Blog Posts

November 24, 2022

Early Learning in our Community

The Abbotsford School District's Early Years learning team has been working to ensure that as many children and families have access to early learning support throughout our community. The following services and programs are currently available:

November 24, 2022

Celebrating Student Leadership

I had the pleasure this week of meeting with around fifty of Yale Secondary’s Leadership 12 students. They are an amazing and diverse group of go-getters who help to make their school and community better through service. In addition to the work they do, they are also curious about leadership and routinely invite leaders from various parts of the community to talk about their roles and perspectives on leadership. This week I was the invited guest. Among the things they wanted to learn more about were my background, how I became superintendent, as well as the joys and challenges of the job.

November 8, 2022

In Remembrance

Many of you will know that I am a student of the World Wars, and that over the years I have written about the profound respect I have for our veterans who have put their lives on the line for the cause of freedom. As a teacher I carefully curated stories for my students about pivotal battles and Canadian heroes who helped to pave the way for the freedoms we sometimes take for granted. It was always a treat to welcome veterans into my classroom, and students always came away with a greater appreciation for the courageous lives of our service men and women, as well as the horrors of war.

October 14, 2022

Three Signature SEL Practices Supporting Learning

The implementation of our competency-based curriculum is grounded in the Core Competencies. Personal, social, and cultural competencies are a vital part of the growth of students as they gain a deeper understanding of who they are and how they relate to others. As a Curriculum Department, we are working to include social-emotional learning and trauma-informed practices in our learning opportunities to underscore the importance of core competencies and solid foundations for learning.

October 14, 2022

Shadow a Student

As part of my personal inquiry into the student experience in our district, I have met with groups of students from each of our high schools over each of the last few years. Generally, I have asked our school leaders to ensure that the student group is diverse and represents a range in ages, gender, abilities, race and gender identities, etc. In a large high school, it is not difficult to get a diverse group, but I suspect it challenging to get a truly representative group of students who together can paint a fulsome picture of the student experience for me and the administration

September 1, 2022

My Hopes for This School Year

Now in my thirty-fifth year as an educator, I still look forward to the beginning of the school year with anticipation. It still feels like yesterday, but three and a half decades ago, I started my career in Peace River South School District as a grade 6/7 teacher in Devereaux Elementary School. I remember when I first saw the ad for the position, going to a map to see where the heck this place was. The principal, Mr. Evans, interviewed me over the phone and offered me the job shortly thereafter.

June 30, 2022

In Recognition of Our Ubuntu

This time last year, I posted a blog expressing my profound gratitude to all our staff for getting us through what was a tremendously demanding year. As I look back on this past school year, I continue to be truly grateful for how we have managed an even more challenging year than we anticipated.

June 16, 2022

The Launch of Our Equity Website

One of the lasting legacies of the COVID-19 pandemic will be its exposure of pre-existing societal inequities to a wider audience. While inequities have existed in society and schools since they were created, the pandemic has caused many of us to see them with greater clarity. The murder of George Floyd perhaps served as a catalyzing moment, but I suspect there were more forces at play.

May 20, 2022

Building Future Mathematicians

The way that students experience math is fundamental to how they view themselves as mathematicians. We want students to experience math in a way that encourages a willingness to engage in productive struggle, see that mistakes truly do result in learning, and become confident thinkers. Using concrete manipulatives is an integral part of building strong mathematical thinking because they deepen students’ conceptual understanding.

April 29, 2022

Empathy Interviews: Equity in Action

Rovi Sandhu, a grade six teacher at Chief Dan George Middle School, asks himself, "What can I do to ensure kids receive what they need?" Inspired by the book Street Data (2021), Sandhu put his inquiry question into action. He invited each student in the grade six pod to partake in an empathy interview, allowing them to share aspects of their lived experiences at school.