Today, January 1st, 2018, marks 2 years since the day we announced the opening of Via Vita Academy. 

2 years! Wow! 

Via Vita has grown from just an idea, well, suggestion really, from some very special people, to now an operating school filled with families, students, and teachers -  even more special people! The parents who have came through our doors, the students who have participated in our programs, the children whose faces we've painted, those who've chatted on the phone with us, met us at events, donated supplies, shared our information, shook our hands, liked our posts, recommended us to a friend, checked out our website, or even asked us how we're doing - we are forever grateful. It all supported us through the birth of Via Vita and continues to support us as we find our place in the community, Where we've come from and what we are today has shaped so much of who we are, our values and goals. 

Even through the busy times of school assignments, report cards, field trips, lunch duties, meetings, enrolment, and growing lists of administration  tasks can leave us feeling swamped and stressed, we honestly, really, truly, it might sound crazy, but we really mean it - we wouldn't trade it for a thing! Opening this school took much planning, and with that, much anticipation for these busy times. The work is, and continues to be, a labour of love. The day we signed the dotted line, marking the beginning of Via Vita Academy Ltd. as a real, functioning "thing", we made a conscious decision to change our lives, and with that, hopefully, the lives of many families to come.

It has been nothing short of amazing. Copious amounts of work, but amazing and extraordinarily rewarding. 2 years ago and onward, we knew there was nowhere to look but forward, As educators, employers, colleagues, business partners, parents, and friends - we set our focus forward, with the support of so many wonderful individuals.

Somehow, magically, along the way, we also found teachers who agree and put in 110% every day.  Their dedication is unmatched and truly enables our school to stand strong. Even on their holiday break, they stepped up, offering us this tidbit to post today. When asked to help us write a New Year's Day post, they produced something truly heartwarming and inspiring, setting us up right for 2018. 

So, we give you this, from our current staff of 6 Via Vita Teachers, looking forward to 2018 with goals and learnings for ourselves and our students. Education is our passion; learning is our life. Here's to a year of kindness, joy, more learning, and mutual support!

Can you guess who wrote each one?

In 2018, my wish for my students...

To continue fostering relationships with each other, spreading kindness, developing their love of learning, and discovering who they are. 

To expand upon the approaches to learning that we have explored together--through questioning, and a shared willingness to understand more about our world.

To find excitement in new activities and persevere when things become challenging. 

To learn more about the world and themselves.

To continue discovering just how unique and amazing they are, and that they are each so, so important. 

To continue to develop their sense of wonder and to never stop questioning.


In 2018, my wish for my teaching...

To grow and adapt as I learn with my students.

To inspire both my students and myself to build upon--or perhaps add to--our individual skill-sets.

To inspire my students to create their own path and take risks along the way. 

To be informative, engaging, and fun!

To be reflective of my growing appreciation for each of my students. I wish for my teaching to be ever more patient, engaging, and inspiring, for my students and my colleagues.

To continue to grow and develop with the students we have at our school.


In 2018, I plan...

To learn even more about my students, so that I can best serve them both academically and emotionally. 

To read more than I have for many years before; gotta practice what I teach!

To find the fun in ordinary tasks

To organize my desk so I don’t drive Ms. Yolanda crazy!

To roll with it! Well, try to at least! 

To set realistic goals, and to not procrastinate so much, so I should get on setting those goals… since it is now 2018!

In 2017, I learned...

That once in a while the plan needs to be scrapped in order to meet the needs of the students in the moment. Sometimes what students learn from those “teachable moments” is much more important that what you had originally planned for the class.

That I can teach as much by listening as I can by speaking.

To be flexible and let my students lead the way.

To appreciate more opportunities to learn outside of the classroom.

To take it day by day, enjoying the little things! 

That I am not a spring chicken, and I need to get more sleep!


Happy New Year, Everyone! Welcome to 2018! ​

I’ll often find myself at parties, self- stationed near the snack table, meeting new faces for fun, and inevitably talking about teaching. Recently, though, my side of such talks on teaching has enjoyed a new and exciting, long-awaited opening line.

Let me explain how the convo used to go, first.

“So Ryan, what do you do?”

For me, the seemingly straightforward answer has long been, “I’m a teacher.” However, it’s that classic follow-up question that so often intrigues me:

“What do you teach ?”

Well, the go-to, safety-first response has always been simple enough: “English, Social Studies, and Music,” and yes, it’s kind of a kickstarter for further conversation, but if I’m being honest, this answer sounds like Water Soup must taste: flavourless and predictable.

(Spoiler Alert: the following is the opening line that’s since been refined.) For the longest time, if the person I was meeting seemed genuinely curious, I would answer them with something a little less obvious...

“I teach the truth, as often as I can afford to.”

Sounds cool, right? This answer would almost always raise eyebrows, and I would always get a kick out of my own cleverness.

Still, sometimes I would be asked to explain what I meant. On those occasions The conversation would start sounding a lot clunkier, more serious, and far less cool and clever. Here’s an example:

New Face raises an eyebrow in curiosity. “Do tell!”

“Well, what I mean is that the subjects I teach are traditionally flexible...for me. As an English teacher, the typical direction I’m given is: Short Stories > Novels > Essay > Poetry > Play > Projects in between. So basically I’m given carte-blanche. Same goes for Social Studies; the materials are more concrete to be sure, but really, past Latitude, Longitude, the Compass Rose and Western Europe on a map, the cornucopia of human endeavour is mine through which to pick. And Music? After “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” the rest of the sky’s the limit! So really, with loose guidelines like those, how could I not afford to be truthful in my teaching ?”

New Face nods, grabs a piece of celery from the vegetable tray, douses it in ranch dressing, and chomps on it contemplatively while I get farther and farther from my once-cool line. ..

“I mean sure, I like getting to teach interesting things, but then I look around the classroom and see twenty to forty different learners. That’s when I shrug and just explore materials that excite me , in the hope that my excitement proves contagious to all of them. And yeah, it sometimes does. But what if the student enjoyed something similar to those carte-blanche guidelines so typically given to me ? That way students might feel like they have some genuine control over their own learning, and get to explore materials more likely to excite them. Doesn’t that sound like something much closer to the true nature of education?”

New Face smiles and says “Of course it does!” Then, having finished their celery stick, they move on to the plate of dessert squares, find a nanaimo bar, and (while I delve into act three of my monologue) begin nibbling away...

“I mean, we’ve both gone through school, so we know that a school where students are given a lot of control over what they learn is pretty much fantasy; in most schools, everyone--the students, the teachers, and the parents--still expect that the student be evaluated objectively, and mostly through the materials that the teacher tells them to explore. As a result, I still end up functioning in the classroom as that stereotypical sage on the stage--standing tallest, oldest, and so presumably wisest at the front of the class, wielding the whiteboard marker like a wand and sharing tidbits of my ‘invaluable’ knowledge through methods of my choosing. And while I may well convince them tha--”

New Face interjects with a question meant to help me get to my point.

“Sorry, but what is the truth that you wish you could afford to teach more often ?!”

“Oh! That there is no singular path in education, for either the student or the teacher. That both deserve a lot of freedom to learn effectively; students deserve the freedom to explore more material that engages them personally, and teachers deserve the freedom to instruct more around those materials. Alas, with class sizes and curricula the way they’re currently set, I feel like I can only afford for my classroom to work like this a couple of weeks of the year.”

In solidarity, New Face shakes my hand and says,“May you find a place where you can teach like that all the time!” Then I straighten my back a bit, and have a go at that dessert plate.

So recently, I found a new school that teaches this way all the time, which is how I came up with my new opening line.

Last night, at a party, near the snack table, I once again met a new face, who soon asked what it is that I do. After I told them that I’m a teacher, they asked what it is that I teach. This time I had a new answer:

“I teach at Via Vita, which means ’Way of Life.’ That’s what we teach--how for every learner, education is exactly that: A Way of Life.”

Then, beaming with confidence over New Face’s curiosity, I grabbed a celery stick off the snack table and started talking. 

Hey,

My name is Charlotte. I am a grade nine student that loves Via Vita. 

Next year, I will be in grade 10.

​I don't want to go to public school because you don't form the same relationship that you do with the teachers at Via Vita. They make sure you are caught up and that you understand everything you're doing. I have had more laughs than ever this year. I have developed so many memories and made so many long term friends coming to Via Vita. It makes for an unforgettable childhood. I wouldn't change or trade my grade nine school year for anything. 

I have never not wanted to leave school at the end of the year. I love my second family. 

Something I will never forget is being called up onto the stage because I won the student choice award and bursting into tears because I realized I was around so many people that I love and so many people that love me. 

I never knew what it was like to have a big family. I do now.