One local teacher who came out of retirement four years ago has been recognized for her hard work by being nominated for an excellence in teaching award.
Jane Atkins, a Grade 3-4 French Immersion teacher at Ecole Olds Elementary School, was among two Chinook's Edge School Division teachers to be selected as semi-finalists for the awards, which will be handed out May 28 in Edmonton. A regional celebration of the semi-finalists was to be held on April 15 in Calgary.
Atkins said she was pleased to be recognized for her hard work, but noted that she couldn't have been as successful as she has been without help from her colleagues.
“It's not just one person in the school. We work as teams, we do a lot of stuff together as teams and if you can take that role and be a leader … it's just beneficial for everybody,” she said.
Atkins said the nomination reinforces all the work she does in the classroom and school in general.
“It means that all the collaboration and stuff that I do with the staff and the students really means something to the kids that I'm teaching. (The job) is something I always wanted to do so when the job … came up and it was available for me, I thought it would lots of fun to do,” she said.
Previously, Atkins taught at junior high school in Sundre.
“It's a new fresh start on everything. It's a totally different way of teaching, but I can still incorporate what I did with junior high kids when I was in Sundre,” she said.
While in Sundre, Atkins was involved in moving the school from an elementary and junior high to a middle school, teaching Grade 7 French. She also spent 15 years in Slave Lake teaching special education and French. Atkins said since she spoke French at home as a child and her mother also taught French, she knows how valuable French immersion can be to a student's learning experience.
Atkins is known for embracing new research and incorporating technology into her classroom. She also tries, wherever possible, to use the arts to teach her material.
“Anything that will help the kids become interested in learning also helps them remember concepts much better,” she said.
