Scholars’ Guild Dinner Celebrates Senior Students’ Success

On October 28th, 39 students from Levels I through V were welcomed into Toronto French School’s Scholars’ Guild, honouring them as the highest academic achievers for the 2008-2009 school year, as chosen by their teachers. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Guild, established in 1989!

The Scholars’ Guild members receive a pin, a monetary award and have their names listed on the Scholar’s Guild plaque, located prominently in the Giles Hall foyer.

They also attend a formal dinner, along with Headmaster, Dr. John Godfrey, the principals from all branches and members from the administrative teams. And as part of the evening’s tradition, also in attendance is an alumni guest speaker.

This year’s speaker was Kevin McLean, Class of 1990. Mr. McLean currently works with the Ministry of Environment, Aboriginal Affairs Branch, as a Senior Advisor. He spoke to the students about the benefits of bilingualism, the invaluable gifts he learned while traveling the world and about the responsibility to give back.

Of bilingualism he remarked, “We have a shared experience you and I. We all know at least one other language. You should know, if you don’t already, that research has shown that having another language provides greater job opportunity, especially in this country. But, it gives you something more than that….(it) also creates greater ability to relate to others, and in turn a greater empathy for different cultures.”

Continuing with the idea of engaging other cultures, Mr. McLean then talked of his decision to travel after finishing university, though it was not a popular choice with his parents: “I have found in my life that the path of least resistance is not always the path of most interest. Sometimes, you need to work a little harder, get yourself out of your comfort zone, to find what is most interesting.”

Finally, he spoke of how his travels led him to contrast other people’s lives with his own and how that knowledge gave him a lasting understanding of responsibility to the global community.

He finished by telling the students, “There are lots of things you can get involved in, and in my view, I think you should all find something that will allow you to use the opportunity you have gained through being here and go out into the world and make positive changes.”