School is in session for Cindy, Gail and Tracey

Since it's "Back to School" month at CLC, we're talking about our favorite school moments and other thoughts on the topic. This week, Cindy, Gail and Tracey are here to share about their alma maters.

Cindy:

Cindy as a Brownie

Favorite Elementary School Memory:
I look back at the first five years of elementary school with a great deal of fondness. I attended St. Lawrence Catholic School in Sayville, Long Island, New York. It was a big stretch for my family to afford sending me and my brother and sister to private school, because my father was a police officer and mom was a stay-at-home mother. But some how they got the money together and proudly sent us daily in our iron-crisp uniforms with our notebooks and brown lunch bags.

What I remember most vividly though, is opening up my lunch bag daily and finding a handwritten note. Every day, without fail, my mom would write a note to me on my napkin telling me to have a great day, or tell me something positive about myself. She never once forgot to do this. I wish I had those notes today. I can't remember exactly what they said, but I can recall the feeling they gave me. It was a sense of security, that I was protected.

I was recently in a stationery store and saw pre-written notes for parents to buy and put in their kids lunch bags. Perfect for the busy parents on the go!

Reminiscing about our school days brought to light why I still write real paper thank you notes. I know we're busy, but there are some things I still think are important. Thanks Mom!

Gail:

Favorite subject:
Band! Oh man. Band was the best class ever. And before you go labelling me as a band geek, remember this: What other class let you hang out with your friends, talk when you weren’t busy playing, and go on a trip for a week every year? Win, win, and win if you ask me.

Project/paper you were most proud of:
In my Grade 12 English class, we had two of the best projects (in my opinion) that I ever completed during my educational career. First – A retelling (through the medium of videotape) of Hamlet. We had to film the play, using only our 6 group members, and we had to keep our retelling down to less than 60 minutes, along with a director’s log of why we thought each line/character that we cut from our version was expendable. Later that year, for the same class, we had to write a huge essay (10,000 words, if I remember correctly) on an abstract noun of our choosing. I chose “morality”. It was epic.

In high school, did you have a senior ditch day? If so, what did you do on your senior ditch day? If not, how would you have spent senior ditch day?
My friends and I did. We called it “Friday afternoon”. Kidding aside, we had no official “senior ditch day” at my school, but those of us who took extra classes in grade 10 and 11 (I was done 12th grade Chemistry and Music by the middle of 11th grade) had a number of free periods, which were used to practise physics (at the pool hall), to enact economic policy (at the mall), and to do simple math (splitting a pizza between 5 people). We used our time wisely.

Favorite required reading book:
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. I really want to find some time to reread it, because I remember enjoying it when I had to read it the summer before 10th grade. On the opposite end of the spectrum, my LEAST favourite required reading book was probably "Not Wanted on the Voyage" by Timothy Findley. I should probably try rereading that one as well, to see if my tastes have changed any.

Favorite college memory:
Scheduling work group meetings for huge group projects for 11am, because that's what time the bar on campus opened. Shameful.


Tracey:

Tracey at her college graduation ceremony

Project/paper you were most proud of:
My Capstone project which was my final project for my MBA program. Even though I worked on it in a group, it was a huge undertaking.

Favorite required reading book:
"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Did you ever have a crush on a teacher?
My freshman year of high school I had the biggest crush on my Civics teacher. I even joined the track team that year because he was one of the coaches.

Subject I wish I had focused more on:
Science and Math.

In high school, did you have a senior ditch day? If so, what did you do on your senior ditch day? If not, how would you have spent senior ditch day?
On my senior ditch day I went to my first class, Algebra II, because I thought I wasn't doing well in the class. I planned to attend the class and then leave. When I sat down, my teacher asked me why I was in class so I explained why. He then looked at my grade and then told me what it was  either an A or a B. Once I heard that I left the classroom and headed home and connected with two of my friends. During the first half of the day I grabbed a bite to eat with one friend and the second half of the day I went roller blading with another friend.