Blog Posts

At Abbotsford Traditional School, Lewis Van Dyk, had the opportunity to implement strong inquiry opportunities in the classroom in his first year at the school. In 2021 Abbotsford Traditional School first offered an Engineering 11 course.  When Mr. Van Dyk took over the course, he focused on mechanical engineering and implementing the engineering design cycle through inquiry. Mr. Van Dyk focused on developing student design skills, as well as how simple machines work and the advantages that they have.

“So long as they speak your name, you shall never die” – Dan Brown 

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.

On May 25, Abbotsford Senior students took to the stage for their Bi-Annual Fine Arts Night. It’s a night dedicated to celebrating Arts Education at Abbotsford Senior - a night of music, performance, and art – a night to celebrate accomplishments, to thrive and flourish. 

At Abbotsford Traditional School we have a strong commitment to student achievement. Academic goals of improving numeracy and reading comprehension are two of our focuses. Aligning staffing with school goals is a sure way of keeping our eye on success. At ATS we have a middle Math Department head and a middle English Language Arts department head who work regularly with their team to talk about curriculum, instruction, and assessment to do our best to ensure that our students learn to the best of their ability.

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.

Aldous Huxley said that “words can be like rays. When they are used properly, they are able to get through anything.”

At Rick Hansen Secondary, I have had the great privilege of working to develop new Creative Writing courses that satisfy English credits for grade 11. For those students who love to read, are curious about writing and publishing, and need a creative outlet to express their thoughts, worries, and experiences in ways that are not visual—photography, visual art, theatre—Creative Writing 11 has become a haven.

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.

_{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}

When asked to reflect on a classroom, most of us will envision rows of desks facing a blackboard where a teacher stands. For decades, this image has represented the learning space for millions of students and yet excludes how we learn naturally and daily in non-school environments. True knowing and understanding mean being able to transfer knowledge from one setting to another. This requires a varied approach to teaching and learning, ultimately creating the opportunity for our students to explore their passions.