Last week the Grade 9 students gathered for their Day of Reflection focusing on the topic on our Saint Maur Essential Outcome of being "Life-Long Learners". The Day of Reflection is an opportunity to pause our regular academic schedule and give attention to other aspects of their lives.

The day focuses on bringing students together to engage in conversation and reflection about who they are as learners and what their strengths are. An important aspect is looking at Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences model to see that there are many ways to show intelligence and that each student has talents that make the worthy. One important way of seeing what they are capable of, is also seeing where they have come from.

To highlight that, Grade 2 students wrote the Grade 9 students question cards for them to respond to. The Grade 2 students wanted to know scientific and cultural questions like "Why is there no air in space?" and "How many countries are there in the world?" as well as deep philosophical questions like "Why are we alive?". Not all these questions are easy for Grade 9 students to answer, but with a bit of teamwork, a bit of Google and considering the language that is age appropriate, the Grade 9 students sent back amazing posters showing that they too can be learning leaders to their younger peers. It is always a privilege to organize Days of Reflection to give students space and pause to consider who they are and where they are going.

For our current Grade 9 students, their commitment to their younger students and their commitment to their friends is a promising marker of great success to come.