I have been thinking about the past year and all of the challenges that the LBPSB has faced.
Going back to January 2021, the return to school came with revised start-up dates and increased preventative health regulations, on-line learning, pivoting and obstacles to traditional learning that were overcome by the dedication, resilience, creativity and innovation of our staff and students – and from support from across the Board, at home and in our schools and centres.
With each month in 2021 came adjustments to the reality of our so-called “new normal”, of figuring out how to best manage teaching and learning and supporting one another in unprecedented times. In August 2021, although moving ahead with uncertainty, I like to think that most of us in the LBPSB community had hoped that by the end of the year, December 2021, we would be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We know the light is there, but just when the tunnel will end is still a mystery.
Yet, amidst this unwavering pandemic, the students and staff of the LBPSB have continued to impress us all with their drive to help their communities, to be caring and compassionate and to reach out, bravely, when they need help and support. It has not been an easy year, far from it, and although everyone is exhausted the paradox is about the energy that is evident at every level to ensure that our students at the LBPSB have the best educational experience possible, even in these really difficult circumstances.
With the holidays only a day or so away, I would like to leave you with a message that is part of my family’s Christmas advent tradition, which is to celebrate light with hope, love, joy and peace. May you all embrace what is important to you during the next few weeks of holiday, and if I could, once again, remind us to promote KINDNESS. A daily act of kindness does not cost a cent. A society without pervasive kindness costs us all. We must make a positive difference. We need to lead by example. Bringing out the goodness in all of us, using this endless resource, will enhance and enrich the fact that we are the best school board in the Province. Thank you.