I remember the tears well. It was like deep, dark rain clouds descending on a sunny day. A mom, in my office, being told we didn’t have any room at ACS in our Learning Support Services department, meaning we would not be able to enrol her son in grade 9 in the fall. The [...]
BY HELINDA VANDERKOOI, ACS PARENT Middle school…yikes! I heard stories from parents about middle school. Claims like: your kids don’t need you as much in middle school, hardly any parents come to chapel, the teachers don’t want your help, the kids ignore and avoid you. With all this chatter I was not looking forward to the [...]
I asked a simple question last November at a Leadership Team meeting. “Tym, you look stressed out about head coaching the Senior Girls’ basketball team. Can I help?” I wasn’t actually expecting him to give the answer he gave, which was, “Yes, I could really use your help.” I am pretty sure I just meant [...]
Most people think Twitter began in 2006, but a form of it actually existed in my grade 7 classroom long before that. I didn’t call it Twitter, I called it “Notion Notes.” When I first came to Abbotsford, I taught grade 7. Besides having fun learning all that science and English, we also did fun things for their own [...]
Just a few days before the Christmas break, I received a phone call from my friend Dave MacDonald. Dave and his wife, Danaya, have a very collaborative relationship with our school, even though their children don’t attend ACS, as they homeschool in order to volunteer in Guatemala. They have hosted several school events at their [...]
BY: ESTHER DE JONG, ACS PARENT Christmas Spirit As I slowly began the process of pulling out my Christmas decorations, after hearing the first Christmas song playing on the radio, I pulled out the old Christmas sweaters from my ”tickle trunk” at the top of my closet. I successfully pulled out two brightly coloured knit [...]
A few weeks ago, three important guests visited our school whose sole purpose was to evaluate our school for the BC Ministry of Education. Every six years, a team shows up at every independent school in BC to check everything. And, I mean everything. The water quality and swing set bolts Among other things, they [...]
At 7:50 am, I hug my son and daughter and bid them farewell. I watch them walk down the street and head towards our school. I close the door, breathe deep, and smile. Yes, my kids walk to ACS every day. Saving Time or Sanity? In actuality, if I drove them, it would take me twice [...]
This summer, I drove up to Vernon with my little Boston Whaler and we arrived around 9 pm at night. We launched the boat on Wood Lake because all the launches on Kalamalka Lake were closed due to flooding. I drove the boat by myself through the canal and then in the pitch black for [...]
This past semester in English 11, Mrs. Dani DeJong shared a collection of essays from National Public Radio’s program, “This I Believe.” She then challenged her students to write their own personal credo about a core principle that defines their life. The array of topics, concerns, and passions were as diverse as the students themselves. [...]
