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What brings you joy?

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Consultation has concluded

Photo of Sheryl Robinson Petrazzini smiling

I am new to this community and we are still getting to know each other. If there is anything I have learned in the 32 years I have been working in public education, it is the importance and power of relationships. It gets us through the good and difficult times. We may not always agree, and the work is to find a way for us all to show up in schools, classrooms and communities as our true and real selves. One of the ways we get to know each other is to tell stories. We tell stories about who we are, who we imagine ourselves to be, the future for our children, the hopes we have for our communities.

Here is one way we can start to tell stories that I hope will help bring us together around our common passion for children, families, communities and schools.


(photo credit: Jeff Tessier Photography, Hamilton City Magazine)

I am new to this community and we are still getting to know each other. If there is anything I have learned in the 32 years I have been working in public education, it is the importance and power of relationships. It gets us through the good and difficult times. We may not always agree, and the work is to find a way for us all to show up in schools, classrooms and communities as our true and real selves. One of the ways we get to know each other is to tell stories. We tell stories about who we are, who we imagine ourselves to be, the future for our children, the hopes we have for our communities.

Here is one way we can start to tell stories that I hope will help bring us together around our common passion for children, families, communities and schools.


(photo credit: Jeff Tessier Photography, Hamilton City Magazine)

Let's tell some stories. Let's talk about our children, our families, what brings us joy. I'll go first.

Thank you for sharing your story with us.
CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.
  • Share Joy is Reading for a Shared Imagination on Facebook Share Joy is Reading for a Shared Imagination on Twitter Share Joy is Reading for a Shared Imagination on Linkedin Email Joy is Reading for a Shared Imagination link

    Joy is Reading for a Shared Imagination

    by Katya, about 2 years ago

    Thank you for the invitation to share, I find joy in reading! Sharing stories with my children at bedtime, lets us experience another place and its characters together. I love how they ask for more when I finish, like they don't want to leave. Also joy in the reading I do as I learn to engage with our own school community...one passage written by the late Richard Wagamese was particularly inspiring for me:

    "You can't test your courage timidly. You have to run through the fire, arms waving, legs pumping and heart beating wildly with the effort of reclaiming something... Continue reading

  • Share Joy is seeing kids in the morning on my drive to work. on Facebook Share Joy is seeing kids in the morning on my drive to work. on Twitter Share Joy is seeing kids in the morning on my drive to work. on Linkedin Email Joy is seeing kids in the morning on my drive to work. link

    Joy is seeing kids in the morning on my drive to work.

    by bequin, about 2 years ago

    In the mornings when I drive to work, I see kids out waiting for their buses. Sometimes the littlest ones are hugging their moms. When I am driving behind a school bus, it makes me smile watching young kids trotting enthusiastically to get on the bus. This morning a little guy was carrying a gigantic Pokemon stuffy. I chuckled. There was also a high school boy in shorts and it made me laugh because I know how freezing cold he must feel and I also completely understand not wanting to let go of the summer.

  • Share For me, joy can be found in the everyday and especially with the people I love. on Facebook Share For me, joy can be found in the everyday and especially with the people I love. on Twitter Share For me, joy can be found in the everyday and especially with the people I love. on Linkedin Email For me, joy can be found in the everyday and especially with the people I love. link

    For me, joy can be found in the everyday and especially with the people I love.

    by director, about 2 years ago

    I experience joy when I get to connect with my daughters, have dinner with my husband or take our dog for a walk. I find joy when I meet with students and staff, visiting classrooms and walking through the halls in HWDSB schools.


    Joy is the ability to embrace the daily moments in life that support my well-being. When we focus on finding joy in life, we move from surviving to thriving!


    What brings you joy?


    Sheryl Robinson Petrazzini