Mile 108 Elementary has a new principal.
Formerly the vice-principal of Lake City Secondary School in Williams Lake, Ken Lucks brings 13 years of experience to his new leadership role.
“I’m just excited to be going down there and, you know, doing my own learning, learning about the community, the parents, the students, the staff,” he said in a phone interview from his Felker Lake home.
Lucks is already familiar with the community, having started his career as vice-principal of 100 Mile Jr High, in 2005. “The parents, the staff and the community were good to me.”
He even knows some of the staff at Mile 108 Elementary, so he said he hopes the transition from high school back to elementary school will go smoothly.
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Before his nine-year term with Lake City Secondary, he was the principal at Horsefly Elementary School.
When asked what the biggest difference is between the learning environments, Lucks said, “Certainly as an administrator, you’re dealing with a lot of disciplinary issues that are happening at the schools, with kids struggling with their learning.”
Elementary students, on the other hand, are “all eager and wanting to learn,” he laughed.
“It’s the best times in their lives.”
In a smaller town, like 108 Mile Ranch, he said the parents are “very passionate.”
“There’s always a nucleus of parents who are really interested in what’s going on and want to be a part of it.”
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He said he hopes to encourage more parents to get connected by “just having an open door and letting parents know what sorts of things are happening at the school.”
He plans to give parents “significant lead time” so they can get involved.
Having four grown daughters of his own, he knows all too well what it’s like to have to coordinate busy schedules.
“They’ve got things going on as well and sometimes, unfortunately, they find out after-the-fact and wish, ‘Oh, if I had only known’.”
Lucks said he looks forward to meeting everybody, building a relationship with his team and “doing a lot more listening than talking, hopefully.”
He plans on waiting until he gets to know the school better to make any specific goals for the year, he said.
beth.audet@100milefreepress.net
