Expectations. We've all got them. In fact, we often have high expectations; especially of ourselves and the ones we love most. Expectations can be great. They have the power to motivate and kick us in the butt. They push us to do our best. Like when my boys look to the bench and see the [...]
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 [...]
“Can I get your autograph?” This was different. Pig tails, braids, smiling faces, toothless welcoming grins reached out their pieces of paper towards us. “You’re the government! Can we get your autograph? ” I stifled a laugh, smiled back, looked over at my newly met colleague, shrugged, pulled out a pen, and signed away. I [...]
Last April, I introduced my older brother Michael to our learning support staff at one of our meetings. He was visiting me from Toronto and I introduced him as my inspiration for working as an Educational Assistant (EA). When Michael was three years old, he and my mom were visiting family in Germany and they [...]
It has literally been 20 years since I coached soccer. So when Koenraad Beugelink texted me about helping him coach our Knights boys team, it took me a minute (or two) before responding. But given the fact that I have two boys on the team, and the fact that in of all the things I’ve [...]
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 [...]
BY: SALLY VAN GEEST, GRADE 6 TEACHER I am not a musical person. I can’t clap to the beat, piano lessons were lost on me, I never learned to play the recorder, and I just don’t get rhythm. Musical rhythm, that is. What I do understand is the rhythm of the school year. It flows [...]
It became a bit of a joke in administration meetings, board meetings, even society meetings. I was tired of hearing that the increase in enrolment was a good problem to have, and I'll admit that there were times when it did get a little annoying. I always knew that the decisions made when enrolment was [...]
My blood pressure is rising, my heart is beating faster, and my brain is going from a state of atrophy to one of overdrive. Summer isn't even over yet but things are changing. It isn't just the days getting shorter or the weather cooling off. The long anticipated camping trips have come and gone. The [...]
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. [...]
