Shelia Thomas teaches Grade 4 at Havelock School, and is the resident music teacher. She introduced recorder and ukulele training to the students, and each year produces Christmas concert musicals for students in kindergarten to Grade 5. She is on the district committee for healthy eating initiatives, and teaches cross-country skiing to grades 4 and 5.
As a Grade 6 teacher at Sussex Middle School, Margaret Chown created a positive and nurturing environment. She taught for 40 years, and had a passion for teaching and learning. Her class sent packages and e-mails to Canadian troops, and she had her students collect recyclables for an orphanage in Ukraine. Each year she organized the Grade 6 tour to Ottawa. Her colleagues describe her as a role model and a matriarch to the school.
Joanne Genge is a Grade 2 teacher at St. Patrick's Elementary School. She received the Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year Award. Each of her students has a specific learning plan, and her mission is to use her triangular recording system in order to discover how each child learns. She has taught sign language to her class, manages the school library, implemented the multi-grade literacy hour, and created evening math luaus and literacy nights.
Jason Hooper volunteers at Milltown Elementary School, doing one-on-one work with students who have extreme behavioural challenges. He is an advocate for mentoring at his workplace, where he has recruited two more volunteers. His company is now a sponsor of the school. He volunteered with the PALS mentoring program and junior achievement, and has done research on behavioural challenges as part of a transition team. He implemented a technology curriculum for Grade 4, and encourages community use of resources. The school feels that he contributes to the positive learning and working environment.
Linda Lapointe is a kindergarten teacher at Florenceville Elementary School, who plays a key role in the Kinderstart program that prepares students for school. She works on the program with parents and students in the classroom from January until May. Linda created a web-conferencing partnership with Grand Manan School, and received the Firefly Initiative. She works with children new to Canada, and has succeeded in bringing many parental volunteers into her class.
Michael O'Toole is a technology lab teacher at Sugarloaf Senior High School, where he teaches grades 9-12. His project, A Grassroots Project - Recreating Art Through Adobe, was selected as one of Canada's Schoolnet leading practices. He created a school radio station in 2004, and later created a video, media and audio production studio. He has made numerous videos, including one about the Restigouche area, a 30-minute video for Listugui First Nation, a nine-minute comedy, and an anti-racism video for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. In addition, he also coaches boys' soccer.
Patrick Clancy is principal of St. Andrews Elementary School, and is an active member of the New Brunswick Teachers Association. He has provided his school with such resources as a SMART Board and Phonic Ear, and has been supportive of inclusion initiatives. He implemented an in-school mentor program, an after-school program, evening programs, the Just For Girls program that promotes self esteem and physical activities for Grade 5 girls, the Quest 4 Science club, Saturday science-adventure field trips, and students/stars of the week acknowledgements. He has strong community connections, and those resources are helping students.
Jill Dunderdale is a resource room teacher at George Street Middle School. She developed a plan for an autistic child, and the child now operates a recycling program at the school. She is currently working on a life skills program for a child returning from the trauma unit. She works with assistive technology programs, has assisted with enrichment activities in the school, and is a lead literacy teacher.
Suzanne Doyle-Yerxa is a teacher at Kennebecasis Valley High School, and has been working with its high-school musicals since 1977. She has directed, choreographed and costumed the musicals every year since 1991, and has been taking students to the drama festival since 1993. She is faculty advisor on the leadership team, and has organized trips to New York City. She has also organized student council conferences, and is a mentor to the beginning teachers induction program (BTIP). She is also English department head, the enrichment district co-ordinator, and coaches the cheerleading team.
Ann Louise Greig has been a teacher for 37 years, and taught at Lorne Middle School since 1983. She has coached girls volleyball for 35 years, and has also coached girls basketball. She has been a chaperone on the Quebec and Ottawa trips for 10 years and has organized the food bank drive since 1999. She is a mentor to the BTIP program, as well as to English teachers in the district. She was a co-op teacher for several years, and is also teacher-librarian. She has organized oratorical contests since 1998; some of her students' work has been published. Her students have also won in the Heritage Fair.
Deborah Fisher is the PALS (Partners Assisting Local Schools) co-ordinator for School District 8. Employee volunteers are the PALS who help out at local schools during their workday. She was seconded by J.K. Irving to help develop this partnership model at Prince Charles School. It started as one partner with one school, and has grown to nine schools and 65 partners in District 8.
Diana Fall is the literacy program co-ordinator for School District 8. She has been instrumental in the design and implementation of literacy programs for those students who benefit from short-term intensive intervention. The interventions are designed to give students a boost in literacy and help develop the skills necessary to continue learning in the classroom.
Staff at Campobello Island School has created a positive approach for a healthy and safe school: the Viking's Values Code of Conduct. The Viking is the school mascot, and students following the Viking's Values are rewarded with a voucher that they can redeem for prizes. This sytem creates a healthy school where students want to come and learn.
Elaine Fulton teaches at Minto Memorial High School. She is a science and math team leader, a grad-class advisor, an instructor in the advance placement (AP) program, a co-op teacher to student interns and the BTIP program, a Reach for the Top coach, the district energy-saving-project co-ordinator, and has developed a remedial math program.
