OLDS — École Olds High School (ÉOHS) principal Tom Christensen is retiring after a 38-year career at the school. Twenty-two of those years were spent as its principal.
His retirement will take effect on June 30.
He will be replaced by Meaghan Reist, beginning in the 2022-23 school year.
Reist, a graduate of ÉOHS, has had a lengthy career in the Chinook’s Edge School Division, this year as acting principal of École Deer Meadow School .
Before that, she served as vice-principal at ÉDMS and at Bowden Grandview School.
Christensen announced his decision to retire in a message sent out on Feb. 17.
“I have been a part of this school for 38 of my 61 years and feel so honoured to have worked with the students and families of Olds,” he wrote.
“This community has accepted my wife and I as a young couple, helped raise my three girls from birth, stood by us as we mourned and struggled, and taught us what it means when we say the word ‘community.’
“I have had the privilege of teaching over 4,000 students in my time at ÉOHS and have learned so much from each of them.
“I have been humbled at the trust given to me over the past 22 years that I have served as the principal of ÉOHS and have appreciated the growth that we have done together. The colleagues that I have worked with will forever be an inspiration in my life as I have seen their selfless love for the students in their care."
In an interview with the Albertan, Christensen said he considers his work to help create the CLC "and what it has meant to the community" as a major highlight of his career.
He and his wife plan to settle in Edmonton because all of their children and grandchildren are in that area.
École Olds High School will be in good hands with Reist at the helm, Christensen indicated.
He noted that Reist, who served as a student leader at ÉOHS, has always had the school close to her heart.
After obtaining an Education degree from the University of Lethbridge, Riest taught in Cremona and joined the ÉOHS staff in the fall of 2007.
“She quickly established herself as a master English teacher and leader for staff and students,” Christensen wrote.
“Meaghan was a part of our planning, building and transition to the CLC (Community Learning Campus) and understands the culture and foundation of what makes ÉOHS the amazing place it is.”
Riest and her husband Jared have enjoyed raising a family in Olds.
Christensen said she’s excited to “come back home to her high school roots.”
“Having known Meaghan as a student, friend, colleague, and mentor, I am excited for the future of ÉOHS,” he said.
