KnoxNews-Dec2021

in and dealing with scenarios, but that
he wants to. He has this lion heart. He
wants to make things better for the staff
and for the students. He is an incredibly
capable person and he also brings in a
wide, wide knowledge. Not only is he
good at being an administrator, but he
has an incredible knowledge in math and
sciences as well.
Jessica Duncan, Vice Principal, Junior
Grades (returning from a maternity
leave this December)
What Jessica brings to our team is
a nurturing heart. She’s taught at
both campuses and understands the
whole student. She really understands
the bridge between elementary and
secondary. She understands the fears
and confusion of Grade 7’s in particular.
We wanted her to be part of the team
because of how she connects with
her colleagues. In Jessica, you have
an administrator who gets kids, but
who also knows how to step alongside
a colleague to either support that
colleague or to build new programming.
Leanne Arevski, Vice Principal,
Senior Grades
Leanne hit the ground running. We
got the sense quickly that she was
very capable. She wanted to step
in with administration and she did
that immediately. She is systematic,
intentional and purposeful. When you
have a school that has many balls in the
air, she is a person that will create all the
different support points that she knows
needs to be in place for something to
be successful, both with the staff, but as
well as the whole system. And she’s done
that profoundly well.
Trish Joyce, Secondary ESS Coordinator
Experience, experience, experience
with a tremendous, great heart. Trish
understands her crew, but she also
understands the students. She has an
amazing relationship with Lindsay at
elementary, so she always knows who’s
coming into secondary and how she’s
going to support them. She’s often in
Adam’s office or my office advocating.
She strongly supports and advocates
for her students to get what her
students and her staff need.
To read the full interview with Dr. David
Ward, go to our website:
Photos:
johnknoxbc.org/knoxnews
Left page: Elementary administrative staff - Kelly
Blackmore (top left), Jacob Rodgers (top right),
Kim Beunk (bottom left), and Lindsay Tafazzoli
(bottom right)
Below: Secondary administrative team (left to right) -
David Ward, Jessica Duncan, Wendy Perttula, Adam
Wasik, Trish Joyce, Leanne Arevski
Knox News - December 2021 | 7