It’s the last day of school for teachers. Summer break begins for them at 3pm today. I can’t help but feel a bit sentimental at the end of each school year. It really hit me at our grad on Monday, and now again today.

I feel blessed to work at the schools I do. I feel lucky to work with the staff that I do.

It our district we tend to see administrative shuffles around 5 years, and occasionally a principal might stay in a school for 7-8 years. This is my 12th year with Inquiry Hub and 13th with Coquitlam Open Learning. Although most of those years I was actually vice principal, I have been the lead administrator for 11.5 years. That’s rare.

The fact that I’ve been here, at these two unique schools, for this long has been a blessing. In all honesty, had I been moved, I probably would have resigned by now. It’s really, really hard to go back into a traditional box after spending so long out of the box.

But it’s not just the schools themselves that have me feeling sentimental, it’s also the staff. I’m truly lucky to work with the teachers and secretaries that I’ve had the honour to work with. It’s pretty special to walk into a building every day and want to be around the people who you work with.

It is great when I get the opportunity to join the staff in the staff room at lunch. It’s special when the secretaries volunteer their time at evening events because they want to be there to celebrate the students. It’s amazing to watch teachers consistently do what’s great for kids in innovative and creative ways.

On this last day of school I feel blessed. And while I’m certainly looking forward to summer, there is already a little excitement about starting the new year… but that’s getting way ahead of myself. First things first… I’m going to enjoy our last day.