I’m not a big fan of new year resolutions. It could be that I have a terrible track record keeping them. But this year I decided that I need to take better care of my health. I’m a terrible binge-eater. I don’t bring a lunch (there’s rarely a break long enough to enjoy it anyway), [...]
My third son, Aiden, drives a 1997 Volvo. He bought it from Gary Verbeek at the school’s mechanic shop when he was in grade 11. It cost him a whole $700, and he was so proud of it. At the time he didn’t have his license yet but that didn’t matter to him. He was the [...]
You are so weird! Usually, this would sound like an insult to any middle school student. The comment seems to target a student’s self-esteem, their sense of belonging, and tells them they don’t fit in. What would happen if students found a way to see this comment as a compliment—a statement that affirms the reality [...]
A few years ago, Kirsi Antunes, our school counsellor, introduced our staff to the language of “expected” and “unexpected” behaviours. For opportunities where we wanted to correct a student’s actions (actions, not willful wrongdoing), rather than saying they were making a bad choice, we tried to name the unexpected behaviours and help them choose [...]
I began attending ACS in grade 1. My sister Linda, my brother Ken, and I walked at least 2 km to the end of Harris and Beharrell Road to the old wooden bus stop every day, there and back…okay, maybe not 2 km, but at least 1.5 km rain or shine. The yellow Ridgedale bus [...]
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 [...]
Have you ever dreamed of accomplishing something really big? I was 11 years old, dreaming that one day I would make the ACS volleyball team. I watched both of my older brothers play the sport and I knew that this would be the sport I played at school. I was so nervous at the start [...]
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, [...]
“Are you our math teacher!?” Surprise! There were a few surprised faces on the first day of school in our math class. The past four years of my principalship have been marked with many highs and lows. The lows started to take their toll on me, and last spring I decided to re-enter the classroom [...]
Amy and I have four boys. Our home is filled with rough-housing, noise, smell, and a ton of food. Our boys are extremely active. They all play sports. We shuttle them back-and-forth from sports, swimming, and playdates. Yet somehow, when they return home, they still have energy to burn. We encourage (hear “tell”) them to [...]
