For close to 15 years, Dave Thomson has been the guy working tirelessly to make Oak Bay High the best it can be.
Not that he likely sees it that way.
In reflecting on his decades-long career in education, Thomson is quick to commend all those around him – teachers, staff and students, the school district and the greater community who support the school.
And that’s a big part not only of who he is, but why he’s been successful.
“For the past 15 years Dave has been extremely dedicated to Oak Bay High School, and he has always put the needs of the school before himself,” notes SD61 superintendent Piet Langstraat.
He models that behaviour to his students, standing alongside them in the head-shave line-up during the annual Cops for Cancer campaign, giving his time as a coach and mentor, working and fundraising to make sure the new Oak Bay High was the best possible school for his students and the community.
Through his example, Thomson has also championed the school’s guiding four principles of excellence: academics, athletics, fine arts, and leadership and philanthropy, notes teacher Brent Garraway, a former student and now teacher.
Richard Fast, another former student of Thomson’s, and now teacher at Oak Bay High, sums it up simply: “He invests.”
Join us in celebrating Thomson’s career and community-wide impact. (See a feature and photos taken through the years on pages 14 and 15.) We are better for his work, and we look forward to following the impact his legacy will have as his students make their way in the world.
Thomson feels they’ve built a place, and attitude, where kids want to be, and says he leaves the school “with an amazing staff and leadership.”
He does indeed, but we couldn’t have done it without him.