Blog Posts

This month we have been fortunate enough to be able to host some normal events at school. Small gatherings like assemblies, special presentations, small tournaments, and guest speakers, along with our Vasaikhi Mehla last week. What I've found as a whole is the overwhelming gratitude of the students, staff, and later the parents. Our students have always enjoyed being together to celebrate and learn but the number of thank yous and student cards of gratitude has been overwhelming. Even a simple field trip has students bubbling with joy and happiness.

The most recent stop on my student voice inquiry journey was at WJ Mouat. I continue to be fascinated by the diversity of thought about certain issues, and simultaneously the remarkable consistency around other topics. Rather than editorialize, I will Arianna (Gr. 9), Omran (Gr. 12), Jazzi (Gr. 11), Nickolas (Gr. 11), Bella (Gr. 11), Lily (Gr. 12), Nathan (Gr. 11), Jayda (Gr. 12), and Natalie (Gr. 12) speak their truth:

When you think about school, what is the first word that comes to mind? Why?

I visited the temporary Upper Sumas Elementary site this week to see how the staff and students were adjusting to their “new” environment (For those of you who have been around as long as I have been, this was the old Abby Elementary School site). As I approached the front doors, I saw a class of students standing in circle in a little garden patch. I made eye contact with the teacher, Ms. Marr, who invited me to join their circle. She told me that they had just finished sharing what they were grateful for and invited me to do the same.

With all that has transpired in this country and in Europe over the last few weeks, it is easy to slip into despair. However, when you work with and in service of children it is both difficult and unhealthy to live in that space. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with a group of eight students from Robert Bateman Secondary last week, and true to form, they not only affirmed the importance of our work, but lifted my spirits about the fundamental importance of our ongoing journey to deepen student learning experiences in our schools.  

With all the deserved recognition of our health providers and essential service personnel, it's easy to overlook the role of the teachers and support staff in schools over the last two years. Our HSE staff along with other staff across the district and province have kept schools open and students learning. They have flexed and changed their routines and practice so students can come to school safely and learn. I would like to pay a special thank you to our HSE Staff. They have been outstanding professionals during these pandemic times.

I have a hope that one day we will not have to celebrate Black History Month, that our society, discourse and school curricula will be redolent with the contributions and experiences of Black Canadians, that Black students in our schools will be proud of who they are, that they will see their history and culture in the ecology of their school experiences, and that they will not suffer the legacy of prejudice and racism as their previous generation had.

Over the last few years, it has been my practice to post a “Top 3” January blog related to our educational transformation efforts and ways these ideas might be manifested in the coming twelve months.

What makes the season special? Some highlights include pending time with loved ones, having time off to sleep in, the crisp air and the signs of winter, gathering with others to share a meal and hearing familiar Christmas carols being played around town. Many of us can relate to the joys that are upon us with this time of year. This is my first year at Harry Sayers Elementary. As December dawned on us, our school participated in the “Annual Food Drive.” Seeing an outpouring of generosity has touched me.

What makes the season special? Some highlights include spending time with loved ones, having time off to sleep in, the crisp air and the signs of winter, gathering with others to share a meal and hearing familiar Christmas carols being played around town. Many of us can relate to the joys that are upon us with this time of year. This is my first year at Harry Sayers Elementary. As December dawned on us, our school participated in the “Annual Food Drive.” Seeing the outpouring of generosity has touched me.

When I was recently asked to share with some of my colleagues how our school district was handling the challenges related to the recent rainstorms and flooding, I could not help but reflect on the numerous calamities we have experienced as a community over the last decade. In addition to the pandemic and disastrous flooding of the last three weeks, our community has endured more than its fair share of tragedies. We have lost more students from a range of misfortune too difficult to recount here.