TORONTO – Ten-year-old Joshua Tait is on his way to Lynngate Junior Public School in Scarborough, a place he now loves — but that wasn’t always the case.
“Two years ago he was off the rails in the classrooms and at home,” Joshua’s mother Surinder Tait said. “And if it hadn’t been for the principal to pursue this, to have him checked out, we wouldn’t have known that he has ADHD and Defiance.”
Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder or (ODD) display extreme resistance to authority, conflict with parents, outbursts of temper and spitefulness with peers.
“I saw a child that was crying out for help, a child that wanted to do well in school, but didn’t know how to,” Diane Kriksciunas, Principal of Lynngate Junior Public School said.
“It was also a team of people that I engaged to help out with Joshua and his family.”
“Principal Diane made the effort to see to it that he gets help because she noticed that he’s not working well in a larger group,” Tait said. “ She also got a school psychologist to do an assessment on him and that’s when we learned he has a learning disability and he works well with a smaller classroom.”
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As a principal, Kriksciunas works hard to ensure students are active and mindful. She uses tennis to promote well-being, teamwork, problem solving, cardio-health and eye-hand coordination.
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“I found out that Joshua loves tennis so we connected on that level and I helped the family to get into some programs in our community,” Kriksciunas said.
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She started her teaching career back in 1985 at the elementary level and noticed how daily physical activity helped to calm down students so they would be more engaged in academic subjects. Since she was always caring and had strong leadership skills, it was only natural for her to transition to her role as a principal.
“Every child can be successful and learn. We just have to find the key for those that struggle. There’s always the key,” Kriksciunas said, when asked about her teaching philosophy. “You just have to find the key to unlock the treasures in that child and I think we did that with Joshua.”
After 32 years of making sure students of all abilities are given opportunities to succeed, Kriksciunas will retire this June.
But it’s clear that she has left a lasting impression on many of her students.
“She understands my son,” Tait said. “No one else took the time to see what he actually is and we’re very, very grateful.
“Hadn’t it been for her, we would be lost.”
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