Dear Boundless Families:
It’s because my phone doesn’t ring – that’s a good thing – that I have time for my demented brain to wander.
My first random thought? The teen density of this property has dropped from 1 teen for every 10 acres to 1 teen for every 30 acres. I’m not complaining. I’ve got my feet up. I’m fantasizing about marrying off my daughter to one of the Ottawafamilies. More on this later.
The three outdoor cohorts are scattered somewhere across various places in the Canadian Shield within 200kms of my desk. Good riddance. May the phone stay silent.
This is to say I don’t have much juice to report on them. I know that Owen’s group is body surfing down the cobblestone freeway – a 3km class one current that meanders through eskers and glistening crystals and culminates in a creek that has a 25 foot waterfall, which your kids about to shower under.
I know Tony’s group completed its epic morning descent of 15 rapids -, one of which is called “canoe eater” for a reason. They are likely lounging for lunch, consuming their stress with our infamous chocolate chip cookies that have been the focus of three parent requests for the recipe.
And Klin’s kids are about to encounter rifle shoot – the biggest rapid of all the rivers we do, and at such a low water level that it is primed to give rock enemas to the unprepared.
I know that all three left the property with great spirit and cohesion.
Which leaves us English. Those scallywags are having such a great time that I am sincerely jealous. Back in the day, Mr. Fraser, my grade 13 English teacher scolded me for not paying attention. I glibly responded, “who’s responsibility is that, yours or mine?”
This rejoinder to engage students – to make the material bloody interesting – is being taken to heart by all concerned.
It feels like I am at Cambridge walking with Newton. I can’t get over it. Kids strolling around the grounds, laptops or video cameras in hand, in small and intimate groups discussing material. They giggle. They debate. Their hands wildly gesticulating. Confident students are supporting those that would otherwise tend to freak out. And the restless are adding spice to the life of the bookworms. This is truly peer learning. The kids are positively eating up this place, along with their quicker access to the endless supply of cookies.
One major factor influencing this positive group think are the three Ottawa boys – Gavin, Jackson and Nick. These guys, all first timers and grade 12 Englishers, have made this place a perfect marriage of the struggling and the gifted; the naughty and the nice. Tyler, the staff entrusted with keeping things together around here, sensed the power behind the trio on day one. He came to them and encouraged them to let people in – to not hide behind their acquaintanceship. Tyler asked them to let others in.
The threesome may have heard this as an alert not to become a clique. Or perhaps they heard that Tyler was asking them to be leaders. Whatever the premise, these three took the message in earnest and have been a blessing to this place.
Which prompts me to get down on my one artificial knee and ask that any one of them – don’t care who – to marry my daughter. Its not just them, but I want their parents as in-laws. She’ll be ready in a few years when I release her from her locked bedroom.
Things are peachy keen over here. Hope the same with you.
Best,
Steven [email protected]
