Being in the middle school is an opportunity to see students grow and change almost daily. My favourite memory this school year was sailing with one of the grade 8 classes. I was witness again, to students growing confidence and a willingness to try something new and difficult. Some students climbed higher in the shrouds than they dreamed they could and others discovered leadership abilities they had not recognized before. It was five days of awesome!<\/p>\n
We asked the middle school staff to send in their favourite memories of the year, and below is the list they came up with!<\/p>\n
1.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Beautiful evenings on Newcastle Island with students, parents, and\u2026raccoons!\u00a0\u00a0Michaela Friesen<\/em><\/p>\n 2<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Watching students explore creation at Newcastle Island\u2014learning through exploration in hands on experiences!\u00a0\u00a0Dan Verbeek<\/em><\/p>\n 3.\u00a0<\/span>The highlight of my year was going to the zoo and to McDonald\u2019s afterwards. For 2 years I\u2019ve supported Bryce and been working towards him making choices, being independent, regulation, eating a variety of foods and communicating. At the zoo, to see him independently carry his backpack, communicate what he wanted to see (which was the lion and cheetah) and have him sit with us eating a sandwich for his lunch was amazing! Then at McDonald\u2019s he used his new iPad speech app to tell us that he wanted iced tea and not ice cream. I had told him we were all having ice cream and he typed this into his speech app. This was the biggest moment of the whole year for me!\u00a0\u00a0Esther Vuong<\/em><\/p>\n 4.<\/span> Most of mine are from SALTS\u2026one of the best was\u00a0pulling up the prawn trap! We caught\u00a070+ prawns (along with two octopi and some crabs), ripped\u00a0their heads\u00a0off, and ate them\u00a0with butter and garlic that night!\u00a0\u00a0Kristin Schut<\/em><\/p>\n 5.<\/span>This year my birthday landed on a Friday (May 11) and at the end of chapel, the entire school filtered into the hallway in front of my office<\/strong><\/span>\u2014completely surrounded my office\u2014and sang a VERY loud version of “Happy Birthday” to me! Best moment ever!\u00a0\u00a0Linda Howard<\/em><\/p>\n 6.<\/span> The week Mr. Verbeek and I convinced our students to bring cookies for us, to take the crown (an ugly Roughriders hat) of being the \u201cfavourite\u201d student that day. There was no special treatment, but we had students with cookies ready in their lockers to overthrow current favourites.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Justin Verwoerd<\/em><\/p>\n 7.<\/span> On a more serious note, seeing the grade 7 band come together in a matter of days to improve their playing drastically and perform admirably at the Volunteer Appreciation chapel.\u00a0\u00a0Justin Verwoerd<\/em><\/p>\n 8.<\/span> Watching from the bench as the Gr. 7 girls basketball team played their best 5 games en route to a second place finish at the CESS tournament.\u00a0\u00a0Justin Verwoerd<\/em><\/p>\n 9.<\/span> Watching the grade 8s faces and listening to them squeal “eeeee! ooooo! and aaaah!” while they dissected sheep eyes in science class.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Karin Hoogland<\/em><\/p>\n 10.<\/span> The many visits to a student’s house to carry out a home program when his health didn’t allow him to come to school. When he couldn’t come to school, we brought school to him.<\/span> <\/strong>We are ACS!\u00a0 Karin Hoogland<\/em><\/p>\n 11.<\/span> Watching my students fill in roles for cast members who were sick on the day we presented our Fractured Fairy Tales for chapel…it was fun to see how invested each of them were in other students plays that they could fill in without script. That same afternoon the kids all wanted to take turns playing roles in other students plays as well.\u00a0 Sandra Barthel<\/em><\/p>\n 12.<\/span> Another memory was watching all my kids learn a cultural dance taught by another student for their Culture Fair\u2026even the boys!\u00a0\u00a0Sandra Barthel<\/em><\/p>\n 13. <\/span>Sitting in the sun on the deck of the Pacific Grace with all of the sails up.\u00a0\u00a0Heidi VanWeelden<\/em><\/p>\n 14.<\/span> Seeing a pod of Orcas while standing at the top of the mast during our SALTS sailing trip<\/a>!\u00a0\u00a0Heidi VanWeelden<\/em><\/p>\n 15.<\/span> My favourite memory is walking into the classroom every day and being greeted by\u00a0cheery faces and eager voices, all wanting to tell me something at the same time. Whether it was a funny story from home, the score of their baseball game, their latest Fortnite session\u200b,\u00a0the weather forecast\u00a0or an elaborate and detailed excuse for why they forgot their home-reading folder, again;\u00a0I love their enthusiasm and excitement for life.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Krista Brandsma<\/em><\/p>\n 16.<\/span> Market Day.<\/a>\u00a0The students were\u00a0brimming with optimism, energy and enthusiasm but the hours of effort, creativity, teamwork and vision that went into the month prior to market day made me prouder of them than I ever imagined.\u00a0\u00a0Krista Brandsma<\/em><\/p>\n 17.<\/span> Seeing students reach out and include each other in lunch activities; a blessing to our community.\u00a0\u00a0Jonathan Zuidhof<\/em><\/p>\n 18.<\/span> Seeing our grade 8 girls volleyball team win a Fraser Valley banner; a celebration of perseverance and determination.\u00a0\u00a0Jonathan Zuidhof<\/em><\/p>\n 19.<\/span> It was awesome to see the entire class work together to lead worship in chapel<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Sally Van Geest<\/em><\/p>\n 20.<\/span> Connecting with staff and volunteers from the Canadian Foodgrains Bank was fantastic. Such authentic service learning!\u00a0\u00a0Sally Van Geest<\/em><\/p>\n 21.<\/span> Having students use their creativity using the school’s laser and 3D printers. Dan Verbeek<\/em><\/p>\n 22.<\/span> Best words of encouragement\u2026from one of the Grade 6 students I work with:”Mrs. Schweitzer, you are a genius.<\/em>” OK so we were working on grade 6 electricity unit.\u00a0Sophia Schweitzer<\/em><\/p>\n 23.<\/span> Watching students step out of the comfort zones<\/strong> <\/span>in the creation of worship dance routines. Awesome! Jonathan Zuidhof<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Being in the middle school is an opportunity to see students grow and change almost daily. My favourite memory this school year was sailing with one of the grade 8 classes. I was witness again, to students growing confidence and a willingness to try something new and difficult. 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