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 your own device for grades […]

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 from pic.twitter.com/fAfTxqRHkI via @JasonElsom @jlubinsky 1. […]

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 (Self-Organized Learning Environment). The goal […]

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 had won, the students were […]

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, Neil Stephenson, Aaron Akune, Gino […]

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. The response was overwhelming and […]

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 moment we had been visualizing […]