by Moira Louw A few weeks ago, I had the rare opportunity to eat lunch with a former teacher, in her own home. Mrs. Becky Enns (although I know her as Ms. Vandenberg) was my grade 7 teacher, and I still remember her "special guy friend" Jonas coming to visit the class, and the gossip this created [...]
My wife surprised me with a trip to a spa for my birthday. I have never been to a spa before (and I probably won’t ever go again). It was a very relaxing time, which is something I struggle with. My wife, Sharon, noted on several occasions throughout our time there, that I have a [...]
Sometimes a career as a middle school teacher seems more like a career as a cat herder. Middle school kids have a lot of energy. There are times when we just have to break out of our classrooms, giving our kids space to apply at least some of their enthusiasm to projects outside of our [...]
It’s not that my husband and I don’t enjoy cooking. We have a collection of favourite recipe books—the worn copy of the More with Less Cookbook that we packed back and forth to Africa and Hungary, my Hull Christian School Society Cookbook from Iowa (Snicker Salad, anyone?), a binder of recipes from both the Schut [...]
I don’t know how many times I have looked at the picture that my mother had hung in our kitchen, probably thousands over the years. I am sure most of you know the picture because it may have been hanging in your kitchen when you were a child. For that matter, you may have it [...]
When Tym first asked me if I would be willing to be the Middle School Staff blogger for Inside Out, he suggested possible ways that I could begin a blog post. One was “So, my husband is gaming again….” “Again?” I retorted. “More like still gaming or has become obsessed with yet another video game.” Yes, [...]
It had been a long day of driving—all the way from Abbotsford to Nelson, on the first leg of our trip to Alberta in early July. We finally pulled into our lakeside campsite at Kokanee Creek Provincial Park at suppertime, and were greeted by a cloud of mosquitoes and the rumbling of a thunderstorm in [...]
Every once in a while someone asks me a really good question that gets me thinking deeply about life. However, more often it is some small event or interaction that prompts me to ponder. Recently, I spent a couple of days with our Grade 8 students at Camp Kawkawa, and I experienced one of those [...]
The last months of grade 8 are a flurry of activity, and believe it or not, our end-of-the-year trip to Camp Kawkawa actually gives teachers and students a chance to catch our collective breath. Sure, we have lots of great stuff planned to make the most of our time at camp, but a big part [...]
