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Continue reading →: Help. My Professional Growth Plan
I am the principal of a school with 326 students. This year, like every other year, those students were grouped by age and then broken into divisions within what might be called the factory model of learning. I already knew that each class would have: a broad range of skills; a broad range of maturity;…
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Continue reading →: Welcome Back Message to my School
Welcome back to a new school year! Over the course of this summer Caulfeild received a “refresh” in a number of locations around the school. Our washrooms that were “vintage” from the beginning to the school’s history were gutted and rebuilt by our Facilities team. Our Learning Commons, was re-carpeted (courtesy…
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Continue reading →: Words of Wisdom
These were my words of wisdom at our Grade 7 Farewell ceremony today… Good luck. These are two words you will hear for the rest of your life. Usually they will come when you are soon to be involved in a challenge of some sort: exams, job interviews, presentations, hockey…
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Continue reading →: What’s my Possible?
Last week I participated in my first Ignite session as a speaker. It was a very inspiring night with a host of wonderful ideas being shared. This blog post is what I presented over 5 minutes (20 slides set at 15 seconds each). I used to live in Kitsilano and while I…
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Continue reading →: Engaging the Third Teacher
This year we have been exploring Learning Spaces as part of our Dare to go Further journey with student learning. As a school that has implemented the IDEC model, we have transformed the way students think through their experience with inquiry-based learning. Our students know how to ask critical questions to…
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Continue reading →: Making our Learning Visible
Each month our Parent Advisory Committee holds monthly meetings to discuss PAC related issues. During these meetings I deliver a Principal’s Report filled with interesting matters about the school. This past week, rather than sit and talk about the wonderful aspects of Caulfeild iDEC, I walked our parents around the…
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Continue reading →: Remembrance
Ever since I can remember November 11th has always been very significant to me, because it has always been personal. I remember growing up watching the CBC’s Remembrance Day service from Ottawa every year with my father. My father was always very stoic as he watched but the sadness in his eyes could not…
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Continue reading →: Dare to Go Further
I love this video because we have all been there. Maybe not looking down from the top of a ski jump, but doing something that instilled an element of “hesitation”. No matter the scaffolding of skills or amount of experience, when something new and challenging arises, that fear of the…
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Continue reading →: TEDxWestVancouverED
After a year of planning, TEDxWestVancouverED became a reality on Saturday, September 27. At 8:30am three hundred educators, parents and members of the community began their day at the Kay Meek Theatre in West Vancouver, Canada to hear how our speakers were Rethinking Education. We broke the day into four sessions…
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Continue reading →: Leaving a Lasting Impression
A couple of days ago I saw a few former students who I had the pleasure to teach when they were in grade four – during my first time at Caulfeild Elementary. They were at the school to play four-square and see if the rumour was true, Mr. Cantlie was the new principal. In…
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Continue reading →: Thank You Ridgeview
It has been three years since the photo was taken. This was my first day of school as the Vice-Principal of Ridgeview, and what an amazing experience it has been. In my time at Ridgeview we integrated inquiry into classroom teaching through our Ridgeview Inquiry Cycle, successfully delved into bring…
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Continue reading →: Who Has the Power?
This week’s Maclean’s Magazine has a column by Emma Teitel titled “Get Them When They’re Young“. The argument is that we need to make a more concerted effort to teach students about government and civic literacy because “since the 70’s Canada has seen a decline in overall voter turnout driven…
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Continue reading →: A View from the Small Office
Prior to Spring Break, Elementary Vice Principals in the West Vancouver School District met to share what was happening in our schools. Although we are a small district and speak frequently, it was a great opportunity to gain insight into current initiatives and learning. Our dialogues enable us to be…
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Continue reading →: First the How. Now More the Why of BYOD.
My last post was about Our Approach to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and the strategies we implemented to make it a success. But even as parents were bringing in the devices, they continued to inquire into the why. A very valid question, and my response was always the same. visual…
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Continue reading →: Our Approach to BYOD
At the end of June last year we sent a letter home to all of our grade 5-7 parents notifying them that Ridgeview Elementary was initiating a Bring Your Own Device program and that all students in these grades were expected to have a personal device to start the school…
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Continue reading →: 10 Thoughts
I always enjoy Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts opinion piece on CBC Sports so I thought I would try my own version as I reflect back on the first three months of the school year. 1. Inquiry continues to deepen its roots throughout the classrooms at Ridgeview. Our foundations of time,…
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Continue reading →: Connecting with Remembrance Day
Each year, in my role as Vice-Principal, I have the honour of shaping the annual Remembrance Day ceremony at Ridgeview Elementary in collaboration with our teachers. My goal every November is to connect the students, and the adults, to the sacrifices of war in a manner that has meaning for them.…
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Continue reading →: What Makes a Difference?
What brought JOY to your learning when you were a student? My wife Charity has returned to school this year seeking her British Columbia Teachers Certificate through Simon Fraser University PDP. Though her Child Studies degree from Concordia, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Simon Fraser University, four years of…
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Continue reading →: Taking the First Step can be the Hardest
Last week the administrators of West Vancouver returned to work for our annual beginning of the year conference. This is a wonderful opportunity to both reconnect with one another and share ideas around moving the learning in our schools forward. One of the ideas presented was Sugata Mitra’s SOLE project…
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Continue reading →: Reflecting on our Innovation
Yesterday educators in the West Vancouver School District came together at Sentinel Secondary to share the process and results of their inquiries from throughout the year. The innovation grants provided by the district allowed teachers and administrators the opportunity to innovate in their classrooms and schools. Our innovation grant at…
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Continue reading →: Presenting My Trip to the Top of Mt. Kilimanjaro
Today I presented a slideshow to the students at Ridgeview Elementary about my trip to Africa. In putting together a presentation I hoped would be meaningful and interesting for the students, I asked each class in the school to fill a piece of chart paper with post-it notes of questions.…
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Continue reading →: Students Taking Action to Help Other Kids
A month ago two students at Ridgeview Elementary were announced as winners of the Burn Fund Burn Awareness Contest. Under the leadership of their teacher Amy Meldrum, all our grade five students created messages of fire safety and two of our entries were recognized. Along with the knowledge that they…
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Continue reading →: My TED Journey – A Personal Passion Project
If you are doing something you love, an hour feels like 5 minutes. Sir Ken Robinson Our committee has spent many “5 minute blocks” over the past few months organizing TEDxWestVancouverED and it has been the ultimate Passion Project. Where did TEDxWestVancouverED come from? Over my years spent in Japan, I…
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Continue reading →: Following your Passion (Part 1)
For many years I have encouraged students to dig into their curiosities through Passion Projects, Teach Me Something I Don’t Know events, and Learn Something Amazing activities. Each time, I facilitate these learning opportunities, I inevitably become more knowledgable and am consistently impressed with the conscientiousness, inquisitiveness and pride students…
Welcome
Ideas | Connections | Reflections
Thoughts on leadership, learning, and building meaningful school communities.
I am an international school leader and educator focused on designing learning environments where students thrive, educators grow, and communities flourish through thoughtful leadership, innovation, and care.
This space is where I reflect on learning, leadership, and change. It is written for educators, leaders, and anyone interested in how people and organizations grow.
I hope something here resonates, challenges your thinking, or encourages you to pause and reflect along the way.
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