The Last Time the Leafs Made the Playoffs

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Derek Logan

Tonight’s victory by the Leafs over Ottawa ensured that they would be involved in a playoff game sometime next month. Here’s a look back on the year 2004, the last time the Leafs made the playoffs:

None of our grade 1 or 2 students had been born (and even some of our grade 3s)
We still had only one class in each of grades 5-8.
Shrek 2 was the number one movie and Usher was the top selling album
Our 18 000 square foot Third Addition had not been built
KCS didn’t have social media sites…sometimes I feel it would be nice to go back to this time!
Current Leafs; James Reimer, Phil Kessel, and Jake Gardiner were in high school
We sent home our newsletters on paper in your son or daughter’s knapsack
Glenn Zederayko was Head of School
Elmo was the hottest toy on the market
The majority of students did not carry around cell phones (the phone would not fit in their locker)
Our student population was approximately 220 students – almost 2/3s of our current student body
A daughter of one of our teachers was born on May 4, 2004
(Toronto Star, Apr. 20, 2013 – Toronto Maple Leafs: Return to playoffs would be first-time experience for these kids)

What have you done since May 2004?

Derek Logan
Head of School

Kind Gesture Leads to Unexpected Encounter

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Derek Logan

Last Monday I was sitting in my office when one of our grade 8 students knocked on my door and asked to speak to me. He had been on our European Battlefield trip with his Dad in March and they had written a thank you letter to me (as well as the five other faculty and staff who were on the trip). In addition he gave me a Vimy Pin. April 9^th was the 96th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and he asked me to wear the pin the next day to commemorate the battle and honour those Canadians who had fought in 1917.

The next morning, I put the pin on and went outside during drop off. A parent rode up with her son on her bike. She noticed the Vimy Pin and said that she saw an article in that day’s National Post about Vimy. This led me to stop into our Business Manager’s Office later in the morning as I knew she had the Post delivered to her house. I asked her if she would save the article for me as I was interested in reading it. While standing in the doorway of her office, the Church receptionist overheard us talking. She asks me if she heard correctly that I was speaking about Vimy. I said yes, and then she asked me whether I knew the name of the designer of the Memorial. Of course, I couldn’t remember on the spot! That’s when she told me she was related to Walter Seymour Allward, the designer. She told me some stories, including that she has visited the Memorial twice, the last time in 2007 after it was refurbished; that she’s been in the catacombs beneath the Memorial; that Walter has other pieces of work at Queen’s Park, in Brantford, etc., and that he’s buried locally in Toronto. Her and her sister have researched Walter over the years. Of course this led me to a further conversation with one of our history teachers and one of the main organizers of our biannual battlefield trip. She said she would arrange for some of our students to interview the Church receptionist for their end-of-the-year history project.

The above story started with a thank you. A very kind gesture indeed, but one that had the added bonus of leading to an unexpected encounter at KCS. You just never know where good deeds will lead and where this story may go next.

Derek Logan
Head of School

You Never Know Where Things Go… When You Share What You Know

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Andrea Fanjoy

Great things can start really small. When small, of course, they appear insignificant and usually go unnoticed. Small things start becoming great when they’re shared.

Here’s how this happened recently at KCS.

About a year ago, a student in grade 5 thought of a story. It could have stayed in her head, like the many stories people think up. Instead, whenever she found the spare time to do so, she started writing it out on her school computer. It turned out that the story was pretty lengthy, so she kept on writing. As it grew, her friends and teacher started to notice. It kept growing and soon I noticed.

When a student ends up writing a 76-page story, just because, it’s already clear that something great is going on. But the sharing didn’t stop there. Ms. Hoggarth, our librarian, and I started talking about what to do with a story like this. After much discussion (sharing what we knew), we came up with a new offering at KCS that has us both pretty excited. Young Authors of KCS (YAKCS) is a program designed to inspire, support and ultimately publish the work of any students in grades 4 to 8 who independently persist in writing a book. Participating students will receive expert guidance from a published author, with the exceptional opportunity to receive direct feedback from the author when manuscripts are written. Published books will be honoured with a KCS book launch, housed in our library, and copies given to the student. Books will also be given an ISBN and be registered in the National Library of Canada and the National Archives. Aspiring artists will also join this group if chosen to be illustrators.

When first announced at assembly, fifty students rushed to the library to pick up information on how to participate.

The story in the head of our original aspiring author, when unshared, was unnoticed. Because it was shared, and because it inspired subsequent sharing, her story is not only on its way to being published, but was also the catalyst for what may end up as countless more books and inspired future authors.

Share what you know. You never know where it’ll go.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
You can follow Andrea on Twitter @afanjoy.

The Police vs. Grade 1

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Derek Logan

If you happen to be in the KCS lobby be sure to watch for more photos on our TV.

On Tuesday morning, at drop off, I was out in the plaza in front of the school when Officer Rich, our community police officer, pulled up in his cruiser. He was here to speak to our grade 6-8 students on the topic of bullying and cyber bullying. Before entering the school, Officer Rich suggested that, after his talk with the older kids, we could bring some of the younger students outside and they could climb in the cruiser, ask him questions, etc. In a momentary lapse of reason, I spoke with the grade 1 teachers and offered to take their classes outside for the twenty minutes of morning recess.

So at 10:20, I lined the grade 1 students up in the hallway and we marched outside. Thankfully Ms. Borg, one of the grade 1 teachers, volunteered to come with me and take some photos, although I had confidently said to her beforehand, “If a police officer and a principal cannot handle 33 grade 1 students, there’s a problem.” Five minutes later, after we had rounded up the students for a photo op behind the black iron fencing :), the students were given the opportunity to climb in the cruiser and look around. The fun began. The energy and curiosity of the students was amazing to watch, it was like a beehive: constant activity. Some students were asking questions of Officer Rich, while others were arguing with each other about who was sitting in the cruiser the longest. They each had an opportunity to wear Officer Rich’s hat, and that in itself created some interesting conversations. Another student found a worm and decided it would be a good idea to chase some of her classmates. And by this time it was only 10:27. How would I survive the next thirteen minutes? I thought to myself… I need a nap.

I always tell parents that I really enjoy having the grade 1 classes across the hall from my office. If I ever want a little humour in my day, all I need to do is visit their classes or stand in the hallway as they are getting ready to go to their next activity. Those few minutes each day help to put my role at the school in perspective, and they certainly make me appreciate the quality of people we have teaching our primary students at KCS. Next time I have a bright idea to volunteer, I hope I remember this twenty minutes, and do it anyway.

Derek Logan
Head of School

M&Ms and A Soccer Shoe

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Derek Logan

One evening last week, just before 8 p.m., I was driving my daughter, Alyssa, to her weekly piano lesson. She turned to me and told me that she thought that her brother, Brandon, needed M&Ms for his grade 9 Business class the next day. Let’s just say I was not pleased to hear this news at that time of night. My first question to her was when did Brandon find out he needed these M&Ms? Once she hesitated in her answer, I knew he found out last week, but forgot to tell either my wife or myself. I told her that I wasn’t going to the store to buy them at that point in the evening and Brandon would just have to figure it out the next day. Alyssa knew I meant what I said, as both she and her brother remember the time when Brandon was younger and he arrived at his soccer practice with one shoe. You may have guessed this, but I didn’t drive home to get the other shoe. If you have never done this before it is interesting to watch someone play soccer with one shoe. I am pleased to say that since that practice, Brandon makes sure he leaves the house with all his gear before getting in the car.

Unfortunately, I will never know whether the lesson I was trying to teach Brandon with the M&Ms and being prepared for school made a difference. When I got home from picking up Alyssa from piano, there was a package of M&Ms on the counter in the kitchen. My wife, Heather, went out and bought them. We hadn’t agreed on my M&M strategy in advance…

Derek Logan
Head of School

Hope You Enjoyed the Last 54 Days

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Derek Logan

The St. Julien Memorial – a Canadian war memorial located in the village of Saint-Julien, Belgium. KCS European Battlefields trip 2013.

My last Blog post was February 12^th. A couple of times each week since then, a thought comes into my mind that I need to write another post. Each week I feel guilty for not writing, but then I start on something else work or family related and another week passes by. The guilt begins again, I begin something else, and then another week passes without another post. It’s not that I haven’t been doing things the last eight weeks. I’ve been down to Philadelphia to attend the annual NAIS conference for educators across North American; attended a trip to the Canadian battlefields in Europe along with 74 other students, teachers and parents from KCS during the first week of the March break; prepared for Board meetings, strategic planning sessions, and staff meetings; read books; watched my Leafs on their playoff push while laughing at the hockey commentators and their inability to predict any trades; attended plenty of soccer training sessions with my son; celebrated a 75^th birthday for my Dad, a 70^th birthday for my mom (hi mom, thanks for reading!), and a 93^rd birthday for my grandmother; bought Eagles tickets for July 11th.

In short, life happened, my blog posts didn’t. Life went on for you, and the fact that you didn’t read a blog post from me may not have made a difference in your last 54 days. It got me thinking about all the things we try to cram into each day, and if we didn’t do them, what would really happen? Maybe this blog post made you think for a second, maybe it was a non-starter; maybe it was a happy distraction in your day. At least for me, I no longer feel guilty about not writing something, my ‘writer’s block’ has been overcome and I’m already enjoying working on my next post. Stay tuned…

Derek Logan
Head of School

Learning for the Love of It

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Andrea Fanjoy

Paddle Tennis Elective
photo credit: Mary Gaudet/Etobicoke Guardian

I can remember the day I found my passion. To the extent that we can help spark it, we want our students to find theirs.

Third term clubs and teams have started – twenty-nine opportunities in the areas of academics, arts, athletics and citizenship. Scheduled so students can do as much as their hearts desire, our keenest students pursue up to ten offerings each term in each of our Four Doors to Learning.

Many dozens of ‘Brainiacs’ (independent student-initiated projects) plus leadership and service projects are in full swing. Feel like creating a whole new language, or creating a comic that spoofs James Bond? That’s what a group of boys in grade 4 have shown they’re inclined to do. How about organizing a food drive, like a group of girls in grade 2? A boy in grade 5 is creating a video game that the class can use in its upcoming unit on the human body. And compelled by the desire to make a difference, a group of grade 7 students is organising KCS’ participation in a global Vow of Silence, an awareness-raising effort that allows children to ‘speak’ on behalf of those silenced by unacceptable circumstance. Giving time, encouragement and guidance so students can pursue what moves them has created a virtual deluge of learning

Third term also marks the start of our much-anticipated electives program for students in grades 6 to 8. Every Wednesday these students break out of the routine, learning just for the love of it. Joining an elective of their choosing, here is what these disparate delighted groups are up to:

Receiving instruction in and cooking meals for a local youth shelter
Creating a dramatic presentation from beginning to end
Learning, playing and spreading the word about paddle tennis
Geocaching (www.geocaching.com) and putting KCS on the international geocaching map
Composing a school song
Composing songs to promote social justice
Receiving expert coaching in baseball, then providing that instruction to young KCS students
Creating Renaissance art
Building and programming robots to face challenges

And because we’re pretty tireless, a brand new opportunity for students in grades 4 to 8 with a special kind of passion is being revealed this Friday…

The day I found my passion was the day my life became defined by commitment to lifelong learning. This is our wish for our students. Let the sparks fly.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
You can follow Andrea on Twitter @afanjoy.

If It Feels You’ve Gone Through the Looking Glass…

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Andrea Fanjoy

“It would be so nice if something made sense for a change.”
-Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland

Parenting has these moments. Teaching has them too.

Our school musical this year was Wonderland!, a spin-off of Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice in Wonderland. As a child, I wouldn’t have noticed the dimension of the story that became evident the other night, when Alice stepped through the Looking Glass and everything turned backwards. To a child, this story is a feat of imagination, a delightful trek into a world that doesn’t exist.

As a parent and educator, it connected with something a little less fictional. It reminded me of the times where my children have come home and bemoaned things that didn’t make sense. It reminded me of times when students complain of an egregious injustice at recess, only to learn that what really happened was a little more complex and nuanced. And it reminded me of some discussions with concerned parents, who recounted what their child told them, and I had the opportunity to share some other relevant details that brought sense to a story in need.

Children aren’t cognitively and emotionally ready to fully understand their world. The perspectives and messages of others, body language, context and the implications of their own actions are often overlooked, not out of dishonesty but out of ordinary immaturity. Even adults struggle with this, and we are all vulnerable to using our imaginations, however unwittingly, to help explain a situation in a way that may please us, but is not a representation of all that really happened.

If your child comes home with a story that leaves you feeling as if you’ve gone through the Looking Glass, take heart. You needn’t go through the many adventures of Alice. Reach out to the adults who can add the facts needed to turn this backward world into one that makes sense. Doing so offers a delight that is preferable to the temporary treat of imagination. Even Alice came to realize it. “It was much pleasanter at home, when one wasn’t always growing larger or smaller.”

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
You can follow Andrea on Twitter @afanjoy.

This article was first published in SNAP Etobicoke, April 2013.

Some Old School is Good School

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Andrea Fanjoy

I confess. At my school, we do some things that are very old school.

I follow what’s happening in the profession very closely. I read with interest what educators around the world are doing. I note that old-school approaches are often assumed wrong, not by research but by opinion.

These are exciting times in education, and there is a lot of room for new tools and strategies. Technology has made much that was impossible possible. Project-based learning, flat classroom projects that connect students around the world, and emphasis on 21^st century stills like collaboration and inquiry are welcome progress. I love reading about how educators around the world are using these new approaches, and love bringing much of what is new to our school.

I’m also compelled to be a voice that says there is value in some of what schools used to do. The evidence is in the students, and the fact that a restricted array of approaches will never be sufficient for all. Schools must include all that has recently shown promise, plus remember all that used to have value, and then apply them all according to the needs of each student. So, in addition to all the current practices at our school, what old-school ones have we found also meet student needs? We teach reading in many ways, but one way is through what’s called Direct Instruction, which is teacher-directed, and is the highly specific teaching of phonics, decoding and comprehension. We teach printing and cursive using a resource that is also specific to the skill, and we use it for six years in a row so that writing has a chance to develop alongside keyboarding skills. We teach math facts until students are fully fluent, allow minimal use of a calculator, and teach math concepts with clear step-by-step instruction. We have exams starting in grade 6, and put a significant effort in teaching students how to prepare for this significant challenge.

Teaching all students well requires open-mindedness to an unbounded array of tools and practices. It requires deep knowledge of each student, reflective practice, knowledge of quality research and the evidence of experience. That needs to be read more often. Whether old-school or new-school, if it helps students, it belongs.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
You can follow Andrea on Twitter @afanjoy.

Time for Awe and Appreciation (Tribute to Wonderland!)

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Andrea Fanjoy

Readers who saw this year’s musical Wonderland! know why it’s time.

Respond with awe and appreciation is one of the KCS Habits. Of course, the world has plenty of things that are awesome and worthy of our appreciation. Trouble is, most of us don’t stop and recognize them enough. Even at KCS, where wonderful things, big and small, happen quite regularly, it’s the other habits that tend to get the most air time.

Well, the musical put this habit front and centre. Awe is the absolute right word to describe this wonderful show. And appreciation to match is due.

The primary students sang with heart, confidence, and charm. It’s clear many of our youngest students are already destined for a future on stage. The dancers performed throughout with style, grace and polish. The chicken dance will be among the many unforgettable moments! The chorus and band immersed us in delightfully memorable songs. The performers amazed us with their evident talent and commitment to their roles. Their efforts have inspired performers-to-be. And then there’s the many people behind the scenes, from tech crew to the many teachers, parents and grandparents who invested hundreds of hours planning, directing, organizing, sketching, sewing, shopping, thinking creatively, problem solving and just generally making something huge happen.

It was awesome. Thank you.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
You can follow Andrea on Twitter @afanjoy.