Many homeowners dread raking leaves. Well, hopefully this column will change your negative attitude towards the chore of raking and disposing of leaves into a positive one that your garden will benefit from.
Previous columns have described the virtues of fertilizing with organic matter. Leaves happen to be one of the most plentiful and nutrient-rich forms of organic matter that can be readily made into compost.
Leaves also can be used as mulch on plants for winter protection.

Hello from Fort High!
It has been a busy summer and a great start-up at the school with new staff, a brand new group of Grade 9 students, and loads of enthusiasm from everybody.
Athletic teams and arts productions are in full swing, and many different clubs are operating within the school.
This year has seen some changes in programming, as well as a few other minor tweaks to the way we do business. Probably the single-most significant change is the way we will be offering our “alternative” programming.

Greetings from Fort High. I want to apologize for the prolonged break between columns. Some parents have told me they find my writings of use, so I will try not to have such a long gap again. I would like to continue with the theme I had established in November by discussing some often overlooked topics. This week, I’d like to focus on attendance and the impact it has on achievement. Attendance at Fort High is a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that more than half of the students at Fort High have what I would consider very good attendance.