“Mr. van Eerden is quitting. He won't be there on Monday!” That was the message that went home to one family, even though I specifically said at chapel that morning that I would be principal until they finished the grade they were in right now. Mom was very happy to receive an email from me. Or [...]
BY EVANGELINE STEWART, GRADE 3 TEACHER Have you ever wondered what ACS Elementary is like with no one there, with the lights off? Have you ever wanted to run or dance down empty school hallways? Think of all the fun you could have! Hallway Dancing Well, this is my life every morning at 6:30 am. [...]
That's what Collins, our driver in Zambia, kept telling us when taking our pictures. Not Canadian smiles but Zambian smiles. What’s the difference? According to Collins, Zambian smiles are fuller, broader, a lot of teeth or, as one of my favourite quotes from a book, “ones that reach the eyes.” A Conduit of Hope [...]
BY: NANCY HUMPHRIES It is so hard to believe that 28 years have passed since I first joined the ACS community to teach grade 2. Over the years I have also taught grade 1 and then Kindergarten. Each year brought a new group of children under my wings. Teaching young children is a bit like [...]
“Do you want to go to Zambia?” This was not a message I expected to receive from my wife, Jane, while I was away visiting my mom on the Family Day weekend. We had been tossing around some ideas for summer, but mostly they were local and more budget-wise, as last summer, we took a [...]
BY EMILIE DARBY, MUSIC SUPPORT SPECIALIST It's May. How on earth did that happen so fast? But alas, here we are, and as I pull the calendar month of April from above my desk and replace it with the tasks of May, I find myself marvelling at how quickly this year has sped by, and [...]
BY ANNA REDEKOP, ACS PARENT When our daughter, Sadie was 10 months old, she was not meeting several of her developmental milestones. So we took her for genetic testing. I remember sitting her on the ground in the doctor’s office and giving her a cracker thinking everything would be fine and the doctor was about [...]
BY LAURA VAN MAREN, ACS PARENT It was the first day of school in a brand new place. We all had a wonderful relaxing summer, while trying to prepare the kids for a new school. We talked about the new school, met a family from the school, and toured the school. The older kids had [...]
NOTE: Roy wrote this blog prior to the decision to postpone student-led conferences. “Student-led Conferences are on Valentine’s Day!” I knew the objections would come. I hoped with enough notice, people would adjust and accept it. It’s just that it really is the best timing. I actually didn’t see it as such a big deal [...]
BY KARIN RIEMER, ELEMENTARY VICE PRINCIPAL AND UPPER PRIMARY TEACHER I’m married to a chef. My husband can make food so scrumptious, it yells, “Eat me!” He treats food like art. Even finishing salt gets sprinkled on by hand, with a flourish, while leaning in closely to the plate. Gary can look in the fridge and [...]
