Meet Your New Principal

High school is a formative time for students; principals play an important role in leading students through this invaluable period of their lives. This year, Humberside has a new principal: Ms. Claudine Tyrell. Ms. Tyrell had an extremely positive high school experience and she is intent on making sure her students do too.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Ms. Tyrell, where we chatted about everything from her favourite genre of music to her goals for Humberside this year: "One of the reasons why I got into education is [because] I want to make a difference." As someone passionate about inclusivity, she wants to ensure that all student voices – even the quiet ones – are being amplified and included. A big part of making this positive change is to look at what is impacting the Humberside community and determine what work can be done to make improvements. Ms. Tyrell also mentioned that directly connecting with students is really important to her. "I wish I could learn all 1,400 of your names," she said with a laugh. Despite Humberside's large student body, our new principal is determined to interact with as many students as possible this year.

A sports enthusiast, Ms. Tyrell vividly remembers the fateful Wednesday in March of 2020 when the National Basketball Association (NBA) cancelled their games. This was when she realized “COVID was impacting everyone." Ms. Tyrell experienced the negative impacts of the pandemic along with the rest of us, such as feeling isolated and missing the celebration of holidays with family and friends. More than that, Ms. Tyrell understands that everyone experienced lockdown and continues to experience the pandemic in different ways. In regards to the return to in-person learning, Ms. Tyrell is intent on acknowledging the varied experiences of students and staff during the ongoing pandemic. She aims to work towards uniting the Humberside school community to “find a way to all be together again."

Although students and staff will be physically in the same building again, each person’s mental state will not be the same. Ms. Tyrell understands the mental toll COVID-19 has taken on the Humberside community, and she is keen on putting an emphasis on mental health this school year. She spoke to us about the importance of staff looking after their mental health, as “staff must be mentally healthy to keep students healthy." In order to put mental health at the forefront of classrooms in September, Ms. Tyrell believes it is important for teachers to take the time to get to know their students before unloading coursework: "Connection before content" is how she described this.

Extracurriculars play a large role in making students feel welcome and at home in Humberside’s community. Assuming sports and clubs can happen this year (at some point), Ms. Tyrell is enthusiastic about supporting extracurriculars. It is within these activities that students can form strong connections with both each other and their teachers. Extracurriculars "change the whole dynamic of the school," Ms. Tyrell believes. After a year and a half without Humberside’s beloved extracurriculars, we can agree that students are more than ready to get back to school life outside of a purely academic setting.

When she is not working, Ms. Tyrell is an extremely active person. She enjoys working out and mentioned to us that she was part of a large morning gym group before the pandemic hit: "I started running more and going on [my] Peloton bike once the gym [was no longer an option]," she told us. When she really wants to relax and unwind, Ms. Tyrell finds that making crafts helps to improve her mental health. When asked what she is most looking forward to this year, Ms. Tyrell smiled. She spoke about how excited she is to be going back to in-person learning this school year and interacting with students and staff: "Those connections make all the difference."

If you see Ms. Tyrell in the halls this year, be sure to say hi and introduce yourself! She will be quick to say hello back.

Article by: Enid & Holly Kohler

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