It's 8:30 a.m. Wednesday and the cole George Jay elementary gym is humming.
A little red-headed girl runs up to Leslie Lee: "I miss you."
"I miss you, too," Lee replies.
I thought Lee was done with George Jay in January when she retired after seven years as principal. But no, here she is back in the school, drumming up support for its community-funded healthy breakfast program.
She is one of the organizers of an event called From Breakfast to Beethoven, in which diners at 40 Victoria restaurants can donate to breakfasts and to Victoria Conservatory of Music training for students in local schools.
Fans of the initiative link it to a renaissance at George Jay, and maybe that's so, though recent renovations also helped. Enrolment has risen to 337 from 210 not long ago. The school has soared up the (controversial) Fraser Institute rankings dramatically in the past few years. While connecting the dots to the breakfast program might be tough, this much is certain: Kids learn better with a full stomach.
George Jay has long been one of those schools where the staff seem to try a little harder, knowing that their charges don't share the advantages enjoyed by other children.
When Lee arrived at the school, 98 per cent of the students were classified as "vulnerable," mostly because of poverty.
That figure is down to 83 per cent now, but there are still a huge number of households without enough money to put two meals on the table each day, let alone three. If breakfast gets served at school, maybe there'll be enough to pay for a decent supper at home.
Wednesday morning found dozens of kids chowing down in the gym.
"Good morning, darling," said Sue Siluch, passing a fruit smoothie and bagel to a boy through the kitchen door. Siluch and Bruce Tate have been volunteering at the breakfast program every Wednesday for 24 years. It was just toast and butter when they started, because that's all the donations would cover.
The Victoria Optimists club added some money, and principal Lee found herself shopping at Costco every Friday night to stretch the dollars. Still, there was only enough money for a simple breakfast three days a week.
Then Maximus, the company that does health-administration stuff for the province, started feeding kids on Fridays. Volunteers from Central Baptist Church began showing up on Mondays. Bell Media employees dish up on Tuesdays.
After George Jay was closed for seismic-upgrade work, it reopened with new kitchen appliances and equipment donated by Victoria's Matt and Wendy MacNeil. That meant an expanded menu: pancakes or french toast on Mondays, Egg McMuffin-type sandwiches Tuesdays, smoothies and bagels Wednesdays, hot oatmeal Thursdays, cereal Fridays, fresh fruit every day.
Breakfast programs feed 50 to 80 kids a day at George Jay, another 80 at Central and 40 to 50 at Lansdowne, the three schools that were funded through the From Breakfast to Beethoven campaign this year. The fundraiser also pays for bursaries at the conservatory.
Lee would like to see other schools included as the campaign, which has been expanded from one day to three this year, brings in more money.
It works like this: Eat at one of 40 Victoria restaurants from Oct. 20 to 22 and you will find a tent card on the table outlining the project. Those who want to contribute can fill out a slip at the end of the meal (no, it's not in lieu of a tip; don't stiff your server). All the money goes to the cause. To find participating restaurants (or to make a donation), go to myevent.com/fb2b.
It is, truly, a community initiative, one where instead of leaving it to government to balance the playing field, local people have taken it upon themselves to make a difference.
This is what brought Lee back to George Jay in retirement. She knows these children have huge potential, if only they could get the right breaks, the right support.
"I want a better future for them," she says as another student runs up to give her a hug.
