Tomorrow marks the first day of school for kids in the province of BC. It is always such an exciting time. This year Matthew enters Grade Eight, his first year of high school and Megan begins Grade Six. As I have commented before in blogposts, these big moments since my mom passed come with mixed emotions. I am missing my mom who would be calling tonight to wish the kids a great first day - and she would be eager to join us tomorrow evening at WhiteSpot for our annual "Back to School" dinner out tradition. It won't be the same without her. I am also sad because as they enter a new grade each year, I realize just how fast time is passing. It seems like just yesterday I walked Matthew to his first day in Kindergarten. Similar to that day, I am filled with wishes, hopes and dreams for him in his high school years.
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A snapshot from one of our many nightly walks this summer.
The kids were on the hunt for Pokemon! |
Thus far I have been very impressed with Delta Secondary School. They have been wonderful at communicating with the Grade Eight parents and students. The steps they have taken to create a safe environment for the Grade Eights by staggering their entry, holding information meetings, providing the students with their schedules a week early, and connecting them with an older buddy on their first day is outstanding. I feel like they truly care about my child. Although I know that each teacher will have close to 200 students I hope they will take the time to get to know each of their students; they won't regret it. Positive relationships have so many benefits (e.g., increased willingness to learn, ability to teach from students' interests, knowledge of students' strengths and needs and how to meet these, etc.) I have heard from some parents of teenagers that sometimes during the high school years, students can lose their love of learning as the workload increases and the content becomes more challenging; this scares me. I hope that Matt's teachers discover his interests, passions, what he does well, and are able to engage him in learning that excites him. The next five years are going to have a lasting impression on Matt and I dream that he leaves high school as he has entered it - as a confident, happy, life-long learner, who has many friends, is eager to follow his passions, and
loves contributing to the world in positive ways. I know these are lofty goals but I believe they can be achieved.
To all the teachers and kids I know starting school tomorrow... I hope you have an amazing day and an awesome year of learning and growing.
