I went to put the artwork up in my office the other day and noticed the artist’s interpretation of the painting. It was a moment where I realized that the painting is a perfect fit for the path that we have charted in developing our community school model here at Byrne Creek:

“The Parent Voice: Connecting for the Future design encapsulates the elements of sharing, connection, growth and leadership which also run parallel to the mutual understanding and desire to sustain and brace a well balanced and healthy future.

The Man and Woman symbolize the sharing of their words, wisdom and cultural teachings with love and respect. The Eagles symbolize power of Great Spirit, courage, freedom and the capacity of bridging worlds. The Salmon symbolize the power of instinct, determination, intuition and the ability to follow your vision. The Bears symbolize the power of strength, sweetness of truth, deliberation, conservation and healing.

When creating this design I wanted each animal to have a partner to represent how we should never stand alone. The practice of partnership is a leading model of personal and professional success. I hope the viewers of this design feel its meaning within themselves as it comes from a place of welcoming, love, respect, understanding and unity. May we continuously thank and honor our Parents, Elders, Role Models, and Caregivers for their wisdom and guidance as we continue our journey in a sustainable and well balanced future.

Jamin Zuroski is the artist of this treasure and the author of this narrative. On his bio Jamin is described as a person of First Nations, Polish, and Ukrainian descent.”

I am humbled by the resilience and sheer tenacity of so many of our families’ arrival stories into Canada! Our students and community is so fortunate to be able to have access to this sort of strength, wisdom and experience. And I have been thinking a lot lately about how we might connect with this gift that is often hidden in plain sight.

Over the past few months Byrne Creek Secondary and the Canucks Family Education Centre have hosted workshops at Byrne Creek for parents and youth to help families better transition into Canadian culture.

This past week we held a workshop World Café titled “The Community and You.” The questions served up to parents and youth during this session were: What are your likes, passions, interests, and skills? And what would you like to share with the community?

The youth engagement and suggestions were phenomenal! Their ideas were very impressive. They offered the likes of holding FaceBook training for parents and mentorship/leadership workshops with younger children.

Parents were also very generous with their offerings. Out of this session we have the beginnings of the following:  

A very experienced pediatrician from Afghanistan will be holding workshops for parents on family health, a university professor of English from Russia will be holding TOFEL preparation training sessions for parents, and English (and perhaps Russian) conversation classes for youth and a university Economics Professor from Malaysia has offered to lead financial planning workshops for parents and youth in our community.

This is some of the wealth that we are hoping to connect with more and more as Byrne Creek transitions into a Community School.  We will be holding more such workshops, and we are beginning to look for funding to maintain such initiatives (for example, if materials are required).

What a fun night! The feeling of community abounded.

My favorite moment…at one point during the entertainment one student was beat-boxing on stage (that is like drumming with your mouth into a mic for any of you that are my age and might not have known what that was) and the mascots (a bulldog, a lion and a turkey) were dancing to the beat. Suddenly the giant inflatable turkey on the side of the stage started to deflate. One of the very little sisters accidentally pulled the plug playing beside the stage. The very professional performers continued to dance as the giant turkey was reconnected and re-inflated as the atrium cheered! Good team work Leo’s!

Looking around it was clear that Byrne Creek has such a diverse amazing community already! Our goal is to develop into the kind of Community School where our school’s families come together more often…to share, learn and visit!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I’ll start my first Blog with a super speedy introduction to me.

My passion is positive community building! I believe that there is no work more important than creating healthy, abundant communities where each child has the opportunity to grow up safe, loved, and well educated.

I am an experienced teacher and educational consultant with over thirteen years experience working with diverse community partners in developing and implementing school curriculum and community programs in BC, Quebec and Bermuda. I am also a Masters of Arts in Leadership graduate.

So…that’s the professional me. There is also the person-me. I volunteer for a few things: I’m a board member for a non-profit called ArtQuake and I am a program coordinator for Girl Trip, a Stratosphere and Passion Foundation initiative.

I enjoy everything to do with the water: swimming, sailing, kayaking. And…I grew up on a farm with a big family in Langley, BC. I love learning new things. Right now, I am learning the guitar, I just registered in a Curling league and I am learning to cook healthy gluten free foods. So, that is me in a nutshell.

My intention in creating this Blog is to provide a glimpse into what is happening on our journey towards full Community School status here at Byrne Creek and…to gather as much wisdom from you the readers, as I can. I may Blog about challenges, lessons learned, ideas that I would like feedback on, to celebrate, or to share information.

The Byrne Creek community and I are at the start of a very exciting ten months of connecting, experimenting, reflecting and learning. I invite you to join us and join in…along the way.