I’ll be there for you (when the rain starts to pour)
I’ll be there for you (like I’ve been there before)
I’ll be there for you (‘cause you’re there for me too)
I’ll Be There For You (Theme from ‘Friends’) – by The Rembrandts

When I was attending Wilfrid Laurier University, some friends and I spent the afternoon of Super Bowl 20 (Patriots vs. Bears) playing tackle football in the snow and afterwards, we watched the game together. Little did we know at that time but we were starting a tradition and over this past weekend, I participated in the 31st Annual Snow Bowl. We migrated to touch football about a decade ago, we may have lost a step since that first game, and there are a couple of guys who need to sit out of the game because of the limitations of 50-year-old-bodies but playing and watching football has become secondary in importance. 8 of the 14 guys on Sunday were there at the first Snow Bowl 31 years ago and we always take the time to reminisce about the old times and to catch up on each others’ lives.

I keep in touch with many former Mentor/TEAM students through Facebook and I can tell you that the friendships your kids are making are ones that will last a lifetime, too. When I see alumni wedding photos, there is at least one (usually more) bridesmaid or groomsman from our school and alumni who post photos always get comments from friends made during their time here. Some have gone into business together and some have even married their high school sweethearts! They very often find themselves as roommates in 2nd year when they need to find an off-campus residence and just last week, I was talking to a mom who said that her daughter (now 19) was quite excited to be sharing a house next year with a friend she made here in junior kindergarten!

Parents, I know this from my own experience as a Mentor/TEAM Dad. Your child’s friends and acquaintances will come and go over the years but you will see some of the same kids who were at the kindergarten birthday party at the Grade 8 graduation. You will see many of the Grade 8 grads at the Grade 12 commencement ceremony and once more again if your kids get married. As parents, we can’t be there for our kids once they head off to post-secondary school but it sure is nice to know that they can have made friends who can help each other out when it hasn’t been their day, their week, their month, or even their year…

Chris Starkey
Administrative Principal
Mentor College / TEAM School