It is hard to believe that I have been the principal of Wildflower for a month now. It has been a whirlwind but even in the hard times, it has been filled with joy. I very much want to thank the students, teachers and families of Wildflower for the warm welcome. Even though I have been here for just a short time I am already starting to feel a strong connection to everyone here.

Wildflower is a unique school with a history routed in meeting children where they are, and enveloping them in a supportive learning environment. It is remarkable the level of engagement that I see in each of the classrooms. The learning that is happening is rigorous and deep. Students don’t just touch on subjects, but dive into them and bring their learning to life, connecting it to what is happening in their school, their community, and the greater world around us.

Here is a quick glance of some of the things that have been happening at the school this month:

Seedlings – Have been exploring space but have come back to earth, hopped in their time machine and are now in the land of dinosaurs.

Emily’s Class – Have been exploring their creative side and creating a variety of inventions. Hilarious, ingenious, and practical, their inventions have taken all different forms.

Heather’s Class – Have been enmeshed in the cacophonous world of sound. They have explored the way sound waves looked, trying to uncover mystery sounds, and soon they will begin sharing their favourite songs.

Kirsten’s Class – Have been creating their own path as they learn about maps and geography. They have created topographical representations of the provinces of Canada as well they have created a beautiful map of Nelson.

Tanya’s Class – Have been lost in the forest study trees and learning about grass root movements. This has led them to Kenya and learning about Wangari Maathai, a social, environmental, and political activist who led the greenbelt movement in Africa.

Krista & Sarah’s Class – Have been learning about the indigenous nations of Canada. This has combined well with their novel study as well as their exploration of the intersectionality of privilege.

Barb’s Class – Have journey to the start of the world and have been walking with Australopithecus Africanus, and venturing out of Africa examining the rise of humanity.

There has been more of course, lots of reading, writing and math, and despite the weather trying to prevent us, we have been outside cross country skiing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing and sledding.

Principal Nick Graves