December 19

I had another eventful weekend.  On Friday night, I attended a Christmas party for people who had lost loved ones.  On Saturday night, my neighbors had me over for a refreshments.  This winter, we haven't been borrowing one another's power by running extension cords through the fence.  We found that after all the power sharing we did last winter that our power bills didn't improve much; therefore, we plug our appliances into our own outlets.  All joking aside, I am truly blessed with loving, supportive, considerate neighbors.  I am well cared for by family, friends, and neighbors.
On Sunday morning, the Opheim Clan got together for Christmas brunch at the Willows Golf and Country Club.  David flew in from Toronto on Saturday.  Audrey, her children and their partners joined my gang for a great meal and visit.
Last night's Fireside Singers Concert at Teacher's Credit Union Place was amazing, as usual. I played hockey this morning and I am presently on a one game scoring streak.  Tomorrow, I am looking forward to dinner with some of my old teaching colleagues.
On Friday, my gang is taking me to Fernie for a weekend of skiing.  I likely won't be posting for a while so I will wish anyone who still reads this blog a Blessed Christmas.  Enjoy your families.  Spend time meditating on how many blessings you enjoy.  Give thanks, rejoice, forgive...take time to go out and look up at the sky.  Think about the first Christmas night.  Husbands, love your wives.  Wives, love your husbands.  Thing about how lucky you are to have one another.  If you lost a partner, give thanks for the many good Christmas memories you have stored in your heart.  God Bless us everyone.

Principal’s Message

Every year I am charged with the responsibility of writing the family Christmas letter.  I usually go through the whole year without ever stopping to reflect on the type of year I have experienced.  As a rule, I am an optimistic person who expects the best, hopes for the best, and thankfully experiences the best that life offers.  I have lived a charmed life, but this past year’s events have challenged my optimism.  There have been some good times, but serious illness in my family has meant days and days of hospital visits, doctor’s appointments, sitting in emergency, and the daily worries that hang over your head like a dark cloud.  Furthermore, our house has been torn apart as a kitchen renovation project that was scheduled to finish on Groundhog Day will hopefully be finished by Christmas Day.

When you are in the midst of trying times, it seems that things will never change.  There doesn’t seem to be a way out.  There is no hope.  Although I am not an old man, I am old enough to know things do change.  In fact, there are gifts that are present even in the midst of trials.  I am overwhelmed by the incredible goodness of people and the boundless opportunities that come out of hard times.

The author, Samuel Johnson, stated, “Hope is necessary to every condition.  The miseries of poverty, sickness and captivity would, without this comfort, be insupportable.”  If hope is so necessary, I do feel that schools need to be a place where hope lives.  I have a hard time believing there is a child who is hopeless or a child who has no hope.  Children need to know that whatever condition exists for them, there is hope.  Moreover, children need to know that experiencing hope can best be accomplished by offering hope to others.