Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Class Notes: Celebrating life

Celebrating life Vancouver Technical secondary school is hosting a celebration of life next week for teacher Amy Hurn, who died late last month in a cycling accident. Hurn, 32, was head of the East Side school's science department.

Celebrating life

Vancouver Technical secondary school is hosting a celebration of life next week for teacher Amy Hurn, who died late last month in a cycling accident.

Hurn, 32, was head of the East Side school's science department. She's a graduate of Churchill secondary school's IB program and also taught at Kitsilano secondary, according to Van Tech principal Brenda Burroughs. Hurn was an executive member of the Vancouver Secondary Teachers' Association, a local of the B.C. Teachers Federation, and was involved in community activities such as Girl Guides.

Burroughs called Hurn a "talented, remarkable young woman."

"She was the department head of sciences, so she was a master teacher, but she was also a sponsor for our student council and really cared about student leadership, student engagement and involvement," Burroughs said. "She had a kind word and time for everybody. Even kids that she never taught felt the real impact of what she did. She truly cared about education, the kids, the profession. She was a great colleague."

Students and staff are still getting over the shock of Hurn's death. Students are preparing material for a display for the memorial event. "She wasn't just a colleague. She was a really close friend to lots of teachers here, so it has been really difficult-I still expect to see her come walking in," Burroughs added.

A scholarship has been set up in Hurn's name. Cheques can be made payable to the Alexandra Foundation, designated for the Amy Hurn Scholarship. Van Tech will accept donations and pass them along to the fund. Online donations can be made via Pay Pal (alexandrafoundation.org). Donors can specify that funds are for the Amy Hurn Scholarship by clicking "add special instructions to recipient" after signing into Pay Pal.

Burroughs said Hurn's family is establishing the criteria for the award. "It will not be a scholarship [limited to] Van Tech kids. It is a scholarship for the larger community because she did so much beyond the school she was at," Burroughs said.

The celebration of life runs from 3 to 6 p.m., April 26, in the Vancouver Technical secondary school cafeteria at 2600 East Broadway. Parking entrance off Penticton Street. Light refreshments will be available. The event is open to the public, although space may be limited. "She was a very special lady-completely missed," Burroughs said.

noconnor@vancourier.com Twitter: @Naoibh