Over the holidays, we got LOTS of winter weather. The ice storm claimed a number of branches of our trees but our schools were pretty fortunate in losing just one tree (one of the birches) when the weight of the ice sent it toppling. The winter weather continued this week with more snow and a “polar vortex” that put the thermostat in the minus 20s. For the most part, everyone bundled up and our school week went on as normal (with the exception of a day of indoor recess). We might not feel fortunate, but the schools in my hometown of Goderich have been closed all week. Ironically, there are 20 tractor-trailer-loads of salt from the Sifto salt mine in town sitting in the Canadian Tire parking lot who cannot go anywhere because all the roads in and out of the town are still closed because of snowdrifts up to 10 feet high!

As Canadians, we love variety in our weather so the next few days should be a wonderful, slushy mess. If you know of a family whose skiing weekend plans have been thwarted by 8 degrees and rain, let them know that we are having an Open House on Saturday so the weekend won’t be a total loss! Entrance testing (the first of the year) will take place at the Main Campus and families interested in Primary Campus or TEAM School admission can visit on Saturday and sign up for an entrance assessment later in the month.

Chris Starkey
Administrative Principal
Mentor College & TEAM School

Tonight is Hallowe’en and depending on the age of your kids, it can be anything from the most exciting night of the year to just another evening.

The thing that most of us have in common is that we have kids come to our door, we open it, they ask for something and we provide it to them. This Saturday, your school will be repeating this process as we hold our first Open House of the year when we open our doors to prospective students and families to tell them about what we can provide. Like Hallowe’en can be, it is a very exciting day for us as we are anxious to show others what you already know…that we have great students, teachers, programming, and facilities.

At the Primary Campus, families can tour the school, speak with teachers in their classrooms and take part in a presentation with the administrators in the gym. If they think the school would be a good fit for their child(ren), we invite them to come for an assessment early in 2014. At the Main Campus, families take a tour of the school with one of our ambassadors to get a student perspective on life at Mentor and then meet the administrative staff during an informal presentation in O’Brien Hall. Interested students are encouraged to return for the first entrance assessment of the year (Saturday, January 11).

The process is much the same at TEAM School (tour, presentation, Q&A opportunities) but because of the individualized academic programming we offer, the admissions process can also be individualized. If there is space in a grade, we are sometimes able to have a student come for a “visiting day” soon after the Open House and even start at our school shortly after that. The most amazing thing to me about the process is, despite the stress that usually accompanies moving to a different school, it is quite often the student who begs Mom or Dad to let them come to this “new school”.

If you have any family, friends or colleagues who are considering our schools, please share this update with them and tell them to let us know who sent them!

Chris Starkey
Administrative Principal
Mentor College / TEAM School