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Support our schoolHead’s Blog: He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother!
While this week felt about twice as long as a normal week, we were SO glad to have our students […]
Recent News
Head’s Blog: Of Mice and Men
On Tuesday, January 25th, many people with Scottish roots will celebrate Robbie Burns Day, which commemorates the life of the famous […]
Head’s Blog: Waves of Hope and Optimism!
As I am sure we can all agree, the beginning of 2022 has given us a strange and stressful week. […]
Head’s Blog: Lighting the Way!
As we prepare for the final week before the holidays, our students and teachers have been busily going about the […]
Head’s Blog: Law of the (Blackboard) Jungle!
Have you ever heard the term “blackboard jungle” applied to schools? The expression originated with a 1950s movie of the […]
Head’s Blog: Sticks and Strings and Learning Things!
Some of you may know from your children that knitting is an activity that I enjoy. I have cultivated a […]
Head’s Blog: Getting It Just Right for the Future
Today is a significant day in the path forward for our youngest students, during our “shadow boxing” match with COVID […]
Head’s Blog: A Pittance of Time
November is always a bit of a challenging month. For starters, the days shrink noticeably and somehow both the morning […]
Head’s Blog: Mastering the Fundamentals Together!
“Excellent performance! More effort needed! Pull up your socks! It is not too late to improve! You could have performed […]
Head’s Blog: We Need More Word Collectors!
This morning I read an article about how CBC North reporter, Pauline Pemik, was the first person to interview our […]
Head’s Blog: Design Matters!
Soon, we will see a lot of action across the front and eastern sides of our school. Built in 1966, […]
Head’s Blog: Choosing Gratitude
There really should be more than one weekend per year dedicated to gratitude; however, Canadian Thanksgiving is still a time […]
Head’s Blog: Looking Back and Looking Forward!
With the arrival of October, the first month of school has officially ended. On behalf of the entire school team, […]
Head’s Blog: Beginning With the End in Mind – Together
“Back-to-School” night (aka Parent-Teacher Night) is quickly approaching and, while it remains an important annual ritual for parents, teachers, and […]
Head’s Blog: The Top of the Run!
Let’s just say it out loud: what a relief to be back together learning in-person this September! On behalf of […]
Head’s Blog: The Ceremony of Innocence
When I awoke to the local news on Monday morning, I was shocked and saddened. By the time I […]
Head’s Blog: Spring 2021 – Riding on That Crazy Bus!
Dear Parents: So, the other day I had the opportunity of a lifetime: I got the chance to chat with […]
Head’s Blog: Not In Our Home!
In spite of the current stay-at-home order, have you noticed that (for the most part) people have been continuing to […]
Head’s Blog: The “Stuff” of Living and Learning
Best wishes for the coming Victoria Day weekend! Having worked for several summers at Fort Henry in Kingston during high […]
Head’s Blog: Don’t Forget Your Slippers!
There is a promise of warmer temperatures during the coming week. I am thankful for that because for all of […]
Head’s Blog: Fairy Tales Feed Imagination
Over the past few months, I have been reading a book by American author, Anthony Esolen. It is a brave […]
Head’s Blog: What Our Teachers Do Differently!
On the shelf in my office, I have a short book by Todd Whittaker, an American educator and motivational speaker. […]
Head’s Blog: A Trip to Narnia for Spring Break!
As we prepare for the upcoming Spring Break, we remain hopeful that our students and teachers will be able to […]
Head’s Blog: Thank you, Teachers!
As we begin the spring term, I want to thank our teachers and the many supportive parents for helping us […]
Head’s Blog: Powerful Pupils Lead to Strong Students!
Having spent my life in schools, I have been variously referred to over the years as pupil, student, and teacher. […]
Head’s Blog: Walt Gretzky’s Biggest Goal!
When I awoke this morning, I read the news that Walter Gretzky, father of Number 99, had died at age […]
Head’s Blog: Virtual Thoughts
Normally, when we flip the calendar to March, we can look forward to a few things: the promise of longer […]
Head’s Blog: Being Thankful for the Past, Present, and Future!
This week we recognized the Grade 8 class during our annual Founder’s Day reception, a tradition stretching back many years […]
Head’s Blog: The Language of Success
In a typical winter, our classes would usually have the chance to experience a foretaste of the coming year as […]
Head’s Blog: The Importance of the Jump Stop
During the last several months, the word “pivot” has increased in use as organizations and individuals responded to global pandemic […]
Head’s Blog: Fine-Tuning Our Way Through It!
As we change gears to a longer break from in-person learning this winter, parents everywhere are in the same boat. […]
Head’s Blog: Let’s Talk!
How is everyone doing? I have been thinking about this question every day since our “return” to classes in January […]
Head’s Blog: “Back to Class”
As we complete our first week “back to class” for 2021, I wish you all the best for the coming […]
Head’s Blog
Well, as I write these few lines on this final day of term, I am feeling thankful for all the […]
Head’s Blog: Building the Foundation with Solid Food!
For years I have followed the educational “tension” that has often accompanied conversations between proponents of the core knowledge movement […]
Head’s Blog: Working Together Is Success!
It’s been twenty years since the expression “21st Century Learning Skills” was coined. Two decades on, I wonder who can […]
Head’s Blog: The Twin Sisters of Success
Ah, December approaches. That most interesting of months in the school year. Projects are coming due, special seasonal events (…are […]
Head’s Blog: Getting It “Just Right”!
If there ever were a time when “stress” was commonplace across all sectors of society, it would appear that we’ve […]
Head’s Blog: Example Is Everything
As a child, were you ever admonished by a trusted adult about a way of behaving, acting, or speaking that […]
Head’s Blog: Kids Recognize Important Things
This week we were working to complete some videography to showcase our new addition and future phases of our campus […]
Head’s Blog: Disappointment: A Scary Fact of Life!
As we prepare for Hallowe’en this year, there is no question that things will be different. Different in schools. Different […]
Head’s Blog: Standing the Test of Time!
Have you ever read one of those human interest stories about a person who, while renovating a home or building, […]
Head’s Blog: Learning to Count Wisely!
One of my favourite Albert Einstein expressions runs something like this: “Not everything that can be counted counts and not […]
Head’s Blog: Harvesting Gratitude: Practice Makes Perfect!
In a typical fall, the arrival of Thanksgiving is an important milestone that signals the end of the transition to […]
Head’s Blog: Inspiring Good, Old-Fashioned Effort!
Ask anyone who really knows me and they will tell you that Mr. A is an unabashed history and genealogy […]
Head’s Blog: Cultivating the Field for Learning
On behalf of our teachers, thank you for taking the time to view the presentations shared last night during our […]
Head’s Blog: The Newest Member of Our Team!
Take my word for it. Our new school addition will never get old. Until you have a chance to see […]
Head’s Blog: Beginning Again “On the Front Foot!”
It is with cautious optimism that I welcome everyone back for what we hope will be a year of uninterrupted […]
Closing Day
Read Mr. Anderson’s Closing Remarks and enjoy our Final Newsletter of the school year HERE including Reflections by our Longest […]
COVID-19 Update: A Letter from Mr. Anderson – June 05
Please read Mr. Anderson’s latest letter and our school news HERE.
COVID-19 Update: A Letter from Mr. Anderson, May 29
Read Mr. Anderson’s Letter and check our our School Newsletter HERE.
COVID-19 UPDATE: A Letter from Mr. Anderson, May 1st
Please read a letter from Mr. Anderson (and a House Challenge!) HERE.
Head’s Blog: Teach Your Children Well
Human beings are incredible learners. This is especially true of children who love to learn new things. They love it […]
Head’s Blog: Testing Skills by Taking Learning Outside
“Just as young children generally don’t want to be carried around while they are learning to walk, early adolescents don’t […]
Head’s Blog: Talent Plus Mission Equals Vocation
This week I have found myself reflecting on a concept that I have often considered during my close to 30 […]
Head’s Blog: Teaching, Learning, and Talent Shape a School!
Even though we are in the midst of our post-holiday dip, we are not about to let the January weather […]
Head’s Blog: Growing Grit One Child at a Time!
Welcome back to – what we hope will be for you – a great new year! Resolutions aside, the beginning […]
Head’s Blog: Children’s Books Change Lives
It is sometimes said that a good children’s book must accomplish two things: (1) it must appeal to parents, so […]
Head’s Blog: Interviewing Kids For Power!
In school, as in life, part of our job as adults is mastering the complex “arts of peace” on behalf […]
Head’s Blog: Stress and The Goldilocks Principle
With the arrival of December, many families are getting ready for a busy time of the year. Activities, gatherings, and […]
Head’s Blog: Home is Where the Hearth Is
As the days grow shorter and drearier, a desire for hearth and home can dominate the activities of many families […]
Head’s Blog: Bump, Set, Spike It…That’s How Our Kids Like It!
I don’t know how the kids are doing it, but there is no question: today’s elementary school volleyball players are […]
Head’s Blog: Teaching the Importance of Effort
Today our teachers met with parents to discuss their child’s progress during the first weeks of the school year. Some […]
Head’s Blog: The Mathematics of Progress
Today students will receive a progress report card that provides an update on their work to-date. It is not meant […]
Head’s Blog: For the Love of Spelling!
According to Wikipedia, “a spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of […]
Head’s Blog: The Social Ecology of Schools Is Culture in Action
This week I had the privilege of representing our school in the company of our Board Chair, Nate Fehrman, at […]
Head’s Blog: Building a Gratitude Generation Together
As we prepare to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend, it seems like an appropriate time to reflect on being […]
Teacher Impact This October 5th!
As we get set for the weekend, World Teachers’ Day (WTD) is upon us. Ironically, it falls on a Saturday […]
Head’s Blog: Read To Me, I’m Yours!
Einstein famously said that information is not knowledge. I was reflecting on this earlier in the week after watching some […]
Head’s Blog: The Road to Success Can Be Paved With Errors!
It was a pleasure to see so many of you at last night’s Parent-Teacher evening, especially the day after […]
Head’s Blog: A Year to Shoot for the Moon!
As we get set for the weekend, we are just about to see a beautiful fall sight: the harvest moon […]
Head’s Blog: Of Campfires, Caves and Watering Holes!
Welcome to another exciting year at Matthews Hall! By choosing to send your son or daughter to learn with us, […]
Head of School’s Closing Address – Friday, June 10, 2019, St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, ON
This evening we have the privilege to travel back to the future as we spend a few moments in the […]
Hearth and Home: Boot Camp for Living!
We are in the home stretch! A week from today we will gather at the site of our school’s founding, […]
Teach Me, I’m Yours!
Years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Vancouver organized by CIJSHA (Canadian Independent Junior School […]
Head’s Blog: All Our Life’s a Circle!
Today was Grandparents’ Day at Matthews Hall – an opportunity for our entire school community to celebrate the importance of […]
Head’s Blog: Test is Not a Four-Letter Word
Scientists have known for years that being “tested” on what we’ve been learning boosts long-term memory. Many studies show that people […]
The School As Teacher
I read an article this week in the Financial Post claiming that weather can have a significant impact on mood, […]
Spaces That Inspire
“Here is my secret. It is very simple: it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what […]
Back to the Future for Earth!
We tend to think of environmentalism and concern for the Earth as a modern concept; however, men and women were […]
Head’s Blog: The Lesson of the Red Bird
These days, if I listen carefully when I arrive at Matthews Hall most mornings, I can hear the song of […]
Mastering the Civilizing Arts
Last week I referred to the well-known Robert Fulghum essay about how life’s most important lessons and skills are often […]
Re-Set For Success!
The arrival of the March Break each year, followed by our return to school, is a perennial experience for students, […]
The Epidemiology of Learning!
As of today, we have all made it to the March Break and Daylight Savings is just around the corner. […]
Be the Best Version of Yourself
Today at school, several of our classes had the chance to experience a foretaste of next year as they “sprung […]
The Importance of a Personal Road Map
This week we recognize Founder’s Day, which celebrates the life and legacy of Kate Matthews after whom our school is […]
Roots of Responsibility Create Wings of Independence!
If, as Confucius claimed, “every truth has four corners”, then “it is the job of the teacher to give students […]
Goals Encourage Responsibility On the Road to Success!
As we begin a new school term, it is an opportunity for students, parents, and teachers to re-group around the […]
Reading Should Nourish the Culture of Childhood
Although it is true that no two students know exactly the same things, they often have a great deal of […]
Head’s Blog: The McMorris Attitude!
Canada, for all its mountains, has never produced a more successful snowboarder than Mark McMorris. After breaking his leg in […]
Head’s Blog: Words Define Culture
A quick review of the daily news does not usually elevate a person’s thinking or lift the spirits of the […]
Head’s Blog: The Importance of a Mastery Mindset
This week, our teachers have been finalizing report cards for the end of Term 1, which will be sent home […]
Head’s Blog: Traditions Are Important Signals
I have worked in schools for over a quarter century now (…not counting my own years as a student!) and […]
Buildings Speak and Students Respond
As we near the end of 2018, it seems like a good time to look back over the year and […]
Head’s Blog: Making Moments Matter
At this fall’s CAIS Heads and Chairs conference, I had the opportunity to discuss issues of common interest with school […]