JarvisandAssociates

Young schools transforming the landscape

I spent a stimulating time today at Aspengrove School, nestled within a calm rural environment in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. It is a young day school that opened in 2003 with just 38 students. Today they have 306 students.

Aspengrove is an International Baccalaureate (IB) school from Primary years right through to graduation. They showed vision and boldness in following this path – there are only 9 schools in British Columbia following this well-respected IB educational landscape from Grade 1 to Grade 12. They value curiosity in children and aim to provide a transformational learning experience for their students. Integrated within the IB program, they provide a Family Boarding component for select international students. I enjoyed the warm, purposeful atmosphere exhibited by students and staff.

The day was made even more pleasant as I was able to spend time with former colleagues of mine from Shawnigan. Jo -Anne Kingstone, Aspengrove’s Head of School and David Hutchison, the Assistant Head. Taking the photo was the first employee of the school, Elisabeth Reay, the Admissions Director.

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Curriculum Day

Today, my associate Nancy Gillies and I made final touches in updating our curriculum to help admissions staff in independent schools. It is a one or two day program based on real issues which provides practical solutions. We also created a marketing strategy to make effective outreach to schools.

The role of the admission professional in a school is crucial. They are the sales officer, the chief revenue officer, the quality control officer, the family liaison officer and other roles - all at the same time. Yet, there is no training for this complex profession.

J. & A. has two chief associates who are extremely experienced in this field, and as former teachers they know how to transmit their knowledge and experience. They look forward to spending time with admission staff at schools to demystify this profession and to provide professionals with enhanced skills for enhanced success.

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Talent, Grit and Emotion

In my last blog I made an analogy between the emotions involved in soccer, basketball and boarding school admissions. Today I'm thinking in terms of golf and dance.

At the Masters Golf Tournament last weekend, we saw the epitome of success and emotional release overcoming moments of failure when Sergio Garcia won his first Major Tournament - at the 73rd attempt! This was a perfect example of grit, perseverance and talent working together, and of Winston Churchill’s maxim to “ Never, never, never, never - in nothing great or small, large or petty - never give in!”

 

I couldn’t make it to the Masters in Augusta, but was captivated by the human drama that unfolded on television.

Switching genres, on Saturday my wife and I had enjoyed a powerful evening of dance by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, part of Dance Victoria’s 2017 season. They are a world-class troupe of dancers and their performance was both high octane and emotionally uplifting. Here is a brief clip from their program – Minus One:

 

There were many dancers of high school and college age in attendance. In our boarding schools, we aim to expose our students to excellence in talent and the evoking of emotion. That was certainly on display last weekend to young and old alike.

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Dreams and Failure: from basketball to boarding, from soccer to success

On my home page are the words “Dream Big.” Last week I related the March dream for US boarding school places to the college basketball championship. Sunday the U. of South Carolina dreamt big and, for the first time, earned a place in the Final Four of the March Madness US college championship!

Many students this month are feeling similar excitement after earning a place at their dream boarding school. Others are not feeling this way. How do young people deal with rejection – in fact, any of us really?

Last July my home country of Wales also dreamt big when their soccer team made it to the semi-finals of the European Championships, also for the first time. They did so with a major upset of much-vaunted Belgium.

On the sidelines after the game, feeling the euphoria and with stunned Belgian supporters in the stands, Welsh coach Chris Coleman spoke movingly about what this upset victory meant, in terms of both having dreams and of facing failure. It's 48 seconds of magic:

He speaks both of dreams and of failure and the importance of both. Some young people will be feeling a sense of failure at not achieving their dreams in this admissions cycle– but I would add the word “ yet. “

Think of Coleman’s words and keep striving, keep looking for success and it will come. For parents, don’t despair, keep searching with your child for the next dream school, encourage your child to be resilient in the face of apparent failure, and the right school will emerge. Success in life arises from facing, and overcoming, what are just moments of failure.

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