet and our parents. We got together during summer to work on a slideshow about Orange Shirt Day, which we would later present to grades 5 to 8 in Chapel. We also made a slideshow that wasn’t as intense for grades 1 to 4.

We then met up one weekend during the school year, where we made our own handmade orange ribbons for students and teachers to wear on Orange Shirt Day. We used orange ribbon and cut it 18cm long. Then we glued the ribbon to look like a breast cancer ribbon. Finally, we put safety pins in the middle of the ribbon, so students and teachers could wear the ribbon on their shirts. We also had a lot of fun making announcements on the P.A. system and at Chapel to remind students and teachers to wear an orange shirt school on September 30^th.

I am so happy that I am able to help educate KCS about Indigenous peoples, their history, and their culture. I hope I can do this until grade 8, because it is so much fun!

Vivian’s Story

Orange Shirt Day is a day for honouring Indige

nous people. Indigenous people had to go to horrible schools, where their personality was unwillingly changed. Their long hair was cut, and they were forced to change their original names to English names. Liesl and I educated the grade 5 to 8 students about these terrible residential schools. For the younger kids, we talked about how amazing our school is and how lucky we are to be at KCS. We also created Orange Shirt Day colouring sheets to get everyone into the spirit, and to help everyone remember the date.

We realized that not many people have an orange shirt, so Liesl and I went through the process of making approximately four hundred orange pins. First, we had to decide what kind of pin we were doing, and decided on doing a breast cancer-shaped ribbon. We cut an enormous amount of ribbons, then we had to glue them all. Unfortunately, at our first get together we only made 77, so we had to make more at our houses. We ended up making enough for all the students and 27 extra ones for the staff.

Orange Shirt Day was an amazing experience for Liesl and me. It took a lot of work to research and plan the special day, but it paid off when we watched our work unfold. It was incredible when everyone came to school wearing an orange shirt!

Everyone at KCS is incredibly proud of Liesl and Vivian’s leadership. By taking on this challenge, they reminded us that we can all work together to do what is right. We’ve begun the good work that is required on the journey toward reconciliation. For example, our grade 3 students will soon benefit from a visit with Talitha Tolles, Community and Capacity Development Coordinator at the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council. We are proud that our students are passionate about learning more and are willing to take on leadership opportunities in this area. To read more about student-driven leadership at KCS, check out these blogs about student-led projects, the power of student voice, and student-run clubs.

The World That We Design

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Andrea Fanjoy

Last week, we were treated to our annual spring concert – a wonderful showcase of our extracurricular bands and choirs. The arts do so much to make the world better. In fact, beyond the pleasure of listening to beautiful music, this concert included a message from our primary choir that struck a particular chord:

We can live in a world that we design.
A million dreams for the world we’re gonna make.
(“Million Dreams” by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul)

Part of educating students (and raising children) is preparing them for the world they will eventually face, independent of us. Much of that world is what it is, for better or for worse (sigh). Of course, we’re getting them ready for that. But the world is also what we collectively make it. At KCS, we’re teaching our students how to design the world they face for the better. Here’s one recent responsible risk where we did just that.

In May, Ms. Hooper, Ms. Gaudet and I joined our grade 8s on a trip to the WE Global Learning Centre downtown. This was the culminating event of a year spent learning about human geography, including forces shaping the human experience and our relationship with the planet. Against a backdrop of global challenges, they also learned about the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs were where our grade 8 students would both demonstrate and leverage their learning for the better.

At the WE Centre, our grade 8s pitched social enterprises to experts from the WE community, enterprises that they created from scratch to help address one or more of the U.N. goals.

They created enterprises to help address illiteracy, pollution, access to clean water, gender equality, health and wellness, climate change, poverty, education, plus life below and above water. One enterprise, Hakuna Njaa (meaning ‘No hunger’ in Swahili), was a proposed restaurant that would allow hungry Torontonians to help fund food and nutrition programs in areas facing a food crisis. “At our restaurant, people won’t just be paying for food, they are paying to make a difference.” Their pitch wrapped up with:

“We’re hungry for change. You should be too.”

We don’t know if our grade 8s will go on to further pursue their social enterprise plans. Their time at KCS is soon over and our Student Entrepreneurship Program (StEP) won’t follow them to their high schools. What they will take with them, however, is something that will follow them wherever they go. Here’s how one parent described her son’s reflection on the day:

“Listening to [my son] describe how inspired he was to be at the office yesterday and how meaningful it made it for the kids to have the “experts in the field” vote on the projects…the whole experience from start to finish has absolutely made an impact and a difference already. It made [him] think more deeply for example about believing he could actually make a difference, which I feel is an enormously empowering thing for kids to feel in this era of knowing so much about problems that affect the world, and yet not feeling like they can always help…or make an impact.”

Part of preparing students for the future is preparing them to design it, and instilling the knowledge and confidence that they can. We’re heeding the message. Our students are dreaming. And it’s music to our ears.

(Note – This partnership with WE, including an introduction to social entrepreneurship, instruction in making a strong pitch, and expert feedback and judging through the day, was supported by the KCS StEP Fund, thanks to the generosity of KCS parents and 30^th Anniversary Diamond Gala sponsors)

A Day of Service at the Special Olympics

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Derek Logan

In many ways, citizenship is all about service. It starts by recognizing that you are part of a community, which means you have a responsibility to step up and help your fellow citizens. This is particularly true for those of us who have been blessed with great opportunities and advantages in life. As the old maxim goes, to those whom much is given, much is expected.

I was reminded of this simple truth when I accompanied our Grade 8 students to the Special Olympics Youth Games earlier this week. This event brought together 2,000 young athletes with intellectual disabilities from across Canada and the United States. Thanks to the efforts of Shelley Gaudet, our Citizenship Coordinator, our Grade 8 students were given the opportunity to spend a day at a 42 team floor hockey tournament held at The International Centre in Mississauga.

But we weren’t there to watch. We were there to serve. Each Grade 8 student was assigned a floor hockey team for the day for whom they would serve as team ambassadors. They spent all day helping the players and coaches by getting water, carrying equipment, leading warmups and helping the athletes find their way around the facility. Perhaps more importantly, they were also there to provide support and encouragement through conversations, high fives and cheering.

To help prepare them for this experience, Ms. Gaudet facilitated a number of very positive and open conversations with the Grade 8s. The students talked about the importance of inclusive and respectful language, patience and getting out of your comfort zone. That last point was essential, as many of the students were a bit nervous about what the day would look like.

They were obviously well prepared, because on the day of the event, all of us in attendance (Ms. Gaudet, Mme Lacroix, Mr. Schroder and myself) could not have been prouder of them. They got off the bus with a positive attitude and a willingness to get involved, and things only got better from there. By the end of the day, every student had opened themselves up to the experience and had become dedicated cheerleaders for their own team. I was particularly impressed with the students who had been assigned francophone teams from Quebec, as they really had to go outside their comfort zone and speak French all day!

For myself, the entire day was one big reminder about what really matters in life. I watched a player spend part of a game pushing his teammate’s wheelchair, just so that player could be a part of the team. I watched a player from Humboldt, Saskatchewan, turn to his coach during his game and ask, “Did I do good?” And I watched our students – all of whom have had the chance to be a part of their own school or community teams – spend a day in service to a group of athletes who do not always have the experiences and opportunities our students get every week.

Much has been given to our Grade 8 students. This week, they proved to me that they understand just what is expected of them.

TV Display_ May_SO

Remember, be kind to yourself

Posted on April 10, 2019 by dlbowes

Throughout my years as a teacher I have found that I am often learning as much from my students as they are from me. Working with the youngest students at KCS I am continuously taught to enjoy the little things in life. To appreciate the first snowfall of the year, and the second, and the third, to revel at the intricacies of an insect’s body, and see the beauty in every flower or weed. However, the biggest lesson I have learned came from a group of students I do not often see.

This year the grade 4s have been amazing anti-bullying heroes (as deemed by Mrs. Drummond). Recently they were visited by Jason from MLSE (Community, Alumni & Educational Program Specialist, Toronto Argonauts) for a pre-assembly workshop for the upcoming Huddle Up assembly. He spoke to them about how being proud of who you are and being part of a strong community helps to deter and diffuse bullying.

Out of this conversation came a great initiative from the grade 4s. They asked that each person in the school make their own trading card. This card would have a list of two to five positive qualities about yourself along with a picture. Once done you could show others your card in the hall, at lunch, or during recess.

Dbowes

As I sat down to complete this task I realized that bullying is not just an external force. That more often than not it can be an internal one. We often think of a bully as someone else who may say or do things to hurt us. We don’t often consider the fact that we can be our own bullies.

If asked to write a list of positive qualities for anyone here at KCS I wouldn’t skip a beat. I could rhyme off a number of things without hesitation. However, when it came time to write my own list I sat there for a very long time considering what to write. It wasn’t because I thought there were too many things to choose from. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I had no idea what to write. Ultimately, being a huge Harry Potter fan I went with some qualities used to describe my Hogwarts House.

Once again I ended up learning just as much from the students as they do from me. Whether intentional or not, the grade 4s have taught me that I need to stop being my own bully, and remember to be kinder to myself. This is a lesson I will take with me through the good days and the bad and I will be forever grateful to a group of 8 and 9 year olds for teaching me this very valuable lesson.

Science Club Helps to Save Monarch Butterflies

Posted on March 14, 2019 by SFreeman

Traditionally, students of the first term Science is Fun club for grades 1 to 3 at KCS learn that monarch butterflies are a threatened species. They also learn that they can take action and create awareness by participating in a program called Symbolic Monarch Migration. This is a program promoting international cooperation for monarch conservation between Mexico, USA and Canada. Together eager KCS students turned a file folder into a large, beautiful, group butterfly, and they also made personalized, life-sized butterflies. These paper butterflies, along with pictures of our school and a message of cooperation, were all sent early October to coincide with the real monarch migration to the Oyamel Forests in Mexico. The first destination of our butterflies was Georgia, home of the Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia who works in partnership with Journey North, which is a large citizen science program for educators and the general public. Two of the largest monarch sanctuaries, El Rosario and Sierra Chincua are in central Mexico and provide shelter for the many thousands of butterflies that hang in clusters from the trees during the winter season. These monarchs become sedentary and live off the fat stored in their bodies before migration. Why they migrate to these cool mountain forests where they can get knocked out of the trees by hail or snow is a mystery. Only the monarchs born in late summer make it to Mexico.

Estela Romero is a program coordinator in Mexico for Journey North. She receives the symbolic butterflies from Georgia and delivers them by car to schools around the sanctuaries. Our KCS butterflies were received recently by a student at a private elementary Catholic school called Colegio Corregidora which is near one of the protective forests. This student will take care of our package of butterflies until it is time for the monarchs to migrate north again and will prepare a letter thanking participating students for taking care of the monarchs after they leave the protection of the forests and promising to help preserve the vital Oyamel Forests for overwintering.

We will not get our own symbolic butterfly back. Instead, it will be sent to a participating school from either Canada or the USA, and we will receive an exchange butterfly from another school. Each student will also receive their own small butterfly from somewhere across the three countries. That will happen in the spring to coincide with the migration north.

The wintering monarchs will make it to Texas in the spring where they will lay their eggs and die. It will take two more generations for the offspring to make it back to Canada. The latest reports say that the monarchs are hyperactive now and show signs of early migration due to an unusually mild winter in the mountains of Mexico. They are a month ahead of schedule. Roosting monarchs are actually counted and the good news is that the monarch count in Mexico has increased by 144% this year despite the declining numbers over the past several years. The bad news is that the monarchs overwintering in California have hit a record low count. As a side note, monarchs do not cross the Rocky Mountains, so there is an exclusive western population of monarchs.

Congratulations to our KCS students for helping to make a difference! We can all do our part by protecting and planting milkweed, the only host plant for the monarch caterpillars. Pollinator gardens are a boost for hungry butterflies, and KCS does a great job providing that element in our Learning Garden at the front entrance. Expect to see more monarchs greeting you this spring as you arrive at school and flitting around the community.

As a further note, this past summer I had the honour of raising a monarch from a tiny caterpillar, and it was indeed a very rewarding experience. I received the caterpillar from Carol Pasternak, author of How to Raise Monarch Butterflies: A Step-by-Step Guide for Kids, who was putting on a workshop at Christie Pits. I was able to obtain a signed copy of her book for our KCS library for any family interested in pursuing this adventure over the summer. The book was an excellent guide to prepare you for the signs of impending metamorphosis, which could be easily and quietly missed.

I will be following up with the first term Science is Fun students when our exchange butterflies arrive sometime around early May. Take a responsible risk, plant some milkweed; the monarchs will come to you.

Sharon Freeman RECE