Welcome back and happy new year! From everyone here at SMUS, we hope that you will flourish (Floreat) in 2025.
With the holiday festivities behind us, those of us of a certain vintage scampered down to the Odeon Cinema for the much-awaited release of A Complete Unknown. In this enjoyable movie, Timothée Chalamet did an excellent job of capturing the simmering poetry of Bob Dylan as he was plying his trade in the clubs and bars of New York before the big time came. It was a time of unrest, uncertainty, activism and protest, all summed up in the words of one of his multiple classics, The Times They Are A-Changin'.
This year more than most, there is a feeling that the times are changing. Political change is blowing in the wind. Despite the fact that our community is in some respects sheltered from the storm, nevertheless, we will be sure to feel reverberations.
Throughout periods of change or uncertainty, it is always good to secure ourselves to our foundations. For those of us at SMUS, these foundations are the values which will guide and inform us through thick and thin.
For our school, we can see real opportunity in harnessing the breezes of change coming over the horizon. We look forward to moving forward with our strategic objectives.
At the beginning of each year, I give a quick summary of our key aims. Over the next six months through to the end of the academic year, we will be doing all we can to ensure that new Head of School, Jeff Aitken, is briefed and prepared. Jeff will be traveling to SMUS several times over the next six months, and on each visit, we will deliberately extend the circle of those whom he is wishing to meet.
We also intend to maintain momentum with our exciting Middle School expansion and enhancement project. Every time I exit the Richmond Road campus onto McRae, it is exciting to see this transformative building rising on its foundations. The Middle School has been deliberately planned to support progress toward our aims of enhancing our STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) programs. As we do this, we are also beginning to turn our thoughts to how to plan for similar facilities at the Senior School.
Over the last year we have had teams dispatched to 35 different schools on three different continents, to identify best practice. This information is now proving useful as we embark on an important planning process.
We also aim to continue with the progressive refurbishment of our boarding houses. It is our aim to keep our boarding accommodation amongst the best available in British Columbia. We believe strongly that boarding students should have safe and attractive places to call home away from home.
Last year ended with news of some inspiring ‘leadership’ donations in support of our strategic plans. We are most grateful for your continuing encouragement in the important area of advancement.
Our journey toward a smaller carbon footprint continues slowly but surely. Last term you may have heard the news that we commissioned a new electric bus. Whilst expensive, this vehicle is also symbolic of our intentions to ‘tread more lightly’ on our environment.
We’re also proud to host two upcoming Spark Nights, part of a series of thought-provoking discussions on topics of importance and relevance to our community.
- January 16 - The Anxious Generation - Explore the rising levels of anxiety and mental health struggles among today’s youth led by the SMUS Personal Counselling team.
- January 28 - What Artificial Intelligence Means to Parents - With author Peter Scott, gain insights into how AI is shaping the future for parents and families.
These events are open to all parents of Junior, Middle, and Senior School and the Greater Victoria community.
Looking forward, there is much to be excited about. Tickets are already on sale for the SMUS Senior School musical The Prom, which takes place on February 27, 28 and March 1 at the McPherson Theatre. The Middle School will be performing Rock of Ages on March 6 and 7, at the same location. These musicals are always wonderful occasions for us to celebrate student performance.
In Chapel this week, Carole McMillan, our Director of Personal Counselling, told us of her family tradition of keeping a jar into which notes can be posted as an informal record of things that we can be grateful for. There is so much. This is now a resolution we intend to make, to start a new tradition in our family as well.
This year 2025 looks set to be a year of significant change, for our school, and for Elizabeth and myself personally. We are excited to be journeying with you. Tomorrow may feel like a long time, but it will arrive very quickly.
Mark Turner
