The past two weeks has seen a focus on the arts at our schools. Mentor’s Grade 5 to 10 visual arts’ students have displayed their work all around the Main Campus, senior art students from TSS/Mentor held their show “Meraki” last Wednesday and Thursday and Mentor students from Grade 1 to Grade 12 showcased their vocal and instrumental talents at two concerts.

Tonight, our high school students will celebrate the arts with the 3rd Annual “Sunnies” Awards. The categories are wide-ranging and cover visual arts, video, fashion show, drama, music and technical support over this past Mentor/TSS school year. Over 100 students are nominated (and we all know from awards show speeches that it is an honour just to be nominated!) and perhaps more impressive is the fact that over half of our student body is somehow involved in the arts.

Some students pursue careers in the arts (like alumnus Joseph Rumi of Rumi Galleries that many of you drive past on Queen Street every day) but as Mentor music teacher Mr. Hoare often says, the ultimate goal of our arts’ programme is to create a lifelong interest/passion in the arts. In other words, even if you never pick up a paintbrush or play a trumpet ever again, we will consider your time with the arts beneficial as long as you visit galleries and museums, buy something musically-inspired on iTunes or purchase a subscription to the local community theatre. If you don’t perform the arts, at the very least continue to “consume” them.

Chris Starkey
Administrative Principal
Mentor College/TEAM School