I often get asked by friends and relatives
what I do in a typical day. This is usually followed by a more incredulous
inquiry about how it is possible to stay busy working over the summer in a
school. And there often a great deal of speculation by faculty in schools and
universities about how effectively school administrators use their time.
(Fortunately, that’s not an issue at Appleby … I hope!)
While I don’t plan on itemizing a typical
day in my Appleby life, it did occur to me that the end of last week included
some remarkable school events, which I had the privilege to be a part of. So I
thought that I would highlight a few things that took place here from Thursday
night to Saturday afternoon:
·
Thursday evening was the first
ever Olla Podrida! The name for a seasoned Spanish stew of many ingredients, OP
was a variety show tied to the theme of love that combined many of the arts in
a fast paced 90 minutes +/-. It was wonderful. With emcee (and Arts Prefect)
Ryan Hubner directing traffic with in his own a friendly and humorous way,
there was a fine mélange of ingredients in the 2012 version of OP: a
mesmerizing magic show, a super guitar performance, 2 funny one act plays
dealing with the complexities of blind dates, two evocative and beautiful modern
dances; and a series of remarkable music performances that showcased a wide
variety of talents. It was a very special evening and, without exception, the
performers acquitted themselves well. Check out the photo in the slideshow (to the right) of the cast
at the end of OP.
·
On Friday morning, my day started
with coffee with Appleby’s greatest modern day volunteer leader and
philanthropist Aubrey Baillie ’63. Aubrey, who must have left his home in
Toronto at an unmentionable time to meet me in Oakville at 7 am, is the perfect
role model for Appleby graduates. He combines well-known and respected career
success in the financial services industry with a longstanding and profound
commitment to both serving and bettering the many communities he is a part of
(including Appleby.) To top it off, Aubrey is wonderful and loving family man –
the perfect “triple threat”.
·
Aubrey and I then participated
in the Appleby Foundation’s
Loan Committee meeting,
chaired by another great community champion and former Chair of the Appleby
Board, Peter Willis. Many people don’t realize that Appleby distributes more
than $2.25 million in needs-based scholarships, bursaries and loans annually to
students who would not otherwise be able to attend the school. Some of these
kids are from economically challenged backgrounds and receive large awards,
while others are from middle class backgrounds and receive much less – it is
all based on their family’s financial profile. I believe passionately that
great kids are at the heart of a great school, so our ability to attract
wonderful students, regardless of their backgrounds, is an important plank of
our future success.
·
Later that morning were the two
all-school chapel services,
this week being run by the Peer Counselors and focusing on the theme of “gratitude”.
While we are very much a multi-faith community, chapel serves as a powerful
connector between students and faculty as a communal time for reflection and
celebration. Chapel is grounded in our Anglican tradition but Canon Lennox and his
team ensure that all major world religions are included in readings, sermons,
music and other elements of the services. The Peer Counseling program is an
important part of school culture. The empathy and advising skills that our
student counselors show is a testament to their maturity. Their ability to help
many students with a variety of life challenges contributes a
great deal to what is a warm and supportive school culture. I was most
impressed with the beauty of the prelude guitar/vocal performance at Friday’s
service, as well as the energy of the counselors’ rendition of “I’ll Be There
for You” (better known as the theme from Friends.)
·
On Friday afternoon, I watched
of boys varsity volleyball team play in the league
semi-finals at St. Mike’s in Toronto. The boys get full credit for getting into
the playoffs, but didn’t have their best game, eventually succumbing to the
volleyball juggernaut three sets to one. Fortunately, three days later they had
a superb match against Crescent, thereby qualifying for the provincial
championship tournament (OFSAA) in two weeks.
·
Friday evening brought Appleby Rocks – the culminating
performance for 19 students in this fall term co-curricular. I loved the show
(as did my parents-in-law who were staying with us for the weekend.) The
performances were spectacular and I was floored by the calibre of musicianship,
energy, and creativity. Most of the tunes were right up my alley - there was
a great variety of R&B, jazzy folk, rock and rap, including a couple of
original compositions. Between Olla Podrida! And Appleby Rocks, there is no
doubt that the arts are an area of immense strength and passion for our
students. (See the slideshow for a photo of the finale.)
·
On Saturday morning, Appleby
hosted the CISAA championship
tournament for Junior Girls Field Hockey. Our team finished
fourth in the regular season, so were matched against #1 seed Villanova. In a
really exciting match, our girls came back from a 1-0 deficit to upset the
league champions and secure a birth in the final versus LCS. The final was
well-played by both teams, but we ended up with the silver. The smiles and
satisfaction of the girls (see the photo) certainly helped warm the hearts (if not the bodies)
of the many family and friends who watched on a cold but beautiful fall day on
the shores of Lake Ontario.
So, that is a snapshot of a couple of days
in my life at Appleby. I hope it provides you a glimpse of why I feel fortunate
to be the principal of such a wonderful school.
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