An article was forwarded to me by one of our teachers on Monday and it was entitled “The Top Five Reasons Parents Choose Private Schools”. The article didn’t tell me anything new but the article did mention an item that reminded me of a recent conversation I had with Mr. Philbrook (Executive Director and Co-Founder) and Mr. Macdonald (Director).

While we were waiting to watch the HS Arts Jam competition on Saturday, the three of us were listing all of the activities that were happening on the weekend. Just on Saturday alone, we estimated that over 30% of our high school population was taking part in one of:

– the Model UN competition at the University of Toronto
– the Arts Jam competition in the O’Brien Hall
– the provincial club wrestling championships in Brampton
– a science symposium at the University of Toronto
– the fashion show rehearsal in the gyms
– the provincial business competition (DECA) in Toronto

So when I saw in the article that “dedicated teachers” was one of the reasons for parents choosing private school, I did some math and realized that we had 17 staff members who were out with the various groups on Saturday. Despite what you may have heard (from their spouses), teachers actually do have lives outside of our school so it was just fantastic that they exhibit such a high level of dedication to their students and their “calling” as educators and that mornings, evenings and weekends are part of that commitment.

Chris Starkey
Administrative Principal
Mentor College/TEAM School