New vice-principal Diane Haddow (left) and principal Karen Sinclair are all set to go at Oliver Elementary School. Photo by Lyonel Doherty
September 8 is the first day of the 2015/2016 school year and, as Oliver’s youngsters soak in the last sliver of their summers, school administrators are already hard at work preparing for the new school year.
Some teachers are taking the first steps towards implementing a new curriculum, Oliver Elementary School has a new vice-principal, and everyone says they are eagerly waiting to see the kids again.
Bev Young, the superintendent of schools for School District No. 53, said the school board has been supporting Oliver schools on a number of initiatives this year and helping each to find its own path.
“We certainly are gearing up for a very exciting year,” she said.
According to Young, she has been working hard to help implement the district’s vision, which is to “be a leading 21st century learning community characterized by strong relationships and partnerships, passion, innovation and excellence in teaching and learning.”
That vision was created several years ago with the help of students, teachers and parents, and Young said that anecdotal evidence already suggests it is changing the way schools operate.
“As a district we’ve been really working on building a culture of inquiry—so that means our professionals, senior management in our classrooms are really working on an inquiry approach.”
That focus on inquiry is also evident in a completely different area as well. According to Karen Sinclair, principal at Oliver Elementary School, some teachers there plan to start working in the BC government’s new curriculum into their classrooms.
The “Building Student Success” curriculum won’t be mandated until September 2016, but Sinclair said that some teachers are so excited about it they plan to start using it with their students on a trial basis this year.
Sinclair explained that the new curriculum is “a lot of inquiry based stuff; asking a lot of questions and seeking out the answers, versus giving the kids that information.”
Having the kids involved in understanding versus being given the knowledge helps them engage more with what they are learning, she said.
“They still have outcomes—things that the kids are expected to know—but it’s about how you get them there.”
Also exciting school administrators is the ongoing Provincial Learning Network’s Next Generation Network upgrade, which is bringing high-speed Internet and innovative Internet networking to all schools in the province.
But beyond the new curriculum and Internet, teachers and principals are most excited to get back to teaching.
One of those people is Diane Haddow, who will start as vice-principal at Oliver Elementary this year.
Haddow has more than 30 years of teaching experience, with a French immersion background, and comes to the district from Summerland.
“I’m passionate about helping these kids grow,” she said. “I’m excited about meeting the kids and the families. I’m excited about learning the traditions that they have.”
Haddow said she will bring enthusiasm and passion for learning to the job, and since this is her first job as a vice-principal, she is looking forward to the opportunity to be involved with everyone on a larger scale.
Sinclair expressed an optimism and excitement similar to Haddow’s, but hers was nevertheless tinged with some sadness.
Sinclair officially took over as principal this year, replacing former principal Barton Tumlinson, who passed away suddenly last January.
She said that the school was rocked by Tumlinson’s death last school year, and that it was, for many, a tough thing to overcome.
Starting this year as the school principal, Sinclair had to move into Tumlinson’s old office, and one of the first things she did was place a framed quote on the wall, in his honour.
It reads “Moving forward with a calm, strong momentum,” and Sinclair said it’s her quote for the year.
“After going through what we’ve gone through we are continuing in honour of Barton’s spirit,” she said. “I’m just looking forward to a really positive year. We’re just always super excited to have the kids coming. Just looking forward to seeing all their cute little faces, high-fiving them at the door and just getting on with the learning.”
By Trevor Nichols
