It's been a busy week for staff and an exciting first two days with students in the building.  Our Grade 7's benefited from having the building to themselves on Thursday.  I enjoyed meeting many of them as they roamed the building, completing their scavenger hunt.  With the Grade 8's and 9's joining us today, it was great to meet with everyone in our grade team assemblies.  Ms. Springett and I acknowledged the land, framed our year together, and talked about how we want Vincent Massey to be a welcoming, safe and caring place for all to learn. 

Part of my message to the students was the importance of respecting themselves, each other, and this place.  The "golden rule" - treat others as we would wish to be treated – can be helpful but I talked about how we sometimes need to reframe this as treating others as they need to be treated.  Approaching each other with grace and compassion is essential to our success as a large community of diverse cultures, backgrounds, and life experiences. 

I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend and I'm looking forward to starting back on Tuesday.  Our focus for the first full week will be establishing the regular routines that focus on student learning, which is our central purpose at Vincent Massey School. 

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Sincerely, 

David Pugh 

Principal