A Thankful Community

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A thank-you card was delivered to the school last Friday.

Now cards of appreciation and thanks are not unusual at our school. Teachers receive them routinely from parents and regularly send them out to students (and they are usually mailed to the house so you as parents can see how proud we are of your kids!). Principals, students and teachers are both givers and receivers of notes of appreciation and Director Mr. Macdonald is an active part of this wonderful community of thanks as well.

This thank-you card was a bit more unusual, though. First of all, the card was addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Philbrook and it was written in appreciation of their vision of the school (over 30 years ago) and for how they put all the pieces in place to make it work so well. Specific teachers, coaches, principals and classmates were not as important to the author as the comfort level that the family felt in coming to the school every day for 10 years. Even more unusual was the fact that the card was written by a student who has not only graduated from high school, but is now finishing up a second university degree.

During our presentations for prospective families, we always tell them that they need to feel that perfect “fit” for their child in our school. We are a great fit for most families and the fact that parents, students and alumni are recommending us to most of the families who come to us means that you are getting that same feeling about the school as our alumnus did.

Chris Starkey
Administrative Principal
Mentor College / TEAM School

“People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”

– Maya Angelou

Fashion Show: It Takes A Village

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sitelogo (1)The phrase “it takes a village” has become a popular one and it is no more applicable at our schools than for our charity Fashion Show. This event involves staff, students and parents from every grade and every division of the school but the goal of raising $60,000 in one wonderful night (Saturday, April 18) is only possible with a whole lot of generosity of time, talent and donations now.

This is where you, the “villager”, come in. You can be as involved as you want and we have many ways for you to participate.

Perhaps you have some spectacular big ticket item that you could contribute to our live auction? This could be something personal (eg: “a week at our hilltop cottage”) or have a connection to your business (eg: “a free product or service for your whole family”). We also have a very active silent auction where we love to have sports or concert tickets, gift baskets, appliances, gift certificates, furniture, any kind of services…if you’ve got it, we can use it! We also have room in our 350 swag bags for something from your business so if you would like some recognition in this way, let us know. Keep in mind that we also have 800 guests that night and are looking for food and drink donations. If you don’t think you have anything but want to help in obtaining donations, the parent committee would love to have you join them for their monthly meeting (next Thursday at 3:45).

Donations totalling $3000 or more will get recognition in the program, on the website and on the screen during the show. You can also purchase advertising for one or more of these media if you wish.

Tickets (another way to show your support) go on sale the first day after the March Break. The Fashion Show student executives are so inclusive that even if you haven’t seen anything yet that you can do, they will even accept a straight-up donation and as long as it is over $20, SickKids Foundation (one of the benefitting charities) has agreed to provide a tax receipt for you as well!

Please take the time to consider a way that you can help. There are 100 student models involved and at least that many student, staff and parent volunteers in our “village” who would love to have you take part. Send a message to fashionshow@mentorcollege.edu, visit www.mentorcollegefashionshow.com or simply hit “Leave a Reply” if you have any questions or if you have already decided on your contribution.

Chris Starkey
Administrative Principal
Mentor College / TEAM School

Thanks For The French, Mom!

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Every time we have an Open House, we learn that 90% of the prospective students are coming to us on the recommendation of a current or former Mentor/TEAM family and this past weekend was no exception. We appreciate this continued support from you and it reinforces our belief that we have an excellent school filled with motivated students, dedicated teachers, and parents who believe in the value of a solid educational foundation.

I was quite pleased to hear from one family on Saturday who had been recommended by a current family for Mentor’s Intermediate Division for next year. The family has been in a French immersion programme in the public system for a few years and is finding that the quality of education has diminished over that time and that the top students in the class are not being challenged at all in their studies. The parents told me that the recommendation came because of our challenging academic standards in general but in particular because we have a highly-regarded French programme. When you think about it, students who start in our junior kindergarten classes will have five years of French instruction before their cohorts in the public system begin French language instruction (usually in Grade 4) so it makes sense that Mentor is a recommended destination for those in immersion programmes who want to keep up their French skills.

I continue to be grateful to my parents for encouraging me to keep studying French through high school. I knew when I was in Grade 6 that I wanted to be a teacher and my mom (a teacher herself) told me that French would make the difference in my career. Like our Mentor students, I had a great teacher who motivated me to even get a minor in that subject in university! (footnote: having French did help me get my teaching job here but for what I know NOW about French, I would probably have trouble being a student in Grade 4 at Mentor, let alone teach it!)

Chris Starkey
Administrative Principal
Mentor College/TEAM School

Winter Wear Reminders

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Winter has finally arrived and with it has finally come some very chilly weather! We were looking at pouring rain and plus 10 degrees just over a week ago!

Just so you are aware, the school has a guideline that we do not have outdoor recess whenever the windchill temperature reaches minus 20 degrees. Our youngest students are the most prepared for minus 20 degree weather as they come into school bundled up in their hats, scarves, mittens, jackets and snowpants but ironically, they end up being indoors while our high school students head off-campus for lunch in no more than a hoodie to protect themselves from the cold!

Please give your high school child a reminder that they are not “just going from the car to the school door” each day and that they need to bundle up for their lunch hour travels. I know this will be difficult for us as parents (because our parents never had to say “wear a hat” or “where is your winter coat?” to us, right?) but we do want to keep everyone healthy as we head into the mid-year tests later on in the month!

Chris Starkey
Administrative Principal
Mentor College/TEAM School

Get Involved…You Only Live Once

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There was a fad a year or two ago where people were encouraged to write a letter to “16-Year-Old Me”. I am not sure what the purpose of this was but the positive spin from it was that young people had the chance to see what older people (eg: over 20!) would have changed about their teenage years.

For me, I would have gone back further and written a letter to the 14-year-old me. At 14 and in Grade 8, sports was everything. My life revolved around the community sports seasons (hockey, fastball, soccer) but once I hit high school, I moved from volleyball to basketball to badminton to track without a day off between. I was so focussed on athletics that I did not give myself the chance to get involved in anything else. I would have told the 14-year-old me to take courses in music and drama, to play in the school ensembles and audition for a role on stage. Now that I am over 20(!!), I wish I had taken advantage of those opportunities.

So whenever I have the chance to speak with students about their future years in education, I always tell them to add one new extra-curricular activity each year (even if it means they need to drop one). Every year, I see students who play on a sports team or perform on stage for the first time and think to myself “Why didn’t they do this sooner?”. Even more frustrating is seeing students who are very active in the TEAM/Mentor clubs, teams, ensembles and activities from JK to Grade 8 but then don’t get involved in anything in high school! What happened to YOLO (You Only Live Once)?

In a few weeks, it will be New Year’s Eve and many of us will be making resolutions for 2015. Students…make this the year that you tryout for a new sports team, audition for a role in the musical, join the cooking club or sign up to participate in an Outreach project. Parents…if your child needs a bit of encouragement to get involved, let us know and we can perhaps subtly give them a nudge. You could even write that letter to the “14-Year-Old Me” (or choose the age your child is) to start the conversation. The only question is…would you have listened to an “ancient” person like you when you were 14?

Chris Starkey
Administrative Principal
Mentor College/TEAM School