"One Book"

Powerful message this evening at the Family Fall Gathering about the importance of "One Book" .Many times that is what it takes for someone to become a reader.Let's make it our collective responsibility to encourage our children to open a book, to switch off the television or the video games. As adults let's use our sphere of influence to provide opportunities for all children to create the love of reading.

Resilience in Our Children

As I get deeper in my professional growth and always surrounded by young people, I am somewhat concerned by the the level of resilience in our children. Seems to me that when faced with a challenge, students have a difficult task grappling to find the strategies to deal with the specific issue. It appears that there is a dependency --- a sense that someone else fixing it, taking care of it. What is it that us, as adults have to reflect upon?
Michael Ungar in his book "Too Safe For Their Own Good" talks about how risks and responsibility help teens thrive. He writes about the "cocooning" of our children and by thus doing, are we doing them a disservice?

Parents as Partners...

As a firm believer in the Power of Three , I continually search for ways of engaging parents in  providing the best opportunities for our children. What other strategies should we use? Parent Forums on topics of interest ?? Guest speakers??

I usually read several different blogs dealing with a variety of topics such as leadership, partnerships and education. Recently, I came across a blog post that dealt with my constant questioning about family involvement in school. I was struck by this excerpt:As a teacher, it is imperative to get parents on your side and help them see how important their job is as their child's educational coach, so to speak. Their attitudes about school filter down and are passed on to their child. If education is viewed as important, the child will naturally be inclined to work harder and do better.

At DMS, we continue to reach out to our parents and families and ask for your support -for your partnership. I am afraid that the gaps will never close completely. But more importantly, the chances of our students becoming productive citizens slightly lessens. Research shows that parent involvement in school, particularly their child's school, causes an increase in school pride, as well as achievement.

There are a variety of ways to be involved ( granted that the kids do not want mom or dad in the building):

-      PAC meetings

-      SPEAC

-      Field Trips ( you’ll be amazed how much you’ll get to know!)

I often read this poem titled Unity:

I dreamed I stood in a studio
And watched two sculptors there,
The clay they used was a young child's mind
And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher:
the tools she used were books and music and art;
One was a parent
With a guiding hand and gentle loving heart.

And when at last their work was done,
They were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had worked into the child
Could never be sold or bought!

And each agreed she would have
failed if she had worked alone.
For behind the parent stood the school,
and behind the teacher stood the home!

Let's continue striving towards more involvement...

Snapshot

The last few months have just sped by – we welcomed new staff members, new grade six students,new student teachers, new counsellors, new international students as well as some new students in different grade levels. And of course, our new website!

I am very privileged to work with a dedicated and caring staff and our students are indeed fortunate to have nurturing adults in their lives.

A number of our grade 9 students participated in a two night retreat at Camp Imadene. They came back reinvigorated with lots of ideas for the school having had the opportunity to engage in team building and planning.

Our Community Involved Students participated in the Great Canadian Food Fight collecting over 1000 food items and helped out at the Ogden Point Warehouse to sort out donations.

The Volleyball and basketball seasons kicked in -- with much participation from our students.

Our Marine Biology class participated in an Eco field trip – they were able to witness whales, sealions in their natural habitat.

Our Youth Combatting Intolerance group attended the Motivational Day Conference at Mount Doug Secondary.

Poems of our Grade 7 have been submitted to a Poetry Contest. Please check out our website.

An army of excited grade 7 students attended their first school dance which was planned and organized by our Grade 8 Leadership class. Over 400 students attended - much fun was had by one and all.

Our Military History class has been out to visit Royal Road, experiencing a variety of tasks.

Our Athletic Leadership class organized the Remembrance Day Assembly Service, doing a fabulous job showcasing their peers work. We were all very proud to have our very own Cadets do the March of the Flags.

Stay tuned for more events and activities.

Children

Food for thought--- Poem "On Children" by Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese American poet

On Children
 Kahlil Gibran
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Yearend Emotions

This is the bittersweet time when we look at our children with pride -- to see how they have grown, how so responsible they are, how wonderful to see their excitement as they head into another leg of their journey.

Up to date, we have had our Grade 9 Leaving as well as our Athletic Awards Celebration .. what a priviledge and joy to see the Grade 9s all dressed up, absolutely stunning looking. It was a pleasant, enjoyable evening where all had fun.

 At the Athletic Awards night, it was great to see that there were 160 athletes who participated in an event (or several events) throughout the year. They performed well while learning skills attached to the specific sports but most importantly they learned how to be team members, how to be socially responsible, how to learn to lose and how to demonstrate sportsmanship. 

These skills and ways of being take time to be crafted.....kudos go to our staff who care deeply about our children, who give tirelessly and unconditionally.

Sparkle in the Eyes

These past weeks have been punctuated with activities and events... as is common at this time of the year. Festivals, Tournaments, Conferences, Meets  and ..............

~  nothing equals the sparkle in the eyes of the child who found that he had surpassed his peers in high jump
~ nothing equals the squeal of the child when told that she was chosen to write the Math test
~ nothing equals the stunned look of the child when told that he gets to go to the Conference
~ nothing equals the brillant smile that lights the face of the child when told that they are the only grade which got invited to the Festival

That is the beauty of working with children ....