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Continue reading →: Connecting and Innovating
A few months ago I attended my first EDCamp. My only prior knowledge about EDCamps was that the participants’ interest determined the workshop topics and it was a great opportunity to connect with other educators. This EDCamp also featured a “who’s who” of local innovative educators on Twitter such as: Chris Wejr,…
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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 →: Connecting with my Climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro
On October 17, 2012 I stood on the roof of Africa. It was an incredible feeling watching the sunrise over the clouds and Mawenzi Peak below as a vicious wind ripped over the summit. When we arrived everyone, climbers and guides, stood together for a team hug and embraced a…
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Continue reading →: The Agenda for our Climb
A quick and simple post today… The plan for our trek is below. Starting on the 10th you’ll be able to follow our progress at http://summitsofhope.com/baseCamp.asp?ClimbID=30 Oct 10: Arrive in Africa Oct 11: Rest Day Oct 12: Hike to First Cave (Simba) Camp Oct 13: Steady uphill to Kikelawa (Second Cave)…
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Continue reading →: 7 Days…
I wrote this as an email today and after reading it, I felt it would also make a great blog post. Enjoy. As of today I have raised just over $7,000 for BC Children’s Hospital and I will be carrying around 70 Flags of Hope up the mountain with me.…
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Continue reading →: Taking Action for a Cause
Last week was Summits of Hope Week at Ridgeview Elementary. This was five days dedicated to fundraising for our team’s climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro in support of BC Children’s Hospital and it was a great success on many different levels. My goals over the course of this journey to Africa…
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Continue reading →: Not Long Now…
To begin…THANK YOU to everyone who has donated, raised funds or taken the time to send me words of encouragement about the climb. September is here and that means the climb is fast approaching. Preparing for the climb has involved two things: physical training and fundraising. Over the course of…
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Continue reading →: 46 Days
The clock on returning to work has struck zero but the countdown to Kilimanjaro continues… 46 days… Thank you to everyone who has undertaken a fundraising initiative, sold Flags of Hope or connected to their networks for donations. At this point we have donations coming from Montreal, Calgary, Penticton, Vancouver,…
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Continue reading →: Mt. Kilimanjaro
On a mid-October day later this Fall, I will be looking out at the world from the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa. The journey to 19,340 feet began on Monday, June 18th when the students of Ridgeview Elementary first heard that their Vice-Principal was going on an adventure for the BC Children’s…
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Continue reading →: Our Learning Adventure in the Wild
The points of a compass are North, East, South and West but the grade 5’s at Ridgeview Elementary redefined the points through the lens of environmental stewardship last week as we took our classroom outdoors. Our classroom was Camp Fircom on Gambier Island and our teachers were the educators of…
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Continue reading →: We’re Going Inquiry!
The events of last Friday brought the Kool and the Gang classic Celebration to mind as I began this post because this year’s hard work and collaborative efforts are bearing fruit. On Friday, our school’s journey towards inquiry became more concrete. During our professional development days this year we engaged…
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Continue reading →: C.S.I. Ridgeview
Caution tape, open drawers and cupboards, spilt blood, missing items and a letter from the West Vancouver Police Department greeted the grade 5 students at Ridgeview last Tuesday. Once authorization to enter the classroom was received from WVPD, the students were provided an opportunity to explore the “Crime Scene”. Students,…
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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 →: Guess Who’s Teaching Us About Government
In a previous post, Connecting to Inquiry, I stated Kath Murdoch’s assertion that “quality inquiry is active…with students being actively involved in ʻdoingʼ the learning with an emphasis on first hand, real world experiences”. In our classroom this term, one of the components to our learning on government has been the opportunity for…
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Continue reading →: Connecting to Mathletics
Along with being an wonderful learning tool, Mathletics is an excellent gateway into using technology in the classroom. 21st Century learning conjures up images of students complimenting their education with personal devices, however, the truth is that there are many classrooms where teachers are not yet comfortable using this learning…
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Continue reading →: Building Capacity
There have been some exciting programs introduced to our school this year. Each would have easily been successful within the confines of individual classrooms but have spread enthusiastically beyond those four walls to enhance the education of many more students at Ridgeview. As school leaders we recognized that when our…
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Continue reading →: Why Learning Connections?
I was asked a number of months ago why I chose to title my blog Learning Connections. The name actually comes from a Wiki that I created a couple of years ago that was intended to be a collection of web-based resources I could access anywhere. There have been too…
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Continue reading →: Connecting to Adventure
Disclaimer: this is a personal blog post today, about… My birthday is December 29. If you have a December birthday you know that having a birthday at this time of year can be slightly anti-climactic. The gifts tend to all come on Christmas Day and are sold as “one big…
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Continue reading →: Connecting to Inquiry
Last year, I had the opportunity to experience teaching within the IB Primary Years Program at Tokyo International School. I found that although I had always considered myself a teacher who effectively used inquiry, the PYP framework allowed me to take student learning to a place where students were making…
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Continue reading →: Remembrance Day
An excerpt from today’s Remembrance Day assembly at Ridgeview Elementary. Good morning everyone and welcome to today’s Remembrance Day ceremony. At the front today we have a number of special guest representatives that I would like to introduce. Garett is here to represent you the students, with his writing piece…
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Continue reading →: Professional Growth
As educators in West Vancouver we are focussing on our Professional Growth Plans for this year. These provide the framework that guide our professional learning in the areas we would like to further develop, challenge or investigate. As we carefully reflect on our current practice, we try to select goals…
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Continue reading →: Inspiration
This fall our District Leadership in the West Vancouver School District challenged the School Administrators to put ourselves out there, and create professional blogs that contribute to the conversation around education in British Columbia and abroad. I was inspired while sitting in those meetings and began brainstorming ideas for blog…
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.
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