It is hard to believe that we are only weeks away from finishing another excellent year.

Aberdeen Hall is the proud new owner of a 14,000 ft² multipurpose Athletic Center and an outdoor Sports Court. As we speak, the acrylic surfacing is being applied to both courts. We will be lining the courts for tennis, basketball and volleyball, with an option for temporary badminton lines. During the month of June there are plans to insulate, clean and paint the inside of the dome membrane. This will be an excellent addition to our campus facilities.

As many of you are aware, Mrs. Cathryn Egan is expecting her first child in July. We are wishing her the very best and hope to see her return in September 2011. In her place as the Grade 3 Homeroom teacher, we welcome Mrs. Meghan Dunn who will be moving from her current Grade 4 position. Next year’s Grade 4 teacher will be Mrs. Melinda Powell. Mrs. Powell completed her Bachelor of Arts (Linguistics Psychology) and her Bachelor of Education in elementary education at the University of Alberta. Mrs. Powell has spent the last eight years at the prestigious Ibstock Place School in London, England. She brings with her a strong knowledge of technology and a reputation for providing a “dynamic cross-curricular learning environment”. We will also be adding a second Kindergarten class, and for this lead-teaching position we have hired Ms. Morven McClean. Ms. McClean completed her Bachelor of Education at the University of Alberta, and a Bachelor of Arts from Okanagan University College. She has spent the last three years as a Kindergarten teacher and curriculum division leader at Ewell Castle Junior School in the United Kingdom. Ms. McClean has a number of specialties including technology in the classroom and curriculum planning. We are thrilled with the experience, professionalism and enthusiasm that our two new team members will bring to our growing faculty.

We are adding a violin programme for all students in Grade 3 and 4. Our new violin teacher will be Mr. John Suderman. Mr. Suderman is an experienced elementary violin teacher, and is also a member of the Okanagan and Prince George Symphony Orchestras. This is an ambitious program and will require some parent volunteers. If you are interested in being a regular volunteer in this class, please contact Karin Watson at the school. We are now on our way to creating a true orchestra.

We are excited about the plans for Aberdeen Hall’s new Apple Array Computer Lab that will include a combination of Macbooks, IBooks, and Ipads. We are currently investigating the very best teaching methodologies, strategies and opportunities that coincide with this new lab, and look forward to it arriving early during the 2010-2011 school year.

I have just had the opportunity to visit almost every class in the school. I started on the first floor and was inspired by watching the Preschool students in the process of mastering numbers and words, and the Kindergarten students practising their French phrases and songs. As I moved upstairs, I enjoyed observing the junior students working on their novel studies and having their first lesson on fractions. As I moved into the senior grades, it was great to watch a senior math class complete a quiz on divisibility rules. I was tested by a student and passed ; thank goodness! My final stop was with our senior class. They were having a presentation and discussion about a Social Studies current event. The content included discussions about Al Qaeda and uranium; however, I was more impressed by the students’ marked ability to share ideas, present their thoughts logically and listen to one another. The students’ development in this important area is very encouraging.

I am off to Vancouver tomorrow to attend a “Head of School” conference put on by the Independent School Association of British Columbia, or ISABC for short. Aberdeen Hall was recently accredited by their evaluation team and we look forward to benefitting from the professional opportunities that this association provides for its members.

We anticipate a strong finish to the school year, and as always, I encourage you to email or call me at the school if I can be of assistance. christopher.grieve@aberdeenhall.com

Best regards,

Chris Grieve

Head of School