After several years of wonderful service to the Global Pathways School, we are announcing the retirement of our Principal Mr. Jim Brickell and librarian Mrs. Joy Brickell. Mr. and Mrs. Brickell are leaving India to return to Canada where they plan to travel, write and volunteer. Their last day at school will be on August 31st, 2022.

Jim joined GPS seven years ago, during a time of profound change both internally and externally. During his tenure his leadership oversaw the completion and move to our new campus, the development of our high school program and graduation of our first class as well as numerous enhancements to our curriculum and staff training.  His impact on students will reach far beyond their in-class education.  Jim fully understood the need to create a place where students and faculty could feel safe and encouraged in order to thrive.

On reflecting on his experiences, Jim writes:

“I have loved being part of a genuinely worthwhile project and doing something really meaningful for these past seven years. Seeing hundreds of smiling young faces day in and day out - always eager to say hello - has been a great pleasure.

With Jim, we were lucky enough to have benefitted from Joy as our librarian.  Joy created the 12,000 volume, fully cataloged, bilingual library from the very beginning. Her tireless efforts in developing a comprehensive literacy program, including reading buddies and story time has, most importantly, led us to the ultimate goal of instilling a love to read in our students. Her positivity and welcoming presence has made the library the heart and soul of our school. 

“To have been able to choose the cataloging software, design the control desk and shelves, introduce reading buddies, organize teaching resources, conduct hundreds of story times and encourage a general love of books and reading has been a delight that I will always treasure.

I have also loved writing the Student of the Week posts and Employee of the Month Posts for Instagram and Facebook. Each and every person selected has been thrilled to have been recognized in such a public and appreciative way.”

Jim and Joy would also like to share a message together: “We will both miss being part of such a wonderful school and staff community. But we are looking forward to the start of the ‘next phase’. After we leave Global Pathways we plan to travel from coast to coast to coast around Canada catching up with friends and family. We also plan to take a stab at writing a memoir/travelog  and hope to find one or two interesting volunteer opportunities. We look forward to hosting lots of family bbq’s and feasts at the Cottage and returning to warmer climes every winter. Finally, we wish to thank Theresa, Village Community Foundation and our Global Pathways family for allowing us to live, learn, and lead at such a great school.” 

We wish Jim and Joy the very best in this next chapter in their lives, and will continue to share with them our growth and development as a school and community. To find our next Principal, we have engaged a leading consulting firm, Search Associates who is facilitating a world-wide search. Search Associates is well-known in the field of educational recruiting for quality international schools, with a particular emphasis on school leadership. Our process will be an inclusive one, involving faculty, staff, parents, students and the Canadian and Indian Boards. 

Again, we wish to extend our gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Brickell for seven years of service. Their commitment to GPS has been extraordinary.  

We will miss them dearly but look forward to the coming months as we work together as a community for the remainder of the school year, and welcome our new Principal at the start of the next.