I am writing my blog on Sunday in a hotel room in Montreal after a day of nasty weather in Toronto, and the anticipation of the same kind of weather in Montreal to come. Sometimes things are out of our control, and sometimes they’re not. No matter what the situation, it is how we deal with it that makes the difference.
In anticipation of freezing rain yesterday, I was able to change my flight from noon to 8 a.m. I was fortunate to get out of Toronto with no issues and to spend some extra time with one of my St. Clement’s School classmates, Alexandra, as a result.
This weekend and into the beginning of the week is the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS) National Leaders’ Conference in Montreal. Ms Watson, Ms Gray, Ms Holeton and Ms Millington are attending and were on various different flights on Saturday, with many of us meeting up for an Alumnae dinner. As the day unfolded, flights were delayed, some of us made it to dinner, and some came for dessert. All of us were pleased to be able to see Alumnae from classes of 1965 to 2017 currently living in Montreal.
During the day on Saturday, our Academic Admin team were in touch as they oversaw the supervision of Lumina, a superb fashion and design show involving over 100 of our girls from Grades 9-12. With the inclement weather, we questioned whether or not to cancel one or both shows. With lots of communication, the weighing of pros and cons and risk, the shows went on-with an expedited clearing out of the building at the end of the evening. From all reports, the last show was wonderful, there was a full house, and the decision had been the right one.
During the early evening, Ms Macintosh and I were in touch with Ms Melville, our Coordinator of Experiential Education and Round Square Representative. She and three Clemetines, heading for a Round Square Regional Conference in North Carolina, learned that their Sunday flight had been cancelled. After some communication with parents and the airlines, they were re-booked for Monday.
While there was nothing that could be done about the weather, it was our SCS attitudes that made the difference. With patience, proactivity, communication, and level-headed decision-making we accomplished our goals in spite of obstacles.
