March Break is Over!

This year's March Break brought a great deal of heartache to Northwestern. One of our grade nine students, Kasey Pestell, passed away unexpectedly as a result of meningitis. As adults we can all empathize and sympathize with the Pestell family. Losing a great young man who was a son, brother, grandson, nephew, and cousin creates a tear in the fabric of a family that will never be completely mended.

For many of the students at Northwestern, Kasey's passing is their first experience with death and it's an experience that they often can't begin to comprehend. Though many of the students attended the funeral, which is often found to be the beginning of one's coming-to-terms with a death, it was the reality that school started again without Kasey and that life resumed on its previous schedule that really brought home the finality of life. Some students wanted to talk about Kasey, others were unable to do so. Our counsellors and teachers and Diane Ferguson-Brown, our health nurse, will continue to work with our students to help them through this difficult time.

We expect that over the next few years as Kasey's classmates move through high school, the heartache of his loss will begin to fade. He'll always be remembered as the good friend they had in elementary school and in grade 9 who had a ready smile and a zest for life.

Neither the staff nor the students at Northwestern will forget Kasey and we'll continue to look for ways to help his friends and family through these very difficult experiences.

Extra-Curricular Activities Make the Difference

The February and March doldrums don't seem to be an issue for the students and staff actively involved in sports and clubs. This week we were especially active and we had some great success. Watching the students from Northwestern and neighbouring schools perform in Bandarama, you can't help but feel uplifted and impressed. These students are learning to be musicians and are gaining an appreciation of music that will, hopefully, stay with them their whole lives. The day after the Bandarama performance, I walked down the hall and was lucky enough to see part of the Glee rehearsal put on by the drama students and their teacher. Those students, too, were having a great time and I look forward to seeing their next performance.

Competing at OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association) is the ultimate goal for high-school athletes. This week Northwestern students were competing in OFSAA Wrestling in Sudbury; OFSAA Nordic Skiing in Ottawa; OFSAA Swimming in Etobicoke. I look forward to hearing from all of our competitors on Monday. I know that the experiences they had will be a highlight of their high school memories as they move on in life.

Then, on Friday afternoon I was able to watch our Boys' Hockey Team compete against St. Michael's for the chance to move on to WOSSA (Western Ontario Secondary School Athletics). Our boys won the game with a score of 4 to 2. The team was focused and professional in their demeanour. Hockey in Canada and hockey in high school always brings out the competitive nature of players and fans. The coaches of our team said that they truly believed the following philosophy is what made the difference: "Our philosophy was to out work them and out smart them, We ask them to  sacrifice personal glory so that the team could succeed." That's what the team exhibited and what the fans saw. It was a great afternoon.

As I said, it's hard to feel the winter blahs when all around you students and staff are having so much fun while learning.