Proud to Be a Canadian

We had a remarkable day at school today, celebrating Canadian Citizenship Week by hosting a Canadian Citizenship Ceremony.  Our kids worked so hard to get the gym decorated and set up, and we all dressed in red and white and watched as 53 people—including one of our students—from 17 different countries became new Canadians. 

I was so proud of our students and our school, and so proud that we were able to share in such a wonderful moment in the lives of these new Canadians.  I spoke to a family of four from Ukraine who came from a village very close to the one that my grandfather came from.  I spoke to a wonderful couple from Texas who were so happy and proud to be Canadians and who were so grateful that they were able to share such a touching ceremony with our kids.  I spoke to a man from Australia whose wife had just been hired onto the district as a teacher, and another family from England who had lived here for 13 years and were finally “officially Canadian”.  But I didn’t get a chance to catch up with the elderly man who sat in the very front row, on the corner to the right of the judge.  He had a beautiful smile on his face, and sat there quietly weeping for the duration of the ceremony, occasionally removing his glasses to wipe away the tears running down his cheek.  As Principal, I sat up with the dignitaries and shook the hands of every new Canadian following their few private words with the judge.  It took everything this man had to shake my hand, as he was so overcome with joy that his body was trembling.  I looked for him as the line neared its end and saw him, for an instant, through a break in the crowd;  however, the gap closed and he disappeared before I could find a word with him.  We wanted to know his story, but his quick exit probably left a bigger mark on us because it left us with an image of him choosing to be Canadian.  He wasn’t born here.  He may not have grown up here.  But he chose to be here today to become a Canadian.

I am so proud to be a Canadian.

I am so proud to be the Principal of this school.