An Expression of Gratitude for the Appointment of Phil Apter to the Denman Island Community School

Keeping the community in a community school has to be refelcted in staffing decisions too.

Phil Apter has a true gift for teaching. He truly cares about each and every child and the children sense this. This ability to connect with the children opens the door to blissful learning experiences. His is a great communicator and my former home-schooled daughter is eager each and every day to learn from him. In short he is a treasure and should be valued as such. .

I hope that when my daughter gets to be school age, she has a teacher as wonderful as Phil. He is a great person.

This is a teacher you hold on tight to. He has a marvellous gift of teaching. He is firm but gentle . He has a sense of humour. He is so disciplined and optimistc He is really there for our children. He will spend a huge amount of time with the work he has to convey to the children.He has the enthusiasm needed for great education.

He embodies the traits of a true teacher.

Best teacher ever,firm, fair and fun

Phil is an excellent teacher and hiring him has been one of the best things that has happened at the Denman School in a very long time. He encourages, challenges, and fully supports his students and my son has been thrilled to have him as his teacher this year. We need him in the school and the children deserve to finish off their school year with him as their teacher. He has our full support and respect. He provides a stability to the school that is sorely lacking outside of his classroom. He provides the safe, nurturing, classroom environment that truly seeks to engage the children's Interests.

Last year the intermediate class struggled with the Vice Principal teaching the class half the time, and an assistant teacher teaching the other half of the time. This did not work, especially with some of the older boys. Phil has brought not only stability to the class, students are treated with respect and everyone is treated equally. The boys who were having problems now enjoy school and like Phil as a teacher very much. SD71 cannot discuss the reasons because it is confidential between Phil, his Union, and SD71. But we know from reliable sources other than Phil, that he was suspended for 5 days. In light of recent events and the current unsettled climate in the School, suspending a teacher who is well respected in the entire School community is a bad decision that impacts our children negatively. Surely there are better ways to resolve conflict between staff, and better ways to model the behaviour we expect from our students. Say no to bulling. Say no to intimidation.

I have been fortunate to have parents of Phil's former student express unsolicited praise for his teaching skills. His ability to engage otherwise difficult students is amazing.

Phil is a great teacher and my daughter is fully engaged in his class. I could not ask for more.

Magnificent, respectful, kind, loyal, intelligent...I could go on and on filling the page with all the great traits Phil has, but the best is how much my child loves to learn now. Getting home after a day of school, and having him start to share what he has learned that day, before he has even taken his jacket of, is to me worth more than I can even start to share. Phil makes my child light up, teaches him to enjoy learning and hold his teachings on all levels of life. A teacher like this is a gift like no other, my child have through Phil found a way to learn with joy and passion.