It was an ordinary Friday morning, or so I thought, and I was getting started on the day when I heard sounds drifting up the stairs and into my office. New in my role as Director of Learning Support Services, I was still learning the rhythm of elementary school life. It took me a few [...]
Jack Koning is a beloved teacher who influenced generations of Abbotsford Christian School students to love music. He also taught us the benefits of perseverance, excellence, and that we are better and stronger as a community than as individuals. Jack now has terminal cancer and is in his last days. I was teaching in Red [...]
For those of us who’ve been in our ACS community a while, the name “Sandra Elgersma” makes us think about singing, xylophones, recorders, concerts, and musicals. Many ACS alumni, honorary members, and staff fondly remember our former music teacher, Miss Sandra Elgersma, who taught children music at Abbotsford Christian School from 1988-2012. If you had [...]
I like the school’s theme song for the 2021-22 school year. It’s called “Let it be Love” by Canadian band, The Color (although, I expected them to call themselves “The Colour.”) The song is catchy and fun—toe-tapping, even, and I’m not really a toe-tapper. It sticks and I catch myself humming the chorus as I [...]
True confession: I can’t sing and in spite of a few valiant attempts, I cannot play a musical instrument. Among other things I inherited from my mother is the inability to carry a tune. However, I also inherited a love of music from my father. I have discovered that the two are not incongruous and [...]
“Mom! Hurry up! I’m going to be late!” yells my daughter from the bottom of the stairs. Do I really have to? I sigh. It’s dark, rainy, and well before 7:00 am. I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet! This is so painfully hard for me! Yet, I pull on a pair of shoes, grab the [...]
As year-end looms near, and our minds begin to wander away from the tasks at hand to the many things to accomplish in so few weeks, and the promise of summer vacation, I find myself a bit reflective.You see, I won’t be returning to regular teaching next year. The tug-of-war between home and classroom is [...]
BY JONATHAN BOERSecondary Art TeacherThere is a poster out there entitled “How to Be An Artist.” It’s a list of things an artist is supposed to do, like “plant impossible gardens,” “take moonbaths,” and “invite dangerous people to tea.” If this poster is the definitive list, I’m not an artist.The only things on that poster [...]
I don't listen to music very much. When I am driving, I prefer podcasts and talk radio because I like to engage ideas and argue—yes, I argue with the car radio. I certainly don't make a habit of going to concerts, but I was very excited about a concert last September at St. Andrews in [...]
I really think it is time to let it go. I have three young daughters who are, like many of my grade 8 students and apparently a large percentage of people generally, obsessed with the movie Frozen. Hardly a day goes by when there is not a musical number from Frozen being staged in my [...]
