Interview with Sunnybrook School Alum, Kelly Pinch

There's a lot to appreciate about being at Sunnybrook School, but the biggest thing I remember is just how much there was a sense of community. Being a small school, the student-to-teacher ratio being so small, you really feel nurtured. There's nothing stopping you from being exactly who you want to be. The teachers doing that and everyone else doing that, as well, that is a really special thing and maybe something I didn't appreciate at the time. But looking back on it now, it was monumental.

I always felt like there was a big sense of ‘We care about you, not because we have to, but because it's what the teachers really enjoy doing so much.’ The teachers were very nurturing, very inviting, very warm, and very caring. There was never a time where I ever felt like, ‘Oh, no one cares about me.’ or ‘No one cares how I am doing.’ They always loved the kids. That was no secret.

A big thing that connected a lot of the students was the teachers. Teachers always did everything that they really could to make sure all the kids were feeling included. And they did it so much, up to a point where they wouldn't have to do it anymore, because us kids, we learned to create a nurturing environment, and we learned the benefits of doing it.

The teachers were phenomenal. And I had a great experience in all classes. 

The atmosphere was very happy, always sunshine and rainbows, no matter what was going on at the school or outside of it. It was always a place where I felt like I could leave all my problems at the door, because what was going on inside was always happy and always positive. Of course, there's always moments where things might not be that way, but as I remember it, it was always a very happy place.

We had a lot of fantastic musical theatre productions, which I definitely thought really brought a lot of us together. That is something that every single person at the school participates in, everyone has a role, and everyone has a part to play. And that was definitely a big way to bring us all together.

The biggest value for me, and my biggest take away from being at the school, was learning how to be the most real version of myself. In terms of values, honesty was a huge one, just honesty within yourself. And, yes, ‘How much can someone really learn to be themselves when they're 4 to 12 years old?’ But I really think it really establishes a backbone of how you can learn to be yourself, by giving you the space for it. It really just gives you that safe space to do that.

The school makes everyone feel special, which no matter who you are, everyone, I think, needs a little bit of that. While you're there, it doesn't feel like a small school, because the personality, the love, and the joy that it brings is so big. Looking back on it now, the first thing I remember about it is not how small it was; it is about how huge the personality of the school was. It makes everyone feel included.

Compassion is also something the school promotes.

I think I wouldn't be as outgoing today if it wasn't for the school and how much it encouraged me to do that. I consider myself a very outgoing person, because of how much nurturing I received. It really lets you feel like you can be your real self. Maybe in a bigger school that sense of you just being who you want to be, wouldn't be reinforced to the same degree. Coming out of the school, you realise how much the school encouraged you to be who you wanted to be. And if it wasn't for that, I don't think I would be the person who I am. So in terms of how it helped me evolve, it really just let me be exactly who I wanted to be.

I am a big fan of my school, and I really have a lot of belief in everything it stands for, and everything that it taught me. As I've moved further and further away from it, I've understood more about it, and I've realised just what it did for me and the things that it taught me. I don't really remember things that I didn't like. And I'm still friends with a lot of the kids I went to school with. And none of us have anything bad to say about the school.

The number one reason I’d recommend the school, the most important one, is ‘Go there, because you'll be cared for.’ You're not going to be hand-held through everything, because there are definitely situations where they give you a push, and you have to learn how to do things on your own. But the main thing is that you'll be taken care of. You'll never be the kid sitting in the back, not being talked to. You'll never be someone who isn't getting any attention. You will always be cared for in a way that is supportive and really encourages you to take that command on your own.

Another reason I’d recommend the school is its strong foundation of values, which serve as the roots for your future emotions and beliefs, and who you are as a person. It definitely plants the ideas in your mind, early on, of how to be your most authentic self and what that means to be the best version of yourself.

The school teaches you not to be afraid of trying, and that's a very good, very important life skill. It teaches you how to be involved with the community, with your classmates, with things like clubs and co-curriculars. It teaches you to put yourself out there, and to do what you enjoy, or just to try new things.

There's definitely a differentiating factor between coming out of Sunnybrook School versus somewhere else, and only time can really show that, the more time you spend around other people.