Happy World Teachers Day! 

This year is a special one... If there was ever a year to appreciate them, it is 2020
Things changed quite a bit for teachers around the foothills and this year World Teachers’ Day will celebrate teachers with the theme “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future”.

This year teachers have shown, as they have done so often, great leadership and innovation in ensuring that Learning. Never. Stops. Making sure that no learner is left behind

I reached out to some teachers and admin in the FSD to ask for a highlight on any teachers that went above and beyond. I got... WAY more than I expected. But one that really stood out was a teacher nominated by the Principal of Red Deer Lake School, Shannon Culbert. 

I would like to thank all the teachers out there in the foothills making learning in 2020 possible for our kids. 

Below is a feature on this amazing teacher (I am pretty sure she was my teacher in grade three!!) 

Mrs. Castonguay

Mrs. Castonguay has been teaching for 30+ years, but you’d never know it by her energy and the fresh ideas that she continuously brings into her classroom.  Like every year, she was disappointed that she had to wait until August 17th to get back into the school, because two weeks is hardly enough time for her to set up her classroom! 

This year, she is working hard to provide her students with as much space as possible, while also reducing the “traffic” in her classroom.  One Saturday when I was here (oh yes, those 2 weeks includes Saturdays!), her husband was with her, drilling holes in large plastic cups that they were zip-tying to the desk legs.  Mrs. Castonguay realized that going to their water bottles for a drink might need re-thinking, so she found this creative solution to avoid having students moving about the room too much and getting too close to one another. 

Her class puppet, Stuart, will be part of her classroom community again this year.  As for PPE,  Stuart has already been getting used to his mask (a red one), as well as his clear dome!  Mrs. Castonguay will help students understand about our new safety routines by having Stuart show them how it looks and having him “tell” them why it’s important.  In fact, many important lessons come to the students through Stuart, and they listen intently to him!  I’m sure Stuart will be the one to show them their new fuzzy pointers that they’ll get to use when it’s their turn to head up to the interactive board and to show their classmates what they know OR to take risks with their learning, which is always celebrated in their class.

Surrounding Mrs. Castonguay is a dedicated team of Red Deer Lake teachers and staff members; each and every one has their own story of working hard and making changes and improvements to ensure safe and welcoming environments, where student learning can flourish.