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...

  There is nothing more exciting than when you get your license as a teenager and your parents start trusting you to borrow their car – FREEDOM! (And by trusting you I mean holding their breath until you return it in the driveway in one piece – which let’s be honest, didn’t always happen…) But first, getting that license required the successful completion of driving school. My younger sister, brother and I all had the same in-car driving instructor and collectively agreed he looked like Tommy Lee Jones – and also realized over the course of conversations later in life that he always made us swing by his house because he’d forget to turn the coffee machine off or close the garage door or let the dog out?! Perks of the job I guess... Once you pass that nerve-wracking driver’s test – even with the points I got docked because when stopped at an intersection my examiner scolded me for not looking in the bushes thoroughly enough, “There could be wildlife that runs out!” – it’s by...