Welcome to General Vanier Public School!

I am honoured and privileged to have this opportunity to introduce myself and share my enthusiasm about being your school’s Principal. Before coming to General Vanier in September 2019, I was the Vice Principal and Acting Principal at Blossom Park Public School. The first 12 years of my teaching career was in Toronto before moving to Ottawa in 2005. I have taught in all three divisions (primary, junior and intermediate) as well as in Special Education and as an Instructional Coach for both school boards.

This September General Vanier is coming back to school in a post-COVID climate. Some of our students will be continuing their learning as full-time virtual students of the OCV while approximately 125 of our students will be returning to the building for in-person learning...and we are READY! Our website has a welcome video that explains and outlines the safety guidelines we have put in place to ensure the safety of our students and staff.

Each new school year often brings with it new staff. This school year we welcome Megan Verbeek who joins Peggy Manion in the front office as our Office Administer Assistant ensuring our students and community are well taken care of.

We welcome back Jenna Sirko from her maternity leave who will be joining the Kindergarten Team this year. Also returning from maternity leave is Rachel Smith (January) our ECE with the EDP morning program and the Angelfish group. We also welcome Alissa Patterson who will be a part of our Kindergarten French teaching team. Rayna Czuczor is our Designated Occasional Teacher and also our Arts, Kindergarten Coverage and Classroom Support Teacher (Long Term Occasional Position).

This year’s School Council executive members are Catherine Burke (Chairperson), Christine Leger (Secretary) and Imad Al-Saadi (Treasurer). Although many of the wonderful events our School Council usually manages cannot take place under the COVID restrictions, the council continues to meet as often as possible to discuss ways to bring the community and school together to support the success and achievement of our students.

I believe that student well-being and academic achievement are mutually supportive. When students feel safe, welcome and included they are better learners. As educational researcher Alfie Kohn states, “If children feel safe, they can take risks, ask questions, make mistakes, learn to trust, share their feelings, and grow.” When parents and the school community work in partnership, a safe, inclusive and welcoming learning environment is created for our children. I look forward to building these strong partnerships with you to support the learning of all our students.

I am so grateful for your support and look forward to meeting you and your children as we work together to foster the development of respectful, caring, responsible, and self-directed learners.

Sincerely,

Christina Rathier