Principal Connections

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Catholic Education Week. It is truly a gift to be able to work in a publicly-funded Catholic school, where we can be free to express our faith so freely and unapologetically. It's a bit sad that we are presently in quarantine and cannot gather in community to celebrate this wonderful gift but my staff and I decided to capitalize on the marvel that is social media to stay connected to our students. We wanted to inspire hope and encourage them from our homes, to theirs. I challenged my staff to select a favourite Scripture passage that they felt evokes a great sense of hope and each day on our school's Twitter feed, I feature a staff member with their quote. I also posted these photos into all of the Google Classrooms that the staff were running for  distance learning. In our special community, where relationships are so key to student success, we thought it was important for the kids to see our faces. We called our little project #motivatedbyfaith...

Yesterday was National School Principal Day and this lovely nod from CPCO showed up on my Twitter feed! Prior to its release, I had to complete a questionnaire and what is featured on this image is the answer to a question that asked about what I thought was greatest accomplishment over the past year. I thought I would share all of the responses to the other questions that were asked. Is there a personal experience/incident that led you to choose this vocation? Please describe. I never planned for a career in Administration because I loved teaching too much. In ongoing discussion with a Superintendent-mentor, I began to realize how much more I could help students who really needed it. I also began to realize the potential that existed to influence change at both the local and systemic level in terms of supporting a variety of student needs through various initiatives. What do you love the most about being a Catholic school leader? What I have come to truly appreciate and love...

Friday was Faith Day. It is intended as a break for our students, and a much-needed day of contemplation and thanksgiving for those of us who have answered our calling to accept our role as educators in this unique and separate systems. I feel fortunate everyday to work in an environment where I can freely live my faith and attempt to model for our kids what it means to be the hands and feet of Christ on earth. Days like these are especially important to me because they afford me the gift of time - time to reflect, to relate with the staff and even time to catch up with my principal on the drive up. This year's event was held at Loretto Maryholm (check out the view in the photo above) and while I will admit to have moaned and groaned about the distance away from the usual work location, I later appreciated the drive up because of the good, uninterrupted conversation that was had during the car ride up. We are so mired in the daily grind that we sometimes forget the importance of...