Three long-term faculty members sign off from Ashbury
After a remarkable 28 years teaching physics in Ashbury’s science department, Matthew Wearring retired in June.
What have you enjoyed most about working with/teaching students at Ashbury?
I most enjoyed witnessing the growth and development of students at Ashbury, both over the course of a single school year, and throughout their high school career. It was also rewarding to observe the further progress of the students after their graduation from Ashbury when I had the opportunity to attend alumni events.
What has been your favourite aspect of your job?
The variety of experiences during my teaching career at Ashbury has kept things interesting and rewarding. I have worked with students in classrooms, science laboratories, residence flats and at camps. I have coached students in gymnasiums, curling rinks and on the water (in rowing shells). My travels have included basketball tournaments, curling bonspiels and Science Olympics competitions, as well as field trips to university labs, Canada’s Wonderland, and the Huntsman Marine Science Centre. I have even attended IB teacher workshops in Savannah, Seattle, Rio de Janeiro, and New Orleans. Each passing year has brought a new group of students and new prospects for adventure.
Another source of variety has been the many changes on the Ashbury campus over the years. During my first year of teaching, the library and attached wing were built and my daughter was born. As my family grew, the school added new gymnasiums, Maclaren Hall, and the boarding residences. My son was actually born on the Ashbury campus when our family lived at 330 Mariposa.
What will you miss most about Ashbury?
I will miss the friendly and supportive colleagues that I have worked with over the past 28 years. The members of the science department (past and present) are my closest connections, but I have many other friendships from coaching, boarding, fitness classes, and social events within the close-knit community of the Ashbury staff.
Another source of variety has been the many changes on the Ashbury campus over the years. During my first year of teaching, the library and attached wing were built and my daughter was born. As my family grew, the school added new gymnasiums, Maclaren Hall, and the boarding residences. My son was actually born on the Ashbury campus when our family lived at 330 Mariposa.
What will you miss most about Ashbury?
I will miss the friendly and supportive colleagues that I have worked with over the past 28 years. The members of the science department (past and present) are my closest connections, but I have many other friendships from coaching, boarding, fitness classes, and social events within the close-knit community of the Ashbury staff.
Marilynne Sinclair wrapped up teaching at the end of the 2019–2020 school year after 26 years of service at Ashbury but remained active on a part-time basis this year supporting the college’s IB program, debating clubs and the TEDx speaker program.
What have you enjoyed most about working with/teaching students at Ashbury?
Ashbury students are full of surprises, energy and spirit. They bring their diverse backgrounds from around the community and across the world to their studies and enrich our discussions. With all this, perhaps the brightest moments in my day are when a student realizes they have just accomplished something that they once thought was too hard.
What has been your favourite aspect of your job?
It is a privilege to play a guiding role as each student brings their individual stories to their learning, builds on what matters to them most, and takes those important steps forward into the world around them.
What do you admire most about Ashbury?
What initially attracted me to seek a position at Ashbury College was its prominent place as a very early IB World School. What I more recently came to admire are its dynamic and meaningful community partnerships that extend teaching and learning into local and global contexts, embracing pluralism and engaging with anti-racism in all its forms.
After 12 years as Ashbury’s learning strategist, Cathy Hodgins retired in December. She reports that she is now working part-time as a psychometrist, part-time at a bookstore and spends the remainder of her time gardening, cooking, exercising and with her family.
What have you enjoyed most about working with/teaching students at Ashbury?
We have so many amazing students at Ashbury. They work hard, are committed to goals, love being involved in this community and are caring. I often had the great privilege of working with a student and their parents over many years, watching them come to understand themselves and grow into fine young men and women.
What has been your favourite aspect of your job?
I will most miss meeting with students and families to discuss their unique learning profiles and how they could use their strengths to support their weaker areas. We are all a mix of both. Sometimes conversations were delicate and challenging, but they were always authentic and rewarding.
What will you miss most about Ashbury?
There is so much that I will miss. Witnessing student growth, teacher excellence and professionalism, the care the administration takes, the leadership team, the amazing food, the wonderful maintenance team—everyone. It felt like being part of a very well-tuned orchestra with each person playing their very best to make a grand symphony together.
What have you enjoyed most about working with/teaching students at Ashbury?
We have so many amazing students at Ashbury. They work hard, are committed to goals, love being involved in this community and are caring. I often had the great privilege of working with a student and their parents over many years, watching them come to understand themselves and grow into fine young men and women.
What has been your favourite aspect of your job?
I will most miss meeting with students and families to discuss their unique learning profiles and how they could use their strengths to support their weaker areas. We are all a mix of both. Sometimes conversations were delicate and challenging, but they were always authentic and rewarding.
What will you miss most about Ashbury?
There is so much that I will miss. Witnessing student growth, teacher excellence and professionalism, the care the administration takes, the leadership team, the amazing food, the wonderful maintenance team—everyone. It felt like being part of a very well-tuned orchestra with each person playing their very best to make a grand symphony together.
