Tribute to Sister Bernadette
As I watched the live stream of Sister Bernadette’s funeral and said a prayer for the repose of her soul, I thought with gratitude of all that she meant to me. In short, Sister Bernadette changed my life. Early in my adolescence, I moved to Alpha from another school, where I had been a class clown with poor grades. At that time, Sister B was headmistress of both Alpha Academy and Alpha boarding school. The jolt I needed was this double dose of Sister Bernadette. As headmistress of Alpha Academy, she set high standards of which I quickly became acutely aware. As a boarder at the school, I benefitted from her one-on-one discussions about the importance of hard work. She spoke to me about my hard-working parents and my responsibility to them. I saw myself as a class clown but Sister Bernadette saw an adolescent who needed molding. She started my evolution by bolstering my confidence through increased responsibilities. She expounded with passion about language, literature and faith. I experienced up close her infectious passion for education, which she transmitted to me. Now I can say that Sister B transformed this failing class clown into a career educator who went on to achieve a PhD in Second Language Education and to publish textbooks that are currently in use in Québec schools. Thank you, Sister B!
Under Sister Bernadette’s tutelage, none of the “horrors” of boarding school existed. As boarders at Alpha, we were treated to a headmistress with an exhilarating love of life and a profound understanding of adolescent girls’ needs and insecurities. In addition to telling us, “You can’t just eat, sleep and lie down,” she took us to movies and plays, especially if they corresponded to a Shakespeare play that we were studying in school. She also allowed us to attend dances at St. Georges’ College, with selected escorts, who had ‘passed her test’ after an in-depth talk. Before Sister B gave her approval for them to take us to a dance, she had to be persuaded that they would respect us and show us a good time at the dance. As my cousin, a St. Georges’ boy who was one of the approved escorts, told me, he felt so privileged that he would do nothing to displease Sister B! Indeed, boarding school memories with Sister B at the helm were precious. Thank you, Sister B!
A few years ago I received a pleasant call during teacher appreciation week from CBC Montreal radio telling me that they were doing a show about favourite teachers. They called me because the technician for the show had named me as her favourite teacher of all time and they wanted to know who my favourite teacher of all time was. On this live CBC Montreal radio show, I named Sister B and explained my reasons, stated above. My only regret is that in life I never shared this with Sister B. I am truly blessed to have known this remarkable woman. Rest in peace, dear Sister Mary Bernadette!
Pamela Lewis-Gunning (1964)
