It Takes a Village...

Story appeared in the 2013 issue of QMS Connections Magazine.

BY LEANNE SCHULTZ, OPERATIONS & HR MANAGER

QMS is more than just a school, it is a community. While students and teachers comprise the core, they are guided and enriched by administrators, support staff, and dedicated volunteers.

Jennifer Pelton, Grade 2 Teacher Ellen Arndt, Dale Krikke, and IT Manager Kimberly Dray.

QMS Parents’ Association Parents play an essential and positive role in the life of an independent school, and the QMS Parents’ Association provides a vital (and much appreciated) service to school leader-ship and the entire school community.

The QMS School Motto is “Servite Fortiter — Serve Ye Bravely.” Service to others has always been a hallmark of a QMS education; students from our youngest three-year-old class-rooms to our Grade 12 classes are constantly encouraged to find ways to help others and serve their com-munity. Year after year, it is both heartwarming and humbling to watch the parents of our students exemplify this motto with their dedicated commitment to the school.

The QMS Parents’ Association opens doors of opportunity for the students and staff at QMS through their work in coordinating and promoting all approved parent volunteer and fundraising activities within the school. The money they help raise provides resources for the school and supplements costs that are not covered by tuition fees alone. In 2013, the QMS Parents’ Association donated $35,000 to the school. Their donation was directed towards class-room technology, resources for the new Learning Commons, fine arts programming, and our athletics program. Each year, the Parents’ Association also sponsors a generous scholarship to a deserving Grade 9 student. Through the Thrifty’s Smile Card Program, they are raising money for a greenhouse for the school, which will further develop the school’s green initiatives.