It’s lovely to have December behind us. While November and December had plenty of wonderful moments at home and school, the pace that follows these busy months is the pace I most enjoy.

I can sit back, relax and enjoy Twitter again.

I don’t know that everyone loves Twitter as I do. In fact, the glazed eyes that meet mine when I talk about Twitter confirms that not everyone loves it as I do. My appreciation for Twitter almost reaches my passion for curriculum mapping, and for similar reasons, but now I really need to explain…

First, some necessary context:

1. Educating individual children for a successful and meaningful life is not straightforward. The more you teach and learn (goodness, the more I raise my boys even), the more evident this becomes.
2. Because the world keeps changing, and children keep changing, all educators must keep learning from all perspectives and sources to ensure their professional judgment, which is applied endlessly each day, is rooted in as much knowledge as possible.

With the above in mind, here is one of the barriers to the excellence we all want to see widespread in education: educators are so busy educating that little time remains to constantly learn and grow from all the various perspectives out there.

Educating is demanding work. Educators are committed, passionate professionals who learn as much as they can and apply it to their practice. But, oh how lovely it is to come across a medium that allows us to significantly increase our knowledge base with the little spare time we can find.

Twitter serves many purposes, many of which have no bearing on professional learning at all. However, the fact that I can readily access relevant articles, blog posts, videos, resource suggestions, youth commentary, TED Talks and information about the world we live in from credible sources with a flick on my iPad or scroll of my mouse sends shivers up my spine. Sitting down to Twitter each day is like sitting down to the proverbial treasure chest. Rare is the day I don’t find a gem that I would have never otherwise come across – something that provokes, excites, encourages, or just introduces a whole new train of thought.

Embracing learning matters, especially when it has the potential to make you better able to do what matters. Time, and the wise use of it, also matters.

Where these converge is where I find Twitter.

If this perspective is new to you, I encourage you to check out Twitter. And if new perspectives will help you do what matters to you, enjoy the gems you’ll find there.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
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Find Andrea on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/afanjoy
Find KCS on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/kcsmatters

It’s been almost three months since my first Blog post went up.  Writing comes with the territory of being a Head of School:   Blog posts, speeches, Open House presentations, misplaced Christmas concert concluding thoughts, etc.  And although over the years it has gotten easier with practice, like all things, it is never simple.  I took a few minutes today to review the eighteen blogs I’ve written since September 22:

• Becoming a Blogger
• Things You Can’t Control
• Summer Reading
• Auditions and Tryouts
• Are You Kidding Me?
• It Has to Start Somewhere
• Tradition and Memories
• Being Stuck
• Survey Says…
• Report Cards Used to Say What?
• The Power of the Jelly Bean
• Remember
• When Winning Doesn’t Matter
• Thanking Others
• Being an Educator is Much More Than A Job
• Establishing Positive Habits
• World War II on Twitter
• Give Your Kids a Chance to Explain

The topics have been wide-ranging, hopefully thought-provoking and/or interesting, while some may just bring a smile.  It’s pleasing to see that we now have approximately 40 people following our Blog.  Thanks for signing up.  My next Blog post won’t be until January.  Until then, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe holiday with your families.

Derek Logan
Head of School

The other day, I was sitting at my son’s soccer training reading his Sports Illustrated magazine (November 14th edition). This was the college basketball preview edition. I’ve never been a big fan of basketball even though I tried to become one when the Raptors came to town a number of years ago. NBA players who go on strike is amusing news to me.

However, while I was thumbing through the magazine, an article caught my eye: “Dewayne Dedmon’s Leap of Faith”. Dewayne was 18 years old when he first picked up a basketball. He wasn’t allowed to play the game for various reasons, but one day in April 2008 he was sitting in the gym at Antelope Valley College in California and he said to the coach, Dieter Horton, that he wanted to play basketball. He was 6’8” so the coach invited him back the following week for a tryout. These requests from young teenage boys had happened often to the coach over the years, but only 1 in 10 kids ever came back for the tryout. Dewayne, however, did show up.

In short, he didn’t know how to do anything on the basketball court. In the words of the author of the piece, Chris Ballard: “In one sense Dedmon was a coach’s nightmare; in another he was a coach’s dream. He had no bad habits to correct, because he had no habits. He was a blank slate.” Is it easier to establish a habit when a person is young or is it easier to break a bad habit and establish a new one in its place? A fundamental question we have asked at KCS over the years. In most cases, the early years of a child’s life is the best possible time to begin to establish and reinforce positive habits. We do it daily here.

Dedmon’s story is certainly unique in many ways. You might want to look for the article and get the whole story. He is now playing at USC and is projected to be a top NBA pick in an upcoming draft – whenever that might be. Dewayne is preparing for that next challenge in his life equipped with a foundation of good habits; just as our soon-to-be grade 8 graduates are preparing for high school.

Derek Logan
Head of School

To be human is to have good times and bad, happy moments and moments that aren’t so much. Even at KCS, we can have days that are tougher than others, days that leave us feeling a little glum.

I felt that way the other day. Lucky for me, The Order of Good Cheer was taking place upstairs.

Historians and Maritimers know what I’m talking about. In case you’re in the dark, this story will enlighten you, and, I hope, bring as much cheer to your day as it did mine.

The Order of Good Cheer was a tradition started by Samuel de Champlain in 1606, with a hardy group of French settlers in Port Royal, Nova Scotia. Life was tough for the few who tried to stick it out. Winters were particularly so. In order to survive, the men needed something to focus on other than their misery, something worth looking forward to, something that nourished their bodies as much as their spirits. What could that something be? A party. The winter passed with relative ease, thanks to the distraction of planning and enjoying weekly feasts and entertainment.

Now, I can hear you saying, Port Royal and 1606 are far removed from KCS and 2011. In fact, The Order of Good Cheer was as close as a grade seven classroom. In advance of their party, students had learned about the early years of European exploration and settlement in Canada. They were then assigned a role from this era. One was Champlain, another Etienne Brule, and some were ‘filles du roi’ (women brought over to marry and bear children). A bishop was there, representatives of the king were present and a native peacekeeper was too. All students had to research their roles and prepare for the conversation that would ensue when they all sat down for the anticipated event.

As I rounded the corner on that gloomy day, Ms Gaudet was greeting her ‘guests’ adorned with a red velvet crown and green velvet cloak. Desks were bedecked in tablecloths, doilies, dishware and candles (have no fear, they were the new-fangled battery-powered ones). Guests came in costume and with artifacts related to their disparate lives. They also had their reference notes, prepared in advance, so they could convincingly play their role in this 17th century reenactment.

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Their faces glowed. They spoke in character with evident pride and conviction. They debated the issues of the day, expressing the competing perspectives of the time. They proved to their teacher that they knew what the Ministry wanted them to know in this grade 7 history unit. Thanks to the Order of Good Cheer, they will also never forget it.

One of the many benefits of studying history is the perspective it gives us. If you’re feeling gloomy, remember how much gloomier life was for many before us. And learn from their example – throw a party, or visit KCS.

Andrea Fanjoy
Assistant Head, Academics

This week our 7/8 team competed in the annual PSAA touch football tournament in Oakville. Unfortunately for the students, this wasn’t one of those years in which we took home the championship banner. And while I admit, winning is much more enjoyable than losing, as I have written before in this space there is so much more to sports than winning for both the participants and the coaches.

Our team played four games, tying one game, losing a couple of close games, and I won’t try to write about the fourth game. However, at the last game, I’m standing beside one of our players. It’s about five minutes into the game, and he turns to me and says to me, “I don’t know if you’ve had a great time today, but I sure did.” These are the things that happen to me in education that make what I do much more than a job.

Derek Logan
Head of School

Last week in chapel, I shared a story with our students about two rowers from a school just outside of Philadelphia. James Konopka and Nick Mead abandoned their Under-17 doubles race they were competing in to help rescue two fellow competitors who had capsized in the unseasonably cold water. Once they had ensured that the other two rowers were safe, they finished the race.

It’s a terrific story of doing what is right and realizing that winning isn’t everything in sports (or in life). I often find myself reading stories such as this one, and asking myself one simple question: what would I have done?

Derek Logan
Head of School

Remember. Buy a poppy. Thank a veteran.

Derek Logan,
Head of School