Blog Posts

As a way of keeping our focus on the teaching and learning in our schools, I have drawn a distinction between the “work”, our primary focus on providing for the educational needs of our students, and the “weather”, the conditions under which we do this work. In uncertain times if we are not careful, we sometimes confuse the two. While it is clearly important to ensure that we are following all the public health protocols, caution must be extended to ensure that this does not become the primary focus of our discourse and practice.

     Wow! Here we are in the middle of October! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving long weekend. We have settled into classes and routines, while at the same time breaking routines to practice emergency drills, take part in Terry Fox Day, acknowledge our first ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and cheering on the runners of our cross-country meets. Teachers have worked together this past Professional Development Day to learn about the history of Indigenous communities in our local area, and ways we can bring this learning to our classrooms.

As we navigate the fourth wave of the pandemic, with an eye to post-pandemic teaching and learning, it has dawned on me that two of the lessons learned from the pandemic might be at odds with each other. With physical distancing being one of the best ways to keep ourselves and kids safe from COVID-19, we saw many classrooms migrate outdoors, at least for part of their instructional experience. This was sage advice given to us by public health, and many classroom teachers were all over it.

Principal’s Message 
     What a fabulous start to the school year!  Mt. Lehman is absolutely a positive and exciting place to be.  So much has happened in the last few days and I would love to share with you some of the highlights.  We have installed the Gaga pit! Gaga ball is a game that is a lot like dodgeball, but it is confined in a circular space.  The kids are loving it! 

Principal’s Message 
     Welcome to a new school year!  My name is Ms. Maralee Lincoln and I am the new principal at Mt. Lehman Elementary.  I am thrilled to be a part of the best elementary school in all of Abbotsford and can’t wait to take part in all of Mt. Lehman’s fabulous activities. 
     This past June I had the opportunity to visit Mt. Lehman and meet all the students.  What nice happy children! I sure am looking forward to seeing all those smiling faces and joyful kids in action.  

This will be a year to remember. I think all of us are happy to put 2020-21 in the rearview mirror. While we did a truly heroic job of navigating the pandemic last year, I think it’s fair to say that none of us wants to do it again. But let’s take a minute to reflect on our efforts. Not only did we live through a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, but we were also able to keep our schools open, take care of each other and – most importantly – fulfill our mission to provide the best possible education to our students.

With the recent Ministry announcement that our schools will be returning to Stage 1 (“near normal”) operations for the coming year, I cannot help but reflect on the enormity of what we have accomplished this year in our province, and particularly here in Abbotsford. Put simply, our staff – all of them – have done a phenomenal job of keeping our schools open and functioning during a global pandemic, the likes of which none of us have ever experienced. This is worthy of celebration and profound gratitude.

A Labyrinth is a way to help focus in a teeny weeny space.  As old as Greek Mythology, it shows up in Indigenous petroglyphs, medieval churches and now, of course, on Mt. Lehman’s Playground.  Lucy Owen would be proud (She’s the student the Library’s named after, but that’s a story for another day.)…

Take a 15 m circle, and draw out a path from the inside out, and don’t forget to breathe. If you walk and breathe for two minutes, you’ll make it to the end—whether that’s in the middle or the outside. More importantly, it’s the journey that matters most.

In the leadup to Mother’s day next month, I was trying to recall some of the events that I have creatively involved my wonderful Ruth in to celebrate that wonderful occasion.  Two events come to mind:  Signing her up for mountain bike lessons, and completing a 10 km walkathon on a rainy day.  She loved NEITHER of them…and dagger eyes shoot out every time either topic comes up.  As much as she hated (more like a heavy disdain/dislike) me for coercing her into it, I had a purpose. I wanted to see if she could do it.

A member of our District's Pandemic Response Team recently congratulated us on our "one year anniversary" of the weekly meetings we have been hosting since COVID-19 took its place in our collective consciences. It took a while for it to sink in, but it dawned on me that we have been working at this for what seems like several years. This time last year, the World Health Organization declared that we were amidst a "global pandemic." We hosted a meeting with all school district leaders at the Abby Arts Centre to map out how we would tackle this emerging threat after Spring Break.