Today we had the Women’s Gold Medal game playing on our televisions in the lobby and in various classrooms throughout the school.  We all wanted to be in Canada Hall to witness this game today to recreate the feeling of ’72 that some of us can still remember; I was six and have a vague recollection of sitting in my school gym.  However, we are in the midst of setting up for our annual musical next week and so we watched all around the school.

As we know, things didn’t look great for the Canadians with ten minutes left.  But by now we know the memorable finish.  Standing with the students and staff in our upper lobby and experiencing the energy was awesome.

I think Paul “Bear” Bryant, the former Alabama football coach had it right when he said about sports and its ability to bring people together, “It’s kind of hard to rally around a math class.”  Let’s hope our men’s team can re-create the feeling again tomorrow in their game against the Americans.  Maybe 20 years from now our students will remember where they were on February 20^th, 2014, when we won Gold.

Derek Logan
Head of School

In the various communication classes and readings on the subject that I’ve done over the years, I have always been reminded that it is important to hit your  audience early in order to get their attention.  You can do this with a captivating story, humour, and many other techniques.  So here goes.  A couple of weeks ago, on a Friday afternoon, I received an email from our Director of Admissions and Operations that stated that one of our students was in the office, on the phone with his mother, because he had accidentally got a pepperette stuck up his nose.  As I always say every year at grade 8 graduation, you cannot make this stuff up.  My response to our Director:  regular or spicy?  I realize it’s hard to get this visualization out of your mind. My lunchtime hasn’t been the same since, although you should know that it all ended happily with a sneeze.

Now that I have your attention, and I know some of you will forward this on to some of your other friends at KCS, if you have not yet brought in your two proxies from your family for our Annual General meeting next Wednesday, please do so by the end of the day on Monday, November 25^th.  This is very important, and we appreciate you helping us out.  If you’ve misplaced your blue proxy forms, you can pick up another one from the main office.  I’m sure our office staff will share with you their memories of that day a couple of weeks ago.

Derek Logan
Head of School

One of the parents came up to me today at the New Student Presentation this morning.  She told me that she was having a conversation with her JK daughter before they arrived at school about what was going to happen at the presentation.

“Mr. Logan is going to introduce you to the rest of the students.”
“Oh, the big guy?”
“Yes. He’s the principal.”
“He must also be a prince because the word prince is inside the word principal.”

In less than a week, I’ve been called a magician by a grade one student, and a prince by a JK student.  I hope my wife is reading this.

Derek Logan
Head of School

One of the joys of this job is what you hear students say to you or to each other.  Every time I hear a gem like the ones below I think of the old television show, “Kids Say the Darndest Things”.  Here’s three quotes from the first week.  There will be more throughout the year – you can count on that.

While standing at recess on the first day of school a grade 5 student rushed up to me and said, “I love the new student planner.  It has tabs in it that look like your tie.”

The second day of school began with me standing in the plaza out in front of the school.  It was about 8 a.m. and still relatively quiet, when one of the grade 1 students was dropped off.  She walked up to me and said, “Are you waiting for me?”

About fifteen minutes later one of our grade 3 boys (Daniel) arrived.  I asked him, “How was your first day in grade 3?”  His response, “It was easier than I thought.”

Finally, on Friday I was reading a story to all of our grade 1 students.  In part, I do this each year in the first week to help me learn their names.  Before I started reading the story, I went around the room and correctly called each of them by name.  After this happened, and just before I started reading, one of the girls put up her hand and asked me, “Are you a magician?”

Derek Logan
Head of School

When vacations end it is inevitable that we spend some time reflecting on what we did while on holiday.  As an educator summer is always a great time to recharge, do things you haven’t had a chance to do during the school year, and plan for the fun and excitement of another school year.  As I came back to school this week after three weeks away, I thought about the highlights of my summer.  I’m sure you have a list of your own memorable events as well.

1. Had a deck built in my backyard.  Should have done this seven years ago when we moved in.  Reading, relaxing, barbequing, the occasional nap, hanging out with friends and family.
2. Bought an eReader in June.  Avoided having one for the longest time as I believed I needed to have a book in my hand to enjoy reading.  Love it, especially the Preview option.  Must be a lesson here somewhere.
3. Watched my parents and my in-laws as they were celebrated by their friends at my parents 50^th anniversary and at a surprise party for my father-in-law.  All people need friends like they have.
4. Attended three concerts:  Eagles, Heart and Jason Bonham, and KISS.  The first one was one of the top three concerts I’ve seen in my life.  The second had an amazing song list, Ann Wilson can still wail, and the bands did a rendition of Stairway to Heaven that was comparable to what they did at the Kennedy Center in December 2012  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvvoVZ6DhoY.  Always wanted to see KISS when I was a kid.  Never took the opportunity.  Now I’ve seen them the last three times they played T.O.  Until you’ve seen the show, don’t judge the band.
5. My daughter, Alyssa, is in the midst of driving lessons, and she was hired for a part time retail job at a local drugstore.  Two milestones on the road to old age for me.
6. Heather and I finally caved and bought the kids a dog:  Lily.  I wrote about this topic last year. My kids have been awesome in taking care of her.  Beyond my expectations.  I must admit it’s nice to have someone in your life who ALWAYS likes to see you.
7. Went to Chicago with my wife, Heather, for our 20^th anniversary this summer.  Our first trip without the kids.  Why did it take us twenty years to learn to do this?
8. Taught a ten hour course on mental health in our schools at the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS) Leadership Institute.  One of the most stressful things I’ve done in a while, but also one of the most rewarding.
9. Attended a baseball game at Wrigley Field.  It’s great attending a sporting event when you are going just for the experience and you are not worried whether your team wins or not.  This outlook would help all Toronto sports fans.
10. Spent a night and early morning in a 40 year old Blues bar called Kingston Mines while in Chicago.  In the words of a friend of mine, the place “drips the Blues from the walls”.  An apt description.  If you enjoy the Blues, make the pilgrimage.

I’m looking forward to developing a top ten list of memorable events from the 2013/14 school year.

Derek Logan
Head of School