A Morinville principal has won provincial honours for his leadership of Four Winds Public School.
Four Winds Public School principal Dan Requa was announced as one of this year’s 16 recipients of the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s Distinguished Leadership Award June 16. The award, of which up to 25 are given out each year, recognizes exceptional school leaders in Alberta and is administered by the association’s council for school leadership.
Requa came on as the school’s principal about two-and-a-half years ago, having previously served as vice-principal at Morinville Public and as teacher at Lilian Schick in Bon Accord.
Requa took on the tough work of opening a new school in Morinville, establishing the school’s vision and values, and forging relationships between staff members, said Camilla School principal Dan Stephen, who nominated him.
“He’s very laid back, with an even keel,” Stephen said of Requa, yet also passionate about public education in Morinville.
Requa said his staff at Four Winds would make any principal look good. He never has to prod them to try out something new, as they are always itching to implement new programs based on the latest scholastic research.
“They’re so eager and progressive. I’m constantly just pulling the reigns,” he said.
Requa said the staff at Four Winds emphasize project-based learning, where students learn subjects through hands-on, practical initiatives. With the support of parents, the school has also been able to offer STEAM, sports, and dance academies, where students spend half the day in class and the other half building robots, playing sports, or pulling pirouettes in the school’s full-sized dance studio.
“We really have high expectations, and we believe our kids can reach those high expectations.”
Requa said the school had about two months of regular learning after it opened in 2020 before the pandemic sent everyone online. Teachers had to radically revise their lessons plans, switching to virtual judges for dance students, and sanitizing robots in between lessons for the STEAM academy. They also emphasized mental health, adding outdoor sessions to each day, and teaching youths to appreciate the positives in their lives through “gratitude practice.”
Requa said he hopes to continue to develop Four Winds this fall post-COVID by bringing back its field trips and in-person rallies. While he missed teaching math, he said he had no plans to leave his post at Four Winds any time soon.
“It’s an awesome environment for me,” he said, and he gets to be around happy children all day.
Requa will receive his plaque in the mail.
