Last year, one of the grade 7 students at my previous school (Seymour Heights) asked me a question? “As a Principal, what do you do?” She knew I was in charge of the school and that I walked around the school a lot visiting classrooms.

I  answered, “I run the school and help to make it a safe place for everyone to learn.”

“I know that,” she said, “but what else do you do?”

What else do I do? As if running the school and helping it be a safe and caring place for everyone was not enough.

Actually, it isn’t enough, but it is a great place to start.

I won’t begin to list all that that I am required to do, as the list is quite dry. I can focus on a couple of things that I see as part of my job.

My first few weeks have been filled with getting to know the students, staff and parents of this wonderful school. Building positive relationships is very important to me, and I believe that students are more successful in a school when they know the adults know who they are.

The goal I set for memorizing every name has not yet been met (I still have until September 30th), but it is coming along nicely. It has been wonderful when children come up to me at recess or lunch and test me. I do make mistakes (don’t we all), but the students are forgiving and then share with me their names.

I am working on getting to know more than just the students’ names. Understanding the learning needs of all students and the needs of our staff is an important part of my role in a school.

I wander around a lot and visit classes regularly. There are so many wonderful teaching and learning moments every day at this school. Students have shown that they can continue their work when I come in the class, so that I am not interrupting the learning. They quietly say “Hi” or “J’aime ton cravate.” and continue on with their work or listening to whomever is speaking.

What do I do?

I work to support a fantastic team of educators in making this a wonderful school for everyone. I work to get to know the needs and strengths of the wonderful students. I work with our parents to support the students and staff.

I love my job.

Take care.