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: Coffeehouse performances Pre-pandemic, our middle school would hold an annual celebration of the arts. We often [...]
A few surprises have come my way over the course of my time as a teacher and administrator. This is my 22nd year at ACS. For the first 9 years I was an assistant principal or vice principal, and for the past 13 years I have been the middle school principal. Before coming to ACS, [...]
These past few weeks we watched one of the final pieces of the construction project – the canopy over the front entrance – being put in place. This is like a giant erector set with a concrete cylinder base, a steel cylinder, six angled support arms, and beautiful wooden trusses, all supporting an angled wood [...]
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….” Those famous opening lines of Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities. The novel begins with, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was [...]
This past school year had its challenges to say the least! We navigated the two big C's: COVID-19 and construction. Both C's meant school had to be done differently. We stayed in our cohorts (another C word!), and we learned new routines like wearing a mask and using hand sanitizer whenever we moved from one [...]
I was walking to school on one of those rare mornings with a clear, pre-dawn sky, and low-lying fog. It was cool, quiet, and still. The world felt like it was at peace. As I came toward the school, there was a glow—a radiance—causing me to catch my breath. I immediately pulled out my phone [...]
Something funny is always happening in middle school. And it often involves something happening outside the classroom. Lately, I feel like we have all seen and heard enough about the COVID-19 virus and its impact on our lives. I do not mean to minimize the reality, but it is high time for us to share [...]
We are enjoying having the grade 5 students at the middle school! They have been at our campus for almost two months now and feel right at home. Even though the COVID-19 restrictions allow limited interaction with the grade 5 students and teachers, we are so glad they are here! So, we want to share [...]
Ask any student who’s been on the SALTS grade 8 sailing trip, they’ll talk for hours about their five days aboard a tall ship in the Salish sea; hauling the sails, taking the wheel, and singing their hearts out at the evening “mug up.” Some of them might also tell you about seasickness. That Queasy [...]
We hear it so often now—everything has changed; everything is different now. Even my Saturdays are different than before. I used to wake up a little later than on a weekday, go for my run, then go ahead with all the errands moved to the “Saturday-To-Do-List.” Typically, this involved a trip for groceries or to [...]
