On Saturday, May 29, 2010, the board of governors officially approved the construction of a new visual arts wing for Trinity College School. The ground-breaking is expected to commence this fall with the facility’s opening scheduled for the start of the 2011-2012 academic year.

Over 200 people attended Reunion Weekend on May 28-30th. Among other activities, a special reception was held at The Lodge for the Class of 2005; a delicious dinner under the “big top” was prepared for all alumni attendees by our magnificent kitchen staff; a spontaneous rendition of Jerusalem took place; commemorative gold tie clips were given to the class celebrating its 50th reunion; a presentation and musical performance highlighted our spanking new Dick and Jane LeVan Theatre; a golf tournament was held under gorgeous conditions; a boisterous alumni rugby game was played (with no major injuries to report) and numerous local establishments were visited to improve the local economy. All in all, the weekend was an enormous success!

Earlier this week I was watching The National news programme on CBC. I caught the final story in a series of four stories that was attempting to define what it means to be “Canadian.” I was informed that “Canadians” distinguish themselves as being “nice.” Let me say that I do not disagree with this statement, although I have met lots of people from lots of different countries and they are “nice” too!

Speech Day is a misnomer. There really are very few speeches on this last formal day of the academic year. More time is spent watching people receive awards, singing and applauding, than listening to people speaking.

I just completed a series of my annual “Chew and Chat” meetings with our graduating class. It gives me an opportunity to meet with students over lunch or breaks and ask their opinion about their experience at TCS. The information that I have gathered from these meetings over the past six years has been very informative in introducing some new and interesting changes to make TCS a better place and also to reinforce some tried and true traditions.

The grand opening of the Dick and Jane LeVan Theatre on May 6, 2010, celebrates the most significant enhancement to our School’s facilities since the opening of LeVan Hall in 2002! If this sounds rather redundant that’s because it is. Dick and Jane LeVan are one of Trinity College School’s greatest benefactors, transforming both our curricular and co-curricular options in the performing arts with gifts totalling $7.2 million.

Trinity College School was founded as a school for boys. In 1991, 61 girls enrolled for the first time. If a single decision representing a change in the life of our school of 126 years could be considered transformational, this certainly would qualify. If our present admissions trend for the 2010-2011 academic year continues upon the same trajectory there will be more girls at TCS than boys for the first time in our history!

On Saturday May 1st, 2010, Trinity College School will celebrate its 145th year of operation. I have always enjoyed telling people that the School was founded in 1865, two years before the Confederation of Canada. But why was May 1st chosen as the School's birthday?

I understand why many people think that watching golf on TV is the equivalent of watching paint dry. I have the same feeling about professional bowling.

In my home office in The Lodge (where I write this blog) I am surrounded by golf pictures, score cards, tees, balls, hats, books and a host of golf memorabilia from dozens of courses around the world. I frequently have my television muted, set to the Golf Channel on winter evenings just so that I can see gorgeous green golf courses in high definition while I read, prepare, reflect and relax.

The familiar sound of plastic suitcase wheels clattering along the bricked walkway outside of The Lodge is an indication of student life returning to school buildings that seemingly hibernated in the students’ absence during the March Break. Recent warm weather in Canada means that in the mornings the kids will be greeted by our bucolic campus, replete with green grass, bursting buds, frisky flowers and twittering tree tops.

This week TCS students, faculty and, hopefully parents, will embark upon their annual March Break holiday.

Last week the world got a break, too.

A couple of weeks ago I was in a coffee shop in Montreal (actually, a patisserie) and I noticed something very interesting. While awaiting a meeting with a TCS parent, I noticed…noise! It was the sound of approximately 50-60 people, primarily at tables of two, chatting, laughing, gesticulating, joking, questioning, gossiping, giggling, stirring, sipping and eating. People actually talking to one another, face-to-face, not into a headset, bluetooth, computer, cell phone, smart phone, iPhone, whatever-phone! This was a vibrant, active, engaging, social place.

I used to teach mathematics. I loved it. Really. I would even go as far as to say that kids in my class enjoyed it (okay, maybe 50% of the kids enjoyed it). One of the things I discovered, both in the classroom and in my life outside of school, was the number of people who said they “hated” math. More worrisome for me was the number of kids and adults who genuinely believed they were not smart because they did not do well in math. I continue to meet people whose confidence, self-esteem, and self view is negatively affected because they cannot remember or cannot explain the binomial theorem, the quadratic formula, or never took calculus.

As a school, we have pledged, among other things, to develop habits of the mind. As part of our research into identifying those particular habits, Barb Piccini, head of the Junior School, shared a great article entitled, Describing 16 Habits of Mind, by Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick. The first habit of mind mentioned is persisting. The second habit is delaying impulsivity. As educators and parents, we have our work cut out for us.

Our School is largely balanced between genders. Our student body is roughly 50% girls and 50% boys; our faculty is 56% male and 44% female. A look at the picture hanging outside my office of top scholars in each grade shows the smiling faces of 13 boys and 13 girls. Participation in our exchange programme supports a near 50-50 split as well. We offer 26 competitive sports at TCS: eight sports for girls, nine for boys and nine co-ed. By design, we have both genders equally represented within the bodies of house heads, assistant heads and peer counselors.

Statistics regarding enrolment in boarding schools across North America indicate, by and large, that there is a decline in the number of boarding students. TCS enrolled approximately 25 less boarding students this academic year. I believe boarding to be a distinguishing feature of a TCS education. A closer look at select international, national and TCS data, I believe, supports my commitment and belief that our boarding tradition must and will continue.

This past weekend, thanks to the inspiration of Katie Geale ’02 and Zanna Farmer ’02 and the efforts of our advancement team, the 2nd Annual Collin Cureatz Memorial Shinny Tournament was held at TCS. Our School community gathered to remember with great fondness one of our School’s finest graduates while sharing in an event that he would have so wholeheartedly enjoyed.

I do not read poetry that often anymore. I used to as a kid. In fact, when I was in Grade 6, “Poetry” was a mandatory course and not only did we have to read poetry but we also had to memorize poems.

It is rare nowadays to sit and listen to music. Just listen to music. Not drive and listen to music. Not work with music in the background. Not walking or running with your iPod or headphones. Just stopping, sitting and listening to music. This past weekend, I took the time.

I had good reason to do so.

There are a host of great reasons to be a student or a teacher. One of my favourites is that there is a very definitive start and end to the academic year. In September, school starts afresh; in June it ends with pomp and ceremony (or, in the case of TCS, Speech Day ends with our traditional recessional to Pomp and Circumstance). I contrast this with virtually all other occupations where there is a host of projects, cases, deadlines that span the calendar; not one singular date that ends them all (other than retirement!).

This week, prior to the start of the Christmas Break, TCS has embarked upon its first ever “Week Without Walls” initiative. This mission-driven initiative places our Senior School students in a host of local and international community service programmes. From food banks, schools, nursing homes, and more in Port Hope, Cobourg, Peterborough and Toronto, to building a school in Ecuador and establishing a playground in Afghanistan, our students are learning outside of the classroom.

Parenting is not easy. There is no manual. There is no gradual transition. One day you don’t have kids; the next day you do. I am not convinced that there is anything prior to having kids that can fully prepare you for the change, challenges and joys of parenting.

My view is that parents do a great job in raising their kids. When parents compliment TCS for helping their children, I am quick to acknowledge first the skills and influence of those parents and the hard work of the kids themselves. The School, in my view, is intentionally third but completes this necessary trio to do the best job we can for their kids.

One of the most memorable songs of our parents' generation was Frank Sinatra's New York, New York. It told the story of a young man leaving small town America and going to the Big Apple to, "be a part of it," to "wake up in that city that never sleeps."

Kids make mistakes; I know this. Kids make bad choices; I know this, too. We all know this. It is not a surprise, therefore, when it happens.

In my role as headmaster I make a dozen formal addresses and have hundreds of conversations with students, parents, alumni, teachers, community members and fellow heads of schools on any given week. I speak a lot about assisting our students in the development of good habits of the heart and mind. And with this, inevitably, follows a discussion on the value of setting expectations for acceptable behaviour, school rules and accountability.

I still remember vividly the day in my first year at TCS when I heard the cries for a "Half Day!" Or should I say, "HALF DAY!" It was a Friday and I was at the back of the chapel sitting with the students as opposed to my normal spot at the front of chapel with Father Don and Mr. Mills.  Shortly after a team announced their win over a rival school, the chant for a half day without classes began.

Being new, and unaware of this "tradition," I asked the student beside me what the student body was chanting. He explained to me that it was the expectation that the headmaster would grant a half day without classes in recognition of this "significant" athletic achievement. As I walked up the aisle to the microphone the School shouted with glee and excitement at the prospect of no afternoon academic responsibilities.

In the next two weeks, the School will begin construction of the foundation for a set of four new tennis courts near the Rose Glen Road entrance to the School.There are several reasons why we are putting in new tennis courts (that will ultimately replace the existing courts.)

First, some background. TCS recently completed a campus plan that looked at our existing facilities, and based on our needs and priorities for the future, projected the best location for future buildings. (Actually,"we" did not complete the campus plan, the School hired an architectural firm named Moriyama & Teshima and they worked closely with representatives of the School in order to develop the plan). In any event, the general outcome of the plan was the idea of an interconnected campus, that sees future campus facilities built closer to the existing structures so that they will be more"centered" on campus.

The other day at a social event outside the School, I was asked if students complain about having to go to chapel at TCS and how I can “force students to go to chapel in this day and age.” I thought these were very fair questions.

My first response was not intended to be cheeky but it centres on the fact that nobody forces a family to send their child to TCS and it is no surprise when their child arrives that there is a chapel (it’s quite a large building) and compulsory services.

How would you measure the success of students who are presently attending or who have graduated from TCS?

Think about this for a moment. How would you determine if our kids are "developing habits of the heart and mind for a life of purpose and service" as our mission claims?

There is only one true way to capture the unique vibe of TCS and that is to be on campus when the School is in full flight. I particularly love September and October because the campus is in its fall splendour, the students are full of energy and the faculty and staff are pumped to deliver a superior academic and co-curricular programme.