Rowntree Montessori Schools’ staff and students were very excited and honoured to welcome two very special guests to the Rowntree Montessori Schools’ Academy Campus today. Mrs. Laureen Harper (@LaureenHarper), the spouse of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, together with Mr. Parm Gill (@ParmGill), the current Member of Parliament for the Brampton-Springdale riding, visited our school and attended a special assembly hosted by our students. Rowntree staff and students planned an entertaining assembly to showcase our belief in promoting individual talents, embracing multiculturalism, and encouraging social acceptance through anti-bullying ideals. In keeping, Mrs. Harper is a well-known advocate for acceptance and tolerance, and noted just how topical the Grade 8 Class presentation was on this sensitive current events issue.
Kindness. That was the message that Mrs. Harper delivered to the students of Rowntree Montessori Schools when she addressed them during the assembly. Her words to our students were quite profound. “Be kind…it may sound easy, but sometimes it’s not…Being kind makes you feel good, and makes the people around you feel good”. Mrs. Harper took the opportunity to remind students that kindness can have a very positive impact, and we should all endeavour to bring a little bit more kindness into our lives.
Since arriving in Ottawa in 2006, Mrs. Harper has been a strong advocate for anti-bullying initiatives, and she works closely with several organizations to educate youth and their parents about bullying. We at Rowntree are very proud of our anti-bullying programs, and we were privileged to show the Rowntree standard of inclusiveness to Mrs. Harper and Mr. Gill.
The Junior choir, the grade 4 class, the grade 8 class, Richard R. and Aaryan K. were very excited at the opportunity to display their talents for Mrs. Harper and Mr. Gill. We would like to extend a very special thank you to these students for their wonderful performances, and to the staff members who helped arrange them.
At Rowntree Montessori Schools, we strive to develop social awareness in our students. We believe in Mrs. Harper’s message of kindness, and truly thank her for promoting this message to our students.