>> MEI Head of Schools (@headofschools)

World news has been extremely discouraging and filled with hopelessness. Would you agree? Consider the following categories of troubling recent events: mass shootings, sexual harassment, natural disasters, nuclear threats, political instability, economic instability, racial tensions... Do the troubles in the world seem insurmountable? Are you & I able to solve the many political problems around the world? Are you & I able to solve the sexual harassment concerns coming to light in North America? Are we able to solve gun violence? What can be done to solve homelessness & poverty? How do we even process the nuclear armed countries that are threatening each other? Can we address the rise of anxiety and depression among our youth? What about the extremely high volume of deaths related to opioid (2800 Canadian lives in 2016, more than 3000 deaths predicted for 2017)? What if we all made the four or five neighbours living directly around us one of the highe...

Hand-held devices are all around us... everywhere Alarm in the morning. (device) Check the weather. (device) Check the calendar for the day. (device) Check a few emails before getting ready. (device) Send good morning text to a friend & confirm plans. (device) Check the news. (device) Quick check on bank account. (device) Just thought of a few to do items for the day. (device) Bible reading over breakfast. (device) Take pic as child does something cute while eating. (device) Send cute pic to grandparents. (device) Some professional reading on twitter. (device) Approve a few vacation days for colleague. (device) Check child's homework & activities for the day. (device) Plan & post music set list for church this Sunday. (device) Check who has confirmed that they'll play on the music team for Sunday. (device) Check security cameras, Listen to music, Check phone data usage, Pay bills, Book flights & hotel, Make a movie, Do a calculation, Send phot...

We are about to embark on a new school year at MEI Schools and it is setting up to be an outstanding year. > Why outstanding? • We have an excellent team in place including our board, leadership team, and staff who are committed to putting students first and bringing glory to God in all that we do ( Leadership Retreat Video ,  Staff Kick-Off Video ) • We have identified our direction and are pursuing it with passion ( Strategic Plan Here ) • We have record enrollment with an additional 40 students at the secondary, a new grade 7 class at the middle (maxing out our classes at 5 at each grade level for the first time ever), and a completely full elementary with 70 students on wait lists)... welcome new Eagles! • Parent support is inspiring at MEI Schools with unbelievably high levels of PAC involvement, parent attendance at various school events and meetings, and prayer support... we can feel it! • We have many supporters in the community who are standing with ...

I am pleased to present the updated 3-year Strategic Plan for MEI Schools (2016 - 2019), Version 2.0 > Click Here Vijay Manuel Head of MEI Schools @headofschools

Dear MEI Families, I wanted you to be aware that we had a second bear sighting on the north end of Clearbrook Road next to the secondary school driveway.  The bear saw me & Mark Thiessen and bolted into the field east of Clearbrook Road.   As a precautionary measure, students were sent indoors for a period of 30 minutes while our team searched the bushes.  An APD Officer then stayed on site for 20 minutes to ensure that the area was safe. This may happen from time to time and I want you to know that we will take all necessary precautions to protect our students & staff including extra monitoring of our perimeter and soft lock-downs if necessary. Thanks, Vijay Manuel Head of MEI Schools Additional Information While encounters between wildlife and humans are not typical, it is important that we all educate ourselves and our children on what to do in the event of an encounter.  Please see the link below for some informatio...

Jesus is the model of true humility.  Even though He is fully God, he was willing to be made human, one of us, and to die a humiliating death so that we could be freed from the bondage of sin ( Philippians 2:1-11 ,  Psalm 32:1-5 ).  The result is that we can have relationship with God our Father. I grew up with some amazing models of humble leadership around me. Two pastors that have had a huge impact on the way I view ministry, particularly pastoral ministry are 'The Davids', namely David Manuel and David Epp.  The first David was a man I watched preach powerfully in front of hundreds and then come home and be the hands of Jesus to me and my family: washing the dishes, polishing my shoes, playing marbles, talking, praying. Pops is a brilliant man with powerful friends, but you would never know it because he only name-drops one name: Jesus. The second David, Pastor Epp, is someone who was the Lead Pastor at my church when I was growing up at South Abbot...

ANNOUNCEMENT AND PRESS RELEASE MEI Schools March 10th, 2017 From the office of Vijay Manuel, Head of Schools Please direct any inquiries to Lorraine Wind ( lwind@meischools.com )   On behalf of MEI SCHOOLS Society, I am pleased to announce the hiring of SEAN LAFOREST as the MEI Middle School Vice Principal effective March 27th, 2017.  Sean was the unanimous recommendation of the Search Committee and affirmed, also unanimously, by the MEI Board of Directors. Education Sean was awarded a Master of Education degree from City University of Seattle in 2016 with a focus on Leadership. Church Involvement, Ministry, and Family Sean and his family are members of Northview Community Church where he serves in the Children's Ministry. Sean came to know the Lord as a teenager and was baptized soon after. In Sean's Words: "Most of all, I want to bring students to know the Lord better. I want them to understand what it is to live every day for Jesus Christ." Intervi...

OFFICIAL STATEMENT* On Friday, March 3rd, 11 students and 2 staff who are members of the MEI Secondary Ski & Snowboard Club traveled to Whistler, BC.  That afternoon, MEI was notified that one student was missing which resulted in a search by Whistler personnel.  The results of the search led to the devastating news that our student had died.  MEI is working with our staff, students, parents, and supporting community to process this tragic news. *MEI Families, please check your email for more information

February 1st, 2017 marks the start of my second year at MEI.  Of course, it's actually the start of my 7th year, but that's only if you include my 5 years as a high school student... Grad '91!  It's been an amazing year of getting to know the MEI Schools, building a vision and direction, and establishing systems and teams to support that direction.  We're moving and it's exciting to be a part of this team... your team!  Here are some of my observations from the first year. MEI has a healthy and positive student culture Last spring I attended the Inter-Agency Forum on Mental Health where the 2013 results of the BC Adolescent Health Survey were presented and the analysis discussed.  These surveys were completed by nearly 30,000 youth in our province.  It became clear to the researchers that the teens reporting the lowest incidences of alcohol use, drug use, sexual activity, anxiety, depression, and self harm, together termed 'risky behaviour', expe...

The Bible makes many references to the importance of helping the poor. I was reminded of that a number of times this week starting with a tour of the Salvation Army Shelter with my friends on the Character Abbotsford Council .  We were all stunned to hear that the staff there have worked with an overflow of clients for the past 45 days in succession; they have room for 24 individuals and have had nights of 40, 50, and even as high as 63!! I read the following in my morning quiet time this morning: Proverbs 22:9 “The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.” The importance of helping the poor comes up so often in the Word of God and I'm wondering if we can do more to help those around us.  If you have some ideas for our community, please complete the survey with your thoughts here . Thanks and may God bless you!