Hello Families,

Yesterday I had the privilege of joining the Outdoor Education trip and spent the morning with the Grade 9’s at Cypress Mountain on a Cross-Country ski adventure. I am always appreciative of this beautiful part of the world we get to call home, but I am especially so when I get to experience it while surrounded by students who are courageous risk-takers, willing to try something new, to stretch their muscles, and to foster some joy. We had a whole lot of laughs while skiing, racing, and playing games in the snow. I imagine some of our skiers had great sleeps last night, and woke up with sore triceps to start their long weekend!

Today, our staff will be at the ISABC Virtual Professional Development Day, and we hope to see some of you, parents there too. The ISABC website has all the information about what we are learning and who we are learning from. We hope some of you were able to register and join as well.

Long weekends are an opportunity to connect with family and friends, to re-energize, and to rest. Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith says rest should equal restoration and she posits that sleep and rest are not the same thing. The reality is that there’s more to “rest” than meets the eye. She describes seven types of rest:

• Physical Rest: Can be passive (sleeping, napping) or active (yoga, stretching, massage).
• Mental Rest: Take short breaks between tasks and meetings, create a power-down ritual to separate work from personal, meditate.
• Sensory Rest: Turn off social media, get away from screens and bright lights, switch from Zoom to phone call.
• Creative Rest: Can be natural (taking in a sunrise/sunset, walking in the woods) or man-made (going to a museum, experiencing new music).
• Emotional Rest: Spend time alone or with people with whom you can be your full, authentic self.
• Social Rest: Spend less time with people who drain your energy and more time with people who give you energy.
• Spiritual Rest: Connect with something bigger than yourself. Can be through volunteering, working on a purpose-driven job, or participating in spiritual or faith-based activities.

Wishing you many types of rest this long Family Day weekend. See you Tuesday!

With gratitude,
Ms. Brenda Ball,
UA Principal