HoS Blog

These Kids are Amazing! Normally I like to use the terms "students" or "children", instead of "kids" because I find it rather generic in nature, however, in this case I just had to say "These kids are amazing!" Students here at Aberdeen Hall, really are amazing. They are bright, friendly, positive, helpful and incredibly impressive in all sorts of ways. I believe that today's students are nicer to each other than ever before in history. I often have the privilege of observing acts of sincere generosity. The students' incredible support for one another exceeds expectations, and they have an unabashed…

The Aberdeen Hall Experience We hope that you agree that the Aberdeen Hall experience is far more than students, teachers, classes and classrooms. The Aberdeen Hall experience has a variety of components and is designed on a number of levels. A colleague who works in Vancouver likes to sum it up in the following seven words: Enjoyment in Process, and Excellence in Outcome. We work in the people business, and our people include students, parents/guardians, grandparents, faculty, staff and friends of the school. First and foremost, there are the students. Our unwavering support of an exceptional…

The Brain Science Behind Teaching Non-Cognitive SkillsImagine a school where we could increase the overall happiness of every student, optimize self regulation, create an incredible cycle of positivity and maximize willpower. Welcome to the new brain science behind teaching.Last week I had the opportunity to attend MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts (ranked as one of the top 5 universities in the world) to observe the latest in MRI brain scanning technology. I then travelled to Boston for a Brain Learning Conference. It was fascinating to listen to some of the world's most recognized scientists explain…

Normal Never Sounded So Good! Last Thursday I had the pleasure of assisting Susanne Raye, our Director of Junior School, by escorting three of our Grade 4 students down to UBC's Faculty of Sciences. Aberdeen Hall and a number of other local schools worked with parents and the UBC faculty to facilitate participation in an adolescent brain blood flow experiment. I was really looking forward to learning more about this field of research. What an interesting and enjoyable experience! For starters, I was amused by the walk to UBC itself. I had forgotten that an 8-year olds' youthful exuberance prohibits…

Creating an "Unselfie" Generation Have you watched the below youtube clip? It is an interesting 90 seconds which really is a sign of the times; sort of a cultural and generational moment that represents some of the influence of modern communication technology.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngt1JK3DyOU It all started approximately 15 years ago, about the time that digital photography became mainstream, and is now a distinct part of the millenials' make-up. The biggest difference between digital verses negative film photography is not so much the quality of photo, but rather the sheer volume of…