Local vice-principal named top in Canada

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/10/2020 (2045 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The former vice-principal of South Pointe School has been named the distinguished vice-principal of 2020 by the Canadian Association of Principals.

Glenys MacLeod, who was the vice-principal at South Pointe from its inception until her transfer to the vice-principal position at Charleswood School this fall, was delighted to receive word of the award.

“South Pointe is such a fantastic school with an exceptional community that comes together for the kindergarten to Grade 8 students who are there,” MacLeod said. “I’m touched by the fact they nominated me for this award.”

MacLeod said that while the school itself opened in 2017, she and principal Ruthanne Dyck actually began work in 2016, when the staff and students were spread around seven different schools in the Pembina Trails School Division.

“The work wasn’t quite complete in 2016, so we found ourselves travelling around, meeting with our staff until we were finally able to come together as a school in January of the next year,” she said.

MacLeod’s teaching journey began in 2000 when she worked at a school on the Ebb and Flow First Nation. She and her husband moved to Alberta, continued teaching and started a family, before moving back to Winnipeg.

She was honoured to be a part of setting up the vision for how South Pointe would operate. A brand-new school was a chance to implement a place where both staff and students would engage, learn and grow together.

“We made sure that everyone knew they were important and that they could all bring their personal abilities and gifts to the table,” she said.

A major goal for the school was to instill a sense of inquiry into the students.

“Our kids were meant to discover and produce and struggle while doing that,” she said. “Our teachers want to present a problem, and have the kids go, ‘hmmm, how can I approach that?’ Our job is to support them, help them find ideas and directions to follow.”

The end goal is children who can think critically, something they will carry on to high school, and on into life in general, MacLeod said.

The onset of the pandemic saw South Pointe staff pivot to online learning. MacLeod said the school division put the technology in place, and the school’s staff rise to the occasion.

“All the teachers took on the challenge, with creativity and flexibility,” she said. “There was a lot of learning on our part, and yes, it was hard on us and the students and their families. But we made it through, and now we’re putting those lessons to work.”

More on the award will be posted online at the Canadian Association of Principals’ website at cdnprincipals.com/distinguished-vice-principal-of-the-year