TFS - Canada's International School

ENTRE NOUS 28 "I obviously loved it or I would have gone somewhere else," says Caryl Grimsley, TFS' first staff member to reach the 50-year mark. She joined the school in 1972 and over the years has taught English from Grade 2 to Level V, served as the Vice-Principal of Mildenhall (Grades 3 to 7) and been the head of the English department. Yet when Mrs. Grimsley first arrived in Canada from Scotland, her main goal was to travel. She taught briefly in the public school system before jumping in her yellow MGB sports car and driving across Canada and parts of the US. She had her sights fixed on Australia next when fate struck. "Gerry and I got married, so I ended up settling in Toronto," she recalls. It was her husband who saw the advertisement for an English teacher at the Toronto French School and urged her to apply. "I was interviewed by Harry Giles in his law office downtown and was hired on the spot," remembers Mrs. Grimsley. She became the English teacher for all of the Toronto branches, working out of a church in Don Mills, over the A&P at Yonge and St. Clair, and in a local synagogue. Despite the unique locations, Mrs. Grimsley always felt at home. She found a tight-knit group of colleagues who quickly became friends. Since she had studied French in high school, she felt comfortable in a bilingual environment. "I was the only English teacher at the Don Mills branch when I began, so I had plenty of encouragement to practise my French," she explains. Equally important was that TFS was constantly evolving and "everybody was open to new ideas," she recalls. She was able to infuse her classes with her love of Shakespeare, poetry and grammar. She authored a grammar book, developed the International Reading Road (IRR) program and was instrumental in bringing Poetry in Voice to TFS, one of only a handful of Toronto schools that were part of the pilot project. "Nearly every year we've had students in the finals – in the English, French and bilingual categories," she proudly recounts. Another factor that Mrs. Grimsley credits for her longevity at TFS is its support of professional development. As recently as this summer, she undertook a course at the University of Cambridge, part of a series of Oxbridge courses she has participated in for years. "Teachers come from all over the world to share their ideas about literature and writing," she says. "It's inspiring and a wonderful learning opportunity." Today, Mrs. Grimsley devotes her time to working one-on-one with students, supporting them in their English writing and language development. "I still love working with students," she says. Recently, she discovered that she had taught a current student's father. "That," reveals Mrs. Grimsley, "is when I realize I've been here a while." Of course, things have changed considerably since Mr. Mott-Trille's time as a student. He recalls playing sports in the empty horse stables behind the Senior School and lining up at a greasy lunch truck that pulled up in front of Giles Hall every day. M. Huppe, who joined TFS in 1986, can still smell the chemicals from the printing machine that had to be manually cranked in order to make copies. Mme Plourde remembers the squeals of delight from her JK students tobogganing down the hill that once existed between 306 and Giles Hall. In the mid '80s, Mme van Kempen recalls looking into the possibility of opening a Markham branch. And Mr. Sachdev, like the long-time teachers, recognizes several parents today whom he once knew as students. "The whole environment here is different from other places," says Mr. Sachdev. Mme Plourde agrees. "The reason why I'm still in Toronto," she explains, "is because of TFS." She cites the quality of teaching, strong programs and the families that make it such a special place. So special, in fact, that she chose to send her son, now a university student, to TFS. One of the most rewarding aspects for M. Huppe of teaching at TFS is seeing the transformation of the Intro students' French skills throughout the course of the year. "They are so fortunate to learn two languages," he observes, "even if they don't realize it at the time." And he feels lucky to have met so many people of different backgrounds and cultures, each with their own unique stories. Mr. Mott-Trille sums it up like this: "We're a school born in this idea of support because of being different, and we're still supportive and open-minded to different ideas and perspectives because that's our origin. It's what we're about." From humble beginnings, TFS has grown into one of the largest independent schools in Canada today. The vision of Harry and Anna Giles led the way, but invested staff and families nurtured and developed the sense of inclusion, innovation and internationalism for which TFS is known. Thank you to our quarter century members for their valuable contributions. Here's to the next 25 years! TFS' HALF CENTURY CLUB WELCOMES CARYL GRIMSLEY

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