See you later...

To the Langley Fine Arts School community:

As I sit here, thinking back on the last 4 years, I struggle to put into words how lucky I feel to have been part of the Langley Fine Arts School experience. I have been shown daily how passion and knowledge in the arts (or in anything, I suppose) can intersect to create something truly special.

It has been my sincere pleasure to work with our kids, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity. I have watched them grow from (sometimes difficult) youngsters to leaders and young adults. I have seen them change from nervous first graders to confident artists and learners. I have watched their artistic voices develop and deepen. I have watched them shift from disengaged to completely engaged. I have seen them grow from utterly dependent to confident and self-sufficient. All of these are privileges that I do not take lightly, and I consider it an honour to have been able to share in their intellectual, emotional, and artistic journeys. I confess I am lucky, too, to be going to a school that is close enough that I'll be able to visit often, and take in the shows, and stay connected to this community that means so much to me. I am excited to be moving onto the next stage in my own career, but sad to leave my second family.

On Friday, I was moved particularly by the number of students who came me to tell me how much they'd miss me, seemingly oblivious to how much I would be (and already was) missing them. LFAS is a place that feeds the mind and the soul, and I can only hope that what I've gained in my time there is something I can pass on, and see grow elsewhere.

I have reflected with some of the students I work with most regularly, that the middle of the year is a great time to go into a school as a new administrator, and a difficult time to leave a school to which one is attached. And this kind of change is part of life in education. I hope to find success as a principal, as many of you tell me I have found as a vice principal, and I hope that each of you finds even greater success in all your endeavours.

Thank you for trusting me with our kids. Thank you for your kind words over the past weeks. And thank you for supporting the school, and the learning journey it is providing.  I will miss all of you: parents, staff, and most of all, students.

Treasure your school, for LFAS, its staff, its families, and its mission are a treasure, indeed.

Mr. Oliver