Principal's Message

I just wanted to say thank you to our entire Auguston School community for all your support in the month of September.   Students are now settled in their classes and can focus on what is most important which is building relationships with staff and their peers.  Seeing all the students playing together at recess and lunch was my highlight of the month as this brought a great deal of joy to all the students.  We soon forget that they haven’t been able to play together and/or see their group of friends outside in 18 months!  

We had a very busy month at Auguston as we sorted out class lists, planned for the Terry Fox run, hosted the Federal Election, and engaged students in National Truth and Reconciliation Day activities.  As a staff on the Non- Instructional Day, we visited the Barrowtown Pump station and learned about the draining of Sumas Lake.  We also visited the location of where one of the most significant historical events in Abbotsford/Canadian/Washington State history took place (if you are interested to find out more, please email me with subject line “newsletter” at ryan.colbert [at] abbyschools.ca and I will share with you what we learned as this is not a history story I would share with elementary aged students.)  Being a self-proclaimed “history buff”, I was surprised that I didn’t know about this history of our local community.  Some of the questions I asked myself were: Why is that?  I wonder why we never learned about this? Why have I never read about this in our local newspaper? Why didn’t I know? When I did some research about the topic, I learned there are books and short films about this event…..hmmm…..Why have I never heard of it?   When I went home to discuss what I learned with my Gr. 12 daughter, I learned that she did learn about this event in high school as they do complete a novel study on the topic.  I felt better because it gave me hope that our children are being engaged in Indigenous education and teachings as per the curriculum.  It was clear to me that something had been missed in my education and also recognition of this event by our local community.  I have lived in Abbotsford for 35 years and never heard of this?  A real learning experience for me in so many ways! 

We continue to do our very best to ensure your child and school community remain safe during this global pandemic.  As you can see, we still have many protocols in place and will continue to work with them and do our best to provide the nearest to “normal” school year as possible.  We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate during this difficult time.

Also, please fill out the survey that was shared with you in the email Mrs. Tait sent!

Happy October!

Mr. Ryan Colbert, Principal