We are the Daum family and live on the first floor of Bolton House. I (Clayton) am the Senior House Parent and work with the senior assistant house parent Evan Fryer to run the house, and attend to the day to day needs of the boys. I have been a member of Bolton House for 9 years, and Amanda, my wife, has worked as a Junior Houseparent in Timmis and Symons House previously.
I have taught in the Modern Languages department at St. Michaels University School for 9 years as a Spanish teacher, and have branched out into the Social Studies in the last couple of years, teaching Social Studies 10. During my time here I have coached the Senior, Junior and Grade 9 Boys Rugby teams and would encourage all the Bolton boys to get onto a team right away as it is the best way to connect and get involved. Amanda is also a teacher at a local public school, and was responsible for organizing and running House Olympics and Saturday Activities for the boarding community at SMUS for several years so has lots of experience dealing with teenage boys.
Our eldest son, Elliot Daum, turned 6 this past summer and loves living in the house with all the “big boys”! He also loves having the best front yard in the world to play on every day! He is joined by his little brother James who will turn 4 in November and is anything but shy. We feel very fortunate to have our sons grow up with your sons in such a supportive and caring community where they are able to interact with young men from so many different cultures and traditions. The new Bolton boys will certainly get to know Elliot and James well as they tumble loudly down the hallway on their way to play on the field.
Our emphasis this year is on “brotherhood” and what it means to be a Bolton Brother. We look forward to watching these young men bond and form lifelong friendships as they face challenges, push themselves and try new things together.
We look forward to catching up with all of our returning boys, and to helping all of the new guys feel comfortable in their transition into Bolton and SMUS. I am confident that this will be another great year in boarding! Go Bo!
Clayton Daum
‘Brotherhood, Honour, Strength’