Level of Readiness:
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I have been an educator for twenty years. For the first eight years of my teaching career, I was a secondary teacher with the Halton Catholic District School Board (Burlington, ON). My spouse’s job-change, brought our family to Alberta, where my four young children attended a Catholic school and I embarked on graduate work through the University of Alberta. While obtaining a Masters and PhD in Education, I taught teacher education courses at the Faculty of Education.
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Returning to Ontario, I taught for the last ten years in Teacher Education at UOttawa. This position also included supervising teacher candidates during their practica, allowing me to work with many practicing associate teachers and principals in both Ottawa school boards. I was a faculty member of the Imagination, Creativity, and Innovation Cohort that focused on an approach to teaching and learning leveraged by creative, critical, and deep thinking and process. I have participated in conference presentations and contributed to peer-reviewed and education-related publications. I sat/sit on relevant community committees that include MASC, National Round Table for Teacher Education (NRTEA), and the Canadian Society for Education in the Arts (CSEA).
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In addition, I have done daily occasional teaching and completed three LTOs over the last year with the OCSB. I am currently holding a Junior-level permanent teaching position at Holy Cross School, where I am also Principal Designate. My experience is diverse. I would bring a broad and unique perspective to a leadership role with the Board.
Catholic Education Philosophy:
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Students come first. My role as a Catholic educator and leader is to cultivate a faith-based school community driven by holistic student learning and success. I believe the student learns best when able to make experiential and emotional connections to new knowledge in a safe and supportive environment. In a Catholic school community, this is embedded in a shared vision based on Gospel values.
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I believe the strong Catholic leader can encourage important socio-cultural learning by facilitating connections to students’ personal lives and the popular culture in which the students live. The leader can encourage choice in multi-modal ways to investigate and report learned material so that students can work to their strengths, make choices in their own meaning-making, and thereby experience more positive and impactful learning.
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I believe the school leader should prioritize a school community by providing support, guidance and example to students, parents, and teachers. Through modelling Gospel values, the Catholic leader can foster individual strengths, collaborative support, kindness and acceptance. This will ensure that the community and the individuals within it thrive. Effective Catholic leaders are authentic, passionate, open and transparent. As such I strive to lead by example and co-creation, while always putting students first.
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Major Board Initiatives:
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I fostered creative and innovative thinking, promoting student success, in UOttawa’s Teacher Education Program. ICI Cohort Teacher candidates took this mindset into their new classrooms. The Cohort’s members collaborated with idea generation and integrated lessons. Communication included Blackboard, Facebook and Twitter. Ideas in teaching, learning and lesson planning were developed through the arts.
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At Holy Cross, literacy and numeracy are my focus through my ELA and Math position. I offer weekly math help on my own time, share a class website, and keep parents informed through the Remind app. Gospel values are infused into my classroom practice. I take care to build a strong Catholic foundation as my Grade Six students prepare for Confirmation. I continue to integrate with the arts to optimize whole-child learning and development.
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For my PQP Project, I assisted a board principal in the improvement of school learning spaces. Student and staff voices were heard through questionnaires I prepared. We developed a variety of learning spaces to enhance learning and teaching success for students and staff. Staff wellness was the focus when revamping the Staff Room. Catholic values were present as co-operation, inclusivity, and diverse learning were established in these spaces.
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Innovative approaches and Catholic values bolster the Stewardship of Resources. I use diverse resources for student learning that include online applications, Gospel teachings, hands-on explorations, and deep learning in Genius Projects. I am also a resource. I continually address my own professional development so that I can bring that academic integrity to my learning communities. Diversity and variety is key to support and develop the whole student and teacher learner.