Omg it’s almost Christmas. At Duke of York, this was the most “fav-ou-rite time of the year” for us kids. We had candy-grams to buy and send out to our friends to help raise money for grad (yes, you get four Glen Coco); we had a festive spirit week to participate in that included Jammie Day, Silly Slippers Day, Santa Hat Day, Tacky Christmas Sweater “before it was a thing” Day, homemade gift exchanges with friends, Secret Santa shenanigans and, to close off the festivities – the Grade 13 Christmas play. This was the most exciting holiday event for any graduate from Duke of York. It was an all-inclusive production where every single graduate had a role either writing scripts, acting, producing skits, choreographing the dance showcase, music, overall logistics, AV crew, or writing the class song. We were to entertain the entire school for an afternoon – and mostly at the faculty’s expense. Sorry Mr. Farooqui. Grace was on student council and with drama being her jam, she was knee deep i...

First and foremost we must acknowledge the challenge and heroism of teachers, educators and all school personnel during these incredibly challenging times, a genuine nod to you all… This piece is meant to be a tribute and reflection of our high school teachers from the ‘90s, so come with me as I bring you back to a simpler time, because hey, who’s gonna turn down a chance at escapism these days, am I right? In your 40’s you come to the terrifying realization you are THAT AGE – circling the age bracket of your high school teachers, WTF! Truth be told, I considered becoming a teacher for awhile, er, a second… one high school experience was enough for me apparently. Littering the chalkboards at Duke of York, Patricia and I had the necessary teacher potpourri: Hot Teacher: Mr. Carnegie, who taught gym and well, was basically just my homeroom teacher but man, it was the best 15 minutes   of my day. Sleeping Teacher: Mrs. Reid who actually had a medical condition that caused...

Everyone has been ghosted at some point in their modern-day life. Whether it be a friend who fell off the earth, that boy that’s “just not that into you”, or the guy that promised to buy your car online but never showed. But what about being ghosted by your parents? This was very common during our childhood summers. As soon as the sun rose, young people slowly started to surface. We were fed, then tenderly kicked out of the house with the complete expectation that we would be home in time for supper. In fact, if we came home before supper, we were asked if we were ok, or if someone bit us, or the infamous “what are you doing home? “We had no clip-on water bottles, no lunch box with cute heart shaped sandwiches or lunchables, no sweater, no snacks, no money, sometimes even no shoes – and definitely no cell phone. Parental ghosting looked a little different than today’s “ceasing all communication and contact with an individual without any apparent warning”. At a young age, it usually st...