Grateful to be a Round Square Student

Posted on January 28, 2015 by admin

I am often asked, with just a hint of suspicion, “What is Round Square?” Quite simply, it is the sum of six ideals, internationalism, democracy, environment, adventure, leadership and service, which, added one to another, equal a philosophy of learning. Those six goals, each important in and by themselves, are bound together to form an integral whole that we call Round Square.

It is a great source of pride to me that these six ideals are so intricately woven in the LCC fabric, so much a part of the LCC student’s daily vocabulary that the six ideals are not so much applied as lived. Community service, the daily exposure to environmental or international issues, or participation in leadership activities are the common lot of all LCC students – much like homework, part and parcel of student life.

This no doubt explains why I am so often asked, “What is Round Square?” Round Square activities are not notable for the LCC student, exposed right from the start to the Round Square philosophy of learning. Round Square activities are quite simply and naturally part of life.

The most spectacular of Round Square activities are perhaps the international exchanges which give LCC students the chance to live for a couple of extraordinary months, the ordinary life of the Peruvian, South African, Australian, Indian or French student. These exchanges often begin with a burst of, until then unsuspected, patriotic pride. There are friendly patriotic tug of wars, where differences are highlighted. By the end of these exchanges, differences between cultures are dismissed as trivial, and there is the profound realization that for all the geographic differences, which, to all appearances, cause abysses between cultures and nations, we are all one humanity. This is a Round Square lesson.

Twice a year, there are Round Square or CAIS conferences for Middle School and Senior School students. LCC students travel, sometimes to far and exotic places, other times to more familiar destinations, to exchange, with other Round Square students, ideas about international or environmental issues. Open dialogue and finding ways of integrating leadership into everyday life is another Round Square lesson.

And then, there are all the other activities, no less important and very much a huge part of Round Square life. These include, but are not limited to, all the community service activities and the environment-oriented activities. The environment committee’s tireless efforts to educate on environmental issues proved effective: all six LCC students sent to Jordan had the urge to turn off the water sprinklers irrigating, all day and all night, the beautiful school campus. That we are all locally responsible for the global good of the earth is a third Round Square lesson.

The Coat Drive to benefit the Share The Warmth organization is a great example of the way LCC students live Round Square ideals. The drive, undertaken enthusiastically, if quietly, was a great success.

A Round Square student is a Round Square person for life. I am a Round Square student, and I, for one, couldn’t be more grateful. – David Elbaz ’15, Round Square Head

The Béliveau Factor

Posted on December 10, 2014 by admin

“Outstanding”. “A gentleman”. “A class act”. These are just some of the tsunami of accolades that have poured forth in recent days to describe the late Jean Béliveau.

As we prepare for the holiday season, with its focus on the importance of giving, family and friends, there is probably nobody more representative of these cherished things than Jean Béliveau – a truly great Montrealer. His life was not simply well lived. He was a truly magnificent citizen from whom we have much to learn.

Jean Béliveau came from a large a blue-collar working class family. He often spoke about the many important lessons he learned from his parents during his early formative years – lessons about respect, the value of hard work, and sustaining long term commitment to projects that matter, all timeless qualities.

Béliveau came from a different era, There were no organized hockey leagues until Juniors. His brilliance emerged on outdoor rinks in a Quebec small town. After being called up to les Canadiens in 1953, his career with the Habs was to be nothing short of spectacular. He was a very special player – possessing a large 6’ 3” frame – strong, yet swift, agile and graceful like a much smaller player. Over twenty years as a player with the Canadiens, Béliveau went on to set the record for most points with the club that still stands today. He also captained the team for 10 years and won 10 Stanley cups. He had his named engraved on that holy grail of hockey seven more times as part of the Habs’ management team. It’s unlikely anyone will ever do that again.

Béliveau played his whole career for one team and then followed up as a paid employee and volunteer with that same team for another 40 years after his retirement. He’s part of the historic bedrock that contributes to the Montreal franchise’s strong sense of history and tradition, even in this age of media hype, athletic celebrity, and mega contracts.

However, it’s perhaps what Béliveau did off the ice during and after his playing days that defined him best. In short, he was a man of deep character. He was always the last one to leave when autograph-seekers wanted a moment of his time. He gave countless hours to hospital visits, charity causes and what are often referred to as “rubber chicken dinners” – small-scale community fundraisers held all across Quebec and Canada. Simply through his presence, millions of dollars were raised for good causes. He rarely said no.

I met him when I was in grade 7. He came to my school’s annual spring track & field day to give out the awards. I remember it well. He was upbeat, inspirational, and engaged.

I have two other notable memories of Jean Béliveau. The first relates to one of the Canada Cup Series that was played some years ago before the days that professional hockey players joined the Olympic movement. There were several games played between top hockey nations, many here in Montreal. During one match an American player “creamed” one of the Canadian star players with a dirty check. He was penalized, but the Canadian player was injured and unable to play the following game. The Canadian fan base was outraged. So when the US national anthem was played in Montreal at the next game, the sell-out crowd drowned out the “Star Spangled Banner” with an avalanche of noisy and angry boos. Prior to the final Canada-USA game, the “Hockey Canada” people had a brilliant idea. Rather than turning to a senior politician or the president of Hockey Canada, they turned to the most dignified and respected Canadian they could find, Jean Béliveau. Before the US national anthem began, they played a video from Jean Béliveau with a short lecture on respect. As the music began, the boos started to emerge from up in the rafters. With a live camera fixed on Béliveau and his image on the enormous scoreboard, he confidently raised his finger, tilted his head and the noise magically vanished. True respect.

My other notable memory was when former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien offered Jean Béliveau the position of Governor General, the highest appointed position in our nation. No greater honour could have been bestowed upon him. However, within 24 hours Béliveau rejected the opportunity, wholly in the name of his family. His son-in-law had died tragically a few years earlier and his daughter was a single mother to two young girls. Béliveau had committed to being present like a second father for those young girls. Even an offer for one of the most honoured positions in the land could not pull him away from Montreal and his family.

Thank you Monsieur Béliveau – for the values you espoused, for the example you set, for the leadership we can all learn from. – Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Depend on the Ancients

Posted on December 4, 2014 by admin

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending an excellent teacher workshop presentation by Mr. Vlahogiannis, one of our senior academic department heads. For many years Mr. Vlahogiannis has led the social science department and throughout his 20+ years at LCC, he has taught philosophy.

His presentation to teachers was a window into philosophy, the subject he calls the “subversive discipline”. Why subversive? Essentially because philosophy is a discipline that promotes rational thought and constant questioning. The questioning focuses on norms in our society, our pervasive ideology, and the nature of beauty, virtue, goodness, and ethics. Through disciplined questioning we can determine a better understanding of so much around us.

Many modern philosophers claim that today’s youth are more consumers than citizens; that they’ve been trained to want to consume, so it is hard for them to understand the more important complexities of citizenship and its responsibilities. These philosophers assert that young people are mixed up about how, why, and where they can contribute to the “public good” in meaningful ways.

As young people watch hundreds (actually thousands) of digital and TV commercials that promote or portray a so-called “good-life”, philosophers are concerned that it is becoming increasingly difficult to define the “good life” beyond the powerful allure of consumerism—owning stuff, more and more stuff. There are strong pressures from corporate interests for youth to define themselves with “things” rather than character and their possible contributions to a healthy society.

So to make some inroads on these important questions, I simply suggest our senior students register for Mr. Vlahogiannis’ classes. There they will be given the opportunity to ask many questions, explore the history and foundations of philosophy, discuss concrete issues, and participate in case studies.

That said, some of the first and most famous philosophers were the ancient Greeks. They were very interested in the nature of existence and they were the first to be able to distinguish the capacity of human beings for rational thought, decision-making and reason.

That legacy has had a massive impact over the past 2000 years or so. I recently ran across a book by two philosophers entitled Ten Golden Rules of Leadership: Classical Wisdom for Modern Leaders by Michael Soupios and Panos Mourdoukoutas. They have reviewed the writings of the classical philosophers and selected ten ideas that positively impact the effectiveness of leaders and remain relevant today. The authors remind us that genuine leadership is very demanding and requires courage, principles and practice. That’s something I believe all our students need to learn as we offer them different opportunities to lead and refine their skills.

Genuine leadership is difficult because in addition to simply getting things done, it actually requires leaders do the inner-work on a continual basis. And that is a lot to commit to; it’s lifelong.

So, from classical Greek philosophy, here are 10 timeless classic rules for leadership:

Rule 1: “Know Thyself.” – Thales
Rule 2: “Office Shows the Person.” – Pittacus
Rule 3: “Nurture Community at the Workplace.” – Plato
Rule 4: “Do Not Waste Energy on Things You Cannot Change.” – Aristophanes
Rule 5: “Always Embrace the Truth.” – Antisthenes
Rule 6: “Let Competition Reveal Talent.” – Hesiod
Rule 7: “Live Life by a Higher Code.” – Aristotle
Rule 8: “Always Evaluate Information with a Critical Eye.” – The Skeptics
Rule 9: “Never Underestimate the Power of Personal Integrity.” – Sophocles
Rule 10: “Character Is Destiny.” – Heraclitus

— Christopher Shannon, Headmaster

Procès simulé: Palais de justice de Montréal

Posted on December 2, 2014 by admin

Lundi 1 décembre 2014, la classe de droit de 10 année est allée au Palais de justice de Montréal afin de faire un procès criminel simulé. Nous avons eu la chance d’être accueillis par le Juge André Perreault et son adjointe, madame Masson.

Nous remercions aussi Me. Marin Cojocaru (au centre de la photo) qui a travaillé avec les élèves lors de la préparation du procès en leur offrant de précieux conseils.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Aujourd’hui était très intéressant. J’ai vraiment aimé l’expérience, particulièrement quand on m’a donné l’occasion de parler et d’être mis en doute, c’était tout à fait stressant, mais cela m’a enseigné beaucoup et je suis heureux de l’avoir fait. J’ai aussi aimé la visite à la Cour d’appel, car l’édifice était spectaculairement beau. J’aimerais certainement travailler là-bas dans le futur. – Ryan Hawa ’16

Pendant la classe de droit nous avons pratiqué un procès simulé. J’ai beaucoup aimé mon expérience aujourd’hui à la Cour d’appel et aussi au Palais de justice. J’ai appris qu’après et pendant le témoignage, le juge a le droit de poser quelques questions. C’était une très bonne expérience et je pense que ma partie préférée était la visite de la Cour d’appel. – Rebecca Ross ’16

J’ai aimé plusieurs éléments de cette expérience comme le procès simulé et la visite de la Cour d’appel. J’ai appris que le juge a le droit de demander des questions à l’avocat et au témoin. Le procès de LuKa Magnotta se déroulait en face de la salle où nous étions. Je remercie toutes les personnes qui on aidé à réaliser cette journée possible et mon professeur M. Maurice. C’était une expérience dont je me souviendrai.– Joshua Mindel ’16

Au cours de ce procès, j’ai appris plusieurs choses. J’ai appris à écouter l’information qui m’est offerte. J’ai aussi beaucoup appris sur le déroulement d’un procès et sur la Cour d’appel grâce à notre visite. Le fait que le procès de Luka Magnotta était juste en face de notre salle m’a fait prendre conscience de la réalité dans laquelle nous étions. – Matthew Tabet ’16

La classe de droit de M. Maurice a passé la journée au Palais de Justice et à la Cour d’appel. Cette journée unique était magnifique comme expérience pour nous. Nous nous sommes préparés pendant le mois de novembre pour le procès simulé au Palais de Justice. Ma partie préférée était les remarques faites par le juge Perreault à la fin de notre procès. Aussi, le procès de Luka Magnotta se déroulait juste en face de notre procès! Quelle bonne journée! – Christina Papageorgakopoulos ’16

Photos

Le Middle School Pride échange des idées avec d’autres écoles du Round Square

Posted on October 28, 2014 by admin

On Wednesday October 22, Jake Burnett, the Principal of the Middle School of Glenlyon Norfolk School in Victoria, BC, attended our Wednesday morning Middle School Pride meeting. Mr. Burnett spoke to us regarding collaboration between the two Middle School leadership groups. We have planned a Skype conference in the coming weeks.

Durant la réunion précédente, nous avons aussi réalisé une courte vidéo pour communiquer avec l’école Westminster en Australie. Nous voulons échanger nos idées d’activités organisées et comment améliorer l’environnement des étudiants au Middle School. – Anthony Fata ’18

Last week, Jake Burnett, the Principal of the Middle School of Glenlyon Norfolk School in Victoria, BC came to our Middle School Pride meeting. Even though he was slightly jetlagged, he was very enthusiastic and outgoing. He sat in on our meeting and gave us constructive feedback.

Ceci fut une très bonne idée puisque cela nous a permis de crée une nouvelle connection avec une autre école. Nous avons partagé des idées avec lui. Nous espérons faire une vidéoconférence sur Skype dans le futur. – Abby Shine ’17