Congratulations to the Graduating Class of 2025
The Annual VSTA Retirees’ Dinner is the Union’s opportunity to thank our retiring colleagues for your years in the classroom and for your commitment to public education in Vancouver. The decision to retire from teaching is not taken lightly; we hope that tonight’s celebration will afford you the opportunity to reflect on the best moments of your career.
As a member of the Class of 2025, you have 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 your career, you maintained this, in one form or another, while teaching through a pandemic and its unsteady aftermath. 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. Your colleagues joining you this evening, and your colleagues across the district, express their gratitude, respect, and admiration for your years of dedicated service.
This dinner is also our opportunity to thank our School Union Team representatives for the leadership and support they have provided throughout the year. Our Staff Reps, Pro-D Chairs, WLC/B Reps, Health & Safety Reps, Technology Reps, and Social & Environmental Justice Reps keep our members informed and engaged in the work of the VSTA and BCTF. They offer professional and personal support to our colleagues in our schools and programs and make the In-House Table Officers aware of emerging matters of concern to teachers on a day-to-day basis.
The other group that we want to recognize tonight is our Executive Committee, including our Standing Committee Chairs. Throughout the year, they spend hours in meetings advising the IHTOs and helping to provide Staff Reps and site-based committee reps with the information they need to support teachers throughout the district.
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 2025, will be sleeping in, enjoying coffee and the newspaper, and proceeding to do whatever you feel like doing. Or perhaps you will already be off on a long-anticipated adventure. 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!
Carmen, Carl, and John
VSTA IHTOs
