Staff at Elm Street School

Biography

I love teaching. I became a teacher a little later than most. I decided to wait until I had 2 young children at home, what was I thinking?! So worth it though.
I am now in my 5th year of teaching. So what have I been doing prior to teaching? Let me take you back ...
After graduating from high school, I was lucky enough to be chosen for a Rotary Youth Exchange. I went to South Africa for a year and what a year it was! Although I lived with middle-class families, I developed a hightened social conscience because of the living standards of most of the people in the country. I continue feel empathetic towards those less fortunate than myself.
Five years after South Africa, I graduated from the University of Alberta with a degree in Political Science. I love teaching social studies. I wanted to go back to do my education degree but money and ambition was really low so I moved back home to work and save money so I could travel more extensively through 3rd world countries. But that was not to be. I worked,met the love of my life, married him and started to put down roots here in Medicine Hat, something I swore I would never do.
I have always had a passion to cook. I love fresh flavours, different ingredients and putting it all together. I decided, 2 months after getting married, that I wanted to go to cooking school. Unsure if this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I thought if I didn't try it I would never know. So, off I went to Vancouver for 4 months to a french cooking school overlooking the beautiful city skyline of downtown Vancouver. I would have loved to stay and work on my culinary skills in some of the amazing restaurants in Vancouver, but my husband had (still does) a very secure job with Goodyear Medicine Hat. Home I came. I started a catering company and found out very quickly that the profits are small and mortgage payments are bigger. By now we had two beautiful children, a boy, Aidan and a girl, Kaitlin. I thought back to education and wanting to be a teacher so many years earlier. I decided to take the plunge when our kids were small, thinking it would be easier than when they were older. So, right after Kaitlin's 2nd birthday I began the 2 year process of becoming a teacher. I did some course work here in Medicine Hat and most of it in Edmonton at the University of Alberta. Ten years later I went back to get the degree I wanted to after my first one.
And the rest, they say, is history. My children are now 9 and 10 and I am teaching at a great school. I take my job very seriously, although I tend not to have a serious personality and believe in the power of humour. I am responsible to guide every student to become successful learners, but I can't do it alone. I need the help of support staff, administrators and most importantly, parents. If parents are involved in the learning of their child, their child will be so much more successful. As a teacher, I can only do so much and children need to be supported at home and develop an understanding of the value and importance of learning and school. Ok, I will now get off of my soapbox.
I am always willing to work with parents to help their children. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions, concerns or suggestions.

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