Our 2023/2024 International students are off to a great start in the High School Division! Today is orientation day! We wish you a great year! Welcome!

Cross country runners had a great day yesterday in Port Hope. The runners really love this meet at Trinity College because of the large hill affectionately named Mount Trinity - which the senior boys actually run up twice!

Memorable finishes included Mark Hogan coming in 11th place in the very competitive 6k senior boys' race and Nathan Cho taking over 41 seconds off his per km times from this race last year.

We cannot wait to see what the team has in store for us at the Birchmount Invitational in October. Keep training hard!

Last week, the Environment Club and Surf Club joined forces again to clean up our local shoreline. Students and staff collected bags of single-use plastics, disposable coffee cups, take-out containers, cigarette-butts and other trash that would have washed into Lake Ontario. Mrs. Sharpe, Ms. Weiner, and Mr. Brewster were inspired by the dedication and passion for the environment demonstrated by the students.

Last week, the HS golf team qualified for the ROPSSAA Championship round. Yesterday, the Marauders represented our school very well at Royal Ontario Golf Club. The boys' team, consisting of Suyog, Sanyog, Krishna, and Dilan, posted very good scores. Unfortunately, they fell just shy of making the cut to travel to the provincial championships. Highlights included Sanyog finishing 5th and Suyog finishing in 3rd place.

Ainsley competed as an individual and was able to win her division and punch a ticket to next week's Ontario championship! This is her third year in a row representing Mentor College and the Region of Peel at this tournament. 

Ms. Porlier and Mr. Panchal were very proud of all of the team members as they battled through the stifling heat and a challenging golf course, playing as well as they had all year and not letting the pressure get to them. 

Thank you to our Grade 12 students who have made coaching a pleasure.

If you see Ainsley, please do not hesitate to wish her luck as she pursues her first provincial title. 

Yesterday, members of the Habitat for Humanity Club travelled to Baltimore, Ontario to participate in a build with the Northumberland Affiliate of Habitat For Humanity. Our student volunteers helped carry lumber, build walls, and frame two main floors within a seven-unit condominium. The students look forward to helping build these homes again soon.

Back row: Mr. McCallen, Kibo Nagasaki, Andrew Lindo, Fateh Gahir, Ameer Arif, Ms. Haney
Front row: Esha Chaudhry, Simran Bhalla, Tiana Cao, Willow Bartram, Vania Gupta

The Mock Bail Tournament is soon underway with the competition to be held on November 3rd at the A. Grenville and William Davis Courthouse in Brampton. Coaches Solovieff and Rendeiro have been impressed by the students’ commitments to the team, showcasing critical thinking skills as they prepare to argue for and against an individual receiving bail in a mock scenario. We wish the team success as they prepare to face 3 other schools in the tournament on November 3rd!

It’s orientation day for Mentor Grades 5-8 students! Welcome to students and families new to the Intermediate Division!

This morning was the first early morning cross-country practice of the season for Intermediate students. 62 eager and willing participants came out to go through the course set up and pushed through drills. There was great representation from across the 5-8 grades. With this dedication, coaches Barberio, Fransson, and McCall are looking forward to a great team!

We extend a huge congratulations to our Intermediate Student Parliament representatives for the 2023-2024 school year! These students were elected amongst over 60 entries in this year. Their hard work proved effective, and we are looking forward to an exciting and productive year with them. Congratulations!

Prime Ministers: Lukas Gonsalves and James Cabel
Grade 8 Minister: Caleb Doiron
Deputy Prime Ministers: Ram Arora and Ayan Gulati
Grade 6 Minister: Daniel Kravchenko
Grade 5 Minister: Sofie Ahmed

The Caribou Math Contest took place last week and there were some excellent results from Mentor students!

Results - Grades 7/8:

Karina Swaminath - Mentor's top student overall and in the top 3% worldwide
Ronav Sharma - top 4%
Chloe Mu - top 7%

Results - Grades 5/6:

Jenica Kalra - top 1%
Jayden He & James Simon - top 2%
William Lomaga - top 4%

Well done, everyone! The next contest will be held in January.

PHOTO - front row (from left): William Lomaga, Jenica Kalra, Jayden He; back row (from left): James Simon, Ronav Sharma, Chloe Mu; absent: Karina Swaminath

Yesterday, the U9 mixed soccer team had a day filled with goals, laughter, and lots of singing! The team played in a tournament winning all four of their games by scores of 3-0, 6-0, 10-1 and 7-1. The team was praised by other coaches and spectators for their sportsmanship and teamwork. The team created their own baby shark goal celebration which inspired them throughout the day. Ms. Perrow and Mr. Bhandari want to congratulate the girls and boys on a fantastic day in the sun. 

The U10 Boys' Soccer Team were undefeated at their tournament! They showcased excellent teamwork, sportsmanship, and immense talent! Both Mrs. Arango and Mr. Nasser are extremely proud of your dedication and hardwork. 

Congratulations to all of the Grades 1-4 students who participated in the 2023 Caribou Contest. Thank you to the parents who helped prepare these students. Special shoutouts goes to Melanie Wong and Aryaman Swami.

Melanie placed 1st in her school for her category and 100th in the province out of 3,369 students. Aryaman placed 1st in his school for his category and 75th in the province out of 11,948 students.

Way to go! Mrs. Fournie is so proud of everyone's efforts. 

GETAHEAD Study Hall Programme is an after-school service provided by certified teachers to supervise students from grades 5-8 while they complete their homework.

Benefits of the program include:

• providing a positive environment for the completion of homewor
• helping students acquire better time management skills
• helping students focus on their homework
• providing a safe, supervised location for after-school hours

GETAHEAD is not designed to be a private tutorial service.

Contact Ms. Elgrid Tili by email at getaheadstudyhall@gmail.com for more information.

Registration forms and fee information are available here.

Port Credit Swim Academy is now accepting registrations for the fall session of lessons. We will follow the Lifesaving Society Program. To participate, your child must be able to change into and out of their swim gear by themselves if you will not be present to assist them. Priority placement will be given to registrations, with payment, in the order they are received.

To help determine your child’s swimming level please see the descriptions here:

Levels 1-6

Levels 7-10

You can register here.

Contact Information:

James Purdy: 416-567-3403
Kevin Pedersen: 647-409-2470
E-mail: PCSwimAcad@hotmail.com

In the two weeks leading up to the lessons there will be opportunity for supervised fun swims at $25/day. If interested please complete this form.

We are so happy to welcome back our students today! We hope everyone had a great first day and we wish you all a successful school year!

We could not have asked for better weather. It's Play Day today for TEAM, Intermediate, and Primary students. Play Day is a day designed for classmates to create memories and bond through activities, games, and a variety of events.

This morning, HS principal (and AP Program Coordinator) Mr. Whyte received an email from Trevor Packer, the College Board’s head of the Advanced Placement Program. In it, Mr. Packer congratulates Mentor College Grade 12 student Konrad Gebura on his performance on the AP Chemistry Exam in May 2023.

Advanced Placement scores are between 1 and 5. Konrad not only received the top score of 5, “but also was one of only 23 students in the world to earn every point possible on the AP Chemistry Exam.” In other words, Konrad achieved a perfect score. For further context, note that Konrad was one of 112,554 students worldwide who wrote the AP Chemistry Exam.

23 out of 112,554.  

As Mr. Whyte points out, “we are all very proud of Konrad…this is a first for the school…keep in mind that Konrad is enrolled in two more AP courses this year.” Upon receiving the news from Mr. Whyte, Konrad was understandably overwhelmed. “I still can’t believe this is true”, was his response. One person who did believe the news was Konrad’s AP teacher Ms. Sharpe – who believes that his “high attention to detail was the difference between a score of 5 and perfect.” She adds, “Not only did Konrad strive for perfection on his own, he always championed others around him!”

In his letter to the school, the afore-mentioned Mr. Packer emphasized that “this outstanding accomplishment is likely a direct reflection of the top-quality education being offered at Mentor College. We applaud Konrad's hard work and the AP teacher responsible for engaging students and enabling them to excel in a college-level course.”

Please join us in congratulating Konrad on this incredible achievement.

The U12 boys also played in their tournament on Friday and showcased their skills at Mentor. Shoutout to Quinn, Jackson A, Liam B, Jeremy, Camden, Aamir, Rishik, Nathaniel, Mason, Nicolas and Jack for an amazing effort throughout the day, displaying great teamwork and sportsmanship. Hope to see you back playing volleyball next year, boys!

We would like to congratulate the following exceptional students who have been carefully selected to lead the Fashion Show Executive Committee in 2022-2023:

Senior Head Representatives:

Julia Kalaparambath
Mona Lotfi
Akshath Kannan
Caroline Bazydlo

Junior Head Representatives:

Naomi Grey
Seerat Walia
Retaje Barour
Inaaya Merchant

For students in Grades 11 & 12 next year, please consider applying for one of the other vital roles of the committee in September, including:

Production Coordinator
Choreographer
Media Representative
Clothing Representative
Auction Representative
Logistics Representative
Art Representative

On behalf of the Fashion Show staff advisors and student committee this year, we’d like to thank everyone for participating in our two successful events; the December CE Academy Supply Drive and the Epic Easter Egg Hunt in April where we raised $2000 for SickKids Foundation. 

We are so excited to embark on our trip to New Orleans in November 2022 to get inspiration for our Mardi Gras themed Fashion Show that will return to the runway in April 2023.

Screening, Masks, Hand Hygiene & Respiratory Etiquette, Testing for COVID-19

• Thank you in advance for monitoring your child’s health before their attendance at school. The Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health recommend that staff, students, and visitors continue to self-screen every day before attending school. The School and Child Care Screening Tool was updated by the Ministry of Health and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health on August 31st. This tool will assist you should you be trying to determine possible attendance at school. Please be reminded, however, that to prevent the spread of illness, individuals should stay home if they are feeling ill and only return to school when they no longer have a fever and symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours (or 48 hours for nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea).
  
  
• The wearing of masks is not required at this time; however, we welcome mask wearing and respect the individual choice to wear or not wear a mask. Please remember that individuals returning to school after illness should continue to wear a mask for 10 days after symptom onset, and should mask after close contact to a person with COVID-19/symptoms.
  
  
• Hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette will continue to be promoted and integrated throughout the school day, and we continue enhanced cleaning protocols of high-touch surfaces at school.
  
  
• The Ministry of Health recommends that you get tested if you are at higher risk of severe illness, get a PCR test (if eligible) OR take two rapid antigen tests 24 to 48 hours apart. At this time, a positive rapid antigen test result is enough to start COVID-19 treatment for those who are eligible.

Parents and guardians who are interested in obtaining optional student accident insurance via a third party are asked to visit this page for more information. 

We are so excited to welcome new and returning students to school tomorrow! We wish all of our families a great start to the school year! Have a great day!

The staff of TEAM School & TSS are so excited to welcome new and returning students to the school! Your teachers and principals are looking forward to another great year! See you Wednesday morning!

Orange Shirt Day is Friday, September 30. It is a day to honour and uphold survivors and intergenerational survivors of the residential school system and to commemorate those who did not return home. Orange T-Shirts will be sold in the Main Campus lobby and TSS Common Room at lunch to students in the High School division starting today - Wednesday, September 8 until supplies run out. The cost of a shirt is $20.

MC Aquatics is now accepting registrations for the fall session. Please note that spots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. MC Aquatics follows the Lifesaver Society guildelines. To help determine your child's swimming level, please see the Lifesaver Society descriptions for levels 1-6 swimmers and Conversion Chart. 

Please visit this page for more information and pricing.

Register for the fall session here.

Contact information:

James Purdy: 416-567-3403
Kevin Pedersen: 647-409-2470
Email: mcaswim@hotmail.com

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022/2023 Student Council election. Thank you to all of the students who ran for positions this year!

President/Vice President
Aidan Haldane & Annemarie Guzman

Secretary
Japnam Boughan & Mohammad Thalji

Treasurer
Rayan Manji & Kabeer Gill

Social Reps
Sophie Ashby & Elizabeth Harrington

Environmental Reps
Ryan Taylor & Alex Batek

Music & Media Reps
Simeon Karokolev & Norah Daudi

International Ambassadors
Jordan Cho & Juno Zhao

FRONT ROW: Rayan, Kabeer, Aidan, Annemarie, Sophie, Elizabeth
BACK ROW: Mohammad, Alex, Ryan, Simeon, Norah, Jordan, Juno
NOT PRESENT: Japnam

Today was Play Day for students in the Primary, TEAM, and Intermediate Divisions - a day for teamwork, school spirit, camaraderie, and play!

Grade 11 leadership students are off to the OEC this morning! This is the first of three groups to head north AND the first overnight trip to the OEC in quite some time!

Congratulations to the members of to the cross-country running team for a job well done at Trinity College in Port Hope on Wednesday! The novice, junior and senior boys conquered Trinity College’s Mount Trinity in their races and had a great experience on the beautiful running course this year!

Mark Hogan placed 6th in the senior boys’ race, running 6k in 22:01.7; his coaches cannot wait to see his results at Heart Lake. Special mention goes out to Avi Khandor, new to the team this year as a junior boy, who placed 19th place with a time of 21:50.3 in his 5K event. Avi is a most enthusiastic Marauder on the team this year!

Runners face off with Peel Region athletes again on the 27th!

Yesterday, the golf team participated in the ROPSSAA Golf Championships at Lionshead Golf Club - rated one of the most challenging in Ontario!  We are pleased to share the results:

Ainsley Fink: 1st (female golfers)
Mitchell Grey: 1st (male golfers)
Krish Gospisetty (rookie): 3rd (individual male golfers)
Suyog Surana, Sanyog Surana, Mitchell Grey, and Krish Gopisetty: 1st (team category)

Building on the strength of their sweep, the team is headed to the OFSSAA Golf Championships on October 12/13. The boys will be competing in London at the Fire Rock Golf Club while Ainsley competes at Flamborough Hills Golf Club in Hamilton. We wish the athletes success as they represent Mentor College and Peel Region at the Ontario Championships!

The U10 boys' soccer team went undefeated at their tournament last Friday! Through discipline and hard work, the boys persevered and showcased immense talent and teamwork. Goals were scored by team captains Jesse (3) and Hudson (3), Theo (6), and Aariz (1). A special mention to Kassim, as he saved two crucial penalty shots during the tournament. Coaches Mr. Nasser and Mrs. Arango are very proud of the passion you all displayed. Well done!

On Friday October 14, members of the Environment Club and Surf Club participated in a litter pickup in Tall Oaks park along the Port Credit waterfront. Special thanks to the community group PAL (People Against Littering) who provided the garbage pickers for the event, as well as to Surf The Greats who provided prizes for participants. 

Ms. Lotun and Mr. Carruthers would like to thank all students and staff who made our first Outreach Bake Sale for Alzheimer's Society Peel (in the last two years!) a huge success! $570 was raised Thursday morning and both staff and students enjoyed a variety of delicious baked goods. Alzheimer's staff are so appreciative of this and eager to find new initiatives for our volunteers in the upcoming months.

It was picture-perfect day for the Photography Club Fall Rally. Students spent the morning enjoying the fresh air and beautiful colours of the leaves as they toured the grounds of the Bradley Museum in Mississauga. The focus of today's task was to capture images that reflect contrast, line, colour, shape, and texture. Ms. Suri and Ms. Sarna cannot wait to see your submissions on Edsby.

We would like to congratulate the following exceptional students who have been carefully selected to lead the Fashion Show Executive Committee in 2022-2023:

Senior Head Representatives:

Julia Kalaparambath
Mona Lotfi
Akshath Kannan
Caroline Bazydlo

Junior Head Representatives:

Naomi Grey
Seerat Walia
Retaje Barour
Inaaya Merchant

For students in Grades 11 & 12 next year, please consider applying for one of the other vital roles of the committee in September, including:

Production Coordinator
Choreographer
Media Representative
Clothing Representative
Auction Representative
Logistics Representative
Art Representative

On behalf of the Fashion Show staff advisors and student committee this year, we’d like to thank everyone for participating in our two successful events; the December CE Academy Supply Drive and the Epic Easter Egg Hunt in April where we raised $2000 for SickKids Foundation. 

We are so excited to embark on our trip to New Orleans in November 2022 to get inspiration for our Mardi Gras themed Fashion Show that will return to the runway in April 2023.

Screening, Masks, Hand Hygiene & Respiratory Etiquette, Testing for COVID-19

• Thank you in advance for monitoring your child’s health before their attendance at school. The Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health recommend that staff, students, and visitors continue to self-screen every day before attending school. The School and Child Care Screening Tool was updated by the Ministry of Health and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health on August 31st. This tool will assist you should you be trying to determine possible attendance at school. Please be reminded, however, that to prevent the spread of illness, individuals should stay home if they are feeling ill and only return to school when they no longer have a fever and symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours (or 48 hours for nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea).
  
  
• The wearing of masks is not required at this time; however, we welcome mask wearing and respect the individual choice to wear or not wear a mask. Please remember that individuals returning to school after illness should continue to wear a mask for 10 days after symptom onset, and should mask after close contact to a person with COVID-19/symptoms.
  
  
• Hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette will continue to be promoted and integrated throughout the school day, and we continue enhanced cleaning protocols of high-touch surfaces at school.
  
  
• The Ministry of Health recommends that you get tested if you are at higher risk of severe illness, get a PCR test (if eligible) OR take two rapid antigen tests 24 to 48 hours apart. At this time, a positive rapid antigen test result is enough to start COVID-19 treatment for those who are eligible.

Parents and guardians who are interested in obtaining optional student accident insurance via a third party are asked to visit this page for more information. 

We are so excited to welcome new and returning students to school tomorrow! We wish all of our families a great start to the school year! Have a great day!

The staff of TEAM School & TSS are so excited to welcome new and returning students to the school! Your teachers and principals are looking forward to another great year! See you Wednesday morning!

Orange Shirt Day is Friday, September 30. It is a day to honour and uphold survivors and intergenerational survivors of the residential school system and to commemorate those who did not return home. Orange T-Shirts will be sold in the Main Campus lobby and TSS Common Room at lunch to students in the High School division starting today - Wednesday, September 8 until supplies run out. The cost of a shirt is $20.

MC Aquatics is now accepting registrations for the fall session. Please note that spots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. MC Aquatics follows the Lifesaver Society guildelines. To help determine your child's swimming level, please see the Lifesaver Society descriptions for levels 1-6 swimmers and Conversion Chart. 

Please visit this page for more information and pricing.

Register for the fall session here.

Contact information:

James Purdy: 416-567-3403
Kevin Pedersen: 647-409-2470
Email: mcaswim@hotmail.com

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022/2023 Student Council election. Thank you to all of the students who ran for positions this year!

President/Vice President
Aidan Haldane & Annemarie Guzman

Secretary
Japnam Boughan & Mohammad Thalji

Treasurer
Rayan Manji & Kabeer Gill

Social Reps
Sophie Ashby & Elizabeth Harrington

Environmental Reps
Ryan Taylor & Alex Batek

Music & Media Reps
Simeon Karokolev & Norah Daudi

International Ambassadors
Jordan Cho & Juno Zhao

FRONT ROW: Rayan, Kabeer, Aidan, Annemarie, Sophie, Elizabeth
BACK ROW: Mohammad, Alex, Ryan, Simeon, Norah, Jordan, Juno
NOT PRESENT: Japnam

Today was Play Day for students in the Primary, TEAM, and Intermediate Divisions - a day for teamwork, school spirit, camaraderie, and play!

Grade 11 leadership students are off to the OEC this morning! This is the first of three groups to head north AND the first overnight trip to the OEC in quite some time!

Congratulations to the members of to the cross-country running team for a job well done at Trinity College in Port Hope on Wednesday! The novice, junior and senior boys conquered Trinity College’s Mount Trinity in their races and had a great experience on the beautiful running course this year!

Mark Hogan placed 6th in the senior boys’ race, running 6k in 22:01.7; his coaches cannot wait to see his results at Heart Lake. Special mention goes out to Avi Khandor, new to the team this year as a junior boy, who placed 19th place with a time of 21:50.3 in his 5K event. Avi is a most enthusiastic Marauder on the team this year!

Runners face off with Peel Region athletes again on the 27th!

Yesterday, the golf team participated in the ROPSSAA Golf Championships at Lionshead Golf Club - rated one of the most challenging in Ontario!  We are pleased to share the results:

Ainsley Fink: 1st (female golfers)
Mitchell Grey: 1st (male golfers)
Krish Gospisetty (rookie): 3rd (individual male golfers)
Suyog Surana, Sanyog Surana, Mitchell Grey, and Krish Gopisetty: 1st (team category)

Building on the strength of their sweep, the team is headed to the OFSSAA Golf Championships on October 12/13. The boys will be competing in London at the Fire Rock Golf Club while Ainsley competes at Flamborough Hills Golf Club in Hamilton. We wish the athletes success as they represent Mentor College and Peel Region at the Ontario Championships!

The U10 boys' soccer team went undefeated at their tournament last Friday! Through discipline and hard work, the boys persevered and showcased immense talent and teamwork. Goals were scored by team captains Jesse (3) and Hudson (3), Theo (6), and Aariz (1). A special mention to Kassim, as he saved two crucial penalty shots during the tournament. Coaches Mr. Nasser and Mrs. Arango are very proud of the passion you all displayed. Well done!

On Friday October 14, members of the Environment Club and Surf Club participated in a litter pickup in Tall Oaks park along the Port Credit waterfront. Special thanks to the community group PAL (People Against Littering) who provided the garbage pickers for the event, as well as to Surf The Greats who provided prizes for participants. 

Ms. Lotun and Mr. Carruthers would like to thank all students and staff who made our first Outreach Bake Sale for Alzheimer's Society Peel (in the last two years!) a huge success! $570 was raised Thursday morning and both staff and students enjoyed a variety of delicious baked goods. Alzheimer's staff are so appreciative of this and eager to find new initiatives for our volunteers in the upcoming months.

It was picture-perfect day for the Photography Club Fall Rally. Students spent the morning enjoying the fresh air and beautiful colours of the leaves as they toured the grounds of the Bradley Museum in Mississauga. The focus of today's task was to capture images that reflect contrast, line, colour, shape, and texture. Ms. Suri and Ms. Sarna cannot wait to see your submissions on Edsby.

As we near the end of the first quarter in the High School Division, I have been reflecting on how far we have come since March 13 – the last in-person day of the 2019-2020 school year. At that time, it was decided by the school that March Break would be extended by two weeks. Of course, the extended closure ended up lasting until the end of the school year. Since March 13, teachers have been transforming how they teach your children. There are countless examples of this both inside and outside of the classroom.

On Tuesday morning, a teacher shared with me that, by putting her camera up to the microscope, students learning remotely were able to do their analyses using the same observations seen by the students in class! The next day, I walked past a business class where a remote-learning student was co-presenting with an in-class student. Yesterday, I watched a virtual guest speaker talk to a Civics class about her experience as a lawyer.

Outside of the class, we have become comfortable with new entry and exit routines, safety protocols, and outdoor classrooms. Students and teachers have also further developed technical fluency, using Microsoft products to provide immediate feedback to remote-learning and in-class students alike.

Our world is very different today than it was in March, but we have adapted, grown, and continued to learn. Our students have become accustomed to longer classes, new schedules, and other changes to routines. Teachers have had the challenges of rethinking assessments, developing lessons, and finding creative new ways of ensuring that lesson delivery remains of the highest quality.

Fortunately, students and teachers have continued to apply the work ethic that is synonymous with Mentor College and TEAM School. I wanted to take a moment to share how grateful I am for everything that has transpired this school year and also for the opportunities that will arise throughout the rest of the school year.

Aneil Panchal
Assistant Vice Principal
High School Division

Today is “Let’s Talk Day” in Canada. We are in the 4th week of remote learning (and the second lockdown of the pandemic) so its timing could not be more relevant.

Everyone would love to be back-to-school with our pre-pandemic “normal” and while I think it is nice to look forward to this day, it is clear that it will be a long time before COVID-19 will be in our rear-view mirror. In the meantime, we are all doing our best to apply the “new normal” to our lives. For our students, it means being more attached to the same screens that parents scolded them for over-using 12 months ago. For our staff members, it means not only teaching material lessons but also learning a new suite of software (for everything from daily lessons to final evaluations) in order to best deliver to their students in a remote-learning setting.

For an individual student or teacher, the “new normal” would be tough enough on its own. When you add in the dynamics of a family where everyone is needing the time, space, and devices in order to do their daily tasks, however, the physical and mental health of everyone suffers. Any parent who is ensuring the kids are logged in and engaged in school lessons, working from home themselves, and still managing to keep everyone fed, dressed, and clean (particularly with our younger students) has undiagnosed superhero powers! This of course also applies to our teachers who have school-aged children who are learning at the same time Dad or Mom is teaching.

We know everyone is struggling at times and we are also aware that the lockdown has affected some of you greatly. It is OK to feel this way and it is even more OK to talk about it. Mentor’s high school principal, Mr. Whyte, says:

It is very important for our high school students to reach out and talk to someone, especially during these days of isolation. Our guidance counsellors are available every day to listen and help. Guidance is a valuable resource for students, parents and teachers and we are happy this service continues to be of use.

Mr. Whyte loves the outdoors and when I asked him for his best advice for remote learners, teachers, and parents, he suggests:

I cannot overstate the importance of physical and outdoor activity. We should all aim to get outside for some fresh air every day to help refresh us from the screen time we all endure each day.

Our director, Mr. Macdonald, has noticed the sense of community and how teachers and students have been a great source of peer-to-peer strength for each other:

When I visit a class that is remote learning, one of the things I enjoy seeing most is the students interacting with each other. When I start a staff meeting I know that the teachers will log on a few minutes early just to have a moment to see each other and to socialize. It’s amazing to see how students and teachers manage to support each other and lift spirits, even in a virtual setting.

This sense of community goes for our parents as well. We know that you are keeping in touch with each other and fostering some of the friendships that have developed through your association with our school. We have been receiving messages from parents who want to thank a specific teacher or the school in general for the remote learning programme; teachers seem to get these needed bits of praise just when they are needed most. We have also heard from parents who feel that they (or their children) are “failing” because they have trouble juggling all the new responsibilities that the pandemic has been placed upon them. Reach out and let us know. We might be able to help in a tangible way; even if that means just listening, perhaps that can help in some small way.

Most of all we are thankful for the students and there are wonderful little stories shared among staff that keep us going. My favourite so far is the teacher who, seeing that the class was starting to get off-track, used the “stern face” that works so well in the classroom setting…only to have the students all call out that “your screen is frozen”!

We all need to talk to each other, not just today, but every day. Take a look at some of the resources available on the “Let’s Talk” website and share them with your family. If you need help, reach out. If you are in a position of giving help, reach out. We are blessed with a school community that truly cares for each other.

Chris Starkey
Admininstrative Principal
Mentor College/TEAM School