In 1986, I stepped into the role of elementary principal, and I was met with a daunting challenge issued by then ACS Board Chair, Jack Van Dyke: to fill the four vacant classrooms in our new elementary campus on the Abbotsford-Mission Highway. Little did we anticipate that this newly rebuilt campus, erected after the devastation [...]
In 1991, I was a grade 9 student at Abbotsford Christian Secondary School. I bused to school every day with the other Chilliwack and Agassiz kids, had a blue top locker in the hallway that now leads to the mechanics shop (my locker combination was 27-54-39), and spent most of my free time making [...]
The setting was a professional development trip with other colleagues from ACS to an exemplary school, founded on project-based learning principles. I remember first walking in and being taken aback when a student approached me, offering a tour of the school. Joseph was his name, and he especially wanted me to experience a class that [...]
It was 1975. I was teaching in the middle of London, in a very academic girls’ school, when I emigrated to Canada to take a job at Abbotsford Christian School. At that time, the grade 1-10 school was divided into elementary and junior high sections. I joined five other teachers in the junior high school, [...]
Another school year is well underway. I did the math for my family and this year was my 20th year of dropping my kids off for their first day of school at ACS. Twenty years of packing lunches. Twenty years of saying “Have a great day!” as they jump out of the car. Twenty years [...]
Our bi-weekly Friday morning chapel is one of those things that makes the elementary campus just a little extra wonderful. Our kindergarten students joined us for chapel for the first time last week Friday, and hearing 450 children’s voices singing praise songs together is the best. What a privilege it is to offer Christian education. [...]
There’s an infamous place on the secondary campus. It’s located in the band room, up the stairs and to the right. Truly, if you follow the smell, you’ve found it. No joke. It’s known around here as “the black hole.” It’s known to make staff shudder. Ask any former staff member and they will shake [...]
Happy 70th Anniversary! On September 5, 2023, ACS will open its doors to students for a 70th time! What a testament to God’s enduring faithfulness. Many of you know that myself and many of us in leadership at ACS are fond of a biblical liturgy recently introduced to us and helpful in leading our school [...]
Fourteen moves in 14 years. From hoarders’ homes from the 1950s to bears in our yard daily, we have lived in some interesting places. We have completed some challenging renos and cleared out some interesting items. So why have we moved so many times? With my husband in land development, we decided to take on [...]
“What would you do during a two-and-a-half-hour block that combined both math and drama classes?” How would you answer this question? Honestly, I don’t remember how I answered, when it was asked during my ACS interview many moons ago. But I was offered the job, so I must have done okay and began my teaching [...]
