“Be gentle with yourself and generous with others” is a phrase that Ed Noot, Executive Director of the Society of Christian Schools in BC, shared with us school leaders during one of our many virtual meetings over spring break. It’s a phrase that has stuck with me over these last few weeks and something I’m trying to [...]
It was a star. A simple star…one that would be drawn on your hand when you arrived at school…or not. I remember waking up every morning. I didn’t care about my homework. I didn’t care about what we were going to do in school that day. I only cared about whether or not my hand [...]
There are plenty of jobs I’ve had to do this year as a principal that seem a little outside the “norm.” We often refer to these things as “other duties as required.” It’s a joking reference to a line in our contracts that doesn’t really exist…but it should! My “other duty as required,” along with [...]
“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 [...]
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Ah, the age-old question that begins as a fun activity to do with your kids. One of my daughters wanted to be a mermaid when she grew up…. At some point along the way, usually in high school, the question remains but changes ever [...]
BY: MELISSA REDEKOP, ACS BOARD MEMBER I am flawed, imperfect, and at times, painfully aware of it.
“Are you excited to be principal at ACS next year?” I was asked this question a lot over the summer. I always answered that question without hesitation. YES! Some of you might be wondering, how can he say that? Doesn’t he know what he’s getting himself into? As a recovering math teacher, allow me to run [...]
Eight years. That’s how long I was principal at ACS Secondary. These eight years have been good years, with many wonderful people and some incredible experiences. I probably could list 50 things that I learned as principal at ACS, but here are five of them. 1. God Works Through Us, Regardless of Our Mistakes This [...]
“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 [...]
There is something really gratifying in running down a flying disk to score a point for your team. Just ask any of our middle school students who enjoy playing Ultimate during our lunch breaks. Ultimate is a fast paced game that is a hybrid cross of football, Frisbee and handball. One of the really cool [...]
