As I sit in my office on the Friday before our teachers report for what will surely be an enthusiastic and inspiring week of “Pre-Planning”, I can’t help but think that as we enter our third year together on this shared journey that the old canards no longer apply. It would be normal to joke at this moment about how this is the “calm before the storm” – the last moments before teachers and students fill our rooms and the school year officially begins. And like most jokes, there is often an uneasy truth hidden within. That, of course, the whole point of having schools is to have students and teachers, but boy it sure has been calm not having y’all here over the summer…
But when I self-scan or talk with our administrative team and the many teachers who have been in touch over the summer, the ping of anxiety that often accompanies the pang of excitement just isn’t there. Without getting too metaphysical, I almost feel more strongly the absence of worry than I do the joy of anticipation. I think it is an apt signpost of where this school is and where it is going to suggest that what we are enjoying at this moment is actually the calm before the calm.
This does not mean that we lack an ambitious agenda for the upcoming year or the years ahead!
We have added a dynamic new Head of Jewish Studies, Dr. Avi Marcovitz, who is going to deepen and expand the work we have done revitalizing Jewish learning and living at OJCS. We have added an exuberant Development Director, Staci Zemlak-Kenter, who is already building relationships and thinking about alumni engagement. Our work as the first private school in Ontario to partner with the Centre Franco-Ontarien de Ressources Pédagogiques (Franco-Ontarian Centre for Educational Resources) or CFORP to implement the TACLEF program begins next week. (We are also prototyping a French-language after-school art program.) We will be taking the critical step of translating our new Homework Philosophy into an implementation strategy. We will be deepening our work with blogs and blogfolios. We will open up the OJCS Makerspace. We will continue to build on our prototyping culture. And so on…
We are neither content nor satisfied. We still have lots of work to do!
But I do think something has shifted.
Perhaps “stability” is not as “sexy” as change, but it beats “crisis” every day of the week! Partly why we aren’t engaging with a major consultancy this year (except in the French Department) is that we need to give everyone – students, parents, teachers, etc. – time to lean into all the change initiatives we have already launched over the last two years. Our work with NoTosh has left us with powerful “North Stars” to aim ourselves towards, strategies to move us from here to there and a prototyping culture to develop the innovative tactics of the day-to-day work. Our work with Silvia Tolisano has left us with a cohort of teachers who have increasing skill in “now literacies” that continues to spill over from their classrooms to the school as a whole. Our work with blogs and blogfolios is going to take a huge leap forward this year with additional teachers eager to explore these platforms for learning, writing, sharing, amplifying, reflecting and connecting.
[TEASER: Please be sure to join us on September 25th at 7:00 PM where we will be doing some hands-on learning, exploring and subscribing that will help you know exactly how to find the information about your child(ren)’s class(es), including homework/quizzes/tests/projects, you want and need to be wonderful partners and advocates.]
Lest you think that the days of major change are behind us, don’t worry! As we have stated before, our first years have focused almost exclusively on the “hows” and “whys” of education. As a private school, however, we have the luxury/responsibility/opportunity to also determine the “what”. While always being cognizant of what is required at our graduates’ next schools of choice, a true belief in a “floor, but not a ceiling” requires us to determine for ourselves what academic outcomes to reach for. For example, if we believe that Ontario’s math standards are less than (we do!), then we have a responsibility to aim higher (we will!). To do that work well – to truly map our curriculum across each grade and every subject – is a significant project that requires significant expertise. So, yes, more change (and more consultants!) are in our future.
The work of being the best school we can is as endless as the work of being the best selves we can. Schools are organizations with learning at their hearts, and growth-seeking in their souls. Schools are only as good as their teachers and only as successful as their students. We simply can’t wait to open the doors on Monday to our terrific team of talented teachers and the following Tuesday to our super squad of spirited students. Our compass is pointed squarely at our North Stars and our team is eager to guide us on our shared journey.
For those of you squeezing every last drop of summer to be had, we hope you check every last item off your summer bucket list! For all of us, as they say, enjoy the calm before the calm…
[MAJOR TEASER: We are scheduling a major announcement in the next couple of months on how we plan to secure the long-term future of our school. It is very exciting and will be a big moment for us and our community. Stay tuned.]
So excited for this year! May we go from strength to strength! Can’t wait for everyone to be back.