July 27, 2011
Remembering Howard
Moffatt, 1927-2011
by Kay McQuade
An unpretentious man, with an abiding love for his family and a deep
caring for his students, staff and community is the picture that is
revealed of Howard Moffatt when talking to those who knew him.
Moffatt, long-time principal at Mackenzie High School, and a mentor to
several generations of students, passed away earlier this month at the
age of 83.
Moffatt was born on July 22, 1927 in Carleton Place. He had two older
brothers, Mac and Ed. He graduated from high school in Carleton Place
in 1945 and attended Victoria College at the University of Toronto
where he received his BA (Honours) in Modern History and Languages
(French) in 1949.
He then attended Teachers’ College and graduated as a teacher in 1951.
He accepted a job offer in Cobden to teach French, History and
supplementary Phys Ed.
It was during his 11 years in Cobden that Moffatt met and married Anne,
his wife of 57 years. Anne’s father was on the school board at the time
and often invited the young teachers for dinner. Howard enjoyed the
lively McGinn home with Anne, her four sisters and one brother.
The Moffatt family, which now also included daughters Janet and
Marjorie and son David moved to Deep River in August of 1962 where
Howard started teaching French at Mackenzie High School. John came
along during those early years in Deep River
At the end of June 1964, Jack Gray became principal when Alfred
Crutcher left to become inspector, and Moffatt moved into the vice
principal’s office.
In September 1967 he became acting principal while Gray was working in
Toronto and the position became permanent in January 1969. There was a
staff of 43 and a school population of approximately 800 at that time.
When Moffatt arrived in 1962 the school building was very different
than it is today.
Childs Auditorium was the gym and the double gym did not exist. The
technical and office wing and basement also did not exist.
It was during Moffatt's tenure as principal that the auditorium was
completed and the major construction projects were undertaken on the
school.
"There always seemed to be some construction going on," he said in 1987.
Enrolment at Mackenzie peaked at approximately 1,200 students and 64
staff in the early 70s with Moffatt at the helm.
Former vice principal Jack Bell, who worked with Moffatt for 10 years
from 1971, remarked on his humanistic approach to education.
“Howard encouraged all students to strive for excellence but recognized
that everybody does not achieve excellence in the same way. He worked
hard to provide alternatives for students," Bell said.
"He felt compassion for students who couldn’t grasp abstract reasoning
for mathematics and supported both the general and basic level math
programs at Mackenzie.”
Moffatt taught general level math himself for two years while principal.
He also looked for this same quality in his teachers. Excellent
academic qualifications were essential but so was the ability to
consider each student as an individual and develop creative ideas to
maximize their potential.
"Howard stood up for values that allowed students to thrive in a less
strict environment," Bell said.
He challenged the strict authoritarian regime that existed in ministry
offices in Toronto at that time allowing Mackenzie students to
experience alternate educational opportunities.
A perfect example of this is the Trekker program that continues to
enrich students’ lives to this day. Former teacher Bill Patterson
credits Howard’s confidence in the abilities of his staff to allow such
a program to exist.
Patterson felt many other principals would not have had the courage or
wisdom to support such an innovative program.
Patterson was actually a student of Howard’s in Cobden when Moffatt was
in only his second year of teaching. He taught Patterson French all
five years of high school and Patterson remembers him as an excellent
and well respected teacher.
Patterson was hired at Mackenzie in 1963 when Moffatt was acting
principal.
"Howard was a guy who backed you in being creative. He encouraged
creativity," Patterson said, while also recalling Moffatt's “radio
announcer voice over the PA system. I always felt he could have had a
career in radio if education hadn’t worked out. ”
Janice Joynes joined Mackenzie staff in 1968 and worked with Howard
until his retirement in 1986. She remembers him as “an excellent
administrator who really cared about the kids. He really had everyone`s
best interests at heart. There was no feeling of a boss/employee
relationship; we were all in it together.”
“Howard understood the wide range of students that attended Mackenzie
and went to bat for the kids who needed special consideration," Joynes
said.
She recalled that he took a student driving in his own car at lunchtime
to ensure that the teenager had the extra practice necessary to get his
drivers’ license.
Joynes noted that Howard was fully supportive of extracurricular
activities and actively encouraged both staff and students to take
part. He coached football when he first arrived at Mackenzie and later
coached basketball for senior girls and boys, junior girls and bantam
boys.
Moffatt definitely enriched the life of both Mackenzie and the entire
community.
He worked tirelessly on the 25th reunion of Mackenzie High School and
was involved with many clubs in the community over the years. The
Community Association, recreation committee, golf club, minor hockey,
baseball, duplicate bridge, woodworking club and Horticultural Society
all benefited from his leadership and participation.
After his retirement from Mackenzie in 1986 after 17 years as
principal, Howard and Anne very much enjoyed their involvement with the
local craft show and spending time with their family, including their
eight grandsons and one granddaughter.
Anne said that Howard always felt he was lucky to be principal of a
school where the whole community supported education. On the contrary,
I feel we as a community were lucky to have Howard Moffatt.
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