In January of 2009, Linden Gray left her role as Director of Curriculum at an independent school in Ontario and began her role at Grammar as Head of the Prep School.
Linden and her husband both enjoyed summers in Nova Scotia. They were discussing retiring in Nova Scotia, when Linden mentioned to her husband “Why don’t we move there now, before I retire?” The next weekend, she saw an ad for the Head of Prep position in the newspaper.
“When I read the ad, I thought it was just perfect. It was almost like I had willed it,” Linden said.
She has been teaching since 1976 and children have always brought joy to her. In the decade Ms. Gray has spent at Halifax Grammar School, there was nothing she loved more than spending time with the students and watching them grow.
She has many happy memories to take away with her but one she remembers fondly from early in her tenure.
It was when she dressed up to play Queen for the Prep 2 Medieval Feast . Her role was to knight the students during the ceremony, rewarding them for their chivalrous acts throughout the term.
“I had bought this hot pink dress from Kijiji, and it had really long bell sleeves that practically touched the ground. My daughter, who was at NSCAD, made a beautiful paper crown for me, complete with fake gemstones,” she said. “It was hilarious, the children were in awe, completely blown away by the Head of School being in costume.”
Apart from working with children, her favourite part of the job has been all of the different responsibilities that come with it. From meeting new families, communicating with parents and working with teachers – she says her job is both interesting and rewarding.
“I collaborate with teachers and brainstorm to see what works best for different pupils,” she said. “For a long time, I did intervention reading and writing to help kids who were struggling. It was so rewarding seeing children fall in love with reading for the first time.”
After her retirement, she will take on the role of part-time learning strategist for Grammar, working with students, teachers and families to help create just the right conditions for engagement and learning - Linden is delighted about this next step. In her new role, she can still work with students at Grammar, while spending more time with her family and with volunteer work.
“This couldn’t have been a better job or transition for me. It’s been an honour and privilege to work here. I’ve been so fortunate to have this time at Grammar.”