The Order of Distinction Awards passed some time ago, but I now find the time and place to congratulate my dear friend Mr. Woodham, Uncle Woody who shaped a sphere of excellence for young musicians, violinists, celloists....who managed to engineer the Prince Edward Awards and visit to the island to hear the wonderful orchestra you have created....so this little island has these pockets of excellence...where we move unconcernedly...moving our people forward....teaching us to rely on ourselves for excellence.... SAT RESULTS ARE OUT! Yes, the November exams are out. For those who took it fir the first time...please evaluate yourselves and "wheel and come again"....it is a brilliant time, all of December and January to get it right. I do know that we will do extras in December and some weeks in January, check with Jodie at the front desk for those dates. For those doing the December exam, we have Master classes this weekend, check in at the front desk. TESTING TESTING TESTING No one can complain, you have free access to the Edufocal questions, there are signs to Khan Academy for help, there are past paper books you have invested in...do not waste time. Practise! With a clock...some folks are taking time out to just study.... CANADA Well, well, well. Not only was Canada warm, but the discoveries made were unparalleled. First of all, kudos to my friend, Andrea Scott, now Professor Andrea Davis who teaches Literature at York University and who made my trip to Canada memorable...hi to Carl who was a riot at the Versan Parents' Meeting in Canada....thanks for sharing my philosophy on education... To a few pointers on schools that have raised the bar and worthy of looking into: Trent University Wilfred Laurier Western Douglas College Take note, these schools are being touted by top educators in Canada. Another interesting detail is that Canadian students at the most elite high schools start their SAT prep from the 9th grade....we had better get to changing our focus! Thanks Audrienne for the superb dinner and gathering of parents, teachers, professors and students. Much love.... I also returned with the McLean's Report on schools in Canada and will go in depth next week. APPLICATIONS I see everyone is wrapping up. Go Lindsey who brought in her packages for mailing. Glad to see the end process. That goes for all groups: SSAT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT. Should you get all applications in, you can use the Xmas holidays to study. Remember, the early bird catches the financial aid worm! FINANCIAL AID FORMS Can I just say? Do check marks here? Boarding School Financial Aid done? Check. International Student Financial Aid forms? Check. Certificate of Finances? Check Canadian Financial AId forms? Check. CSS Profile? Check. If none have been attempted, then I suggest you hurry up! Have I seen all apps on Common App or elsewhere? GPA's done by your high schools? Teacher recs in? Counselor forms done? Let's go! THANKSGIVING WEEKEND To all my boarding school kids who are back on the rock, welcome back. Glad to see you are all in one piece. Rushing to fine-tune your applications....good to see you are all on par with your Jamaican counterparts. Kathryn has her violin...hey Joshua, where is yours? MAILING DO remember that packages are for $J700 ...if heavier, we will weigh according to US Postal standards...ok... DOMINICA How are you all doing? We miss your news.... RACE FOR THAT TOP SCORE On this journey, it is what you pull out of self that makes the winning edge. No one else is in that zone....but you.....pull out your strengths from quiet practise and study.... See you next week. The picture is one of the past Boarding School Fair for our SSAT kids....

This picture is of my past student Orlando Lopez ,a former Wolmerian, whom I met at the Wolmer's Alumni Meeting in Canada. He is currently a financial planner at TD Bank. Happy to see my students moving in the right direction!