Greetings colleagues,

I hope that wherever Friday’s non-instructional day took you, whether to a conference, a district gathering, or a conversation with colleagues closer to home, you had a great day of learning and connection.

I had the pleasure of spending Friday and Saturday with colleagues at our Connecting Leaders Conference in Vancouver. What an amazing experience! I recall attending the conference last year in Whistler with Simon Breakspear and driving home feeling energized and challenged by some of the ideas brought forward, both by Simon and by my colleagues and friends from across BC. This year, we had a full house in Vancouver and the energy in the room was electric. We had Principals and Vice-Principals from across the province learning and laughing together.

The content from the weekend was timely and thought-provoking, and the laughs and smiles were plentiful and heartfelt. Many people took to heart the learning from Friday, where Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe taught us that people who swear regularly tend to live longer.

On Friday, Dr. Robyne invited us to think about everyday resiliency and what it means to work and live well. Her work draws our attention to the importance of belonging, perspective, acceptance, hope, and humour. As school and district leaders, we spend so much of our time caring for others and responding to what each day brings. Taking time to consider what sustains us, and who we can turn to when the work is difficult, is critical to our ability to continue that work. Robyne also made me feel a lot better about not always getting my 10,000 steps in, as the science shows that the target number really should be around 7,000!

I was struck by the idea of belonging. Leadership can feel lonely at times, even when we are surrounded by people throughout the day. Having colleagues who understand the joys and complexities of the role, and who are willing to listen when we need a sounding board, makes a difference. There is also much to be said for finding humour along the way. Most of us have had a day in a school where, by the end of it, the only reasonable response was to close your door with a trusted friend and just laugh!

On Saturday, Dr. Sean Lessard invited us to reflect on the power of relationships, stories, and being present with young people. Sean’s description of this time of year when the leaves fall from the trees as “Leaving Season” hit home with me. The stories he shared of students leaving school are, unfortunately, all too familiar to educators in BC. His message was not one of despair; he gave us hope that we can make a difference in the lives of our students who need us most. Sean reminded us to take that journey from our head to our hearts regardless of how long the journey may be. Take time for intentional micro-interactions with your students. Sean’s work alongside Indigenous youth amplifies the importance of making genuine connections, being intentional with communications, and making sure that our students know we care about their well-being.

As educational leaders, we make decisions every day that affect students and families. Sean’s work prompts us to pause and ask ourselves: whose story are we hearing? Whose voice might be missing? And how can we create the conditions for young people to be seen, heard, and supported? The time we take to build relationships and listen can shape how we understand our responsibility to the students and communities we serve.

The messages from both presenters will stay with me. They also brought me back to something I shared last week: the secret sauce of our association is connecting our amazing leaders to each other and to the BCPVPA.

At Connecting Leaders, members had the opportunity to connect with BCPVPA Board Directors and staff, with colleagues they already knew, and with people they met for the first time. Those conversations can be the beginning – or the continuation – of a provincial network we can draw on long after the conference ends.

Your BCPVPA staff really do put together amazing learning experiences for you. I encourage you to make time in your school year to attend any of offerings from our Professional Learning catalogue, or invite our staff to deliver programming in your Chapters.

As we return to our schools and communities, I hope we can carry a little of that conference and non-instructional day energy into our work. Think about reaching out to a colleague or friend: you never know when a conversation and connection might be exactly what is needed.

Have a great weekend.

Sid Jawanda
President, BCPVPA

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