As I am moving out of my role as middle school principal, I thought it would be appropriate to share my highlights from the past 13 years.

In no particular order, some of the things I will remember are:

  1. Coffeehouse performances

    Pre-pandemic, our middle school would hold an annual celebration of the arts. We often called these performances “coffeehouses” as we showcased our students’ performances and serve a light dessert with coffee or tea. Every year staff worried that our students were not ready and every year we were awed by how well our students did! I also remember one particular coffeehouse that involved a dance team, followed by an impromptu tribute to disco dancing that included a certain principal doing the disco splits. My knee has never been the same since!

  2. The Sound of Music

    One year, staff decided that instead of a coffeehouse, our campus would perform The Sound of Music. It was a massive undertaking! From sets and costumes to musical accompaniment by our middle school bands and solo performances by middle school boys whose voices were cracking, it turned out to be incredible!

  3. Newcastle Island and SALTS

    These trips are close to my heart and are annual highlights for our grade 7 and 8 students. Camping on Newcastle Island also is a favourite among parents. It is a wonderful community building event. Sailing for five days on a tall ship with SALTS is something that I am so grateful our school community got behind so that every grade 8 student could experience it. Each time we go, there are always one or two students who do not want to go, and they often leave on the first morning with tears of fear and trepidation filling their eyes. Without fail, it is these same students who come back on Friday with tears because the adventure is over. Every one of these students became the strongest advocates for the trip.

  4. The new building

    The new building has been a ten-year project and the end result is spectacular! It has been a blessing to have been a part of the journey from the initial planning stages through to actually moving in and using these amazing spaces.

  5. The first day of school chapel

    Every year, we hear about how many of our students, especially our grade 5 and 6 students, are nervous about coming to a new school. And every year, often by the end of the first day, these same students are talking about the middle school as “their” school. I love that!

  6. Closing chapel

    I also love the closing chapel every year. Often these chapels extended for two or more hours as we spent time as a campus community celebrating learning and growth; there is always so much to celebrate! And no one complains about a two-hour chapel!

  7. Being a plague victim at the grade 8 Medieval Fair

    Pre-pandemic, we would usually hold a Presentation of Learning evening with the grade 8 Medieval Fair. Almost every year, I dressed up as a plague victim. With the help of a secondary school drama teacher, I showed up with oozing sores all over my face and hands. Often students AND parents couldn’t handle the realistic blemishes. It was so much fun!

  8. Chapels and go-carts

    Every now and then, I told a personal story to illustrate a point in chapel. One of my favourites involves a go-cart that my father built for me when I was in grade 6. I love telling the story of the go-cart race against a friend and the go-cart his father had built for him. Many students were so engaged in the story and one young man gift me a recreation of my go-cart made from modeling clay.

  9. Nicaragua

    Okay, so this one isn’t specifically middle school, but it is such a highlight that I must include it. Traveling to visit our sister school, Centro de Fe, in Managua with a secondary Hands Team was one of my most memorable events. I still pray daily for many of the staff and students of Centro de Fe by name. Hearing of the sudden passing of our driver and guide, Lester, due to a COVID infection, hit me particularly hard. We only spent 10 days there, but the people we met impacted my life deeply.

  10. Students serving in the community

    When we could, it was so good to see our students helping in a variety of ways in the greater Abbotsford community. At various times students served at three different non-profit thrift stores, the food bank, four different seniors’ homes, four different public elementary schools, as well as with the Abbotsford Mission Nature Club in Wilband Creek Park. Our grade 7 students also served with the First Peoples caretakers at Newcastle Island. Such rich experiences!

  11. Coaching

    This one is selfish, but I love coaching! At some point, I have coached every sport we run (cross country, volleyball, basketball, badminton, Ultimate, soccer, and track and field). I especially appreciated the opportunity for students to get to know me as more than their principal; I appreciate knowing more about who they are, and it is good for them to see me in a different light as well. Plus, I just love what athletics can contribute to our school culture and to an individual’s growth!

  12. THE Lockdown and when COVID first hit

    These are not necessarily positive memories, but they are strong ones. First, there was the time when we were hosting our Honorary Members Christmas Lunch. The elementary Joyful Sounds choir was  just about to perform when I received a call from the Abbotsford Police informing us of a potential threat in the neighbourhood. We had to go into a full lockdown immediately. That was stressful! Likewise, spring break 2020 will be forever the break that wasn’t, as our school’s senior leadership had to meet daily to figure out how to “do school” in a pandemic. Also, stressful but we have grown through all the struggles and hardships!

It has been a good run and I am grateful and blessed that I was campus principal at Abbotsford Christian Middle School. Honestly, the greatest highlight is simply seeing students engaged and happy to be at school. In the end, I know that this is the Lord’s school, and these are His kids! We are so blessed!