Blog Posts

One of the lasting legacies of the COVID-19 pandemic will be its exposure of pre-existing societal inequities to a wider audience. While inequities have existed in society and schools since they were created, the pandemic has caused many of us to see them with greater clarity. The murder of George Floyd perhaps served as a catalyzing moment, but I suspect there were more forces at play.

The most recent stop on my student voice inquiry journey was at WJ Mouat. I continue to be fascinated by the diversity of thought about certain issues, and simultaneously the remarkable consistency around other topics. Rather than editorialize, I will Arianna (Gr. 9), Omran (Gr. 12), Jazzi (Gr. 11), Nickolas (Gr. 11), Bella (Gr. 11), Lily (Gr. 12), Nathan (Gr. 11), Jayda (Gr. 12), and Natalie (Gr. 12) speak their truth:

When you think about school, what is the first word that comes to mind? Why?

All the classes were able to learn a little bit about saving the earth on Earth Day. In Mrs. Liebe’s class, they were talking about recycling, saving energy, and saving water. In Mrs. Wojak’s class, the students went outside and cleaned-up the schoolyard to help celebrate. We are reminded that we all have a part in taking care of the Earth every day. 

We have three (3) different afterschool programs at Aberdeen:

Cooking – Grade 4/5
Story Book Art – Grade ½
Board Games – Grade ¾

We have been lucky to have these programs at Aberdeen and would like to thank Mrs. Andrea Senft at the school board office for helping fund these programs for us and creating positive partnerships within the Abbotsford Community. These programs are free of charge to the students and help promote our school motto of “You matter. You Belong” by providing opportunities for students outside of the regular school day.

We were lucky to have Cst. Marcus Dyck at the school on Thursday last week. He put on a presentation about social media for our intermediate students. Social Media can be a great tool for everyone but it has many dangers as well.

Age Limits for Games

Miykah won a colouring contest and was able to ride to school in a Fire Truck. The students were all excited for Miykah and celebrated by making signs to cheer him on as he came into the parking lot. Thank you to Mr. Byron for helping organize this event.

I visited the temporary Upper Sumas Elementary site this week to see how the staff and students were adjusting to their “new” environment (For those of you who have been around as long as I have been, this was the old Abby Elementary School site). As I approached the front doors, I saw a class of students standing in circle in a little garden patch. I made eye contact with the teacher, Ms. Marr, who invited me to join their circle. She told me that they had just finished sharing what they were grateful for and invited me to do the same.

With all that has transpired in this country and in Europe over the last few weeks, it is easy to slip into despair. However, when you work with and in service of children it is both difficult and unhealthy to live in that space. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with a group of eight students from Robert Bateman Secondary last week, and true to form, they not only affirmed the importance of our work, but lifted my spirits about the fundamental importance of our ongoing journey to deepen student learning experiences in our schools.  

Our Grade 4/5 classes took the opportunity on Pink Shirt Day to make sandwiches for the homeless. Everyone brought in something to make sandwiches: bread, meat, lettuce, cucumber, mustard, mayo, cheese. Others brought in water or granola bars.

Each student demonstrated kindness as they made sandwiches and then completed the package by adding water and a granola bar. 

We made almost 200 sandwiches!! Well done, Division 1 and 2.

Thank you to Mrs. LeClair for connecting Aberdeen Elementary to the people that can deliver sandwiches to 'ground zero' in Abbotsford.

Pink Shirt Day is an important day on the school calendar. It is a day where we focus on kindness, inclusion, and acceptance of all people. We want to make sure that all students, staff, and community members feel comfortable and welcome at Aberdeen Elementary because it is a safe place. 

We recognize ourselves as a safe place for everyone to be able to feel comfortable to discuss their feelings, share their thoughts, and know that we are here to support in any way.