Inside King's-Edgehill School
Dear KES Family:
Surfing, making sushi, going to a movie theatre, apple picking, and visiting our mascot Dylan at his farm, are but some of the available activities this Thanksgiving for our students. KES staff member Paul Baumann is performing at the Wayfarer’s Ale Society, and a large group of runners is heading to Wolfville for the Valley Harvest Marathon and the 10-kilometre run. Looking ahead to this weekend, I cannot help but be grateful for all we are able to do here on campus and within Nova Scotia.
A year and a half ago, the pandemic hit us by surprise, descending upon us faster than we could fathom. One day we were reading jokes about the worldwide toilet paper shortage, and the next we were all locked down with many travellers scrambling to make it home before international borders closed. However, as our Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Strang has said, “The pandemic is not done with us yet.” The surprise now is how slow the pandemic is to leave. If a second wave was unthinkable last year in autumn (had the global lockdown and all our hard work been for nothing?), this fourth wave was beyond comprehension for most of us. My heart goes out to all who continue to struggle with the harsh realities of COVID-19.
The thing is, despite COVID…for us this has been a magical start to the school year. The students are focused and engaged. Our teams are winning, the School musical promises to be spectacular, our first report cards are excellent, and we are making arrangements to host a world debating tournament in Halifax in the new year. The spirit on the sidelines for basketball and soccer matches has been nothing short of phenomenal. Two years ago, we raised a record $17,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation with our annual run. This year we have raised over $42,000! Last year we opened the School with 327 students. This year we have 383 of the most wonderful young men and women you would ever have the pleasure of meeting. A new member of faculty penned a Thanksgiving message to me this morning: “I have been fortunate to work in three wonderful schools prior to joining KES, but this community is the warmest and most supportive that I have ever had the pleasure of working for.”
Last week I received an email from a passenger returning on the same flight as our girls basketball team: “We flew on a Flair flight from Montreal to Halifax, on Sunday night. The girls basketball team was sitting behind us, and I just wanted to write you and let you know that their behaviour was excellent, during the flight as well as before and after.”
This Thanksgiving, perhaps more than ever before, I realize just how much we must be grateful for.