I've tried to stay away from the points already developed, and concentrate on the reflections of an alumni who was enrolled at La Chat for the first seven years of it's existence as part of the foundation. There is no particular order or structure to the following, just some thoughts.

- There were 120 students on the campus in 1975. I can think of at least nine teachers who arrived that year and are still there as the campus has grown to 1150. These people were all largely responsible for building the superior school we all benefit from today. These and others who arrived later in the 70's have always wanted to teach all the way through the secondary school; many have reiterated their feeling that a child must benefit from the consistency such a structure provides. Several of these teachers were very important figures in my formative years and have become good friends in subsequent years. May they not retire before my sons may benefit from their (and others) generosity and guidance from class 7 to 13.

- When we go into a parent/teacher consultation the other evening, and my son's class 5 teacher tells my wife and me that he's doing fine, but nevertheless exhibits several of the same problems in focus and concentration that his father did in his secondary years, you know you are at a special place. Anecdotal, but would never have happened had I attended a separate school for four years.

- Another anecdote. One of our babysitters couldn't sit last weekend. He was busy setting up and DJ-ing the Halloween Dance for class 8&9. When he came over later in the week, all he could mention was how many kids came up to him on campus to ask when he was doing the next dance....say no more.

- I have received at least ten phone calls from alumni of my epoch. None have kids at the school and most probably never will. The overwhelming emotional comment has been "...what are they thinking about- why ruin something so special." These people have no natural contact with the school outside of the Kermesse and very infrequent alumni dinners. They are nevertheless concerned and appalled. After the emotion, they put forward the same coherent arguments against the 10-13 campus that we have all been hearing. We have to think longer term. This foundation will need alumni donations at some point. Few alumni will support a truncated school. They know and believe in the whole entity, not a partial version.

- I distinctly remember being in the lower secondary and looking up to the "seniors" as role models we could interact with. They gave us social, academic and sporting goals to emulate. The argument that other schools work well with a separate senior school is fine- but La Chat is not another school. It is a unique, well thought through pedagogical and social entity.