Naomi Bird, Craig Brumwell, Steven Bryk, Judy Chan, Russell Evans, Donald James Davies, Oscar Goncalves, Janice Lam, Gabriella Lappano, Lynoor Lardein, Brian Latimer, Catherine MacMillan, Andrea May, Amanda Miller, John Mueller, Nick Petheriotis, Gary Regan, Kim Taylor, Carol Thornton, David Tolsforff, Brad White, & Jenny Wong:
As a member of the Class of 2023, much of your career was impacted by the gulf between our, and society as a whole’s, vision for public education in this district and province and successive governments unwillingness to fund schools and programs at levels sufficient to achieve that vision. You have been on strike, participated in job action and fought hard in other ways for the benefits we have achieved. You have also spent countless hours prepping courses, marking, coaching, attending meetings, chairing meetings, mentoring, organizing field trips, and talking to parents and caregivers. In the latter stage of you career, you maintained this, in one form or another, while teaching through a pandemic. Your contributions as advocates for public education through the VSTA and BCTF and your contributions at the school, classroom, and individual student levels define the lasting impact of your career.
When September comes and those of us returning to our schools and programs are experiencing anxiety-induced dreams about not being able to find our lesson plans or classrooms, you, the members of the VSTA Class of 2023, will be sleeping in, enjoying coffee and the newspaper, and doing whatever you feel like doing. We wish you the best in all your future endeavours and hope that you will stay in touch with us. Congratulations on a career well-served!
