Last week, we all heard the terrible news about the tragic death of a grade 9 student at one of Montreal’s independent schools. On behalf of our entire LCC school community, I immediately sent condolences to the head of school and expressed our collective sadness and sense of solidarity.

When such a tragedy occurs, it reminds us all of the fragility of life and it reinforces the terrible sense of isolation and desperation that mental health problems can inflict upon people of any age. As a head of school, I am particularly sensitive to and respectful of the daily challenges faced by teenagers and pre-teens. I openly reinforced that to high school students in assembly yesterday. They are all growing, adjusting, adapting, and exploring and testing many boundaries. At different rates, students are learning and developing personal skills and attributes, while experiencing shifting relationships with friends, teachers and parents. Indeed, they live lives on shifting sands – and one of our key roles at school is to provide stability, grounding, and a genuine sense of connectedness.

By its very nature, adolescence is challenging, and feelings can range from strong – a sense of achievement and happiness on one day – to persistent frustration on another. For some young people, they can sometimes even suffer from quiet moments of despair or desperation. That’s why we have a lot of built-in supports here. I reminded students that if and when they are persistently upset or struggling, they should never do so alone. I urged them to reach out – to speak to a friend, their advisor, a counsellor, a teacher, or coach. That is why those people are there – never to judge, but to support, guide and help, genuinely help.

Rest assured, experiencing a wide range emotions is very typical for adolescents. So, I reminded them at our Tuesday assembly of the words of Scott Fried, a former guest speaker at LCC, that I have often repeated: “You are enough – yes, you are enough.” As educators, our teachers feel privileged to work with such a motivated group of young people – just as they are right now; that’s enough. Sometimes, our students need to put aside visions of tomorrow and what they may become because we are entirely pleased to work with them as they are at this moment. Getting to another place and defining a sound future will happen in due course. Despite our society’s obsession with a “better tomorrow” we need to first encourage young people to be happy in their skin and be content with today.

Together our staff believes deeply in each of our students, and in our two most recent surveys of students, they told us they actually feel very safe and very supported here. Perhaps more than anything, that fact/evidence is important to all adults at LCC. Indeed, perhaps the greatest measure of a community is our capacity to come together to support each other unconditionally. I’m proud to say that I think we do a pretty good job of that.

Happy Easter! Let’s all enjoy the onset of spring together.

Christopher Shannon
Headmaster