Saying goodbye after 35 years
Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter
It’s been a long, happy road for Trinity Lutheran Christian Academy, TLCA, Principal Harold Warr, whose time as an educator is about to end.
“I’ve decided to retire. This is my 35th year in education and I’ve always had this sort of dream of freedom 55, but I’m 56 now, so I’ve sort of missed the dream by at least a year, but now I’m looking forward to sort of not being a slave to the bell,” said Warr.
Warr and his wife had come to Strathmore in August three years ago, when the year the school opened. Upon looking at the school, the Warr’s saw that it was vacant and were concerned about being able to get everything ready in time for the first school year.
They had about two weeks to get everything ready, but Warr said the support from the community, the division and parents helped open the school on time. There were times Warr thought they would have to postpone the opening, and was pleased when they didn’t have to.
“It’s been absolutely wonderful ever since then. Mainly because of the kind of support that the school has received,” said Warr.
The school was able to raise the money for the playground in the first year, something Warr thought would take five years, and get it installed in the second year.
“We started this year with the major task of (acquiring) active boards, they were the latest tool in a teachers world and we didn’t have any, and you know it just happened and now we have active board in each classroom,” said Warr.
“It’s been successful and so rewarding to see all of these things unfold that, even though I will miss the school and the students and the parents, I feel like I’m retiring at the right time.
“A lot of the things that I thought would take a lot longer to accomplish, were accomplished in a short time frame and it’s just been rewarding to see that happen and to be working with kids who are excellent in so many ways.”
The kids are already beginning to compete in, and win regional competitions, which he is happy to see that unfold in just three short years, and he said the staff is second to none.
Warr said it has really been a joy to work in Strathmore, a town he had never heard of until seeing an ad for a principal in a new Christian school on the educations Canada website. He always dreamt of living in different parts of Canada, so it was easy for him to say yes.
“The plan now is to explore this part of the country more fully because it’s been really busy here and we have gone back to Newfoundland in the summer time since we arrived here, the past two summers,” said Warr.
“We haven’t had a whole lot of time to explore Alberta, and the neighbouring provinces and the states so we’re going to explore and travel. Definitely next year is going to be a year to take it easy and just sort of plan for the next part of our lives.”