When I watched her on stage, I didn’t see the tentative student who typically walks through the hallway, smiling but with books clutched tight to chest.  Nor did I see the diligent but sometimes self-doubting student unsure whether to answer in class, her hand hovering midpoint between straight up and straight down.  When I watched […]

Changes are coming to public schools in Ontario this September, and chief among them is an increase in class size for Grades 4 through 12.  According to Minister of Education Lisa Thompson, employers and professors who took part in Ministry consultations expressed concern that students are lacking coping skills and resiliency.  “By increasing class sizes […]

There’s a quote (incorrectly) attributed to William Butler Yeats that I love even if no one knows who actually said it: “Education should not be the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” If the educational goings on in Ontario last week are any indication, a fire has definitely been lit and […]

Did you hear the one about the space agency that invited two women for a spacewalk but forgot it had only had one suit?  Okay, well maybe it didn’t really forget. Maybe it’s just really bad at forward planning.  Or maybe it thought only one woman at a time would ever go on a spacewalk. […]

Trafalgar Castle School is a community forever connected by a world-wide sisterhood.  Our school was founded by the Methodist Church of Canada but no longer has a religious affiliation.  It is home to girls from many faith communities and from many backgrounds.  In the spirit of this sisterhood, we strive to honour every voice and […]

In an era that often (incorrectly) assures children that everyone’s a winner and generously hands out “thank you for showing up” trophies, it feels slightly immodest to shout from the rooftops, “We won!” But we did.  Our U14 Volleyball Team won first place in their division after a series of tense and very hard-fought games. […]

One of the many things I loved about Miss Procunier, my Grade 4 teacher at Annette Street Public School, was her slightly restrained yet unwavering commitment to our musical education. Twice a week she would distribute a dog-eared booklet of song lyrics, remove her pitch pipe from its case with great care, and lead us […]

Childhood memories are funny things.  They sneak up on us at the darndest times.  Last week I was sitting in a conference room in Victoria, B.C. listening to a presentation on philanthropy when I suddenly thought of humbugs, those traditional hard-boiled British candies that magically appeared in my grandmother’s hand whenever I started to wriggle […]

A Tale of Three Dogs I have three dogs. Yes, you read that right. Three. (How that happened is a long story that my patient husband still shakes his head at.) Coco is 15½ years old, Hugo is almost five, and Haddie is just over a year. Coco is the grand dame of the household, […]

“Who cut your hair? Your dog? Just kidding!” “I love your sweater. It reminds me of something my grandma would wear. Jokes!” “That presentation you did in class was great. It really helped me catch up on sleep. JK!” Just kidding, jokes, JK – the holy trinity of deflection designed to allow not-so-well-meaning comments to […]