It suddenly felt like fall. For most of September, it was warm, with comfortable evenings even when it rained. Then suddenly, the nights got colder and we were into fall. The change happened all in an instant. Parent Stuff My life feels like that. The season has changed and it seems to have come very [...]
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 [...]
BY JUSTIN VERWOERD, EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANT When I started my job at ACS Middle, I thought it was perfect: work starts at 8:00 am, meal breaks at 10:30 am and 12 noon, and the weekly schedule is generally unchanging. I was cruising. The perfect job for me. Well, anyone who works at a school, has children, [...]
BY CAITLYN CHARLEBOIS, GRADE 12 STUDENT Fourteen years ago, I fell into a puddle during recess. One of my only memories of preschool was from that recess. I remember running from the small playground to the swing set across the field. Except—and maybe what was the worst moment of my life up until that point—I [...]
“What are you doing next year?” I have been asked this question many times over the past year. The more you answer, “I’m not sure…” the more difficult it becomes to get asked that question (just ask any grade 12 student; they will share this same feeling). But I understand those kids a little better [...]
BY CARRIE LOCKWOOD, GRADE 7 TEACHER As if bragging, my Dad claimed that he got the strap 27 times in grade 7. I do wonder what he was doing that was so bad as to warrant such punishment. Fast forward 75 years. I have been supporting Mrs. Barthel in band class. This one particular class [...]
My daughter came to me last November and said, “Dad, a co-worker in the ER wants me to join CrossFit; do you want to take the three week Foundations Class with me?” “Does it involve strenuous exercise and pain?” I asked. “No, thanks.” She finished three weeks of training and couldn’t stop talking about the [...]
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 NICOLA HEIDEBRECHT, SECONDARY FRENCH TEACHER I am known to most students as “Madame H.” I’ve been the French teacher at ACS Secondary since September 2017. It’s somewhat ironic that this past fall, I was asked to submit a story for the January blog. At the time, I had no idea life would take a [...]
