Blog Posts

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

Morneau Shepell has revamped, enhanced, and rebranded its Employee Family Assistance Program as LifeWorks. This enhanced mobile-friendly platform offers new digital services, and easier access to high-quality in-person counselling services. LifeWorks Employee and Family Assistance Program provides staff with immediate and confidential help for any work, health, or life concern. 

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.

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.

Every day, in every school and classroom, our teachers provide a world-class, innovative educational experience for over 19,000 students. Working in public education is challenging and rewarding, but at our district we truly believe that every one of our employees has the opportunity to help children learn, grow and succeed.

Every school has them – generous and inspirational staff members who give of their personal time to make a difference for others. Certainly, Terry Fox Elementary has many such wonderful caring people. And a standout among them is Joe Frew. Since his hire into the district 4 years ago, Mr. Frew (our school’s PE and ELL teacher) has helped our school community develop a powerful sense of identity and school spirit. Adored by students and respected by colleagues, his enthusiasm and hard work have helped to make this school a place where everyone feels welcome and included. Here’s why:

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.

Passionate, innovative, dedicated - all describe Carissa Chapman. She is committed to continually developing opportunities for students to engage in meaningful experiences.  Whether she is out with our Green Team doing a community clean up or filming Captain Planet announcements or creating safe spaces in the school with the GSA, she’s got our students at the heart of everything she does.  

Connecting the Dots: Organizational Health & Safety on SharePoint

Working in health and safety, I often wonder if our reliance on acronyms helps or hinders clear communication. Our daily discussions are threaded with acronyms such as WHMIS, EFAP, NAOSH, NIOSH, CSA, OFAA, PPE, JOSHC, IAQ, WCB and of course OHS (or if you prefer, OH&S). I would argue that this dependence on industry lingo, points to the inherent challenge of articulating how the complex network of health and safety processes, work together as an interconnected system.

The most recent stop on my student voice inquiry journey was at WJ Mouat. I continue to be fascinated by the diversity of thought about certain issues, and simultaneously the remarkable consistency around other topics. Rather than editorialize, I will Arianna (Gr. 9), Omran (Gr. 12), Jazzi (Gr. 11), Nickolas (Gr. 11), Bella (Gr. 11), Lily (Gr. 12), Nathan (Gr. 11), Jayda (Gr. 12), and Natalie (Gr. 12) speak their truth:

When you think about school, what is the first word that comes to mind? Why?