Ripley school welcomes new principal and five new teachers

Tanya Leppington may be new to the job of principal but she is not new to Ripley-Huron Community School.

The former vice-principal and teacher at Huron Heights Public School, Kincardine, took on the new post at the start of the school year, and with just a couple of weeks into it, she is thrilled to be part of this “great school and great staff.”

Leppington grew up in Ripley and Huron Township, and attended Ripley-Huron Central School (now Ripley-Huron Community School) and Ripley District School (where Current Electric is located).

She and her husband, Larry, live south of Kincardine in Huron-Kinloss Township, and have three daughters, Brooke, 20, Annie, 17, and Kate, 13. All three attended school in Ripley, and the youngest is completing Grade 8 there.

Leppington has been teaching for 22 years. She began her career teaching French at St. Anthony's School before transferring to Huron Heights where she taught French, and junior and intermediate grades, and did some primary preparation coverage.

In 2013-14, she took on the job of acting vice-principal, and became interested in the administrative side of education.

“I had some great mentors in principals Liz MacPherson and Mary Martha Uttley-Shaw,” she said, “and I knew I could do more for students and teachers in the education system.”

She took principal's courses through Lakehead University, and in 2016-17, she became part-time vice-principal at Huron Heights.

This past summer, she was notified that she was to become full-time vice-principal at Walkerton District Community School and she was looking forward to that, when just a couple of weeks later, she was notified that, instead, she would become principal at the Ripley school.

“I'm ready to be a principal,” said Leppington, “and I'm really excited to come here. The staff and families have made me feel very welcome, and the School Community Council has a lot of great volunteers with wonderful ideas to move this school forward.”

She said as principal, she will miss engaging with children in the classroom, “but I can get that communication with the students through my staff. I'm looking forward to interacting with the Kindergarten children. It's been 10 years since we had Kindergarten kids at Huron Heights.”

While she is prepared for the role of principal, Leppington said it's a bit overwhelming since there is no vice-principal at Ripley, even though there are 280 students at the school.

“As a principal, you deal with a multitude of things,” she said, “including the playground and all the safety rules there, doing inspections, and a host of administrative work.”

Initially, she missed the familiarity of Huron Heights, having worked there for more than two decades, but she is enjoying the return to a school with Kindergarten to Grade 8 students which provides a good balanced culture.

“It's a great place to be,” she said. “I'm happy to be here. Every day is new and different, and I have good support from other administrators.

“My first goal is to work with the School Community Council on upgrading the playground.”



Tanya Leppington (right) is the new principal at Ripley-Huron Community School; with new teachers, Bianca Posthumus (left), Jenna Church, Mackenzie Carruthers, Jessica Adams and Todd Norman

Also new to Ripley, are five teachers: Jenna Church, Bianca Posthumus, Jessica Adams, Mackenzie Carruthers and Todd Norman.

JENNA CHURCH

Church, 30, is teaching Senior Kindergarten and Grade 1, as well as special education and preparation coverage for primary and junior grades. This is her third year as a teacher, having worked at Huron Heights and Kincardine Township-Tiverton Public School (KTTPS).

She lives in Ripley with her husband, Tom, and is happy to be working at the Ripley school. She grew up in Tiverton, and in her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors and back-country camping.

BIANCA POSTHUMUS

Posthumus, 25, lives in Kincardine, and is teaching Junior and Senior Kindergarten full-time. This is her second consecutive year covering a long-term occasional (LTO) position at Ripley.

“I'm glad to be back,” she said. “It's nice to see familiar students in the hallways.”

Originally from Tara, she moved to Kincardine last year, and enjoys going for walks and visiting with family and friends.

MACKENZIE CARRUTHERS

Carruthers, 29, is also returning to Ripley for her second year covering an LTO position. Last year, she taught Grade 4, and this year, she has a class of Grades 1 and 2 students.

Originally from Lucknow, she now lives in Ripley and is newly-engaged to Mike Burgess.

She enjoys live theatre work and has acted with HAWK Theatre which is based at the Lucknow Town Hall Theatre. This fall, through HAWK Theatre, she is directing 27 children in the production of “Aladdin,” which will be staged in December. She also teaches guitar, and does some tutoring in literacy.

JESSICA ADAMS

Adams, 25, is teaching Grades 5 and 6. This is her third year of teaching, having taught briefly in Ripley before, as well as Huron Heights.

She grew up in Port Albert and continues to live there with her husband, Kyle Whitely. They have a menagerie of animals, including horses, cats and a dog. She loves the outdoors, photography and going to the beach.

TODD NORMAN

Norman, 40, is in his eighth year of teaching, coming to Ripley from the Upper Grand District School Board where he taught for seven years in various schools, including Drayton, Palmerston and Aberfoyle.

He is teaching Grades 4 and 5 students at Ripley, and said he likes that age, but has taught all grades, as well as a developmental learning class.

Norman and his wife, Kathleen Scott, live in Kincardine, and he enjoys coaching Listowel Junior “B” hockey, and playing golf.