Ken Meraw, the new vice principal at École Mother Teresa Catholic School began settling into his new role Tuesday. He described his first day at the school as “a whirlwind”.
His first priority: getting to know students and learning their names.
“At my old school, I knew pretty much every student by name, so I want to do that here, too, of course,” he said. Meraw arrived at Mother Teresa after spending seven years as vice principal of Holy Family School in Red Deer.
He’s replacing Glenn MacLeod, who transferred to École Camille J. Lerouge in Red Deer.
Meraw’s 17 years with Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools have seen him work at five different schools in Red Deer, and he’s excited to now bring his educational experience to Sylvan Lake.
“There’s a lot going on with the different grades, and I’m really excited to be here,” he said. “It’s going to be fantastic.”
Meraw assumed MacLeod’s teaching workload and is happy to be teaching middle school-aged children once again.
“The most exciting thing is working with that age group,” he said. “I taught middle school at St. Thomas (Aquinas Middle School in Red Deer) for three years before I moved to Holy Family, and I loved the independence and world view of the middle school kids.”
Meraw lives in Red Deer with his wife and three children.
He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from St. Francis Xavier University, and a Master’s degree in educational leadership from City University of Seattle.
He enjoys watching his children’s many sporting pursuits and staying active through long distance biking and running.
He’s anticipating an enjoyable learning period in which he’ll get to know the school and its community.
“Stepping into Mr. MacLeod’s shoes has been quite an experience, and that’s a bit of an adjustment for me,” he said. “All things put together, it’s going to be great.”
Principal Dorice Swensrude spoke of her delight at Meraw’s appointment.
“We look forward to welcoming him to our Mother Teresa family, and to him sharing his God-given gifts and talents with our school community.”