finding your passion |

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.

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.