Next year a new, but familiar face will, be joining the Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) administration team.
Charlene Assenheimer will return to BCHS to become the associate principal of Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) after more than a 10 year absence.
Early in the new year, David Garbutt, Pembina Hills Public Schools assistant supt. of employee services, announced that both Barrhead Elementary and BCHS would be adding an associate principal due to the complexity of running schools with such large student populations.
Although Assenheimer is originally from Burlington Ont, she said she has lived all over Canada because her family would move every two years. A trend that continued into early adulthood until she met her husband, Walter, a farmer from the Camp Creek area.
“It will be sort of a homecoming for me,” Assenheimer told the Leader in between classes at Fort Assiniboine School where she splits her time in the classroom and as the school’s assistant principal.
Assenheimer started her professional career with the Pembina Hills Public Schools Division as a program assistant at BCHS in 1999, first as a substitute then eventually full-time.
When Assenheimer wasn’t working as a program assistant or spending time with her family, she spent a lot of time working with youth as a swim coach for the Barrhead Swim, a position she had for 16 years.
“It was through my work as a swim coach that I started to seriously consider teaching and working with kids. Plus I had this really great mentor at Barrhead Composite, Roger Manuel, who really encouraged me to become a teacher,” she said.
In addition, Assenheimer said the other reason she decided to become a teacher was economics. At the time the Assenheimer’s farm was a mixed farm, which, among other things had hogs.
“The price we were getting for hogs wasn’t that great. So Walter (her husband) thought it might be a very good idea if I became a teacher,” she joked.
And that’s what she did.
Already having a bachelor of arts degree in psychology (which she earned with distinction) from Athabasca University, which she received while she was working on the family farm and raising her children, she decided to go back to school and get her bachelor of education degree from Concordia University in Edmonton.
Shortly after getting her education degree she got a job teaching at Fort Assiniboine School where she has been for the last 10 years.
During her tenure at Fort Assiniboine School, Assenheimer assumed many roles, first as a teacher, then in 2008, she added counsellor to her job description, and in 2014 associate principal.
Currently, she is working towards getting her master’s degree in applied school and child psychology from the University of Calgary.
“That’s one of the reasons why I decided to leave my position here at Fort Assiniboine,” Assenheimer said. “I need a larger school and I will be looking after the majority of the student services division, meaning I will be working with students with special needs, program assistants and teachers to create programs for kids.”
As for how she feels about leaving Fort Assiniboine School, she said it will be a bittersweet moment when she walks through the doors for the last time as a staff member.
“Fort Assiniboine is a small school, with just over 80 students, and because of that we really are more than just a school — we are family,” she said, adding that like any family there are members who will grow up and leave the nest. “But it’s not like I won’t be seeing them again, especially the students who will be coming to Barrhead in Grade 10.”
At the same time Assenheimer said she was excited to be coming to Barrhead and taking on a new challenge. One of the prospects of her upcoming position that she is most excited about is the fact she is coming to a school with a lot more students, saying while the size of the student population provides its own unique challenges, it also provides opportunities.
“There is also a lot more resources and a lot more people to work with to make great things happen for kids,” she said.
Assenheimer concluded the interview thanking all the staff, students and the community as a whole at Fort Assiniboine School.
“It was a great 10 years and a terrific start to my career and I can’t thank everyone enough,” she said. “But I’m also excited about coming back to Barrhead Composite. Both of my children attended the schools in Barrhead, it is my community.”
