Girls at Earls

Last Wednesday was not a typical evening for the prefects in Mackenzie House; it was a special one. We were in semi-casual outfits, all looking fabulous as we got onto the bus to head out to Earls in Victoria for a meal together with our Houseparent, Ms. Cheung. We all ordered some appetizers to tide ourselves over as we were eating later than usual.  By the time appetizers were done I had eaten so much that I was already full, but I pushed through and ordered a burger.  After we had all eaten every last bit of the appies, Ms. Cheung brought out Dr. Seuss’, Oh The Places You’ll Go. It is her favourite book and at the end of each year she has the girls sign it with a little note. Not only did she get up in front of us and strangers in a loud Earls to read the entire Dr. Seuss book, she did it with pride and love. She thinks that we helped her this year, but really, she helped us grow up.  She finished reading and every girl made their way in for an appreciative hug. We then passed the book down the table and anybody could see that there was no girl who was just signing their name. Every girl realized the sentimental value of that book and every note we left for our second mom was straight from the heart.  It is not an easy job taking care of 60 girls, two of your own little boys, and working full time. Balancing the house along with her family must not be easy but Ms. Cheung does an exceptional job at it. I have a large amount of respect for anybody who cares so much about each and every one of us as if we her own.  We then enjoyed the rest of our food and assumed that was it. But, Ms. Cheung had gone even further in showing her appreciation and love for us: she handed each girl a book from the “Little Miss” series of children's books where each character has a name that suits their personality. There were names like the one Delaina M got: “Little Miss Chatterbox.” Or the one that I received, “Little Miss Sunshine”, which was shocking as I had assumed it would be “Little Miss Bad” or “Little Miss Bossy.” Mrs. Cheung must have been going easy on me. Each book had a personalized note from her.  It has been a crazy busy year for all of the Grade 12s in Mack and hopefully I speak for everyone that it was also one of the best. I will miss this place and the nights like Wednesday where all of girls get to go out and do nothing but enjoy each other’s company and realize how far we have come together.  I am still waiting for my pin that says “Prefect” to be replaced with one of the proper spelling: “Perfect.” ;-) Thank you for the three years Brentwood.  Georgia P, Mackenzie ‘16