BONNYVILLE – A Bonnyville teacher has been recognized for the exceptional work she does in her classroom.
Lakeland Catholic School Division (LCSD) teacher Katelynne Ringuette won the 2020 Edwin Parr Teacher Award.
“I was shocked,” Ringuette told Lakeland This Week. “I didn’t believe it at all when I first heard so I was very excited and my family was there with me so that meant a lot. I was mainly just shocked and in disbelief because we heard all the nominees speak and they all sounded phenomenal and passionate. I felt the competition was really stiff so I was really excited when I won, but mostly shocked.”
The Edwin Parr Award recognizes outstanding first-year teachers in Alberta. School divisions from across the province nominate a new educator each year for the honour and the Alberta School Boards' Association (ASBA) chooses six winners.
A virtual ceremony was held on Aug. 27, where Ringuette was joined by her family, division trustees, and senior administrative staff at LCSD’s central office.
Ringuette spent her first year teaching at Notre Dame High School (NDHS) and is currently entering her second year there.
When a notice went out for LCSD’s Edwin Parr nominee, NDHS principal Vince Spila knew Ringuette deserved the nod.
“I know myself and my vice-principal (Jeff Cey), the first time we saw her teach a class it was like ‘oh my gosh, this teacher has what it takes to be very successful in the classroom.’ She makes connections with kids so easily and she just knows her stuff,” Spila recalled. “She’s a first-year teacher and you’d think she’s a seasoned veteran.”
A goal for Ringuette when she’s in front of her class is ensuring her students feel like they matter.
“I want them to know what they say and do can make an impact, so I want to come into a classroom and just let students know that they’re cared about,” she expressed, adding her teaching style is unique to each of her pupils.
“Not everyone is going to learn the same way, so I want to just (focus) on individual students and let them know that they can be successful. Just show them that and continually seeing their success and growth and then having the mindset that failure is okay. Messing up is okay because that’s how we learn and grow. Just keeping that at the forefront of the classroom that it’s okay to make mistakes and have them learn from them.”
As an alumna of LCSD, Ringuette said she was “blessed and fortunate that I was given a job at Lakeland Catholic at a place where first-year teachers are really taken care of.”
She continued, “We’re given so much support from the very first day and throughout our first year with coaching staff and mentors at the school. I’m fortunate that one of my mentors was actually one of my high school teachers, so we already knew each other and continued in the mentorship role, which was amazing, and I just felt very supported throughout and grateful for being nominated.”
Ringuette offered her thanks to her family and LCSD for giving her the platform she had in her first year of teaching.
