I have noticed on Facebook that the latest trend is the 7 Day Thankful Challenge. One person asks someone they know to post something for which they are thankful seven days in a row and then to challenge one or more others to do the same thing.

I thought it would be an interesting thing to try this so here is my “7 Day Except That It Was All Done In One Day Thankful To Be At Mentor College and TEAM School Challenge”:

Sunday, September 21: I am thankful that our students have such a fantastic outdoor education facility in Muskoka and that our OEC and Grade 11 leadership teachers brought such great energy to their weekend.

Monday, September 22: I am thankful that we have developed the TSS (TEAM Secondary School) programme and that these students get so involved in before-school, lunchtime and after-school activities with their friends in the Mentor programme. There isn’t another small high school in the province that can provide the extra-curricular activities that TSS can!

Tuesday, September 23: I am thankful that we are able to supplement our phys. ed. curriculum with an on-site swimming pool and that our youngest students get SO excited on swimming days. I am also thankful that the pool is not an Olympic-sized one because our swim teams are VERY good at doing turns!

Wednesday, September 24: I am thankful that ALL of our students get a sense of how thankful they need to be when they give their time, funds and talent to others. Our JK to Grade 8 students took part in the Terry Fox Run today and our HS students were at the school from early in the morning (serving coffee and treats for the Alzheimer’s Coffee Break Day) to late at night (serving a BBQ dinner for clients of the Compass Food Bank).

Thursday, September 25: I am thankful that, after tonight, our students will have seen the two groups of supportive adults in their lives get the chance to see each other at Meet the Teacher Night. The vital role of teachers in education is obvious but the support of parents is critical in student success and we are blessed with a wonderful community of teachers and parents here.

Friday, September 26: I am thankful that we not only have outstanding extra-curricular athletics here but that we have teachers who are willing to organize tournaments. Our HS rugby teams host their annual tournament today on the heels of two HS volleyball tournaments in the past two weeks and our elementary teams will host 7 tournaments during the school year.

Saturday, September 21: I am thankful that our teachers believe they have chosen a career…not a job. Our golf team leaves for Quebec at 6:00am today and are the first of 7 out-of-province trips that our Grade 8 to 12 students (and over 40 teachers) will take in 2014-2015.

I won’t send out a challenge to anyone specific, but if there are any students, parents or teachers who want to send me a list of 7 Mentor/TEAM things for which they are thankful, I will put them in an upcoming edition of your Weekly Update…

Chris Starkey
Administrative Principal
Mentor College / TEAM School