Georgian Parents’ Guild Newsletter SPRING 2020
The Guild: Moving Forward
By Amanda Ploughman, Guild President 2019/20
A Message from the Incoming President Chatting casually in Ketchum Hall after a meeting. Volunteering for a shift at Mistletoe Market. Mingling at the movies for Parent Connections: the patterns and traditions that bind us together as the Georgian Parents’ Guild might need to shift in form next year – but not in content. In the past months, lockdown life has meant scaling back to the essentials, and refreshing what matters. The upcoming school year will be no different for the Guild: we are here to create an enduring and engaged community, for the school, and for each other. There will be change. But the important constants remain.
L
ast fall, RSGC launched a revamped vision and mission for the school, as well more clearly defined values. The Guild Executive felt strongly that it was important to follow the school’s lead and go through the same exercise for the Guild. Over the years, there had been soft debates around the core focus of the Guild – fundraiser, communitybuilder, volunteers – all important, but we’d struggled with priorities. By articulating our purpose, vision, mission and values, we would be better equipped to set the goals for the Guild and the spirit by which they would be achieved. Understanding what each of those words means was critical to building a successful framework. The purpose is the WHY an organization exists. Its vision is WHAT it aspires to be. And the mission is HOW it operates every day to achieve the vision. Its values guide the behaviours of how individuals go about achieving the organization’s goals and play a crucial role in shaping the culture. And so, we began the journey. First, we reviewed the school’s vision and mission in
Sydney Stoyan, Incoming President, 2020/21 (Jacob Buchan’ 21 Gabriel Buchan ’24) Parents’ Guild Newsletter
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order to ensure we were aligned. Life-long Georgians ready to use their scholarship, compassion, conscience and courage to make a difference. To challenge and inspire each boy to become the best version of himself. The RSGC values are robust and detailed, using key words like: learn, knowledge, known and loved, courageously, accountable, integrity, spiritual and positive. Our process was simple. We surveyed parents to understand perceptions – good and bad – about the image, work and culture of the Guild. We then held our first workshop in November to identify the values of the organization. Those values were reviewed in the second workshop and there, we voted on our top six. The first one, approachability, was shifted off the values list and used to develop the purpose of the organization. The third workshop was spent crafting the purpose, vision and mission. I want to thank everyone who participated in this exercise. It was fantastic to hear from a cross-section of parents, with many different voices. And yet, it was comforting to see the common threads throughout. Defining the purpose of an organization determines how it sees itself. It points people in the right direction to achieve results. And most importantly, it builds a culture of cooperation and collaboration, letting all involved know their work matters.
Royal St. George’s College
The Georgian BOOKSHELF
Enjoy these known and loved books suggested by our Georgian community.
Tarek Alvi ’24 & Vithusan Jegatheesan ’24
Stefanie Turner, Grade 8 Humanities
Neil Sondheimer (Alex ’24 & Henry ’25)
Tim Costigan (Jack ’19 and Gregory’22)
Henry Rand ’28
William Rand ’26
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. Set in the same universe as The Hate U Give, this novel is another story written by Angie Thomas. It’s about 16-yearold Bri, who aspires to be a rapper. This is a good read and should be read after The Hate U Give. We recommend this book as one way to learn more about social justice issues.
Young Men and Fire by Norman MacLean. This is a terrifying true story of the battle between fire fighters from the US Forest Service and a wild fire in the Mann Canyon. The story is told from the perspective of the men who survived the fire and interspersed with MacLean’s walks along the box canyon. An amazing tale of wits and bravery. The Last Fire Hawk Series by Katrina Charman. It’s a great series if you are looking for lots of adventure. The animals are fun to get to know
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On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous: A Novel by Ocean Vuong. This first novel from poet Ocean Vuong is written as a letter from a son to his mother who cannot read. It is a reflection on immigration, love, grief, language, race, class and masculinity. Ocean’s prose is intimate, raw and gorgeous.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. In this fun historical fiction novel, Claire Randall is launched through time from 1945 to 1743 Scotland, which is torn by war with the British and fights between clans. This book is number one in a page-turning series of eight books; with two more to follow.
Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs. It’s a great book if you are looking for mystery and adventure, and you like animals.
ROUND UP GUILD EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
Teacher Appreciation and Feed the Front Lines TO
The Guild parents at RSGC have started a yearly tradition to show extra appreciation for all our beloved teachers and staff: a breakfast of savouries and sweets, stashed in the staff room as a little surprise on a secret day every year. Of course, this year’s choice – April 23, St. George’s Day – required a different approach. So instead, the Guild took the breakfast budget and used it to buy 70 meals for Covenant House, an agency which supports at-risk youth. The donation, which was made on behalf of RSGC staff, was distributed through Feed the Frontlines TO, an initiative I started to provide meals to Toronto healthcare and social services workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, while at the same time giving business to local restaurants in these straitened times. Covenant House received delivery on two different days, to accommodate staff shifts. And through the kindness of enterprising friends, we were able to donate cases of Girl Guide cookies to the youth at the agency at the same time. Everything was happily received! And the Guild received heartfelt thanks from many teachers and staff at RSGC. - Adair Roberts (Duncan ’23 & James ’24) Here are some of the wonderful thank you’s received from the teachers and staff regarding this donation. “This donation in the staff’s honour is so touching...I am so grateful to be part of such a caring and loving community.” “This brought tears to my eyes...Please send a huge thank you to the Guild for me.” “I don’t think we could have asked for a more Georgian donation.” “I feel very appreciated and valued. Thank you, Georgian Parents’ Guild, for such a caring and loving community.”
Hot Docs
On February 12, 60 current and past parents gathered for our 3rd Annual HotDocs event. The film screened was What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael, about the charismatic and controversial film critic for the New Yorker from 1968-1991. Graciously hosted by the team at our neighbourhood cinema on Bloor St., we met and mingled before the film on the mezzanine for cocktails and appetizers – and popcorn, of course – and how bittersweet it is now to think back on such an evening. We loved catching up with old RSGC friends, as well as meeting some new parents. HotDocs is currently making its films available on a streaming platform, so whether we next assemble via technology or in actuality (fingers crossed!), we look forward to this Parent Connections tradition in the winter term of 2021.
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GUILD EVENTS & ACTIVITIES - CONTINUED Guild Annual General Meeting Our AGM was one for the books when on May 27, the Guild hosted its first ever virtual meeting. It was wonderful to see so many parents join into the Zoom meeting to hear the “big reveal” of the Guild’s new Purpose, Vision, Mission and Values. A special shoutout to all the those who attended their first Guild meeting. We hope to see you at future Guild events.
A Trip to Spain
If you can’t come to the party, the party can come to you! On June 11, the Guild hosted a virtual cocktail party for its final Parent Connection event of the school year. Luxurious hampers containing bottles of Spanish wine or the fixings for a Spanish mocktail, along with a Spanish-themed charcuterie board were delivered to participants’ homes in advance of our Zoom party. Parents gathered online to chat and hear Chef Lauren and Sommelier Leora’s insightful presentation on wine and food parings.
Used Textbook Sale
This is the second edition of the Guild’s Online Used Textbook Sale. Students were asked to drop off their used textbooks at the school on June 15 and 16. The Canadian School Book Exchange (CSBE) was there to collect the books with physical-distanced protocols. Students will shortly be receiving information to order next year’s books online through CSBE. In addition to the textbooks, CSBE collected all those general interest books that have been cleared off our bookshelves. A portion of the proceeds of any of these books that are sold will be donated back to the Guild.
The Georgian BOOKSHELF (continued) Nitin Deckha (Arjun ’23)
The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk. Set in late 1970s Istanbul, Pamuk chronicles the secret love of Kemal, a scion of a wealthy, westernized, Turkish family, for Füsun, a poor shopgirl and distant relation. Pamuk traces the minutiae of the rise and fall of Kemal’s folly, as his obsession leaves him squandering his social position and family’s aspirations, to chase his dream of a life with Füsun. Pamuk takes us on other journeys: of Istanbul’s opulent society and its demi-monde, of film sets and back streets, and of Kemal’s pursuit of consoling his sadness through collecting objects of a decaying Istanbul, objects enough to house a museum.
Trena Evans, Senior School English
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. Winner of the Pulitzer and several other awards, this bestseller is the story of Elwood Curtis, a young black man growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, Florida. On the way to his first college class, full of hope and excitement for the future, he is wrongfully arrested and sentenced to a boys’ reform school, the Nickel Academy. It’s a riveting dramatization of an important period in American history that puts us in the mind of a young man and his best friend struggling to survive and escape a brutal world of systemic racism.
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Until We Meet Again The school year sadly ended without our being able to gather as a community to see everyone off to their summer adventures. To those families who won’t be returning to RSGC in September, you will be missed. We wish all of you all the best. Please keep in touch. We wish everyone a fun and safe summer, and we look forward to gathering in one form or another come September. Be well everyone. Watch for a special summer edition of the Georgian Bookshelf coming to your inbox this summer. The theme will be “What We Are Reading Now”. Please email glenna.talbot@sympatico.ca by July 23 with details on a book you have recently read that you would like to share with the Georgian Community. Students, staff and parents are all invited to submit a short write up on a book that has captivated them during this COVID summer.