The Wright time to retire

Andrea Roberts
Times Intern

 

Crowther Memorial Junior High School will soon say goodbye to Principal Ivan Wright, who is set to retire at the end of the school year, making him the third Strathmore principal within the Golden Hills School District to retire this year. After 33 years of working in education, Wright decided it was just the right time to move on.
“I figure I still am healthy and happy so it’s time for a new challenge in life,” he said.
“So I have decided to retire and see what life holds. It is a little bit scary, a little bit different and the older you get the more difficult it is to see yourself changing but I think it is good for the soul to do that every now and then.”
Wright was born and raised in Saskatchewan, where he attended the University of Saskatchewan and got his first two degrees, a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Library Sciences. He worked as a high school English and Physical Education teacher and later as a school librarian. Wright also went to San Diego State and the University of Lethbridge for his Master’s Degree in Education.
Together with his family, they eventually moved to Alberta where he worked for a number of schools in the area, before becoming the principal of Crowther Memorial Junior High School when it opened in 2001.
Education was not always his passion. Wright grew up wanting to pursue a career as a NHL hockey player. He retained that first love throughout his career by coaching hockey, basketball, football, badminton and volleyball.
Over the years, Wright watched education shift and became part of that change. He remembers when computers were brought into classrooms and how it allowed students to access the world while sticking to the fundamentals of education.
“I can see that education has really stepped up to the plate,” he said.
“To really differentiate and help students in all areas and so that is very different from how it was when I first started.”
While Wright has some things planned for his retirement, he knows he will miss the school and his long career in education. According to Wright, what he will miss the most is the way the students made him laugh every day. Since announcing his departure, Wright has received many heartfelt comments and farewells.
Pat Walsh, one of the secretaries at the school, is also retiring this year and has worked alongside Wright for the past 16 years.
“I have loved working with him,” she said.
“We have had lots of laughs like we are on fixed incomes now so we will be sharing coupons, sites and things like that. But yeah there will be days where I miss the kids and the people here but I am looking forward to retirement too.”