No, it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke. On April 1, New Westminster Secondary School got a new principal: Murray McLeod, previously a vice-principal in Surrey. The Record caught up with McLeod to learn a little bit more about the new guy.
Did you always want to be a principal?
Not originally. Some of my personal background is my father was a teacher. He was my teacher when I was in elementary school. He became the superintendent of schools of my school district back in Ontario. So to become a teacher and be involved in education, it was natural. My mother is also an English teacher. So as I moved to teaching, I was given some guidance by some of the vice-principals and principals I worked with in terms of some of the leadership activities I was already doing in terms of athletic director and department head to perhaps pursue that … and I thought, ‘Yeah, let’s give it a shot. I’d like to move in that direction.’
What’s your favourite part about being a principal?
All the people I get to work with and meet. It’s been great getting to know the people here in New Westminster. One thing, where I come from in the Surrey school district, I was able to move from a lot of different schools and meet different people. Also providing the leadership to the staff and to the students to ensure that our students are getting the best education that we can provide in terms of organization and making sure the curriculum is delivered properly and so forth. I enjoy that piece of it.
Is it ever like what’s depicted in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?
No. I get where you’re going, though. That’s not the way I work. For me, I like to build relationships with my students, with my staff. When it comes to student behaviour, student discipline issues, I like to get to know the student and understand why. What are their problems? What are their concerns? It’s not that I’m out to get anybody, it’s more I want to work with students, with their parents and family, with teachers in order to, again, meet their needs in terms of their education.
What’s one thing you want everybody to know about you?
That I have an open-door policy, that I’m open to meet with parents, students, staff, the community. I love what I’m doing, I love the people I meet, I love the public education system here in British Columbia. I’m a true believer in the new curriculum and what’s happening, and that I’m dedicated to making sure our students get the best education possible that we can provide.
What’s your favourite movie?
Favourite movie, I’d have to say because I didn’t see the ending coming, it totally shocked me, is The Usual Suspects. Part thriller, whodunit.
Anything else you want to say?
I’m so excited to be here in the New West community, and I look forward to getting to know the parents, the students, the staff, everybody here. I love that small-town sort of urban-centre community. I grew up in a small town in Ontario of 9,000 with one high school, so I know that community, and it’s something that I’m really looking forward to enjoying for quite some time here.
