What an amazing experience it was to see our High School musical Shrek this week! Congratulations to all those involved for putting on such an entertaining, high-quality, and wonderfully joyous show.
There are so many different elements involved in a high-caliber production such as this from cast and crew, logistics and lighting, music and marketing, costume and choreography, to name but a few. It is so impressive and I thank the many students, parents, and employees for their many hours dedicated to creating such an enjoyable show. It was particularly impressive given all this has been achieved since the start of the semester – a little over eight weeks ago.
The many hours of dedication were truly rewarded by Wednesday and Thursday’s wonderfully appreciative audience. It takes courage and confidence for students to pursue their passion, step out of their comfort zone, and say yes to being involved. In addition to experiencing the reward that comes with taking this risk, students also foster their skills in collaboration, creative exploration, and resilience – skills that will last them a lifetime. If you are attending the last show this evening you are in for a wonderful experience!
Continuing the theme of skills that last a lifetime, we were delighted to host a knowledge-sharing visit by five representatives from the Ministry of Education’s Curriculum Development Division (CDD) earlier this week. The Ministry is currently in the process of formulating the 2027 National School Curriculum and one of the approaches under consideration is interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary in teaching and learning. Given our reputation for practicing these approaches, the CDD reached out to us to observe and better understand how we implement programs such as PRAXIS.
For those who are unfamiliar with PRAXIS, the program is a study option for students in Grade 9. Instead of learning about English, science, social studies, and art & design as stand-alone subjects, PRAXIS learning is interconnected and integrated across the four subject areas. Math, world language, physical education, and elective courses continue to be taught in the regular classroom setting.
During the one-year program, students complete teacher-guided project modules called BluePrints that involve exploring real-world problems from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and The Fourth Industrial Revolution (World Economic Forum) through an interdisciplinary lens and approach. Using problem-based learning and design thinking, the program fosters creative exploration, collaboration, and both problem-seeking and problem-solving – skills that are invaluable for lifelong learning. Seeing our PRAXIS students engage in discussions around real-world challenges, objectively explore the topic, and develop their own authentic viewpoint is an impressive experience.
Our thanks to our Elementary parents who attended our Parent Teacher Conferences (PTCs) this week, the high attendance rates we experience each year are a testament to the strength of our school-parent partnership. We are extremely fortunate to have such a committed parent community who are so engaged and interested in their child/ren’s learning journey. We are equally fortunate to have dedicated teachers and staff who work tirelessly to support the learning and growth of each student. We look forward to our Middle and High School PTCs in the coming weeks.
In partnership,
Rami Madani
Head of School
