President’s Perspective (September 18)

Connections and Reconnections

September 18, 2026

Ki Ora my colleagues.

I am writing this from the beautiful Aotearora (New Zealand). I am attending the International Confederation of Principals council meetings and Convention with the BCPVPA team, and the learning has been deep. I have had the honour of visiting remarkable public schools. I am amazed at how Maori culture and language is woven into the fabric of each setting, and how schools reflect the cultures of all who attend. The belief that students need to see themselves in their schools is not just performative here: even as an outsider, I can feel it.

As we move into the convention portion of the program, I am excited to learn from leaders and practioners from around the world about how we may improve our approaches to common challenges.

As I am working on connecting with leaders from educational jurisdictions around the world this week, I know that September is a time for connection in all of your schools as well.

Students return from their summer adventures, and we reconnect over their stories. This is also a time when many students are genuinely excited to come back to school; that, however, may be more about missing their friends than a desire to dive into the curriculum.

We reconnect with our previous staff and with the new additions to our teams, and we welcome new families into our school community.

These ongoing connections are critical to your success in your role.

Also critical to your success as a school or district leader is your connection to your colleagues and your own professional growth. Alongside Halloween, every October also brings our BCPVPA Connecting Leaders Conference. This is a conference I look forward to each year, and where I have made connections and friendships that have lasted for decades with leaders from across our province. I know it isn’t October yet, but I wanted to bring theregistration deadline of October 1st to your attention.

The Connecting Leaders Conference brings together educational leaders from every corner of the province to share ideas, challenge thinking, celebrate successes, and build professional relationships that often extend well beyond the conference itself. The presentations are valuable, but many experienced attendees will tell you that some of the most important learning happens during conversations over coffee, between sessions, or at dinner with colleagues who are facing similar challenges. As a PVP from the north, this conference also offered the opportunity to catch a Vancouver Canucks or BC Lions game if the schedules aligned when the conference was over.

We lead in a massive province and in vastly different settings. This distance and these differences shrink when we take the time to connect and learn together.

One of the greatest strengths of the BCPVPA is our ability to learn from one another's stories and experiences. Every member has wisdom to share. Every member has faced challenges that others can learn from. Every member has developed practices that may help another leader succeed.

That is precisely why gatherings like the Connecting Leaders Conference matter.

I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Personally, another way I hope to connect with all of you is to come and visit you in your Chapters. Please send an email to either Amy or me to arrange dates as the calendar before the Winter Break is already filling up.

WHAIA TE ITI KAHURANGI;

KI TE TUOHU KOE, ME HE MAUNGA TEITEI

STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE;

YOU SHOULD ONLY BOW TO THE MOST LOFTY MOUNTAIN

Sid Jawanda
President, BCPVPA