Dear Boundless Families:
Everyone arrived safely today. Early afternoon was sticky, and then the property got hammered by a thunderstorm.
The BOLD kids didn’t care and didn’t skip a beat in their rigourous training. They are leaving on Friday and will be gone the rest of the session. This is a group of eager, selfless and talented kids that show every promise of devouring the challenges ahead. They took off just after lunch, and frankly I don’t know where the heck they are, other than hearing the already familiar refrain of “BOLD is AMAZING”. Every student but one is returning, and they all know the routine here (the one new student feels like he won the lottery by landing in the lap of this group).
As to the English crew – parents at the pick-up, you already saw them beginning to gel in the parking lot! They formed a circle without prompting, an auto-facilitation inspired by the ever reliable student Anthony C who has become a role model of kindness and warmth. The kids are taking to each other like a grade 9 student does to a fresh mud puddle. Samantha (AKA SAM, or Samuel), their teacher, has chosen to cover a litany of short stories for the curriculum. Before the kids arrived, she and her team put together some promo videos depicting the virtues of each piece – and the kids will get to choose one every day. Their laptops will be tap tap tapping in earnest. Their credo is “Live the Story”, a rejoinder to the group to define their own narrative here, infusing it with rich learning and peer support.
As to the Lost Boys – I am referring to the younger all-male outdoor cohort – for Trevor, their trip leader (and the most gifted in our fleet), has driven home a Peter Pan theme. casting their upcoming journey on the Dumoine river as “Never Never Land”. The Lost Boys must govern themselves, be accountable to each other and harness internal control lest anarchy prevail. While the governing themselves bit may be a tad rhetorical, Trevor means business and has set lofty goals for this young team. He cites Peter Pan’s brilliant line, “I can’t teach you to fly, but I can teach you to sing.” Meaning, be yourself. You can’t be great at everything, so support each other. During the thunderstorm, the Lost Boys wouldn’t leave the field. Frolicking in the mud, these fledgling human beings are finding their stride.
And finally there is the Older outdoor cohort. This one may be the wild card of the bunch. The 15 of them are neatly divided in three constituent parts – the gifted, the geek and the goon. If you can forgive the crudity, its a pretty decent description of the diversity we see in this collection of pre-adults. They key will be to build a bridge between the gifted and the goon. The geek is already finding their place, strangely enough, or perhaps predictably enough – such is the mystery of the teenage spirit. Each group is finding connections within themselves. The challenge will be that bridge, forging them into one group. They have had a fantastic first day – consuming the activities and already needing no push to do their chores.
The english teacher in me is thinking about the term “Pathetic Fallacy” – a strangely ironic phrase meaning the weather reflects the mood. So I would say that this day 1 has been an anti-pathetic fallacy, where the stormy skies are in direct opposition to this lovely first day.
No news is good news. If you don’t hear from me, all is well with your child.
I’ll write again in a few days.
Thanks ever so much for sending your kids to us.
Warm regards,
Steven Gottlieb
Executive Director
The Boundless School
[email protected]
theboundlessschool.com
613-758-2702 (School number May 1-Sept 1)
416-951-7059 (cell)
7513 River Road
Palmer Rapids, Ontario K0J 2E0
