Dear Mr. Director,

For just over two years you have been leading the school where we work and call home. Today is your last official day as the director and I have a few things to say…

When our little crew got on a plane almost four years ago you didn’t have a very clear idea of what you’d be doing.  But you jumped in and did what you could to help with strategies and budgets and systems and all things important to keeping a school running. And then you were asked to take over. It wasn’t something you were planning or wanting but we felt like it was the right thing and again you jumped in. From corporate retail life to leading a little school in the bush, you could hardly have two different jobs, but you used your skills and leadership to keep MICS moving in the right direction.

You led meetings, you hired people, you made hard decisions, you taught in chapel and grade 7 math, you helped make budgets, you met with community leaders to learn from them. You had the hard conversations that scared me and also challenged me to do things that weren’t easy. We didn’t always agree but you always listened to my point of view and we always ended up on the same page somehow. You were calm and wise when I was stressed and reactive. I’ve learned to become a better leader because of you!

I will miss having our desks a foot apart. I will miss the little things you say throughout the day to make me laugh while I plough through the administrative work I don’t love. I will miss our musings between interview candidates and seeing if our first impressions were in alignment.  I will miss walking home together at break time for a snack. I will miss watching you teach because few things make me prouder.

But we are both ready for a new phase and I’m excited to see you use your gifts in new ways, while still getting to enjoy life in a part of the world we love. I look forward to missing you a little when we don’t spend almost every minute of the day together and missing you a lot when you travel. I look forward to sharing about our days because they are different and we haven’t been constantly updating each other on every little thing. I look forward to  watching this little school continue to grow and thrive under new leadership and the ways you’ll give guidance in that process. And I still look forward to your advice as I come to you with all the changes and challenges that a new year brings.

I am so proud of you and grateful for your willingness to lead and the ways you have impacted MICS, along with the amazing team we’ve worked with everyday. I’m just sorry for you that you no longer get to boss me around 😉

With love,

Mrs. Director (as you affectionately call me) xo