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Posts Tagged ‘speeches’

Words for this Year’s Graduates

Posted in SD45, tagged , , , , on June 16, 2025| 1 Comment »

I love graduation season. 

I did a quick tally the other day and realized I have been to nearly 50 graduation ceremonies since I arrived in West Vancouver 18 years ago. Most years, I make it to at least three events. Grad ceremonies are fascinating—they’re like time capsules, reflecting the mood of the moment, the spirit of the school and the culture of the community.

And let’s be honest: if anyone is still talking about the superintendent’s speech a week later, something probably went horribly wrong. I know nobody shows up to graduation eagerly anticipating the superintendent’s address. That said, I do try to tailor each speech to the school, the students and the moment we are in. While I tend to carry a few themes across schools, each one gets its own personal touches.

So with that, I wanted to share my words to the Class of 2025. Below is the speech I gave at West Vancouver Secondary, and I’ve also posted the versions I delivered at Rockridge and Sentinel (Sentinel’s grad is actually this coming weekend so at this point, this is really just my draft speech for their grad).

To all our graduates—congratulations!


Good evening,

Staff, proud parents, and most importantly the West Vancouver Secondary’s graduating class of 2025.

Tonight is a moment — a celebration, a transition, a threshold. As Superintendent of West Vancouver Schools, I am honoured to bring greetings on behalf of our entire educational community;  the 7,500 students and over 1,000 staff across our district. And I am proud to be here tonight with so many of the key adults in your school lives. It is great to be with Mr. Rauh, who reminds me often of what a remarkable group you are.

Graduation is a milestone, but also a mirror. It reflects the late nights and early mornings, the exams and the performances, the setbacks and the successes. And more than that it reflects how far you’ve come, and the kind of people you’ve become.

Over the past thirteen years, your generation has lived through global pandemics, climate emergencies, and massive technological transformation. This past year, AI stopped being something out of science fiction and started showing up in your classrooms and maybe even your homework folders. The world you’re entering is fast-moving, complex, and yes, uncertain. But you are not unprepared.

You’ve learned to adapt, to speak up, to think critically and care deeply. You’ve challenged systems. You’ve advocated for equity, climate action, mental health, and reconciliation — not as optional topics, but as urgent responsibilities. You’ve pushed us, the adults, to do better.

At WVSS, you’ve also been part of a school that doesn’t just teach content — it builds character. You’ve learned from teachers who saw education not as a job, but as a calling. From the stage at Kay Meek to the gym, the robotics room to the home ec classes, the IB classroom to the cafeteria, your education has been rooted in connection.

Because while the details of quadratic equations and historical treaties may fade, how you felt in this place, and how you made others feel that endures.

Let me say this clearly: public education matters. It is the great equalizer, the foundation of democracy, and the beating heart of our communities. I want to thank your parents for choosing public schools and thank you for making this one better.

No pressure but West Van Secondary grads tend to make a mark. Whether it’s in medicine or media, business or the arts, advocacy or science  you are difference-makers. And the world is ready for your difference.

So as you graduate this June and move out into the world, here’s what I hope you’ll carry:

– Stay curious. Curiosity is the antidote to fear and the spark behind every breakthrough.
– Stay kind. The world doesn’t need more noise — it needs more empathy.
– Stay grounded. Your values are your compass — don’t trade them for convenience.

And remember: you are not alone. You are part of a legacy, a community, and a future still being written.

Congratulations, Class of 2025. We believe in you. We’re cheering for you. And we can’t wait to see what you do next.

Thank you.

The image at the top of this post was created through a Chat GPT prompt.

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Some Thoughts on Students and Change

Posted in Change, SD45, tagged , , , , on June 25, 2018| 8 Comments »

One of the best parts of June is attending all of the graduation ceremonies in our schools. There is such a great energy and these events are full of nostalgia and excitement. I have used this space several times before to share some of the messages I have left with students as I got to address the grad classes. And I want to wrap-up this school year by doing that again.

In all the talk of schools being slow to change, I am struck how students are driving change around two key social issues of our time – that of Indigenous Education and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.  As adults move slowly, students just move and seem almost confused about why we are waiting.

The other topic I come back to this year is the positive choice so many families are making for public education.  In a community where families have more options than in most other places in the country our families overwhelmingly choose public education.  They see what their children get from a public school education, and equally important what they contribute to the system through their participation.

Taking out some of the school specific notes and other pleasantries, here are some of my key notes from this year’s grad speeches I have given:

I began doing the job of Superintendent when this year’s graduates were in grade 4.  And while you may know me best as the person responsible for not giving you any snow days during this period of time, I have had the chance to see our schools really change.

Your graduation looks very different from when I spoke to graduates in 2011.

I want to highlight two key social areas, really where you and your fellow students have shown the way for the adults.

The first area is Indigenous Education.  During your time in our schools we have moved from Indigenous Education being something that is studied in grade 4 and 11 to something that is integrated in all of our work.  We started with cultural projects, but moved to real human connections.  We were guided by the Truth and Reconciliation Report in our country, and students, like you, have led the way.  We are on the way to Reconciliation because of your leadership – helping guide the adults.  I am a Social Studies teacher, and 20 years ago, never mentioned Residential Schools in my classes, we all know now its place as part of our history.

The other area I want to highlight is another issue of social importance, the work around sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).  When you started school, there were arguments in British Columbia around books in schools which showed a range of different families. We have come a long way and again students like you have led the way.   Conversations from washrooms, to gay-straight alliance clubs to curriculum that teaches our diversity have at times seemed hard for the adults, but again not for the students.  When I am told that young people don’t have a huge impact on our values – I see the SOGI work and know they are wrong.  You have made our schools more open, more tolerant and more loving than they were even a decade ago.

And your steadfast commitments going forward will ensure the few loud voices around us who want to move us backwards will not win the day.

So, some things have changed – but others haven’t.  We are so deeply proud of our public schools in our community.

I know families have choices they can make on school – and my thanks to all of you for choosing public schools.  Whether you are going to work, for a gap year or off to college or university we hope you are academically prepared and more importantly prepared to be citizens for our world.

It is cliché, but it takes a community.  In West Vancouver, which is really like a small town, it takes the outstanding staff, committed and supportive parents, and dedicated students to make this system flourish.

My thanks to all of you for doing your parts.

It is a great honour to serve as Superintendent in West Vancouver.  We have the reputation as the finest education system in the country.  And each day I see it come alive in our schools – from academics, to athletics to the arts.  Thank you all for your contributions to this reputation and to our community.

Thanks again for reading, engaging and challenging this year here on Culture of Yes.  I will likely drop in for a post or two in the summer and back at full capacity in September.

Happy Summer.

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This is the Real World

Posted in Change, SD45, tagged , , , , , , on June 14, 2014| 5 Comments »

The_real_world_title_card

It is a real honour to speak at many spring graduation celebrations and, while I realize usually nobody is really there to listen to the superintendent, it is a chance for me to share some of my thinking on education, life and the real world.

So, in addition to congratulating our graduates, acknowledging our passionate and giving teachers and thanking our parents for supporting public education in every way in our community, I also tackled the issue of the ‘real world’ this year.  Here is an excerpt from the comments I shared at our graduation ceremonies:

Starting with my own high school graduation in 1991, this is the twenty-fourth consecutive year I have got to attend at least one graduation ceremony.  And, as much as our world has changed over the last 24 years, from MC Hammer and Sony Walkmans to Pharrell Williams and selfies, graduation is still quite similar – still relevant, still an important mark in life.  It is part congratulations, part acknowledging a transition, and a time to pause and take stock – to be thankful for what has come before and look forward to what is ahead.

I think people who say our job in schools is to prepare you for the real world are wrong.  If we have done it right this year and over the last 13 years, your school experiences have been very much the real world.

There is a notion that school is all about preparation. It really starts early – kindergarten is to prepare you for Grade 1 and it just continues from there.  We start giving you tests in primary grades because you will get tested in older grades and you need to be ready.  Some see school as continuing to prepare you for what’s next and, ultimately, the job of school is to prepare you for life after school.

Actually, when you are in kindergarten you need to be in kindergarten – it is its own thing and not just a preparation for something else. And Grade 12 is also its own thing.  And so, as Grade 12s, I know particularly, in recent months, you have kept one eye on what is next – acceptance letters for university, travel opportunities and job offers that have come forward – sure our job is to prepare you for the real world, but hopefully school has been the real world.

The real world is about community.  The real world is about working with colleagues, making mistakes, learning, trying again – hopefully, that has been your year and your school career.  The real world is the collaboration that leads to the amazing arts performances at your school, the tremendous results in athletic competitions and the determination that leads to outstanding marks in the classroom.

The real world is about learning from wise mentors – and, we are so blessed with amazing, passionate, giving and talented teachers.

So, tonight is less about stepping out into the world, but more about celebrating your place in our world – a wonderful school career and the optimism of what is to come.

It is great to work in the West Vancouver system  — an education system that is not only committed to preparing students for the real world, but is the real world.

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