Retiring Hague High School Principal Clay Kirby coaching the Hague Panthers football team in the fall of 2017

With more than three decades of experience as a teacher, school administrator and coach under his belt, Clay Kirby has some well-earned insight into what education is all about.

“Relationships are what make schools work,” said Kirby in an interview in early July. “You can be the smartest math teacher in the world, but if there’s no trust and no relationship, then the kids will just tune you out.

“Students don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.

“I learned that lesson from one my old teachers; a guy who guided and supported me and set me straight when I was on the wrong track.

“He was there for his students, and I always tried to do the same.”

Kirby retired from the principalship of Hague High School (HHS) at the end of the 2019-20 academic year. His 32-year career in education began when he interned in Warman. Following a brief stint teaching in Marengo, near Kindersley, Kirby returned to the area and taught at Martensville High School. Most of his career, however, has been at Hague High School, punctuated with a few years at Delisle High School.

“I’ve had a good career,” said Kirby. “I know it sounds cheesy, but I really feel like I’ve been blessed. Why I fit in so well in Hague, I don’t know, but the community support was overwhelming. The school sports and arts programs couldn’t have happened without that support.”

˚Kirby was the driving force behind the establishment of the HHS Panthers six-man football program in the late 1990s, and also coached high school girls basketball for 15 years and girls soccer for 25 years, as well as a Hague minor football team in the Saskatoon league. He said he intends to stay on as coach of the Panthers football team, working with HHS Vice-Principal Jaren Vetter.

Kirby and Vetter were assistant coaches with the Delisle High School Rebels under head coach Ken Byers when the Rebels won a provincial 9-man championship.

“Jaren is an excellent coach,” said Kirby. “He works hard to build good relationships with students, and he has great leadership skills.”

Kirby said now that former HHS Vice-Principal Brett Berry is returning to Hague High as Principal next year, the school will be in good hands.

Berry served as vice-principal of Rosthern High School (RHS) last year. RHS is being replaced in the fall with a new K-12 school in Rosthern.

Kirby said he values the relationships with students and their families.

“I’m sure they’ll see me around the Hague rink this winter and keeping track of how people are doing,” said Kirby. “I also plan on taking in the high school’s annual Talent Night. But this year I can sit back and just enjoy it. I won’t have to organize it.”

He said the many years of involvement in the community pay off when it comes to connecting with students.

“About five or six years ago, I had a group of Grade 7 and 8 kids on the bus and we were heading into Saskatoon for a Saskatoon Minor Football league game,” said Kirby. “One of the kids came up to me and asked if I had taught his mom and dad. I said, yeah, I did.

“And then another one came up and asked the same question, and I had the same answer.

“I finally stood up and said to all of them; there were about 12 kids on the bus; that I taught all their parents, except for one kid, who only had one parent that was in one of my classes.”

Having that good relationship with the parents was Kirby’s “ace in the hole” when it came to dealing with issues that came up throughout the school year.

“It was real easy to pick up the phone and talk to the parents,” said Kirby.

Kirby said the most rewarding memories for him are not always the big events.

“When you see that kid that gets a high 70s average and he or she needs to have an 80s mark to get into university; and you help them achieve their goal,” he said. “Or if you can work with a kid who’s thinking of dropping out, and convince them to stay in school and graduate. That’s what makes it all worthwhile.”

Kirby, who experienced a heart attack when he was principal in Delisle and has gone through a couple heart surgeries, said he felt the time was right to step away from his career.

“I could have retired a couple years ago, but I felt like I still had unfinished business to do,” said Kirby. “Now the school is in very capable hands. I don’t want to be the guy who hung around too long.

“My health is good right now. It’s time to spend more time with our grandchildren and my aging mother.”