Dennis Sawchuk, Guelph, Ontario: summertime is family time.

Having taught college for almost twenty years, my summer breaks have typically been May-June or July-August. With the second half off this year, I’m traveling mid-July with my wife and kids to Victoria BC where my parents live, close to stunning forests and other wonders of nature.

We look forward to three weeks of family time, but also canoeing, swimming, hiking, and collecting seeds for biodiversity. We’ll fire up my parents’ barbecue for as many hearty cookouts as possible. Fans of outdoor family meals, mom and dad can just sit back to enjoy nostalgic, smoky feasts!

My wife Jennifer’s taking her first vacation in three years. An environmental technologist, she finished a contract on June 30 to just relax before new projects in October. When Jenny worked the summers between 2020 and last year, the kids and I stayed home with her except for short day trips.

Bursting to see their grandparents, our kids do feel awkward about so much change since their last visit five years ago. Jimmy our oldest turned fifteen last week after a major growth spurt of almost half a foot. Unless he gets new clothes quickly, he’ll be travelling in swim-shorts, the only garment that still fits.

After shooting up four inches recently, Ruthie our twelve-year-old lengthened her favorite jeans using polka-dot curtains. Carrying a must-have list, she and Grandma will make a beeline to their favorite vintage boutique!

For me, no muss, no fuss. A few tops and bottoms fit perfectly into a backpack. But for Jenny who burns easily, she’ll need to pack plenty of head-to-toe sun protection.

I felt great having taught the first part of Business Math in May and June, knowing it’d be in excellent hands when colleague Tom picked up the second half. After camping the whole month of June, Tom was all perky to take over our class the first week of July.

This fall, Business Math has a fresh milestone: new textbook, a revised curriculum with interactive class work, group projects, and a strong emphasis on financial applications. We’re very excited to recharge everyone’s success.

Our kids also have their milestones. This fall, Jimmy’s starting Grade ten and Ruthie, Grade seven. They can’t wait to tell their friends about summer on Vancouver Island!

Harriet Lavigne, Edmonton, Alberta: ode to summer school.

During COVID, I made peace with staycations that didn’t need flying or airport hassles. Four years later, I’m still in stay-home mode, uninspired by travel chaos.

This summer, I’m in town to work a bit and make some money before a staycation toward the end of August.

For me, that work’s teaching summer school. With an influx of international students this year, Edmonton’s launched special classes for English, Canadian Orientation, Social and Communication Skills, and Financial Management. An ESL teacher, I picked Canadian Orientation and Financial Management. Both courses lent themselves to experiential learning supported by hands-on activities and field trips.

Both courses started early July, with eight breathtaking weeks of classes, homework, short tests, and field trips. For Canadian Orientation, we’ve visited the central library and the provincial legislature. Before long, we’ll ride a special CN train across the city’s oldest bridge. We’ll also trek out to the historic Fort Edmonton mid-August. Our final excursion’s a day cruise on the ever-winding North Saskatchewan River that flows through at least three provinces.

For Financial Management, we’ve learned about personal budgets and banking transactions; we’ve also met with managers at two financial services (a bank and a credit union). Another field trip is scheduled for August 17 to meet post-secondary students who’ll share how they balance their budgets (for tuition, books, housing, food, transit, technology, and leisure) with our international high schoolers.

On August 20 and 21, a short test for each course should be a happy way for our visiting students to end summer school, but not without a farewell buffet of ethnic cuisine brought by everyone on August 23.

James Choy, Vancouver, British Columbia: learning about my heritage for fun and work.

For the last twelve years teaching junior high science, I devoted every single summer to professional development and continuing education, including courses for principals. But every time after intensive summer studies, I almost needed another holiday to chill out.

This summer, I’ve decided to attend just one fun course offered by the Chinese community right here in Vancouver: Introduction to Cantonese Songs.

Although I’m Chinese and my parents spoke Cantonese as children, our culture got lost sometime around my birth. Life became so busy no one in my family paused to cherish our unique heritage in Canada. Everything became English and French, or mostly English. Stumped by Cantonese spoken by lots of people around me, I needed to do something about embarrassing cultural gaps that had begun with my parents’ generation.

I’ve been studying Cantonese for several weeks through songs, with a group of singers and instrumentalists. It’s been an eye-opener to listen to masters, imitate them, and appreciate the stories we sing. So far, we’ve sung folk, opera, and popular songs that interpret enchanting tales, but none too obscure for me to learn. I’ve been a happy apprentice to practice proper diction, grasp the meaning of words, watch for instrumental cues, stretch the right vocal cords, convey appropriate emotions, and to rehearse all of them every single day.

Learning Cantonese makes me humbler, more self-disciplined, and more curious about what I don’t know. When teaching science, I can now embed modesty, diligence, and inquisitiveness in lesson plans, especially for students who feel uneasy, unprepared, or unmotivated in science classrooms.

This September, I’ll renew my commitment to teaching and learning, and to leadership. I now know it’s even fun to practice humility, self-efficacy, and curiosity because they help us become smarter learners. As a learning-centred principal someday, I hope my leadership can motivate others to reinforce these important attributes toward personal best.

by Mina Wong