Australia Exchange Student: Au Revoir LCC!

Posted on October 30, 2013 by admin

My name is Anina and two months ago I arrived at Lower Canada College from Alice Springs, located in the middle of Australia.

LCC is extremely different to St Philip’s College, my school back home, but I am so glad that this is where I got to spend my exchange.

Alice Springs is located in a desert with a population of 27,000 and an average temperature of 35 degrees celsius. Coming to a big city like Montreal was exciting because there is always somewhere new to go and see.

I would like to thank Madame Bradley, Mr. Mckay and all the girls on the midget volleyball team. I really enjoyed playing on a school team because in Alice Springs we play all of our sports at clubs around the town. While I’ve been at LCC I also played tennis. At home I play a lot of tennis but this was my first time playing on clay because we only have hardcourts.

I loved going to watch a Habs and the Montreal Impact soccer team. It was the first time I saw an ice hockey game so it was really exciting. I almost got hit in the face by a puck that flew over the nets but luckily the guy sitting next to me caught it!

One of the biggest differences between my school and LCC was having lunch in a big dining hall everyday. At St Philip’s we bring our own food and sit outside for lunch and recess. All of our classes and locker rooms are in different buildings and the school is very spread out, so to get from class to class we go outside.

I’d like to thank all of my teachers, especially Ms. Shadley, Mr. Neal and Mr. Shannon, for making this exchange possible and helping me to feel welcome at LCC. I’m also really grateful to Emily and Jamie for being the best host family possible, and taking me to so many different places and introducing me to so many new things. I have many special memories that I’ll never forget.

I’d like to thank to Mr. Sigouin for teaching me French. Before I arrived I only knew how to say hello. Now I can say goodbye as well. Au revoir, bonne journée! – Anina Conradie, St. Philip’s College, Alice Springs, Australia

Gibbons Leaves Lasting Impression

Posted on October 29, 2013 by admin

On October 22 and 23, LCC was lucky enough to have a special guest at the school, Alan Gibbons. (See photos) He was the author of the summer reading book, Caught in the Crossfire, an emotional tale about racism against British Muslims in England, filled with love, action, and the tragedies of hatred. For most students, the first time they saw the author was at Tuesday’s assembly. The assembly started off with a speech by our headmaster, about the importance of reading, of critical reading, in an information age (and misinformation age, as he pointed out). Mr. Moore also spoke about the success of the LCC reads committee, and the importance of reading bringing people together.

When Mr. Gibbons got up to speak, there was a silence in the room. Of course, the students knew his books, and that he was quite an accomplished author, but wondered what he would talk to them about. He spoke quickly, and said a few words in French, before delving into his story, and the importance of overcoming hatred and intolerance. His humour soon got the entire assembly into his presentation. He was from ‘the good part of England’, and had spent many of his younger years abroad the hippie fad train, traveling around Europe and seeing the world. When he met his current wife, however, it was time to settle down. He became a teacher, and divided his time between writing and spending time with his students.

One day, however, a secretary rushed to deliver some news. “School secretaries, you know how they just glide around the school? Well she was running! I knew something was up at that moment.” He had been nominated for the Blue Peter award, one of the most recognized literary awards in Britain! It was a great shock to him, being a somewhat unknown, and little successful author at the time. He decided that he would win the award, no matter whom he was up against. Then, he found out who his competitors were. He was up against some of the most famous authors in England, including Harry Potter author, JK Rowling. “I was just looking at these other authors and thinking ‘I’m not worthy’!” To his surprise, however, he won the award!

And so started his career as an author – his full-time career. For him, writing was the way that one could visit places, hundreds of years after they have been destroyed. It was the only way you could live a life that wasn’t yours. Buildings are burned down, eras are ended, but writing survives. Storytelling was passing values and morals down from generation to generation.

This became his goal, spreading values to all of his readers. He spoke about how this was important, not only in Britain, but in Quebec as well, where our Premier, Pauline Marois, is attempting to remove the religious freedoms of public sector workers. Now, more than ever, is it important to raise our voices against hatred and discrimination.

His speech most certainly impacted every person in the audience, and soon a line was forming to ask questions, many of which were about his personal quest to spread tolerance.

After, the LCC Reads committee was fortunate enough to meet with him, get their books signed, and discuss Dr. Who over a cup of tea and a piece of cake. Throughout his visit, he went to various English classes, prompting the students to write stories, and talking to the class about his visit.

Though his visit is now over, we’ll all keep what he said with us forever. We are truly fortunate to have had such an amazing guest author, for a full two days. – Elizabeth O’Meara ’15

The Relevance of Caught in the Crossfire

Posted on October 25, 2013 by admin

LCC Reads is a vibrant student committee dedicated to promoting a love of reading and the power of ideas. Thanks to this group of students, we had a special guest in our Middle/Senior School assembly this week. Alan Gibbons is an award-winning British writer and author of this year’s LCC Reads book, Caught in the Crossfire. His presence reflected our tradition of going an extra step and bringing the author of our annual community book to school to speak to students face-to-face.

Mr. Gibbons proved to be a rare natural storyteller. His capacity to engage and enthrall a young audience was special to watch. He reinforced the magic of books and the wonder of getting lost in the meanderings and interaction of fictional characters. He also emphasized the important lessons that books and stories convey.

Mr. Gibbons’ presence at our school was rather timely. His novel “Caught in the Crossfire” is a warning that addresses the negative impact of racism in an increasingly multicultural England. In our assembly he addressed how important it is in today’s world to promote and embrace inclusion and diversity. He was emphatic in openly urging our Québec government to avoid implementing a restrictive charter of rules that would prohibit the natural sharing of important elements of personal identity.

I thank Mr. Gibbons for presenting challenges and reminding us that our peaceful society is a precious balance. He asked that we take very seriously the issues that threaten the attributes of our community built up over time. A strong society that celebrates diversity is a great Canadian strength. I hope that all of our students are now doubly motivated to protect that strength with all of their abilities and with great passion. This is clearly not a time for apathy in Quebec. —Christopher Shannon, Headmaster

Student Exchange: Having the Time of My Life in Armidale, Australia!

Posted on October 21, 2013 by admin

HOW YOU GOING MATES!!!!!!!!! It’s been about two weeks that I’ve been here in wonderful Armidale Australia and it is really awesome. I’m going to give you guys the whole rundown of my trip.

When I learned that I was going Armidale the first thing I wanted to do was find a little bit about where I was going and what it was like. I discovered that it was a VERY small town. I emphasize very because the population is approximately 23,000. I was intrigued when I learned this because it gave me an opportunity to live in a small town and to learn a little bit more about how different they are from larger cities.

The first time I spoke to Jack, my exchange partner, I learned that he lived on an operational farm even though his mother is an anesthesiologist and his father is a pilot for Qantas.

Now for the travel. That flight, that terrible, dreadful flight to Sydney was actually not so terrible, and that was a plus! When I arrived at The Armidale School I was welcomed by everyone with open arms and huge smiles. Making friends was a breeze. Once I was settled in the questions started. Some a little strange such as: “Oy mate, do you think we ride kangaroos to school”, “do you have a pet polar bear” and “ha ha ha your cops are called Mounties”.

So far this experience has been the time of my life. – Jared Blatt ’16

Pride Matters

Posted on October 1, 2013 by admin

We talk a lot about pride at LCC – essentially because pride matters. It really matters. This is embodied in a book titled When Pride Still Mattered – the story of one of America’s most fabled and successful modern personalities, Vince Lombardi. He was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers football team in the 1960’s and winner of the Super Bowl in 1966 & 1967.

The son of an immigrant Italian butcher, Lombardi rose to the top in his field in America. He inspired his players by believing in them and convincing them to believe in their own promise, both as individuals and when working as a group. Lombardi was famous for a traditional value system and look – even on the football field: fedora, trench coat, big black glasses and strong focus on pride as a precondition to achieving anything difficult & meaningful.

David Maranniss, author of When Pride Still Mattered, notes that Lombardi has become a mythic character in America and his legend now transcends sport, almost five full decades since he was active. Many now turn to Lombardi in search of characteristics that they fear have been diminished or lost today – more traditional virtues such as discipline, respect, loyalty, character, and teamwork.

As Lombardi used to profess, before anyone can truly feel and show pride, you have to truly believe in yourself and your goals. Essentially, that means having a positive mindset and remembering that achievement begins with being hopeful. As a speaker told our teachers earlier this past August, “kids who think they can usually do.”

But a positive and hopeful attitude is usually not enough to get you where you want to go. There is a lot of discussion these days in education circles about a host of important attributes that our students need in their daily toolboxes, especially resilience and grit. Yes, grit and perseverance are essential to success, not just in the classroom, but in life in developing relationships with one’s peers and friends – and as citizens in broader society.

Each student at LCC needs to build foundations or roots, but they also need wings – skills and attitudes that will help them to fly independently. Stability and “stick-with-itness” are essential, especially when kids feel disappointed, frustrated or upset. This includes development of a lot of emotional factors: self-regulation, an ability to wait (delayed gratification), emotional control, and self- awareness that can diminish emotional outbursts.

We know that students who are poor at self-regulation also start to shy away from challenging opportunities – even if they don’t admit it to themselves.

I saw grit in action last week in a couple of cases: two Senior School soccer teams were shutout on the scoreboard – but our student-athletes took it all in stride, knowing tomorrow would be better. And our Senior Boys Football team played a very gritty game against a talented top-ranked team with probably about twice as many players as us. I was proud of our boys’ performance under difficult conditions.

Pride was also very much on display last week, especially at our two open houses. Our student ambassadors were the difference-makers for visitors to our school. You can’t fake pride; that never works. Parent and student visitors complimented our guides’ engagement, politeness, and breadth of knowledge about life at LCC. That is pride on display and yes, pride matters.

As Vince Lombardi used to say, “excellence is a habit.” So I ask our students to be proud of doing their best and showing their pride to the world; it does matter! – Christopher Shannon, Headmaster