GNS Senior School Wiki
Closing Speech
June 22, 2011
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, invited guests and honoured graduates.
Welcome to our 5-hour 2011 Senior School Closing Ceremony. …….. Just kidding, it won’t be that long.
To start things off, I would like to direct your attention to our program and to a listing of awards from our Internal Awards assembly, and the ‘Night of the Gryphon’. Please join me in congratulating all of these winners.
This evening is not only about our award winners. It is a time for us to celebrate who we are as a community. We are a proud school, with significant accomplishments to our credit, but more importantly a caring supportive community. I thank all of you for the role that you play in making GNS the outstanding place it is.
I would especially like to acknowledge the following groups:
Whether helping in the cafeteria, serving on the Senior Parent’s Liaison Group, or assisting with school events, the time you give allows us to take our programs to a much higher level.
Thank you for all the work you do to ensure the safe and smooth running of the school.
Thank you for your guidance and the direction you provide for the school.
My sincere appreciation for all that you do to support our students. Your dedication and passion for teaching is evident every day.
Please join me in acknowledging these members of our community.
At this time, I wish to acknowledge staff who will either be departing GNS or taking a leave of absence.
Ian Henry – Mr. Henry will take next year off so that he can spend more time with his family and pursue enlightenment through Yoga. Mr. Henry is a very talented colleague and we look forward to his return in a year’s time.
Wendy Topic – Most of you know that Dr. Topic and her husband are the proud parents of a beautiful little boy, Milo. Next year Dr. Topic will “bond” with her little guy and return to teaching in September twenty 12.
Dylan Reeves – Next year, Mr. Reeves and his family will reside in Spain, immersing themselves in Spanish culture and language. Mr. Reeves is looking at this as one great big Pro-D Day and we look forward to his return as an even more awesome Spanish teacher in a year’s time.
Leah Stott – Ms Stott has been a terrific addition to the teaching team, filling in for Ms. Miklitz. She immediately forged great relationships with students and staff and although we are loosing her from the senior school she is not going very far as she will be moving across the campus to teach in the Middle School.
Chelsa England – Chelsa has been a part-time administrative assistant in the senior office and has made the decision with her family to move to Mayne Island. We will miss her effervescent smile and calm manner. She has been a delight to work with.
Sarah Craig – Ms. Craig, our Middle Years Program coordinator is expecting her first child. She has done a fantastic job for us and we are sorry to see her go. We wish Ms. Craig all the best in her new job.
Deanna Catto – Ms Catto is a remarkable teacher who helps simplify the complexities of math for all students, and she has a gift for unconditionally accepting them for who they are. Students adore her, and so do we. We are sorry to see her depart and wish Deanna the very best in years to come.
Shrawan Khanna – Mr. Khanna completes eight years as the Director of Daily Administration. He has been responsible for developing risk management strategies and procedures to safeguard our students and staff ; many of his innovations have since been adopted by other schools. A man of many interests, Mr. Khanna has decided to take a risk and explore one or more of his non-teaching passions. We wish you well, Mr. Khanna
Jean Bigelow – In September, Mrs. Bigelow will to take up the challenge of Principal of the Beach Campus. Through the years, Jean has unfailingly met the challenge of whatever GNS has needed her to do. A dedicated, capable and loyal administrator, we know that the Junior School will be lucky to have Mrs. Bigelow next year. We will miss her on the senior campus and wish her every success in this new chapter of her career.
Bruce Melville – Mr. Melville has been teaching at GNS for 20 years. Bruce’s dedication to service is extraordinary, whether here or teaching in Africa as he did for several years. Bruce served as Director of our Senior School and Assistant Head, but chose to return to the classroom because he loved to teach. He is a brilliant teacher, but we admire him most for who is he: wise, tolerant, truthful, kind, and optimistic.
Audrey Bailey – A former Head of GNS, David Brooks, believed that GNS couldn’t consider itself to be a real school without a band. So, he hired Audrey. During the first few years, the sounds of tooting and gasping trumpets were unimaginable, but with her determination, her own musicality, and her passion for inspiring students about music, the GNS band program became extraordinary. After 35 years of teaching, Audrey looks forward to playing in her own band and spending time with family. We will miss her friendship.
As a tribute to all of our teachers --and to this list I add Mr. Rob Kiddell from the Beach campus -- Andy Rooney once said, “Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives.”
As I prepared for tonight I was reminded of our school moto, “Do Your Best Through Truth and Courage”. Students who take up challenging risks show great courage and often discover themselves in the process. They become more capable and courageous adults. GNS is very good at helping kids to take risks. First because we are small, we can encourage more students to try things outside their comfort zone. Second, our students have the confidence to risk failure, knowing their close community supports them. Finally, we provide an extraordinary number of challenging opportunities. For example:…
In the fall 54 students attended the annual debate retreat opportunity. For most of us, is there anything scarier than speaking in public? For novices this must have been an especially intimidating prospect: Not only did they have to deal with the infamous Mr. Baty, but they were very visibly on the line because of our strong tradition of success in debate. Likewise, Mrs. Chatterton’s record of producing international champions is remarkable. But it all starts with students seizing the opportunities we offer for challenge.
In athletics, we see students take the same risks. No matter how good they are, our young soccer players know they may not make the team because we play at such a lofty level. Yet, time after time, they take the risk and this helps to propel our success. Great coaching certainly helps. To those who don’t make it, don’t be discouraged, Michael Jordan didn’t make his school’s basketball team when he was in Grade 9, but he didn’t give up.
In rugby this year we had 10 novices make the team. Talk about a risk. Imagine a smallish grade 9 boy going up against six-foot grade 11 or 12 boys from other schools. ………. That takes courage! No matter what sport, be it basketball, track, rowing, field hockey, badminton – well….. maybe not badminton - --- sorry Jackson.
It takes another kind of risk to leap off the cliff of creativity. For a biology teacher, I find it pretty scary to exercise my deeply buried imagination and write a line like the “cliff of creativity”! I am always amazed at how brave our students are, whether they paint or deliver a slam poem on stage.
Our academic programs challenge our students and it is always interesting to watch the new heights that students are able to push themselves. Doors open when universities recognize this.
My final example of risk taking -- Round Square, and the opportunities it provides for exchanges, or international service projects. Our Mexico service project changes the lives not only of disadvantaged families in Chacala but also our own students who become the kind of the compassionate, internationally minded adults who believe that with risk and personal action, we can change the world. Even the Head of School gets involved in taking risks. When the question arose about whether we should be sending students to Mexico, Mr. Bruce-Lockhart volunteered to go ahead of the group to scout it out … we figured that if we heard back from him in two days it must be safe to send our students. Sure enough, he called in. He might have been wearing a bullet -proof vest and helmet at the time, but he did call.
Risks. By the time we hit adulthood, it gets harder and harder for most of us to take, so if we want the world to change for the better, we have to create the kind of schools that allow risks, and for this reason I am very proud of our school and all of our students.
I would like to close this speech with a quote that is inscribed at the base of the Terry Fox statue at Mile Zero. “Dreams are made possible if you try”.
On behalf of the staff, my congratulations and very best wishes to the Class of 2011!
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