Carrie Wynne
Being a teenager is hard. I would never want to go back. I was nothing special. Kind of struggling and definitely ignored. Am I The Only One? I was pleasantly surprised when we moved here that teenagers at the Smiths Falls High School are not only given the time of day, they are uplifted, rallied around and supported. The teachers didn’t give a hoot in the city when I was growing up.
Smiths Falls High School (SFDCI) hallways are filled with teachers, coaches, volunteers and admin staff that care enough to notice when a kid needs some reassurance, a push, a pat on the back or a redirect which is nearly every single kid that ever goes to high school. If you don’t care enough to notice, then maybe you shouldn’t be a teacher.
I want to thank the Teachers in Smiths Falls for going the extra mile and caring about my kids too. Thank you for planting seeds they will water for the rest of their lives. Thank you for giving them experiences to travel and lifelong memories they would never have had in the city. Thank you for your time and your athletic programs and your words of wisdom. Thank you for listening and propping them back up. Thank you for getting through to them when we couldn’t.
Not all kids thrive. Strong messages they don’t fit in, aren’t good enough or there’s something wrong with them give teenagers a hopeless feeling about their abilities to cope. Industries prey on them. Technology takes over their lives and alters the brain. At 15 the pressure to decide what they want to do for the rest of their life and the fear of getting it wrong is pretty intense.
Exploration and novelty, creative expression, emotional spark and social engagement are all part of a teenager’s life and it can all go sideways very quickly.
I’ll always remember the one gym teacher with the ball under her arm that cared enough to notice and tried to befriend me when I needed it. I still remember what she said and where we were standing.
Smiths Falls is a town that supports its youth with tremendous opportunities and dedicated, talented teachers and coaches. Moving here was the best thing we ever did for our girls. It’s a place where active people thrive. Where superb athletics and academics start in elementary school and are fostered throughout high school. If your family is moving to Smiths Falls, when it comes to the schools here, you’ve hit the jackpot.
