In recognition of primary, elementary or secondary teachers in all disciplines who have demonstrated exceptional innovation in instruction or compassion in teaching, today the Provincial Government announced the first-ever recipients of the Premier’s Award for Teaching Innovation and the Minister of Education’s Award for Compassion in Teaching.
The Premier’s Award for Teaching Innovation recognizes primary, elementary or secondary teachers in all disciplines who have demonstrated innovation in instruction and who have gone above and beyond to find innovative ways to deliver the curriculum resulting in greater educational outcomes for their students.
The 2021 Premier’s Award recipients are:
- Colin Barry, St. Matthew’s, St. John’s
- Matthew Grant, Holy Trinity High, Torbay
- Stacey Hopkins, Leary’s Brook Junior High, St. John’s
- Lindsay Janes, Crescent Collegiate, Blaketown
- Céline Monnier – École des Grands Vents, St. John’s
- Sam Paterson, Brookside Intermediate, Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s
The Minister of Education’s Award for Compassion in Teaching recognizes inspirational and compassionate teachers at the primary, elementary or secondary level who have gone above and beyond to support the social, emotional and mental health of their students, colleagues or school community as a whole.
The following are the 2021 Minister of Education’s Award recipients:
- Pamela Avery, Swift Current Academy, Swift Current
- Kim Bonnell, Eric G. Lambert School, Churchill Falls
- Nathalie Brunet, Macdonald Drive Junior High, St. John’s
- Erin Coates, Mount Pearl Senior High
- Dustin Rideout, ConnectED
- Gail Spicer, St. James Regional High, Port Aux Basques
- Catherine Tansley, Mount Pearl Intermediate, Mount Pearl
- Sara Toope, Beachy Cove Elementary, Portugal Cove-St. Philips
Bios for the award recipients can be found in the backgrounder below.
These awards were established in 2021 to acknowledge the leadership role that all educators play in the lives of students. Nominations for 2022 awards are encouraged from every region and from both school districts, and will be open in early 2022.
Quotes
“Amidst the considerable challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, our province’s educators have been an inspiration. They have consistently put their students first and found innovative ways to ensure that students in this province could continue their learning, all while demonstrating significant compassion for the unprecedented challenges these young people faced. While today we honour select few educators nominated by their peers for their exemplary performance, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all teachers for the great work taking place across our entire public school system.”
Honourable Andrew Furey
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
“It is an honour to acknowledge the dedication and contribution of educators in Newfoundland and Labrador. The 2021 recipients, and all educators across the province, deserve recognition for supporting the social, emotional and mental health of their students during this unprecedented time. The successes of our school system cannot happen without you, and I look forward to honouring still more incredible work in the coming years.”
Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Education
Learn more
Nomination Information for Teacher Awards
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Media contacts
Meghan McCabe
Office of the Premier
709-729-3960
meghanmccabe@gov.nl.ca
Tina Coffey
Education
709-729-1906, 687-9903
tcoffey@gov.nl.ca
BACKGROUNDER
2021 Teacher Awards Recipient Biographies
Premier’s Award for Teaching Innovation
Colin Barry – St. Matthew’s, St. John’s
Colin Barry is a member of the St. Matthew’s School community, and is known for going above and beyond to create an innovative, fun and safe learning environment for students.
Mr. Barry is a believer in student-led learning and hands-on exploration. He embraces deep learning initiatives and provides students with enriched learning opportunities. Whether they are working on Genius Hour projects, passion projects, coding, working on STEAM projects, exploring cultures through food cafes, or examining media literacy, Mr. Barry’s students are engaged, having fun, and learning new things every day..
Students have built mazes using Ozobots, circuits to make music, and MicroBits to create unique projects such as pedometers to count steps. Mr. Barry is innovative in including technology in literacy, which allows students to collaborate and develop problem-solving skills.
Mr. Barry embraces the use of new technology to provide opportunities for all students to become familiar and comfortable with innovative technology experiences. While learning online, students were engaged in social emotional learning activities such as a creative writing cafe, science inquiries and observations, and oral language activities. He allowed students to use the online platform in ways to not only engage and support students, but to provide a stage for students to shine and showcase their strengths.
Matthew Grant – Holy Trinity High, Torbay
When COVID-19 disrupted the education system, Matthew Grant used his experience with computer education and deep learning practices to engage and support students and colleagues at Holy Trinity High and province-wide. When the schools were closed due to the pandemic, Mr. Grant offered colleagues looking for new ways to connect to students, in-school training in computer apps, programs and methodology of instruction.
As a member of the three person digital itinerant team assisting approximately 900 teachers province-wide to become more familiar with the basic tools needed for online education, Mr. Grant reviewed and recommended WeVideo and JamBoard programs and computer hardware to the English School District. He communicated regularly with the school district to seek and offer advice to colleagues. Mr. Grant was in close contact with Brilliant Labs and TESIC to develop new programs and fine-tune delivery of technology to junior high and high schools.
Mr. Grant also supported math, science and technology students who were having difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether the students experienced anxiety, had an ASD diagnosis, or needed to explore beyond the curriculum, Mr. Grant was aware of their abilities and focused on their successes. With flexibility in grading and providing students with choice and a voice in how they interacted with the curriculum, he not only provided comfort to students, he allowed them to thrive, innovate and do their best work. He conducted virtual after school tutorial sessions to give greater access to students who were unable to attend scheduled sessions. Some students increased their unit marks by as much as 20 percent from attending the virtual tutorials. Mr. Grant also used Twitter to share problem-based learning activities with colleagues.
Stacey Hopkins – Leary’s Brook Junior High, St. John’s
Stacey Hopkins is a classroom teacher and a teacher librarian who works with a variety of teachers to present innovative and fun deep learning activities for students. A highlight of this work was introducing an Artifact Museum, where students were presented with a variety of objects from decades ago to explore and determine their use. Ms. Hopkins has been instrumental in many of Leary’s Brook Junior High’s theme weeks and events such as Literacy Week, Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics, known as STEAM Week and Music Fest. She promotes student activities and good teaching practices through her social media Twitter account.
Ms. Hopkins has also led professional development for colleagues. In 2019, she helped a group of students facilitate coding professional development to teachers at the school district, to develop STEAM skills to add to their classroom practice. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she facilitated many professional learning sessions on teaching in a virtual setting to teachers around the province as they transitioned to remote learning. As well, in previous years, other teachers and district personnel have come to her class to observe her teaching for best practice strategies to bring to other classrooms.
Ms. Hopkins leads STEAM and Coding Clubs for students, as well as a podcasting club. She has successfully applied for grant funding for additional school technology and partnered with CanCode organizations such as Kid’s Code Jeunesse and Brilliant Labs to increase opportunities for students. She is a member of the NLTA Technology Education Special Interest Council where she promotes STEAM education within the district.
Anytime you visit Ms. Hopkins’ classroom, students are engaged in creative activities. Whether students are doing a ‘book tasting’, creating a coded interactive door for a door decorating contest, or using Ozobots to learn math, Ms. Hopkins continues to demonstrate excellence in engaging creativity in the classroom.
Lindsay Janes – Crescent Collegiate, Blaketown
During the closure of schools in March 2020 and February 2021, Lindsay Janes knew that the strategies used in a physical classroom would not be conducive to learning online. Ms. Janes took this opportunity as a challenge to become innovative with her planning, and create instructional activities that could sustain engagement with students while online. These universally-designed learning experiences were active and meaningful.
In creating such experiences, Ms. Janes ignited student curiosity while simultaneously developing a leadership role in deep learning. Her innovative project-based learning focus is on student learning and non-traditional teaching. Administrators supported and encouraged her risk-taking in the classroom and her shift from traditional teaching to innovative learning experiences. This landed her a seat at the educational table for District Lead Learners. As a Lead Learner, she shared her own learning experiences on the “how to’s” of deep learning experiences. She has paved the way for other teachers to learn strategies that hook and engage students in the learning process.
Ms. Janes also uses Twitter to share students’ learning experiences. Her Physics 3204 final group projects include a Virtual Dragon’s Den Pitch of their Sustainable Energy Findings for the United Nations Global Goals. The virtual audience heard about geothermal solutions, oscillating wave models, friction zones for roads, and modular housing.
Ms. Janes’ innovative approaches positively impact learning, and empower students to use their voices.
Ms. Céline Monnier – École des Grands Vents, St. John’s
Originally from France, Ms. Céline Monnier joined the Conseil scolaire francophone provincial in 2003 as a teacher at l’École des Grands Vents. This longevity has allowed her to teach at all grades, both in the primary and elementary levels.
During all these years, she has distinguished herself by the mastery of her function, her true leadership and interpersonal skills. But more than that, Ms. Monnier’s great strength is her capacity for innovation. The breakthrough came during the 2018-19 year with the implementation of the Student Responsive Teaching and Learning policy.
She became the school’s reading specialist as well as a teacher-librarian. She began by setting up structures to support her colleagues’ literacy interventions. She also developed her knowledge, particularly in techno-pedagogy, convinced of the possibilities offered by technical progress in the field of education. She is also responsible for purchasing and providing appropriate educational resources and, most importantly, facilitating learning activities for students.
Perhaps her greatest contribution is the development of the Learning Commons. This project allows students to imagine, create and innovate while adapting to their reality. During this time, she oversaw the redesign of the library space.
The arrival of the pandemic offered Ms. Monnier a new opportunity to put her creativity to work for the students. At a time when students needed to stay connected to the school environment more than ever, she came up with a solution. She designed a library, this time a virtual one that offered students access to educational resources.
Sam Paterson – Brookside Intermediate, Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s
Sam Paterson has immersed himself heavily into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) at Brookside Intermediate. Mr. Paterson uses technology in the classroom daily to keep lessons current. Through his passion for STEM, he has successfully created a Student Makers Club in which any student at Brookside can attend. Each week students perform new exploratory challenges using various technologies such as Ozobots, Legos, Google Suite, Jamboards, Makey Makey, Minecraft, Sphero, Green Screen, 3D Printing and Flight Simulation., just to name a few. Mr. Paterson continues to work with staff, parents/guardians, students and the community to engage students in real life educational experiences. Most recently, a group of students embarked on an Ocean-Stem fieldwork study.
During the 2020 school shutdown, Mr. Paterson worked with the students and taught them remotely using technology. He also worked with teachers to help them develop a greater online presence. This included creating a “how-to” website for staff to help them feel more comfortable when teaching online.
Mr. Paterson has become a more inclusive teacher, and his efforts have inspired new levels of engagement in students, parents and colleagues.
Minister of Education’s Award for Compassion in Teaching
Pamela Avery – Swift Current Academy, Swift Current
As a teacher, Pamela Avery cares for all students at Swift Current Academy as if they were her own children. She is constantly checking in with students throughout the day and being responsive to their needs, both academically and socially/emotionally. She demonstrates consistently that she values their opinions, needs, and wants. She is always flexible and responsive to their input and is there to give them guidance or an ear to listen. She often forgoes her morning preparation period just to see and spend time with the students.
Ms. Avery offers a helping hand no matter the task, such as covering duty, reaching out to a parent, speaking with a student or supporting a staff member. She is an actively involved in student leadership and the School Council, Service Delivery Team, Teaching and Learning Team, Finance Committee, and Occupational Health and Safety Committee.
She is always smiling and positive and shows kindness to students, colleagues, parents, and those around her. She truly creates a safe and caring environment in the classroom and school. Ms. Avery helps students feel welcomed, cared for, and loved. She has a soft spot for all students but especially for those who are going through difficulties, both academically and emotionally.
Kim Bonnell – Eric. G. Lambert School, Churchill Falls
Kim Bonnell was a dedicated and loved primary teacher at Eric G. Lambert School. She was described as always the first to “lend a helping hand” when volunteers were needed. She had demonstrated her love for children and people of Churchill Falls, and her commitment to school and community had a tremendous positive impact for all who know her.
Ms. Bonnell is described as “a ray of sunshine” regardless of what challenges, obstacles or hurdles come her way. Her sunny disposition makes her a memorable individual who will be remembered by everyone who crosses her path.
She exemplified the importance of being actively involved in the community of her workplace. Without doubt, Ms. Bonnell believed in building and the continued maintenance of strong relationships. The depth of her kindness for her students was not only demonstrated in her warm, friendly and nurturing interactions with them, but was also be seen in her volunteering to ‘open her classroom’ so they may have experiences that may not otherwise have been possible.
Ms. Bonnell volunteered Wednesday lunch hours to provide supervision for elementary students who participated in soccer. She was involved in co-running a Primary Reading Club. She also volunteered her time to allow primary students the opportunity to build their reading skills.
In addition to the many incredible things she did for students and colleagues, she was also actively involved in the school’s community library and was a vital member of the Churchill Falls Library Board. Her creativity and love of reading has made her a champion of early literacy. She played an integral role in the literacy programming for the library, including Storytime and the Bookworm Program.
Her acts of kindness and her commitment to helping make her work and community environment a little more positive is an attribute that Ms. Bonnell naturally possesses.
Nathalie Brunet – Macdonald Drive Junior High, St. John’s
Nathalie Brunet shows great compassion for all students and colleagues at Macdonald Drive Junior High, especially those from a disadvantaged background. To quote one parent, “to speak highly of Nathalie is not a difficult task. It’s something that truly comes natural. Nathalie is the voice of encouragement, the voice saying you can do it and a warm smile on the tough days. She’s the teacher that I feel every student should have at least once in their years of schooling. She goes above and beyond with lessons of kindness and compassion. Along with a very in depth and detailed curriculum, she is also an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, both teaching and practicing inclusion to all. Her classroom is a safe space for everyone. Anything less for Nathalie is unacceptable.”
Ms. Brunet is also well known among colleagues for her passion and compassion and advocating for equity, diversity, and inclusion in society. Her classes are filled with compassion-related anecdotes, in science and technology. To quote a university colleague of hers, “she is a strong supporter of social movements in support of First Nations, Climate Crisis, EDI, LGTBQ+ as well as girls and women as leaders.”
Not only is Ms. Brunet an exceptional teacher, she is compassionate and always working with students to advocate for basic human and environmental rights.
Erin Coates – Mount Pearl Senior High, Mount Pearl
In this remarkable and unique year, Erin Coates’ commitment to teaching and to the support of the social, emotional, and mental health of students only deepened and grew, in spite of the challenges of the ongoing pandemic. Ms. Coates’ singular support was evident through her extracurricular engagement with students through new clubs at school; teaching practices; and her openness and courage around her own experience during the outbreak of COVID-19.
Always a reflective and dynamic educator, Ms. Coates brought new assignments, projects, and activities into the classroom. One notable activity was a photography project that saw students looking at moments or experiences in their own lives, and creating photo essays around them. Students also created tutorials on something they knew how to do such as: how to change a tire; how to do a cartwheel, how to draw a person; or how to make a cake. She demonstrates caring and support for students by covering the English and Language Arts curriculum in a way that reaches students’ lives, their experiences, and their interests. Pursuing creative ways to achieve course objectives that engage students more completely is a means of social-emotional learning.
Beyond her work in the classroom, Ms. Coates showed her greatest capacity for compassion when the school and community experienced an outbreak of COVID-19. She connected with students virtually and was honest and direct with them about her own experience in isolation and quarantining. In spite of facing her own challenges at that time, she rallied, supported, encouraged, and inspired students, colleagues and the community.
Dustin Rideout – Remote Learning/ConnectED
Dustin Rideout is an exemplary teacher who has been instrumental in the success of Remote Learning/ConnectED, and who demonstrates attributes of an inspirational and compassionate teacher.
One of Mr. Rideout’s strengths is his ability to establish relationships, even as a remote Instructional Resource Teacher. He designs functional curriculum learning opportunities that are engaging and that are always enveloped with intentional and purposeful social emotional learning strategies. He created a virtual sunshine room to support students receiving functional curriculum. The sunshine room was a virtual learning space where he would meet with learners both individually and with their peers.
Mr. Rideout ensures that all students and families have everything they need to succeed. He has dropped supplies off to student’s homes and arranged to meet with students, families and even community workers in-person, in order to build stronger online learning relationships. His impact on the social emotional well-being of all learners, families and community partners has been profound. He has supported and guided students on a safe, caring and equitable learning journey.
Mr. Rideout stepped up to support teachers from across the province as they prepared to pivot to online learning. He has reached out to educators through Twitter, inviting them to join virtual conversations about online learning through Google Meet. Through his efforts, he connected with and supported over 100 educators. Mr. Rideout continues to offer “Pop-up” Professional Learning opportunities and created a Google Classroom, sharing resources and providing a space for Instructional Resource Teachers to collaborate.
Gail Spicer – St. James Regional High, Port Aux Basques
While the basic definition of a teacher is “a person who teaches, especially in a school,” according to the student who nominated Gail Spicer, she is so much more than that. To quote a colleague, “The life lessons and memories created the last three years are irreplaceable. Mrs. Spicer creates a home away from home, a motherly presence that makes students want to do their absolute best at not only school but at life.”
Mrs. Spicer does not know a start and end time for her job at St. James Regional High School. During COVID-19 shutdowns, her commitment reached another level. To quote another colleague of hers, “Mrs. Spicer was spending endless hours keeping in touch with students and families to ensure everyone was prepared to be successful in this new world of schooling. The number of students she helped during the last two years is unbelievable.”
Mrs. Spicer truly cares about her students’ academic and personal/emotional success. She knows not just of students’ intellectual needs, but also how to relate to them, motivate them and most of all inspire them.
Catherine Tansley – Mount Pearl Intermediate, Mount Pearl
Catherine Tansley is a music teacher and guidance counsellor that connects with students and focuses on their individual needs. It has never been about the best performance for her, but about students feeling like they have a place.
Having gained the confidence of many students at Mount Pearl Intermediate, she helped to create a LGBTQ+ group called “Free to be Me” and even continued it virtually during school shutdowns. She arranged school-wide support for this group through such events as MPI’s “Rainbow Day,” when all students and staff were encouraged to wear the colours of the rainbow and sign the rainbow flag.
Ms. Tansley’s calm, kind and caring ways have forged connections with both students and staff. Her work in areas of antiracism and LGBTQ+ in the school and her knowledge and sharing of resources are phenomenal. She has created a safe space for students and staff. No matter the issue, she always follows up and does whatever she can to help everyone, especially those that need it the most.
Ms. Tansley regularly debriefs with students and checks-in to ensure each individual feels heard and valued. Ms. Tansley has become a much-treasured music teacher and guidance counsellor in the school that both students and staff feel they can rely on.
Sara Toope – Beachy Cove Elementary, Portugal Cove-St. Philips
Sara Toope is self-effacing, industrious, hardworking, diligent, devoted, and generous, and she was described as a “honeybee” by those who nominated her for the Minister’s Award. The initiatives she has built during her time teaching at Beachy Cove Elementary will have a lasting impact on students and the community.
Ms. Toope’s classroom is where compassion, empathy, understanding and kindness are at the heart of every activity. She celebrates diversity and challenges students to embrace differences and cultivate change for a better world. Celebrations such as Pride Week and Every Child Matters makes her classroom one of the most welcoming and empathetic Kindergarten classrooms. Ms. Toope gives each child autonomy over their learning and provides the guidance needed for success.
The topics of kindness, diversity and respect are at the forefront of her classroom teaching and learning. She chooses to celebrate differences and encourage love for everyone through classroom activities revolving around the Pride Movement. She celebrates Orange Shirt Day and discusses Reconciliation with students by watching children’s shows and reading stories. She also encourages a true love and appreciation of nature through her enthusiasm and forest school initiatives, taking the time to immerse students in the forest, outside the classroom.
Mental Health and Wellness are essential topics of conversation in Ms. Toope’s classroom. She encourages students to talk about their feelings and has in-depth child-friendly conversations about mental illness and wellness throughout the year. She personifies compassion in action.
Ms. Toope leads colleagues by example, helping and supporting colleagues to reach their best. Her work reflects respect for others and acceptance of everyone.