"It’s showcase time!" I exclaim at morning meeting, about 4 weeks out from the main event itself.
 
"Woooo!!!" Cheers groups of students, young and old, and immediate chatter starts to take hold of the group.

All 64 of them all Via Vita students, sitting on the floor, with young ones settled into the laps of older ones, get louder with the vibes of showcase running throughout the room. Normally, morning meeting is a time to discuss things to change, the going's on of day-to-day events. Today, we've all come together to start our day and the first topic is showcase, which quickly takes hold of the entire agenda. The daily meetings are led by 2 students, who are now clapping rhythms trying to get the group back in order and quiet down. Vibes of excitement, anticipation, worry, and then getting-to-business waves over the crowd as they go through the emotions of preparing for such a big event as Showcase. New students unsure of what it all means. Old students grinning ear to ear, knowing exactly what it means. 
 
A few rounds of repeating the pattern claps from the morning's leading students and finally the mass of the group settles down into low whispers and then finally quiet, while a few hands shoot up in the air.
 
“When is it? We have to write the script?”
“Can I sign up to act, please? Oh! And dance? How many things can I sign up for?”
“I want to babysit this time!”
“Remember last year’s? Can we do that again? That was so much fun!”
 
My absolute favourite time of year. An excellent example of controlled chaos, student-led learning, and infused creativity. Showcase season. The time of year when we bring all of the themes and most influential things we’ve been learning about all term and pull it together into an on-stage production. Songs, dances, skits, poems, stories, science shows – you name it, we include it. Written with the students’ guiding ideas, produced with the support of their teachers edging them along. It’s always completely unique and entirely theirs. Can we include a boat? Why not, if it makes sense! Can we include that story we loved reading over and over in class? Sure, let’s figure out a way. Can we include aliens? Spaceships? Zombies? I’m sure we can find a way to make sense of that, right?
 
Is it stressful? Heck, yes. Without a doubt. We willingly walk into the chaos and make more chaos. It’s messy, it’s challenging, it’s ever-changing. Our newest teachers are looking at us like we’ve lost it. Our oldest teachers just keep saying – trust the process, you’ll see. 
 
See what, they ask? The payoff. The reason for it all. The moment when you see a child, who perhaps is struggling to keep their head up in math lately, or who has been chatting with us a lot lately about the woes of their changing social dynamics, or perhaps a student who has been having a difficult time smiling through the cold winter months, or a child frustrated with the complexity of reading the English language – you see them, beaming. Perhaps on stage, perhaps leading the younger ones, perhaps handling the mic system, perhaps keeping order back stage. It doesn’t matter the role, but it does matter that they are beaming. This is the reason for it all. For all the rehearsing and script writing, for all the prop making and mess cleaning. It’s also the reason for all the prep work, tests, quizzes, due dates, projects, parent meetings, staff meetings, schedules and classes. And it’s even the reason for the record keeping, payment collecting; accounting, upkeep and marketing of the business. This is the why. 
 
That child is beaming. 
 
Look at them. Look at what they’ve accomplished and look at how they feel about it. Can you compare anything else to it? This moment will move mountains. It’ll build confidence, and positive memories with school. It’ll help them believe in themselves, work with others, and never back down from a challenge.  It builds grit, integrity, and independence. It's an opportunity to work through stress, cope with fear, and manage challenges. It’s real, hands-on, experiential learning. It’s hard work, no doubt, but it’s the reason Via Vita exists. 
 
February 2020 marks 4 years since Via Vita Academy Ltd. became a thing and marks the 10th Showcase production with our students. We embarked on an adventure we had only dreamed of, with hopes in our heads and hearts for what Via Vita could be. Make a positive difference in the lives of our students. As a teacher, Via Vita is most certainly a dream come true. 

Ever since I was a child, I knew there was something I loved about travelling. Having parents who immigrated to Toronto from the Philippines, I was fortunate enough to spend some of my childhood travelling to the Philippines to visit the hometowns of my parents as well as some family. Sure there was the whole process that was exciting too - packing up your bags, going on a plane, all that ‘good’ stuff. But there was some sort of magic in travelling somewhere, and not knowing what to expect. What feelings will I get once I arrive? What people will I meet? What will I see? I certainly didn’t have the answers to that, and if I asked my parents they didn’t know either - all those answers can only come from me, and when that time comes. 


Visiting the Philippines was such a wonderful experience. I was able to learn more about myself - my heritage and culture. Even at a young age, I took this as an opportunity to learn something new. However, there was still something more that I needed, especially once the trip came to an end and I eventually had to go back home.  But with that being said, my love and pride of being who I am, a Filipino Canadian, took me in the direction of doing more with that. For over 10 years, I was actively involved in a cultural dance group. We would showcase our Filipino culture through music and dance and we would perform in festivals within Canada and other countries around the world. I remember thinking, how lucky am I to do what I love and be able to share that with others. Essentially, this whole experience for me entailed learning more about my culture, dance, and travelling - all of my favourite things.


I believe that it is important to take up every opportunity to ‘travel’, and I am using that term very loosely. Although I have shared with you my first travel experience which involved hopping on a plane, this is not the only travelling one can do. Travel in a book, in a movie, or in your dreams. Travel with friends, or with new friendly faces. There’s mystery and wonder in where it will take you. For instance, mine took me to dance and to learning about Filipino culture. But, the grand souvenir that I got from this all is a broader perspective in the word ’travel’. To me, travelling isn’t merely a thing to do - it’s an experience and it’s a feeling. When you travel, I guarantee you will learn something new. 


As a new teacher at Via Vita Academy, my hope is to inspire these students to do the same. I want them to travel within learning, within their creative minds, within their play, and within their conversations with others. There are new adventures awaiting them, and I am so excited to see where their own travel experience will take them!