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Day in the Life
It’s Thursday, September 20,
a couple of weeks into the school year. The headlines in the daily newspapers
are about the U.S. military getting ready to respond to terrorist attacks in New
York and Washington.
The front-page photos are of American sailors saying goodbye to their
families. It’s only nine days after the terrorist attack at the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon.
On this day, Education Minister Janet Ecker announces that the Ontario
government is going to introduce legislation during the fall session to
protect Ontario’s students from sexual abuse.
There was no special reason to pick this day to follow 13 teachers. But
there’s nothing ordinary about a day in school, either.
Darla Solomon,
Fort Frances
by Pat
Daley
"We beat the bus! We
beat the kids on the bus." At 8:25 a.m. three breathless children burst
through the door of the Native Pride Office in Robert Moore School and flop
into chairs. full
story
Marc
Gélinas, Val Caron
By
Philippa Davies
Marc Gélinas, carpentry
and construction teacher at Confederation Secondary School in Val Caron,
climbs into his black Chevrolet pick-up truck at 7:50 a.m. just after his
wife and daughter pull out of the driveway... full
story
Pierre Beaupré,
Timmins
By
Mario Cossette
It is not yet eight
o’clock when Pierre Beaupré arrives at school. No notice of internal
supply teaching awaits him today. Class doesn’t start for another 50
minutes, but he likes being there when the school comes alive... full
story
Lucie
Quesnel, Ottawa
By Tracy Morey
Her students include a graduating 17-year-old who is in chemotherapy
and a Grade 10 anorexic who has to sing loudly when she goes to the bathroom
so the teacher will know she’s not purging. full
story
Joan
Pearson, Oshawa
By Wendy Cuthbertson
A few minutes before eight o’clock, Joan Pearson drives past the massive
auto assembly plants that have fuelled Oshawa’s economy for generations,
turns into a residential street and pulls into the parking lot of Glen
Street Public School. full story
Bunny Karen
Wei, Markham
By Peter Alexander
On her first professional activity day of the school year, Bunny Karen
Wei’s focus is on all the new things around her. She’s a new face on
staff at Randall Public School in Markham, still getting to know her
co-workers. Though this is her sixth year of teaching, it’s her first
teaching Grade 3, so she has new curriculum requirements to build into her
lesson plans. A new school board has hired her, and two weeks into the year
her principal has assigned her a new classroom. full story
Peter Banhan,
Toronto
By Beatrice Schriever
Kids in white shirts and black pants are already milling around the front
door when Peter Banhan pulls up to Amesbury Middle School shortly after
eight o’clock. He heads inside. Hundreds of paper doves are stuck on the
wall in the lobby: poems and messages about the terrorist attacks in the
U.S. last week. full story
Donna Quan, Toronto
By Leanne Miller
"Some days, I can’t even get to the washroom." It’s only 7:30
a.m., but Donna Quan’s day began three hours ago. This is her fourth year
as a principal. For the past two she’s been at Rockford Public School in
Toronto. Her day routinely begins at 4:30 with e-mail and walking the dog. full
story
Rochelle Williams, Toronto
By Rosemarie Bahr
Go into the office at the Etobicoke Civic Centre, check e-mail, do some
copying, return phone messages. Drive to a downtown Toronto school... full
story
Charles Kruger, Kitchener
By Wendy Harris
It’s 8:15 a.m. Electric guitar chords blast through the airy auditorium as
Charles Kruger rehearses some Nashville-style hymns. A couple of students
are singing the words, reminding him what the music sounds like so he
won’t be totally lost at chapel later this morning. full
story
Jim Costigan, St. Thomas
By Judy Irwin
Jim Costigan has no outside meetings scheduled and is looking forward to
catching up on other work. When he arrives at school, however, there is no
sign of the vice-principal, who usually arrives earlier. full
story
Gary Malloy, Windsor
By Peter Mosher
In the lab at 7:45 a.m., microscopes stand shrouded on lab benches, chairs
are stacked on tables. Diseased lungs glare from posters (What Smoking Does
to You!). full story
Janine Griffore, Southwestern Ontario
By Rose Bergeron
It isn’t yet daybreak when superintendent Janine Griffore, coffee in hand,
starts the one-hour drive to her first appointment in Windsor. A massive
daybook and a huge pile of papers sit on the back seat. full
story
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Day in the Life