Blog Posts

There are no guarantees in life, but wherever you want to go or can imagine going, education is probably the best way there. How does a child in Kindergarten one day become an architect? How does a grade nine student become an arthroscopic surgeon or an agriculturist? How does one become an electrician or a chef? You guessed it - education. This is why I often describe education as the bridge to anywhere.

As we start each school day at McMillan Elementary, we seek connections with colleagues to chat about how we are feeling, the Netflix show we watched the night before, or how our kids' team performed at last night's game. We seek a morning connection to ground us for the emotional, social and mental demands of our day. Our students are no different. They, too, need this foundation to set them up for a successful day of learning.

Jayde and Skyla are twins in grade 5 who started school at McMillan in Kindergarten. The girls have a designation, due to cerebral palsy, and are confined to wheelchairs. They were nonverbal when they started school, and their learning and growth over the past six years has been remarkable to watch. Even more inspiring, though, has been watching them grow in their relationships with their peers.  I sat down with Jayde, Skyla and several of their friends to talk about their learning journeys as they get ready to move on to middle school.

With my last blog post as superintendent (I still have a few more to write in my retirement), I would like to close with gratitude and appreciation for the many people with whom I have travelled this thirty-six-year path. I mentioned in my last post that it was because of the inspiration and encouragement of teachers, and one in particular, why I chose to become an educator. The journey to finding and fulfilling my purpose, particularly in leadership, has been filled with meandering adventures and learning. What resonates most with me are the people who have been on the journey with me.

As a school, Godson has collectively invested in embedding Indigenous culture throughout our programming. In addition, we are fortunate to have a cultural Indigenous Support Worker, Chandra Antone, who maintains her steadfast devotion to bettering the school culture and celebrating Indigenous ways of life, culture, and knowledge.

With all the recent retirement festivities I have had cause of late to reflect on my journey in the education system.  One of the frequent questions I have been asked is why I decide to become a teacher “all those years ago.”  I have had occasion over the years to mention it on World Teacher Day, but for me, the decision had everything to do with my school experiences, and a challenge extended to me by a very special human being.

In previous posts, I have shared my perspectives on the spectre of systemic racism in education, particularly in relation to Indigenous Peoples. I highlighted two interrelated constructs related to this issue: epistemic racism (the idea that there is only one form of true knowledge) and the related “racism of low expectations” highlighted in the 2016 Auditor General’s Report.

At Margaret Stenersen Elementary School, there is a big and beautiful tree that some people want to cut down. The tree is a cedar and I LOVE IT!!! It is peaceful and I do not want it cut down. There are lots of trees at our school but this is the biggest. You are going to break our school’s heart. So many students play there. It is an old-growth tree and it holds all the school’s secrets. - Arija J., Grade 4

_{O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't.}

_{— William Shakespeare, The Tempest}

At Kandal, we are committed to strengthening our family partnerships in our school community. It’s no secret the more parents are involved in their children’s lives, both at home and school, the more they will be in the ‘know’ about how best to support their children. To this end, our kindergarten and grade 1 teachers and our English Language Learners (ELL) teachers initiated the “Parents as Partners” program.