Gryphon Gallery: Staying in Touch

As the school year closes don’t let it be the end of your journey—staying in touch can be a  lifetime commitment.

Staying in touch with classmates, friends and colleagues can be a valuable benefit attributable to being at GNS. Maintaining connections with those we meet during our time at the school can prove to be very beneficial no matter what the reason is that keeps us together. Exchanging information, ideas, resources, opportunities or just wanting to say “Hi” and catch-up can lead to lifestyle benefits and mental well-being. This can work through a variety of communication platforms, attending planned meetings or just by happenstance. Events arranged with alumni, staff and current or past GNS community members can be an important way to make these connections and GNS holds many reunions and special events to help make this happen. Also, many of these connections are made because of the real friendships made at the school which are often by-products of good school experiences. 

From a personal point of view, I always enjoy the chance meetings with former colleagues and students at a school event, in a store, an airport, or in some place far away from home, sharing a memory from the past or hearing about what’s been happening since we last saw each other. I value the continuing friendships with former colleagues who I periodically meet up with to enjoy a cup of coffee, watch a ball game or go to a show. I delight in running into a friendly “stranger” who has understandably changed from the time I knew them as a student. I am equally fortunate to even still connect with a few of my old classmates from times long ago, albeit with only a brief call or few words by email, text or written on a Christmas card. 

Staying in touch has not always been so easy. At the time when GNS (Norfolk House School) started in 1913, the only means of staying connected was either by mail or telegraph. A letter mailed in Victoria and sent to Halifax could take anywhere from ten to fourteen days. A telegram would take from a few hours to a full day and the first cross Canada telephone call was still a decade or more away.

For the next 75 years normal public communication remained the same until the mid-1990’s, when the rise of email, instant messaging, and the World Wide Web started to impact everyday contact options. Now in today’s world, everyday communication includes a mix of digital and traditional methods. Social media platforms along with messaging apps and texting are now commonly used for both personal and business communication, while face-to-face conversations, phone calls, and email are still used, but possibly less so as staying in touch is presented with new, faster and more convenient ways to connect.

GNS maintains a robust alumni network, and you can find more information about the digital ways that we stay connected on our alumni website. We host reunions, homecoming, events and more. One of the best ways to see alumni related news is to follow our Facebook page, Glenlyon Norfolk School Alumni. We also send all interested alumni a monthly email newsletter. If you are not receiving this and would like to, you can contact our Alumni Engagement Coordinator Zan Plews ’06, and she is able to answer alumni questions.

That being said, it is really very easy to stay in touch with GNS and we hope you will, especially our newest alumni. Class of 2025, welcome to the alumni community and STAY IN TOUCH!