Last week, I was able to spend a day with our two grandchildren, Carter, a little over 2 1/2 years old and his sister Emerson who is now 3 1/2 months old. While I played with our own two children when they were that age, my body of knowledge (even as a teacher at the …
2018 archive
Sep 09
Leading and Learning
Leaders do! They lead by doing! Take a look at their work plans and it is evident that they work diligently in leading their organizations. For many years now, I’ve met with our school and system leaders to review their professional growth plans. Invariably, I get a great plan from them, carefully outlining the work …
Sep 02
Eliminating Excuses- Pre-Mortem Activity
Let’s be honest, we all make excuses. It is really difficult to accept our own failures and much easier to lay blame on something or someone else. This is especially prevalent in team environments. In her book, Teach Your Team to Fish, Laurie Beth Jones states, “Fewer than 15% of team blockages are caused by external factors- …
Aug 29
From the Desk of the Superintendent- Opening Staff Address 2018
Good morning, Before I begin my short address, I would like to introduce the leaders of our employment groups: President of the local ATA, John Templin, CUPE 1825 Jane Meeker and representing CUPE 290, Robert Reid. Thank you for your service to not only your respective organizations but to Holy Spirit Catholic School Division as …
Aug 26
Support for Instructional Leadership
Tomorrow we will be gathering with our entire Learning Leadership Team to start the school year. I always start with an address to set the tone and share my excitement and enthusiasm for the upcoming school year. In last week’s blog post, Quality School Leadership, Teaching and Optimum Learning, I touched on the importance of …
Aug 19
Quality School Leadership, Teaching and Optimum Learning
This past week, I had the pleasure of co-facilitating with our Director of Learning, Lorelie Lenaour, the “Leading Learning” module at the inaugural CASS/ASBOA Summer Conference. The focus of the conference was to bring all system leaders in the province of Alberta together under one roof and begin to support the implementation of the new …
Jun 30
“New Roads to Travel” 2018 Graduation Address for St. Michael’s Bow Island
Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, honoured guests and St. Michael’s Graduates of 2018. I always look forward to attending this graduation ceremony and am honored to bring greetings on behalf of the school division. St. Michael’s Bow Island is so unique not just because it is a small early learning to grade 12 school but …
Jun 29
“Small Town, Big Dreams” 2018 Graduation Address for St. Mary’s Taber
Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, Honoured Guests and especially to our St. Mary’s Graduates of 2018. It is always a pleasure to attend our graduation ceremonies and bring greetings on behalf of the entire school division. A number of years ago I was asked to do some work in New York City and provide …
Jun 24
From the Desk of the Superintendent- 2017-18 Year End Message
It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I’m sitting here on my deck after returning from Calgary earlier today. I taught my last class of this semester for Gonzaga, but the bonus was being able to see our son, daughter, son-in-law and of course our two precious grandchildren. Emerson was born 4 weeks ago and Carter …
Jun 03
From the Desk of the Superintendent- June 2018
I’m sitting in a hotel room in Red Deer completing this blog post, after spending a glorious morning in the pool with our grandson Carter. This past weekend, I was in Calgary teaching (weekend 2 of 4) the course “The Principalship” for Gonzaga University. Rather than return to Lethbridge on Saturday night and then turn …