Create, push, pull, inspire, repeat, repeat, repeat —
Lead, laugh, discover, introduce, complete.
Develop, compare, contrast, critique, follow-up,
Be brutally honest, hone, amaze, focus, analyze,
Grow, advise, envision, coach, tutor, assess, nurture….
… and bid farewell. Job well done!
Thank you LCC Faculty. Congratulations graduates of 2010!
— Chris Shannon, Headmaster
Here are a few very pragmatic suggestions, which will provide support to students preparing for exams. The goal related to these suggestions is to minimize stress and to maximize health.
The atmosphere in a home contributes to the stress level of all family members, so it is possible that a family could try to change the atmosphere in the home during exam time. Obviously most parents provide support by asking how it’s going, etc., and pushing the child to study harder. However, if it falls into the category of “nagging” then it is probably not very beneficial. Assume that exam time is different; therefore the atmosphere of the home might be a bit different, too.
There are three very pragmatic things, which I suggest to students: the appropriate amount of sleep, regular exercise and good food. You could ensure that there is a really large supply of “good” food in the house and not much of a supply of “bad” snack-like food. Snacking on nutritious food (especially teenagers) while studying can help. It improves concentration, makes the studying less boring, and feeds the brain with good nutrients.
Exercise: Perhaps family members can help ensure that the student gets exercise during heavy study days (e.g., go for a run together, do a fitness class, etc.). Similar to the food suggestion, this helps restore the brain and helps ensure better sleep.
Sleep: Well, some people just have a harder time than others to sleep, but staying up late to study is a bad plan. Many students have trouble with this suggestion but one can deal with this by studying well in advance so that last minute studying is not about covering material for the first time the night before an exam.
Finally, while it is good to encourage our children to work hard to do their best, too much of this “encouragement” can inhibit top performance because of the pressure.
I am sure that you realize all of this, but sometimes my suggestions serve as gentle reminders. –John Gordon, School Counsellor
Voici des commentaires d’élèves qui ont participé à la conférence sur le bilinguisme dans les écoles du QAIS, le 29 avril, 2010.
J’ai aimé la conférence sur le bilinguisme car c’était intéressant d’entendre les histoires des anciens étudiants. Ils ont dit que c’est très important de continuer le français après l’école secondaire car les langues aident tout le monde à communiquer et à s’exprimer avec plusieurs personnes du monde entier. Je suis d’accord avec ce message et je vais continuer de parler le français pour le restant de ma vie! —Alexandra Bélanger, 10e programme accéléré
Je crois que la conférence était d’une importance capitale pour ma perception de la coexistence des langues française et anglaise au Québec. Je sais maintenant qu’il est primordial de savoir et de maîtriser les deux langues et de ne pas passer trop de temps sans pratiquer l’une des deux. Aussi, j’ai découvert qu’être bilingue n’est pas si exceptionnel qu’on pourrait le croire. —Benjamin Dawson, 10e programme accéléré
Je suis très heureuse d’avoir eu la chance d’aller à la conférence sur le bilinguisme. Je pense que cette expérience m’a vraiment aidée à réaliser que maîtriser plusieurs langues est très important dans la vie. —Gabrielle Gendron, 10e programme accéléré
Last week dozens of Assistant Heads from independent schools from across the country gathered in Montreal to share and learn during an annual four-day conference. On one of these days this group of educational administrators had the privilege of working directly with Dr. Dan Kindlon, a renowned clinical and research psychologist and professor at Harvard University in Boston. Dr. Kindlon is also a reputed author. His first book, Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional lives of Boys saw both he and his co-author, Dr. Michael Thompson, jump to the top of the NY Times Bestseller List. It was published around the time of the tragic Columbine high school shootings in Colorado in 1999, and tens of thousands of parents bought the book in an effort to better understand what could trigger such violence among teenage boys.
Dr. Kindlon’s latest book Too Much of a Good Thing: Raising Children of Character in an Indulgent Age presents some simple but key messages to parents today. He spoke at LCC last Thursday evening, and I would like to pass on a few key takeaways.
As the title of Dr. Kindlon’s book indicates, he is concerned about the degree to which today’s parents indulge their children. His clear advice: don’t give children or adolescents everything they want, set clear limits and stick to them. This sounds simple, but Dr. Kindlon’s research shows that an absence of appropriate boundaries and too little delayed gratification have had a negative impact on young people across North America. He also noted that in our busy lives with demanding schedules for work and activities, family time has decreased by half since the 1980s—a rather startling development. Evidence shows that regular family activity, in particular family dinners, has a direct correlation to keeping children focused and positive.
This actually leads to better results at school.
Finally, Kindlon reiterated the impact of the North American crisis in youth sleep deprivation. The average teen now gets less than seven hours of sleep per night, while needing at least eight and ideally nine hours to function effectively. He noted that the cumulative physiological effect is equivalent to the teen smoking one pack of cigarettes a day, with a host of harmful effects, including a diminished capacity to embed learning after a day of schooling.
This may not be new information. However, it’s important to remember the importance of boundaries and limits, family time, and sleep in the growth, development and good health of our children. For all parents, awareness is important, but acting on our knowledge is critical if students are to meet their true potential. —Chris Shannon, Headmaster
It was an interesting experience to brainstorm with the Green Team on biodiversity –this year’s theme for Earth Week. Most of the websites that we researched revealed how important biodiversity is for humans since the many living beings on our earth allow us to obtain food, shelter, medicine, leisure, etc.
What’s wrong with this picture? As humans we are one among millions of species that exist on Earth. We are not the most significant part, yet we have a very egocentric idea of our place on our planet. True we depend on other species for our survival, so shouldn’t other species depend on us for their survival? We need to start looking beyond our own concerns and look at the world around us as full of energy, beauty and strength; characteristics that we should be incorporating in our own beings.
Our chosen theme of “We are the World” stresses how we can make a difference in the world not only in terms of caring for fauna and flora, but also with a concern for social justice.
We have a number of fundraisers set for Earth week in hopes not only to raise money for important causes, but also to raise awareness.
We will hold a raffle for a metal wall decor, which was made by an artist from Haiti entitled “children of the world.” Tickets will be available at the Front Office and proceeds will go toward relief efforts for Haiti.
We will sell “Green Generation” T-shirts with the slogan: “Reuse the Past, Recycle the Present, Save the Future,” written on the back. The money raised will be given to our local SPCA.
We will have a “Fill the Water Jug with Coins” campaign to raise money to buy a gift from Water-Aid, such as a water pump, that will help a third world community obtain access to safe water.
We hope that you will be part of our celebration!
–Vilma Scattolin (Faculty Advisor) & the LCC Student Green Team