Congratulations 2009-2010 Graduates!

To the graduating class of 2010….

“It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men (and women) mad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today." This excerpt from a poem by Robert J. Hastings reminds us of creating a life focused on the journey and not the destination. This coupled with Psalm 118:24 “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” really sends home the message of “relishing in the moment." Life must be lived as we go along.

I firmly believe that your Catholic education at Christ the King in concert with God as the source of all goodness….has provided you with the ability to enliven humanity, spirit discipline and creativity and a value system steeped in our gospel values. You have the ability and the duty to apply your goodness…your brand of excellence to face the many obstacles and challenges whether your pathway leads you to the workplace, apprenticeship programs, college, or university. It is this goodness that will foster a proclivity to life-long learning, critical thinking, and sound faith-based decision-making that will contribute great value to this community and our society for years to come.

In closing, to the class of 2010, I would like to extend a sincere and heartfelt congratulations to you for all of your hard work and accomplishments. The mark that you have left at our school has been inextricably woven into the fabric of our culture and has provided an outstanding foundation from which to grow for future CtK graduates.

Stay committed to your faith…stay committed to excellence..stay committed to living your life to the fullest.

This piece is an excerpt from my graduation speech to our 2009-2010 Graduates. They are a wonderful group of young men and women and I wish them a bright and enlightening future.

This is my last blog for the school year. Please let me know what topics you would like me to cover in this medium in the upcoming school year. See you in September!

Father's Day

This Sunday was a very good day. In fact, the entire weekend was active, fun filled and family oriented.

I went bike riding, enjoyed breakfast and swam in the pool with my kids to cite a few activities. The best part of the weekend was when they presented their hand made cards for a Happy Father's Day.

I find that as the years pass they seem to share how much more of me that they know through the comments and artistic elements of their cards. I get more enjoyment and appreciation from these gifts as they get older.

Our kids are heavily influenced by our attitudes, behaviours, beliefs, morals and ethics. Being a parent is the most difficult and yet most rewarding vocation. However, despite our best efforts, it is inevitable that our children will be somewhat affected by external stimuli such as peer pressure and the electronic and print media.

We can only give them our love, guidance, faith and trust and hope that their good choices far outweigh the bumps and bruises they will incur in their pursuit of independence.

Essentially, this is what we strive to do with your children in our Catholic Learning Community at CtK.

Happy Father's Day!

Summer Blast!

We held our 2nd Annual Summer Blast Carnival last Thursday, June 10 from 11 am to 8 pm at CtK.

The event for all intents and purposes was very successful. This in combination with Ford's "Drive One 4 Ur School" Campaign raised over $10,000 for the CtK Cares Foundation.

What was most impressive was the synergy that developed between key staff members and our student leaders in the planning, organizing and implementation of this initiative. Once again, when given the opportunity, our staff outperformed last year's efforts.

Our student leaders from Student Council and the Prefects in particular proved that they could excel at a level that exceeded our school's high expectations. This came to fruition not just in the evolution of the planning but in the way they deported themselves with the many families that attended Summer Blast between 4 pm and 8 pm. They were respectful, helpful and very interactive with the children which to me was more impactful than any amount of money we raised.

Our students were excellent role models and ambassador's for our Catholic Learning Community. Their efforts undoubtedly left indelible positive memories in the minds of the children of which they engaged.

I can't think of a better way to inspire our future CtK students.

On behalf of CtK, I would like to thank the families that supported Summer Blast! See you again next year.

Thanks for reading. Looking forward to your comments.

Parent Engagement

This post will be the 15th this school year.

It is very interesting to note that the only two posts that have received the most attention ....negative and positive....from purportedly parents (as very few if any cite their name next to their comments) were the previous blog on our prom and our school's position on staged fights in the community.

At any rate, I am very happy to get your attention in any of my posts. I welcome your input, insight, educated and informed opinions.

As I articulated to our Grade 12 students at their Graduation Rehearsal a few days ago, one of the many reasons why I created this blog was to engage the parental community. I felt that this avenue would allow you in the comfort of your home or at work to read what is happening at CtK through my lens.

It is my attempt to attach a sense of humanity to the position of Principal of which many people think is just a figure head. As I cited to our students, my fingerprint and/or DNA is on everything that we do in our Catholic Learning Community. I truly care about providing as many varied learning opportunities and experiences for our students. Also, I am able to do this because we have such an outstanding administrative, teaching and support staff that is sprinkled with leaders.

Our school is very dynamic and quite frankly there are very few rocks that have yet to be overturned. The one big rock left is Parent Engagement.

This has always been a tough issue in secondary schools. How do we get parents involved in our schools? For obvious reasons, parents are very involved in elementary school but the participation rate seems to decline dramatically once their children enter secondary school.

There is a fair body of research that indicates that a child's success rate in elementary school is proportionate to the engagement of their parents in school life. The body of research for secondary school is not as substantial but it is presumable that the more parents are involved in their children's secondary education the more likely they are to succeed.

We have attempted to keep you informed through Catholic School Council (where parents are always welcome), our class portals, email and phone messages, our website at http://www.ctk.ca/, our marquee and of course this blog.

There has been a push by the Ministry of Education and through the School Effectiveness Framework to have schools find ways to improve this dynamic. Our departments at CtK have all submitted SMART Goals that in some shape or form will endeavour to get you more involved or in tune with what we are doing from an academic perspective.

In addition, a sub-committee of parents from our Catholic School Council and Tanya Melykuty (Public Health Nurse), have put together a schedule of events for parents that will take place at CtK in the next school year. These events will cover issues such as technology, teen mental health, stress, anxiety, drugs, alchohol, brain development and success in secondary school. Stay tuned for information regarding when these topics will be presented.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to your comments.