BY WENDY ENNS, LEARNING SUPPORT SERVICES COORDINATOR What on earth could I possibly offer teachers from a rural village in Ethiopia? In November 2016, I had an incredible opportunity to travel with Run for Water to see a village that ACS Elementary raised money for clean water and a school. I was asked if I [...]
BY HELINDA VANDERKOOI, ACS PARENT Middle school…yikes! I heard stories from parents about middle school. Claims like: your kids don’t need you as much in middle school, hardly any parents come to chapel, the teachers don’t want your help, the kids ignore and avoid you. With all this chatter I was not looking forward to the [...]
I asked a simple question last November at a Leadership Team meeting. “Tym, you look stressed out about head coaching the Senior Girls’ basketball team. Can I help?” I wasn’t actually expecting him to give the answer he gave, which was, “Yes, I could really use your help.” I am pretty sure I just meant [...]
BY LINDA HOWARD, MIDDLE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT If you’ve ever seen the movie UP, then you know how short the attention span of a dog can be. Fitted with an electronic collar that voices the thoughts of the dog, just about every other sentence is interjected with the dog calling “Squirrel” because the dog has [...]
BY SHERRY DRADER, GRADE 4 TEACHER This past Christmas left me flabbergasted—the cardboard box STILL became the most sought after “toy” between my three kids! I’ve always been fascinated by the hours of enjoyment children get from a simple cardboard box, as the adult in me just wants to clean up the mess, flatten the [...]
Just a few days before the Christmas break, I received a phone call from my friend Dave MacDonald. Dave and his wife, Danaya, have a very collaborative relationship with our school, even though their children don’t attend ACS, as they homeschool in order to volunteer in Guatemala. They have hosted several school events at their [...]
A few weeks ago, three important guests visited our school whose sole purpose was to evaluate our school for the BC Ministry of Education. Every six years, a team shows up at every independent school in BC to check everything. And, I mean everything. The water quality and swing set bolts Among other things, they [...]
This summer, I drove up to Vernon with my little Boston Whaler and we arrived around 9 pm at night. We launched the boat on Wood Lake because all the launches on Kalamalka Lake were closed due to flooding. I drove the boat by myself through the canal and then in the pitch black for [...]
BY: SALLY VAN GEEST, GRADE 6 TEACHER I am not a musical person. I can’t clap to the beat, piano lessons were lost on me, I never learned to play the recorder, and I just don’t get rhythm. Musical rhythm, that is. What I do understand is the rhythm of the school year. It flows [...]
My daughter got married last summer and moved to Sidney on Vancouver Island. They have a nice little rental house just a few blocks from the ocean and only 3 minutes from the Victoria Swartz Bay ferry terminal. Debbie and I enjoy going over to visit them. Heading where?! A few weeks ago we finished [...]
