June 2023

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Here we are again, almost at the end of another school year.  I am so thankful for the ability to work together as a team to build a school district that provides a rich tapestry of learning options for students. For a relatively small district, our staff continues to create innovative courses and programs for your children.  Part of our success is because of the wonderful relationships we have with our parent/guardian community. We do not take for granted this relationship with you or the district parent representative of COPACS (Confederation of Parents’ Advisory Councils of Saanich). COPACS has been an important partner in Saanich Schools for many, many years. If you are not familiar with them or want to become involved, I encourage you to visit the COPACS website for more information.

As part of my communication platforms, I have a professional blog called The Power of Why.  I use it to share my thoughts on a number of topics including the latest educational research, leadership and some of my wonderings. I have just recently posted my year-end blog (THE YEAR FROM 20,000 FEET) where I take some time to celebrate some of the positive things that have helped shape our school district this past year. My final post of the year also includes a concern that I wanted to share with you on the apparent increase we are seeing in Intolerance.  Things like racism and homophobia continue to make headlines across the province, the country, but also in our own community.  As schools, we play an important role in ensuring that every student feels that school is a place where they belong. Feeling accepted is a critical requirement for anyone to be their best – our students, your children, deserve no less.

I hope that you will take a few minutes to read THE YEAR FROM 20,000 FEET, to join me in both the celebration of some district highlights as well as exploring some of my thoughts on the Intolerance we are seeing in community. If you are interested in receiving automatic notices about my posts, you can sign up on my website simply by entering your email address.

I want to end my message with you by thanking you again for your support and encouragement. We are very fortunate in our district to have a strong culture of inclusion and collaboration – one that finds creative ways of building bridges instead of walls as we continue our journey along a path of improvement. I look forward to working with you again next September as we begin another new leg in our adventure. 

Wishing everyone a wonderfully relaxing and rejuvenating summer ahead,

With respect,

Dave Eberwein (he/him)