St. James Catholic High School principal Michael MacPherson received the Principal of the Year from the Catholic Principal Council of Ontario (CPCO).
CPCO is an association that recognizes principals and vice principals in Ontario’s 29 publicly funded Catholic school boards.
“It's an honour. I feel humbled and I would say I accept it on behalf of my colleagues and all of the teachers and workers, support staff, secretaries that I get to work with because its the strength of the team that makes the school a community,” says MacPherson.
MacPherson says every profession begins with teaching and being a principal allows him to work alongside teachers to allow them to grow and be the best they can be as a team.
As he reflects upon his journey, he says his ideas on good education were instilled in him as a child.
MacPherson was born and raised in Cape Breton. His parents did not have an education and were not given the same opportunities in life that he and his siblings had.
After receiving this award, MacPherson says he could feel the presence of his parents and was humbled with gratitude.
“Because of the sacrifices they made for us to be able to stay in school, it reminds me of that every day - how hard we need to work to help young people to see their gifts and be able to feel that they can grow and they can become someone and they can make a difference in the world,” says MacPherson.
“Parents are the most important partners we have.”
He also says his wife is the captain and without her, he wouldn't be able to be where he is.
It’s an award winning night for @WellingtonCath. Congratulations “Mr. Mac” aka Mike MacPherson on receiving Principal of the Year from @CPCOofficial! #Gritty Leadership with ❤️! @lionsnewstoday pic.twitter.com/qFCWiFDAqQ
— Tamara Nugent (@TamaraLNugent) April 27, 2019
MacPherson started his career when he came to Ontario 26 years ago at the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. He moved to the Wellington Catholic District School Board in 2008.
And while he has seen a variety of different schools sizes and cultures, he says students are students no matter where they are. They are equal, loved, and they deserve a proper education.
As generations bring changes in students such as the one of technology and social media in today’s generation, MacPherson says its a quality that needs to be embraced within kids.
“This generation is passionate and they're engaged and they want to make a change and those are twenty-first-century skills we need to grow," says MacPherson.
MacPherson highlights that his favourite part of the job is to observe the growth in students, staff and himself.
“You can make a lot of mistakes as a principal and you have to be open to listening, you have to be prepared that sometimes things you try don't work. You have to come back again with energy and love,” says MacPherson.
"Teamwork will make the dream work. I'm just one part of it and I just have the privilege of being able to be part of a larger mission."