As educators, we take a lot of our efforts and successes for granted. As we raise the bar and do more, implement new ideas, and have more success, our baseline grows and we seem to embrace this as a new… Continue Reading
As we near July 1 and have the opportunity to join millions of Canadians celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, I cannot help but think about those who will not exactly be celebrating the past 150 years. I am a settler of… Continue Reading
My professional growth plan is focused on building a positive school staff culture. I am no expert in this area but I have been honoured to learn from many others to help with my growth. It is my belief that… Continue Reading
Last year at James Hill, we made the decision to move away from points and 1st-4th place finishes for our annual elementary school Sports Day. We felt that the focus on points and winning was misaligned with the goal of… Continue Reading
Note: this story of inclusion is shared with the encouragement and permission of Logan’s mother. Logan has been at James Hill Elementary since kindergarten. During this time, it has been easy to pick out all of his challenges – his… Continue Reading
I recently had the honour or being asked to come back to work with the passionate educators of the Fort Nelson School district to continue our conversation in strengths-based education. For the keynote, we wanted to back up a bit… Continue Reading
Following a thought-provoking session on inclusion with colleague Diana Wilk at our district pro-d day (as a follow-up to a memorable day spent with Paula Kluth in the fall), I tried to share a story with her but emotionally struggled… Continue Reading
As a school principal I am always reading leadership books and listening to podcasts on how to create the conditions for an effective organizational culture in schools. Each school and organization is different but I have appreciated the books by authors such… Continue Reading
Today was (is) an important day in the steps toward reconciliation in Canada. Today, many people wore orange shirts “in honour of residential school survivors and in memory of those who did not”. This is a huge start in creating… Continue Reading
When we look at our students with struggles, what do we see? The following video is an incredible story of how a teacher/professor became so frustrated with a student for sleeping in his class… that he actually asked him why. We… Continue Reading