Welcome back, everyone!

It is great to have everyone back at Olympic Heights. The building is a little louder, a lot busier, and considerably more fun now that the students have returned. I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the summer, recharge a little, and is ready for another school year.

This year, our school theme is “Be a Good Ancestor,” inspired by the beautiful book by Gabrielle and Leona Prince. It is a simple idea, but one with enormous possibilities. Being a good ancestor means thinking beyond ourselves. It means asking, What can I do today that will make tomorrow a little better for someone else? What kind of world, school, community, and person do I want to help create? That feels especially important right now.

We live in a world where it can often seem easier to focus on what separates us than on what brings us together. There are plenty of divisions, disagreements, and loud voices telling us that we are different from one another. But schools remind us of something important: we are better when we work together. And our students have a bigger role in that than they might realize.

Children have an incredible ability to influence the people around them. A kind word, including someone at recess, helping a classmate, asking a good question or simply noticing when someone isn't having a great day can make a real difference. Those small things add up. The way our students treat people today helps shape the kind of community we will have tomorrow.

I also want to say how fortunate I feel to work alongside the staff at Olympic Heights. Our teachers, educational assistants, support staff, office staff and caretaking team put an enormous amount of care into this school. They work hard, they care deeply about kids, and they bring a lot of heart to what they do. I am grateful for all of them.

So, as we begin another year, let's look after ourselves, look after each other, and look after the place we share. Let's learn a lot, laugh a lot, and hopefully make Olympic Heights a little better than we found it.

Welcome back. It's going to be a great year.

Trevor Barkley
Principal
Olympic Heights School