"We are all running our own race"   A few weekends past, my wife Sarah, my son Emmett and I entered the Calgary Police Half Marathon Road Race. The three of us opted to walk the 5km route and enjoy the Sunday morning. While walking and observing 5km, 10km and half marathoners it was fascinating to see different levels stamina, varied paces and a wide assortments of running gates. In that moment it occurred to me - “we are all running our own race.”     With each step we took towards our goal of 5kms, the metaphor, contextualized to Rundle College Society, became more and more ingrained and reinforced in my mind.  At Rundle, we can look at this race from many different angles.  Are we in the race for: A personal desire to gain entrance to the university of choice, or perhaps, The race is a place in your life where you feel vulnerable, or perhaps, It is simply learning to spell your own name by the end of kindergarten.   Each of these goals require each of us to display resilience, perseverance and grit. The races that we run, on our own and as a member of a team, are an integral part of our human experience.  When we train, learn from our coaches, take care of ourselves; we continually see improvements towards our ultimate goal,  whether it is walking a 5km or running a half marathon. At Rundle, we hope that we are assisting our students to identify their individual goals, understand their strengths, embrace their personal running ‘gate’ and ultimately meet their aspirations! To conclude this ‘Heads Up,’ I’d like to highlight some of the events that have either just passed or will be taking place at our schools in the coming weeks: Academy Moves Mountains Breakfast - May 4th The Moves Mountains Breakfast brought students, parents and their teachers together to celebrate the often unrecognized achievements that are related to personal grit and perseverance.   Track and Field Day In late April, Rundle Academy opened our track and field season by braving snow and cold.  What was inspiring about this particular track day is we see all our students, from Grade 4-12, working together to compete and run the events!  The mentorship shown by our senior students inspires our youngest students to put everything they can into running their own race.

Primary United Nations Week & Music Monday These two celebrations brought together the values of diversity, talent, creativity and togetherness.  Not only were there dozens of cultures celebrated during UN Week, there were dozens of talents shared during the parent appreciation tea and the Music Monday festivities!   The Art Show The hallways of the Collett School came to life with the vibrant work of our students!  We were able to enjoy everything from a giant adirondack chair that represents the ethos of ‘student first’ to the totem poles and to a recreation of Maud Lewis’ house and studio!  Curiosity was everywhere.

Elementary STEM Competition - May 12th Nothing will articulate our value of ‘be curious’ better than the upcoming city wide STEM Competition hosted at Rundle Elementary this week!  Thank you to all those parents and companies who have come forward to support this initiative.   Spring Fling For the first time in Rundle’s history we hosted a joint Primary/Elementary dance and fundraiser.  The evening raised nearly $50,000 that will go directly to creating a one of a kind outdoor classroom and patio eating/learning spaces!  Thank you to all parents and staff who gave so freely of their time, talents and treasures. Junior High Cheakamus Trip A few weeks past our Grade 8 College students attended an outdoor adventure camp.  In a day and age where it is increasingly difficult to pull ourselves from our devices, it was encouraging to see our students pursuing wellness through lowtech outdoor endeavours!   Feed the Hungry In late April we had roughly 150 staff, students and parents come together to give their time and talent to prepare meals for those in Calgary who need them the most.  It was inspiring to experience Rundle’s kindness in action! Senior High Rugby Homecoming Game - May 11th We are already looking forward to seeing our alumni return to enjoy our Annual Rugby Homecoming Game!  With a College/Academy Rugby program that boasts over 100 members, it is no wonder there is energy around this day’s events!   CAIS Student Leadership A few weekends past we saw 8 College/Academy students travel to Toronto to take in the CAIS Student Leadership conference.  It will be exciting to see where these new found leadership skills will take our student body in the years to come. I can say with absolute confidence that this is merely a small sampling of the things that have been happening inside and outside of our schools.  In the course of mentioning the above items, I have managed to leave out countless events including Speech and Debate/Reach for the Top travelling to National Competitions, Drama Productions at the Academy/College which involve hundreds of students, National Championships in wrestling, robotics competitions, graduation celebrations at all levels, awards days and nights, soccer, badminton, and ultimate frisbee to name just a few!  There’s no doubt that Rundle continues to succeed in helping students find their passions, inspiring their minds and in creating unparalleled character. I look forward to seeing all members of our community in the coming weeks as we start to ‘celebrate with them, when they do.’

On The Shelf: “Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution.” By Brene Brown “Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy.”  By Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant “Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness and (world peace).”  By Chade-Meng Tan “How does life live?”  - NYT Documentary - an amazing take on our values of Curiosity and Kindness… and it reminds me of the genius of our ‘Wonder Wall’ in our new school.