In the blink of an eye...

This past Wednesday I attended graduation ceremonies for both Sami and Zach at their respective schools.  

Zach completed Year 8 at Royal St Georges College (RSGC) and thus was graduating from middle school - did I tell you he was ecstatic?  So when September rolls around he'll be moving to the High school but still on the same campus.  

Interestingly it all comes down to a different colored blazer for him.   He and his cohorts are moving from a red blazer that designates all junior school students to the dark blue of the senior school.   Pretty heady stuff for a 14 year old!   No more strutting around the school looking like they own the place, nope, back to the bottom of the heap again I'm afraid. J

Zach has had a banner year at school this past year in both academics as well as sports.  Last week he received the Georgian Award for his excellent contribution to the U14 Soccer team (overall he represented the school in three sports this past year – Basketball, Soccer and Rugby) at the Sports Awards Banquet, he was extremely proud to receive the award especially given the large number of boys and the level of competition that he was up against. 

2013 - U14 Soccer team - RSGC 

There was no doubt that he had also worked hard academically and so when the school emailed last week to say he would be receiving an academic award clearly we were thrilled.  The tricky part was that we had to keep it a complete secret for over a week, and although the school did not divulge the actual award we had narrowed it down to two possible options.

He was either in line for the English or History/Geography awards.  In all, the school presented eight academic awards for year 8, one for each of the subjects but with close to 50 boys in his year it was quite an honor to receive an award. 

As the awards ceremony began I was excited for him because irrespective of the award he had done an amazing job this past year and we were all very proud of him and his accomplishments. 

The English award was first, but another boy in his class received the award to a rousing applause.  Next came Mathematics, then French…and then the moment of truth - this had to be it... 

“And the St George’s Society Award for History & Geography goes to…. Zach Wallis”.   The place erupted with both applause but also a fair bit of cheering from his classmates (Zach is a class favorite amongst his cohort…some might say the class catalyst or clown) – most likely being a Wallis it was the latter…   “Clearly the apple didn't fallen far from the tree?”, enough said. J 

Zach's Gr 8 History & Geography Award
"The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"

It was a touching moment!   Zach has always had a deep passion for history and geography even from a very young age.  So to see him recognized for something that he’s so into was truly amazing!    When I spoke to his history and geography teacher after the ceremony, she said that she learned so much from him over the course of the year and was frankly astounded by both his breadth and depth of knowledge in these subject areas.   

Nicely done sir!

Sami also celebrated a rather large milestone this past week as she graduated from Grade 6 at the Bishop Strachan School (BSS).   BSS is one of the premier all girl schools in Toronto, fortunately she was lucky enough to get a placement in a non-intake year (grade 5). 

We had decided to put her on the waitlist after observing how difficult and competitive it was when Zach moved from elementary school to start grade 7.  To be even considered he had to write the SSAT test (4 hours) that tested him on a broad range of topics and subjects, his overall score would then dictate which schools would be interested in interviewing him for potential intake.   

Leading up to the test he had a tutor for three months helping him prepare, not to mention the associated stress with actually taking the test.  Finishing the test wasn't the end of the stress cos’ then the application and interview process took over for all of the potential schools - it was both daunting and exhausting to say the least - an emotional roller coaster if you will.   

So rather than subject Sami to this “hellish” process we decided to put her on a wait list and hoped that something would come up sooner.  She has always been an excellent student with very good grades, plus she was very athletic which would be a real bonus for the lucky school that snagged her.   

Sami's Grade 6 Graduation Certificate from the
Bishop Strachan School (BSS)

BSS was our choice of schools from the outset – not only did it have a wonderful reputation, but a number of business acquaintances had attended BSS and raved about the quality of the education - it was clear from the outset that this was the school for her so we put her on the waitlist but didn't really expect a spot to open up until at least grade 6.

Fortunately for us, we got a call early in the summer that a spot had come up when another family were moving away, so fortunately for all concerned she started grade 5 the following September.

As the new girl in school it took her about a “day” to get comfortable with her surroundings, her new classmates and teachers and really hasn't looked back since.  She is an integral part of the sports program representing her school in both Soccer and Softball for the past two years. 

In addition she also represented the school in the Ontario Robotics competition, where she led her team went to the regional finals.    She is also a confident public speaker, member of the choir and one of the leads in the junior school play.  

She has such a full social agenda but somehow still manages to squeeze in her homework, her representative soccer commitments and a voluminous number of sleepovers with her myriad of school friends.

Wasn't it just yesterday that I held them in my arms for the first time at the hospital, with all the hopes and dreams of a new parent?   Hoping above hope that all the things I wished for them would come true.   In some ways it feels like just yesterday that I held them as newborns, other times not so much!   

All I know is that it’s better than I could ever have hoped for them.  I feel so fortunate to have two wonderfully confident, loving, articulate & athletic kids - I'm so very proud of them and love them very much.

Enjoy the summer you've earned it!