Did you know that Mr. Finch was high school class president, or that he TOC’d at Sentinel in the 90’s? Wait for it… and used to own an ice-cream shop!
ON SCHOOL:
Is education your passion?
I would say kids are my passion- not to say education isn’t my passion, but I love working with kids. And therefore, yes, education would be considered my passion too.
Were you a teacher before you became a principal? What kind of teacher and where?
Absolutely. In total I taught for 12 years… a part of a year in Richmond, overseas for a year and a half in Japan and Australia. Then I came back and started teaching in BC.
I had to teach a whole host of different things… I was a math and PE teacher for pretty much 10 years.
Do you have any embarrassing teaching moments you’re willing to share?
Oh goodness, I’ve got a whole ton of embarrassing teaching moments I could share! I’ll tell you, one of the best ones I had was I had to take my son who was 3 years old, to school one day…. I had him sitting at the front of the classroom, hidden away so nobody would really see him, playing with some toys, and I was teaching my math lesson…. I started to read out the rest of the answers to the word problems (and I used to use my children’s names in some of the questions). And so I said something like, “And the answer to #7 is: David is 8 years old.” You didn’t hear any voices in the classroom at all, and finally, this little young man goes, “No I’m not, I’m 3!”. And the class erupted because many of them didn’t even know he was in the classroom until he said that. I was totally embarrassed, I thought I was going to get fired from my job. That would probably be one of the big ones.
What did you study at university and where?
I went to UBC- I did both my undergraduate in Physical Education and another major in English. I did my Bachelor of Education degree at UBC and my masters of Education and Leadership at the University of Oregon.
What is your favorite part about Sentinel? What are you most proud of at Sentinel?
Without question, part and parcel, my favorite part is coming every day, getting to see the kids and the energy they bring with them. I love watching things all of the things they’re in involved in…. Certainly I find the most rewarding part is and proud about would be all of the successes that they achieve.
When did you start working at Sentinel? Where did you work before Sentinel?
I started working at Sentinel 10 years ago in September of 2009, I was a vice principal here, and I’d been a vice-principal at 3 different schools in Vancouver: Kitsilano and Templeton and Britannia. I had experienced Sentinel maybe 11 or 12 years….I started TOCing in West Vancouver and I actually TOC’d at Sentinel…. So that would have been in the mid 90’s.
What is your hope for students at Sentinel?
My hope for the students is always that they achieve all success they envision and aspire to. And I think I also hope that our kids embrace failure as much as they embrace success. Because I think it proves to be an outstanding learning opportunity.
ON LIFE OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL:
Describe yourself in school in 3 words. How would you describe yourself outside of school?
I would say enthusiastic, hopefully positive, and happy.
Tell me 3 things students don’t know about you.
- Passionate sports enthusiast- I used to play soccer at UBC
- I used to own an ice cream shop*
- I love to run in the woods
*Mr. Finch thinks the most important flavour is vanilla, because “vanilla is the foundation of everything else”. But his favorite flavour is “probably coffee”.
What do you do in your spare time? Sports? Family? Cooking?
All those things. I love to spend time with my family, coaching my kids in sports, running in the woods with my dog or my wife, cooking, and eating.
Would you be willing to speak a bit about your family?
I have one son at Argyle, 2 daughters graduated from Argyle and both at university. I have one daughter at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops and she’s studying sciences and plays volleyball there. I have another daughter at UVic in her 3rd year and she is studying Education.
Are you a proud dad? Are you a proud principal?
Super proud dad. I have the 3 greatest - well, it’s hard to say because there’s so many great kids at Sentinel- but I have the 3 greatest kids in the word.
Absolutely. I think we have the best students and best school in the province.
OTHER THINGS:
Favorite book?
Holy dinah there’s so many good ones… Okay, I'll give you 2.
- Tai-Pan by James Cavell (fiction)
- The 4 Agreements (a self help book)
If you weren’t a high school principal, what would you be?
High school teacher.
What were you like in high school?
I think I was a pretty good kid, but I was always the tallest, always the loudest… if there was something going awry in class, I was probably one of the first people singled out. But I think generally I was a pretty positive person.
Which Hogwarts House would you be sorted into?
Well Harry was Gryffindor, wasn’t he? Not to compare myself with Harry at all, but … all the way along I have had some leadership opportunity, whether it’s being on sport teams or high school class president or whatever it is- I’d probably choose Gryffindor.
Thank you, Mr. Finch, for your positivity, passion, and leadership!
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