This was my yearbook ‘message from the principal’ for Inquiry Hub this year:
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Make Lemonade
When the backdrop of your school year is a Global Pandemic, it’s hard to think of the things you got to do, and easy to think about all the things you didn’t get to do. It’s hard not to think this way when so much has been taken away from us. We are used to students mixing across grades and getting to know everyone in our community through events and potluck lunches. Well, this was not a year for those things. But when you look at the year we had, we were lucky compared to many high schools.
We provided all-day schooling when other schools were having students only come to school for half a day and doing another course online, then switching these two around. Meanwhile we had our cohorts in school for the entire day. Other schools rushed students through quarters, with 2 courses at a time. We continued with our year-long classes. Courses in other schools were paired down to the essential curriculum. We had students continue to follow their passions and interests with Inquiries and IDS courses, and teachers continued to look at things in depth, and had time to follow student interests along the way.
I was watching a TikTok recently and it was about things non-native English speakers didn’t understand when they first learned English, (I am definitely on grown up/teacher TikTok and have a different feed than a younger-than-me generation). The phrase that this person didn’t understand was “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” To most of us this is a phrase that means, when things are sour and going against you, make the most out of it. However, this woman was from a country and culture where lemons are used to spice things up, and the taste of a lemon is truly enjoyed. To her, “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” meant, appreciate the good things in life. She never understood the phrase to mean anything negative. When life gives you a wonderful lemon, well then celebrate and make some lemonade!
When you look back on the past year, I hope you can see it from the perspective of this lady, and find the delicious lemons you made lemonade out of. Who did you spend more time with? What did you enjoy doing that you don’t usually do? What do you feel lucky that you had, that others didn’t have? If you were living in Toronto this year, you would have spent almost the entire year doing school from home, whether you wanted to or not.
Also, we are heading into a summer with much less restrictions than last year. What are you looking forward to that you will enjoy even more than you ever have? What opportunities are you going to take advantage of, that you probably wouldn’t have? Where is your family going to travel next?
It’s time to enjoy your summer… and make some lemonade.
