I share a trait with many others (especially males) that annoys my wife - I worry about being too soft in the face of physical challenges. (I think there was something in The Sun Also Rises that deals with this issue.) For years, I have lamented how easily many schools seem to close for snow days, and how being a real Canadian compels us to face blizzards with a greater sense of intrepidness. Perhaps this has been further enhanced by my wife's Quebec relations' ongoing digs about former Mayor Mel Lastman's calling in the army to dig Toronto out in 1999. (Note to relations: this was 14 years ago - let it go.)
So this morning at about 5:30 as our Head of School Katrina Samson (who is a kindred spirit on this issue) and I were deliberating about what to do in the face of the a severe winter storm warning forecasting high winds and a dump of 25 cm of snow, we were of mixed minds. We ended up calling a closure, like most schools in the region, and it was probably the right decision.
Personally, I manage to brave the 200 metre commute to the office and am pleased to report that the boarding community, most of whom were in the dining hall, all concur with the decision.
One site that delighted me was on my walk to the dining hall.There was the Boys Varsity Hockey Team, led by their head coach and phys ed teacher Dan Poliziani, helping our Facilities staff shovel out the campus while many of their classmates were still in bed. While I suspect that Mr. Poliziani considers this excellent dry land training (shovelling and chopping wood are my two favourite forms of exercise), I think that is is a very special sign of great community. What a wonderful example, and an indication of the spirit we hope our graduates will show throughout their lives. I attach a couple of photos of the boys at work in the slide show at the right part of the blog homepage.
No comments:
Post a Comment