It was snowing. Again. In fact, the snow rarely stopped for all the days we were on the mountain. Our tents were buried in deep snow and it was cold, very, very cold. Mr. T had already left the tent and when I went out to see where he had gone I was surprised to find two things: hot coffee was boiling in a pot with snow landing and hissing in the rising steam, and – staring back at me was an enormous face! While I was sleeping Mr. T had formed a giant snowman with a face staring at the tent opening. As I looked around there were other sculptures to be seen as well, birds and animals skillfully and playfully crafted from the snow.As I think back on the experience – five days of backcountry cross country skiing – I was reminded of the lesson of the snowman I learned that day from Mr. T. The weather, the blinding snow and cold, the dangerous avalanches, the small cramped tent, the wind, all were challenges to be met and overcome. And yet, despite being surrounded by difficult conditions, Mr. T found time to play, to build something for the enjoyment of others, and to enjoy the simple pleasure of a hot drink along the way.
We are in our last couple of weeks of school and it has been a challenging year of pandemic, restrictions, difficult news, and burdens. And yet, it has also been a year of tremendous success, of parents, staff, and students finding ingenious ways of being creative and adaptive and heartfelt towards one another. We all have stories from this year. It is my hope that we have learned how to retain playfulness through hardship knowing that the Creator of all things made us for his pleasure, that we can build things to serve others, and that God has provided us with many simple things for us to be thankful for and in which we can delight along the journey.
Thank you for your mentorship Mr. T. Peace and joy to each of you.
David Ward, Elementary Principal