{"id":10630,"date":"2026-06-01T13:46:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T20:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/?p=10630"},"modified":"2026-06-01T13:46:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T20:46:35","slug":"hot-dogs-and-unexpected-reminders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/2026\/06\/01\/hot-dogs-and-unexpected-reminders\/","title":{"rendered":"HOT DOGS AND UNEXPECTED REMINDERS"},"content":{"rendered":"

The clock on my computer showed it was just before 3:30 on a Friday afternoon. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blur of pink rush by my office door. No sound, just colourful energy and enthusiasm.<\/strong> <\/span>Moments later, the blur was back, heading in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n

This time, however, it came to a halt as it passed the windows, backtracked, and slowly turned into my office.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Best Way To Eat A Hot Dog<\/h2>\n

For the next ten minutes or so, I had a wonderful conversation with a bright, cheerful 7-year-old (who made sure I knew that she was\u00a0turning 8 this summer).<\/p>\n

I learned that she loves football and basketball, especially when she can play with her older brother. She shared her plans for the coming summer break (lots of camping, but also, hopefully, a basketball camp).<\/p>\n

The most prominent topic was Sports Day at our elementary campus, which,<\/strong> I was informed, is called Sports Day but\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0really have any\u00a0real\u00a0sports activities. She is on the pink team again, which she\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0super thrilled about, even though it matched the shirt that\u00a0had been a blur outside my office minutes ago.<\/p>\n

I learned that Sports Day means a hot dog for lunch at school,<\/strong><\/span> and that the best way to eat a hot dog is not with mustard and ketchup on a bun, but rather by dipping it into ranch dressing with a fork.<\/p>\n

The conversation never slowed, just a series of questions and answers, and then just as quickly as she came into the office, she left with, \u201cI should be getting back to my Mom. Bye.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

As she stepped out the door, I asked her name.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmma.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Latest Example<\/h2>\n

Emma was the reminder I needed that day as to why I love education.<\/p>\n

When I started at ACS\u00a0almost a\u00a0year ago, I recall being told that we work hard to build community and that we look for ways to partner effectively with both parents and staff. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I have seen so many ways that this is lived out at ACS, and Emma was the latest example. As a child of one of our teachers, Emma and a few others, are often seen freely roaming the halls at the end of the day, waiting for Mom and\/or Dad to finish their work.<\/p>\n

Never a distraction, often a joy.<\/p>\n

Much of my time as executive director is spent looking ahead, thinking critically about what we are doing now and how we might need to pivot to achieve our mission better. It can be easy to get lost in the abstract, even knowing that today\u2019s abstract idea will develop into tomorrow\u2019s innovative solution.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I need a reminder\u2026<\/p>\n

Our school was\u00a0built for\u00a0students like\u00a0Emma.<\/strong><\/span> Our team works hard for students like Emma. We find intentional ways to improve and grow our school for students like Emma.<\/p>\n

Thank You<\/h2>\n

Emma, thanks for stopping by my office. You were the reminder that I needed. Sports Day is coming! Wear your pink shirt, enjoy your hot dog, and maybe I\u2019ll sneak in some ranch dressing for you.<\/p>\n

As we come to the end of another school year at ACS, I am grateful for each of the students and families in our community. I have had the privilege of meeting many of you in different ways and look forward to getting to know many more in the months and years ahead.<\/p>\n

May God richly bless you as you head into the summer break, and I pray each of you will find the rest and enjoyment that you need!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The clock on my computer showed it was just before 3:30 on a Friday afternoon. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blur of pink rush by my office door. No sound, just colourful energy and enthusiasm. Moments later, the blur was back, heading in the opposite direction. This time, however, it […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":10641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,16],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-10630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership","category-school-vision"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10630"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=10630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}