Blog Posts

What does it mean to be a school community? The events of the last few weeks have been challenging and tested our resolve to remain a healthy and vibrant community. No school site has been thrown into this challenge more than the Upper Sumas Elementary staff. They have had to grapple with the stories of loss coming from their families because of the flooding and the prospects of being school-less as we recover from the relentless storms this past week. In this recovery and reconnection process for Upper Sumas Elementary, Principal Abby Chan described it in this way:

Shawn Mani is a model of servant leadership as teacher, athletic director, and social media coordinator at Abbotsford Middle School.

In the classroom, Shawn is a caring and compassionate advocate for all students in his class. Parents of previous student come back years later to share their awe of his dedication to teaching and his open communication with them. They speak of feeling included and involved in their children’s education because of his inclusive and open communication style shared by his teaching partner, Shelley Putman.

Last month was World Mental Health Day, a period aimed at raising awareness of mental health issues and organizing support for mental wellness. This year, the school district will continue to provide training and resources to support our health and well-being including the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program, workshops on resilience from our benefits provider, and The Working Mind program from the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

In September, we were excited to pilot a new role in Learning Support Services and a career path for Education Assistants. Alicia Kroeker and Connie Hampson were the successful candidates for “Senior Education Assistant”. Working collaboratively with the LSS team alongside helping educators Angela Montgomery and Jerry Loeppky, Alicia and Connie provide formal mentoring for EA’s.