Principal Dave Foster (left) and Vice Principal Jason McAllister are happy to see the return of students and teachers to Osoyoos Elementary School. (Richard McGuire photo)
When Osoyoos Elementary School (OSE) welcomed back students on Monday, a new principal and vice-principal were there to greet students and parents.
Principal Dave Foster and Vice-Principal Jason McAllister stepped into the top two spots at the school this summer, but with an ongoing teachers’ strike, classes have been on hold until now.
The strike ended when the B.C. Teachers Federation voted on Thursday 86 per cent in favour of ratifying an agreement reached with the provincial government. School returned for a half day on Monday.
“I think a lot of students have been anticipating starting the school year,” Foster said in an interview Friday. “My kids are in the school and they can’t wait to go to school. I’m hoping the rest of the kids in the community are feeling the same way.”
Teachers, he said, were also anxious to get into the classrooms and clean up from last year when the June strike brought the school year to an abrupt finish.
The loss of three weeks of school due to the strike will not be as difficult for the elementary school to make up as it will be for high school, Foster said.
“I hope the students have been doing some reading and doing math drills online,” he said. “They’ve hopefully kept their skills sharp. You don’t want to lose any school time, but hopefully we can make up for the loss of three weeks with some good teaching.”
Some adjustments to the school calendar are being made including moving report card dates closer to Christmas. Parent-teacher interview times have also been moved back.
Foster comes to OSE from Tuc El Nuit Elementary School in Oliver, where he served as principal for three years. Prior to that, he served as vice-principal at Osoyoos Secondary School.
Foster continued to live in Osoyoos while he taught at Tuc El Nuit and his daughters, now in Grades 6 and 7, have attended OSE.
McAllister most recently served as the technology co-ordinator in School District 58, Nicola-Similkameen. He taught in Keremeos, Merritt and Princeton.
Prior to that, McAllister also taught at Osoyoos Secondary School.
In his recent role as technology co-ordinator, McAllister worked with all schools in his district to advise teachers on how they could incorporate technology into the classroom.
He took advantage of the down time during the strike to develop a new website for the school.
Foster and McAllister step into the roles vacated by former Principal Bo Macfarlane and Vice-Principal Shendah Benoit. Macfarlane has become the principal at Boundary Central Secondary School in Midway while Benoit has stepped into Foster’s old job as principal at Tuc El Nuit.
Foster said he doesn’t foresee major changes in the school’s approach.
“I think each one of us is unique in our leadership, in what we bring to the school,” he said. “Hopefully our skills are going to enhance the school and move the school forward. But we want to work collaboratively with all the teachers and have a shared vision for the school to enhance learning for the kids here.”
He also wants to build relationships not only with parents and families, but also with the larger Osoyoos community.
“One of the things I like to see is working with community partners,” said Foster, suggesting this means bringing people from the community into the school to build relationships with the students.
Asked whether he plans to continue 21st century classroom approach adopted by Macfarlane and Benoit, Foster said the inquiry-based classroom we’ll definitely continue.
“I would like to see it expanded because we’re talking about best practices in teaching right now,” said Foster.
Currently there are two teachers experienced in the approach, which emphasizes project-based learning.
Foster acknowledged that other teachers would need to go through professional training to bring those skills to the classroom.
“We’re very lucky that we have a couple expert teachers in that area who are modeling that type of teaching,” said Foster. “I’m sure it will filter down to the other classrooms. There’s a lot of excellent teaching going on in other classrooms, even if we don’t call it 21st century learning.”
Despite the big changes at the top, other staff changes are minimal.
A new Kindergarten teacher, Lisa Kunz, joins the staff for three days a week in a shared position with present teacher Julie Dias.
Lindsey Holloway has also joined the staff temporarily, teaching Grades 6 and 7 and filling in for teacher Ryan Miller, who is off work recovering from a hip replacement.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
Principal Dave Foster (left) and Vice Principal Jason McAllister are happy to see the return of students and teachers to Osoyoos Elementary School. (Richard McGuire photo)
