Back in the spring when the pandemic first hit, Heidi bought a paint by numbers kit for our daughter, Sofia. And Sofia has been plugging away at it little by little over the last few months. When our family gathered for Sunday morning worship (around a screen, of course!), she pulled out the painting and [...]
“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 [...]
