New principals announced at two Yellowknife schools

The YK1 school district has announced new principals for Yellowknife’s NJ Macpherson School and École William McDonald Middle School.

Landon Kowalzik takes over from Shirley Zouboules at NJ Macpherson. Zouboules moves to a curriculum coordination position across YK1 schools.

At William McDonald, principal Jeff Seabrook will be replaced by Jodi Lee-Lewis for 2019-20 as he takes a year’s leave.

Kowalzik becomes the principal at NJ Macpherson having taught at the city’s Sir John Franklin high school for more than a decade, specializing in social studies.

The school district, in a news release, said it was “confident he’ll be a great fit” for NJ Macpherson, a JK-5 school serving Frame Lake.

Lee-Lewis, a former principal at Range Lake North School, also has significant experience with the district as an intensive/post-intensive French coach.

The school district said she “believes in an inclusive, balanced education that focuses on the whole child.”

Zouboules, principal at NJ Macpherson since 2012, will replace Brenda Johnson as YK1’s English programs curriculum coordinator.

Johnson, who is retiring, has been with the district since 1988 – a year before Zouboules joined, and the same year that NJ Macpherson first opened.

The changes are all effective August 26, 2019.