At this time of year when we are considering the end one calendar year and the start of another, I can't help but feel excited about all that is possible and yet to come. At the same time though, I look back at what has been accomplished and will no longer be. A new year is always a bit of a give and take for me emotionally.
This is exactly how I am feeling as we close in on the end of 2010 and the retirement of two of our long-serving staff members. As we prepare ourselves to say farewell to Ms. Heck and Ms. Chauhan I look back at all that they have accomplished in their long careers and the influence they have had over countless numbers of students and say thank you. Our school will forever change as a result of their retirements, and while we are saddened to see them go, we must also look to the future to see what is possible for all of us. We take the lessons learned from these long-time colleagues and we apply them in new contexts and with new people.
To recognize for all of us that we will one day be moving away from the David Cameron Community is a difficult one. As Chris Kelly and Bruce Bearsto (Education Canada, 2010) reflect on this inevitable change, they say, "it is also vitally important [to] recognize that their time will be temporary, the organization will eventually and inevitably be carrying on without them, and the best they can hope to do is to affect at least some aspects of the ... culture in a way that will have some positive and enduring impact on others; namely, on the students".
With this in mind we say farewell to our colleagues Ms. Heck and Ms. Chauhan and know that we wish you well. We also thank you for your time, efforts, and contribution to the culture that is David Cameron School.
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