This past summer, Ron Wakelin, Co-chair of the North Toronto Foundation, received a delightful letter from Dr. Richard Van Praagh (’47), Harvard Professor Emeritus, Harvard Medical School that was written on letterhead from Boston Children’s Hospital. The following excerpts are from Dr. Van Praagh’s correspondence.

I graduated from NTCI in 1947 (I’m 88 now). I was fortunate enough to be accepted into the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine. I graduated in 1954 with an MD degree. Then followed 10 years of postgraduate work. I fell in love with pediatrics and then with pediatric cardiology…

After 10 years of postgraduate work, [in October 1965] I was invited to join the staff of Boston Children’s Hospital where I have worked ever since as a pediatric cardiologist, pathologist and embryologist. I have written more than 310 scientific papers, published a video series, edited a book on congenital-heart disease and have just finished writing a medical book, The Diagnostic and Surgical Pathology of Congenital Heart Disease. I have also written a book for the general, non-medical reader, Survival: A New Approach from the Life Sciences to the Major Problem of Our Time…

Returning to NTCI, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to NTCI for the excellence of its teaching. I remember Betty Bealey (English), Hal Brown (Athletics), Bob Gladish (Athletics) and “Bud” Page (Latin). A great crew; a wonderful beginning…

NTCI was an important part of my foundation… This is one graduate’s THANK YOU to NTCI.

We found this YouTube interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNp2vwgLDGk

After a highly successful career in Canadian media and now heading up The Success Story Program, a personal branding business, NT alumna Diana Bishop has published her memoir, Living Up to a Legend: My Adventures with Billy Bishop’s Ghost. As the grand-daughter of WWI flying ace Billy Bishop and the great-great-granddaughter of Timothy Eaton, Diana grew up in a home that was far from ordinary. In her highly readable and often poignant book, she shares her grandfather’s powerful legacy and, although he died when she was only three years old, the profound influence he had on her life as well of that of her father.

The book and Diana’s story has been featured in both the Toronto Sun (http://torontosun.com/2017/06/04/living-in-the-shawdow-cast-by-first-world-war-hero-billy-biship/wcm/d095d36b-8544-42e8-959c-918d8f648a9a) and the Globe and Mail (https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/leadership-lab/billy-bishops-grandaughter-we-have-never-been-hungrier-for-responsible-focused-authentic-visionaries/article35356583/). Published by Dundurn Press, Living up to a Legend is available at Chapters-Indigo, Amazon and directly through Dundurn Press.

When educator Nancy Steinhauer (’88) reconnected with a fellow NT alumna, editor Martha Kanya-Forstner (’87), who knew that the result would be an exciting new book? Pushing the Limits: How Schools Can Prepare Our Children Today for the Challenges of Topmorrow was co-authored by Nancy and lawyer and educational researcher Kelly Gallagher-Mackay (who attended NT before completing high school at Earl Haig) and edited by Martha Kanya-Forstner. The book draws on Nancy’s years with the Toronto District School Board as a teacher and principal and Kelly’s work as research director for People for Education to provide “a vision of what schooling can and should look like in our rapidly shifting world.” Highly readable, and of particular interest to parents and educators, the book highlights success stories of diverse and sometimes marginalized students and their innovative teachers in classrooms and schools where the future is now.

Nancy is currently principal of the Mabin School, one of Canada’s first Ashoka Changemaker Schools; Kelly is an assistant professor of law and society at Wilfred Laurier University. In 2016, Martha took on the role of editor-in-chief of McClelland & Stewart and Doubleday Canada and vice-president of Penguin Random House Canada.

The book and its authors have been featured:

• City TV’s Breakfast Television (August 29, 2017: http://www.bttoronto.ca/videos/pushing-the-limits-authors-stress-importance-of-our-school-system/);
• Global Television’s The Morning Show (September 1, 2017);
• The Globe and Mail (August 30, 2017: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/back-to-school/yes-the-internet-can-be-a-dark-place-but-that-doesnt-mean-parents-and-teachers-should-avoidit/article36131245/).

Pushing the Limits is available in bookstores and through Penguin Random House (http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/258497/pushing-the-limits-by-kelly-gallagher-mackay-and-nancy-steinhauer/9780385685382/).

Over the years, NT Alumnus Dr. Jeff Turnbull has been in the news on a number of occasions. The highly respected doctor spent nine years as part of the faculty at the University of Western Ontario, where he also chaired the Division of Internal Medicine and served as deputy chief of the Department of Medicine. In 1991, he was recruited to the University of Ottawa and served as vice-dean of medical education for several years. He was also a key figure in the Educating Future Physicians for Ontario Project, and served as president of the Medical Council of Canada. He was appointed chair of the Department of Medicine in 2001, and in 2008 he became chief of staff at The Ottawa Hospital. He has been the recipient of many honours and awards including the Order of Canada (2007).

During the 90s, Dr. T, as he is known, became increasingly interested in providing better care to Ottawa’s homeless population. To this end, he helped establish Ottawa’s Inner City Health Project and has served as its medical director since its inception. This initiative has won numerous awards and received national as well as international acclaim. Working with the homeless has become Jeff’s driving passion, and it is for this reason that he has recently been in the news. At a time when he could think about retiring, Jeff is stepping down from his position at The Ottawa Hospital to spend more time working with the homeless. For full details, check the following videos:

• (September 25, 2017) http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/doctor-leaving-top-job-to-spend-more-time-helping-homeless-1.3605625
• (October 14, 2017) http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/er-doctors-head-to-shelters-to-treat-homeless-patients-1.2798258
• (October 29, 2017) http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/top-ottawa-doctor-leaving-hospital-post-to-treat-homeless-1.3654507

NT alumna Jennifer Wahlroth was recently the recipient of a rare honour, bestowed on her by North West Territory Pipe Band. A certified accountant by day with Avery Cooper & Co. in Yellowknife, Jennifer started piping lessons in 1992 and began performing with the pipe band two years later. She also put her accounting skills to work as secretary/treasurer of the organization. This past January, her dedication to the band was recognized at its annual Robert Burns Dinner, when she was presented with a Lifetime Honourary Membership. Only the fourth person in the pipe band’s 40-year history to be thus honoured, she was previously awarded the Pipe Major Floyd Adlem Award in 2008 for outstanding service.

Daniel Levy, co-creator, writer and star of the highly popular CBC comedy Schitt’s Creek was featured in the December 2016 issue of Professionally Speaking, the journal of the Ontario College of Teachers. In the Remarkable Teacher segment, he paid tribute to Anne Carrier, Head of English at NTCI from 1998 to her retirement in 2005, and the pivitol role she played in helping him “find his voice.”

Levy recalled, “High school was a tricky time… I knew I wanted to write, to create, to have my voice heard but I had no idea how to do it.” But being in Anne Carrier’s class in 2001 was perfect timing: “She came along at just the right moment.” Dan specifically praised Anne for her emphasis on subtext and the “challenge of reading between the lines… She inspired me to think differently and continue to write.”

Kudos to Dan on his successful career and for recognizing
the major role Anne Carrier played in his journey to success.

In January 2017, all media outlets were buzzing with the inspirational story of double lung transplant recipient Melissa Benoit. The surgical team behind this remarkable achievement was led by NT alumnus Dr. Shaf Keshavjee.

Recognized as a world leader in thoracic surgery, Dr. Keshavjee graduated from University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine in 1985, then trained in surgery at U of T, Harvard, and the University of London. A key member of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at University Health Network, Dr. Keshavjee is also an Officer of the Order of Canada (2014) and the developer of the Toronto XVIVO Lung Perfusion System, which allows donor lungs to be kept alive outside of the body in order to be assessed, treated and repaired before being transplanted into a patient.

Congratulations to Dr. Keshavjee and his team on their lifesaving innovations and remarkable achievements.

Those who attended the 2016 edition of Maytime Melodies, featuring the Mozart Requiem, were treated to Emily D’Angelo’s stunning performance as the contralto soloist. Recognized as one of Canada’s most gifted young operatic stars, Emily graduated from NT in 2012 and furthered her studies in music performance/voice at the University of Toronto. She graduated last spring and earned a coveted position with the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio. This fall, she will also be making her debut with the Canadian Opera Company, playing Zweite Dame in their production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Her achievements and rapid rise to fame in the world of opera were recently highlighted in November issue of the North Toronto Post. The digital version of the Postarticle can be found at

http://www.postcity.com/Eat-Shop-Do/Do/November-2016/Singer-Emily-DAngelo-is-happily-hitting-some-career-high-notes/

Lorraine Clarkson