My sister, Mrs. Charles, only five years my senior, had been my teacher long before she was formally OCT trained. In middle school, she helped me select my high school courses, advocated for me to be placed in the classes I was initially told was above my learning level, and later helped me navigate through the daunting task of applying to college. When I finally received my college diploma I knew I couldn’t have done it without her guidance. My sister’s passion for learning and determination was clear at a young age. In SK, her teacher arranged a meeting with our mother, asking if she could stop her from reading ahead at home, but my sister was relentless. She had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and would later prove that no obstacle could get in her way. When she became pregnant at 18, in her first year of university, many told to her to adjust her life plans, but she remained determined and graduated from university with a double major, only one year later than originally scheduled. But she didn’t stop there! She went on to complete teachers college, while juggling a husband and two children at home and working full time. She is a lifelong learner and continues to study, enabling her to pour more into her students. Her passion for education, and tenacious spirit are exactly what makes her an excellent teacher. Her story alone inspires young people to know that with hard work and perseverance, no goal is outside of their reach. She helps her students to enjoy learning and apply course material to real life situations. Desiring to help students beyond her classroom walls, she opened her own tutoring company and is a not only a teacher, but a champion and advocate for young learners. Some of her success stories include students, like me, who she has supported through the challenges of higher learning and many have achieved honour roll under her tutelage! Mrs. Charles is an inspiring teacher, with a unique ability to shape young minds, and with her no student gets left behind.

“I am nominating Sarah Ruyter for this award as she is an amazing kindergarten teacher and an absolute sweetie. Both colleagues and students can see that she has a passion for teaching and loves the age group that she works with. Sarah makes learning a fun and positive experience for everyone in her classroom. Using a play-based learning approach, she makes each and every student feel like they are recognized and loved. Parents have shared their stories of their young children coming home without any fear, all because fairy dust was sprinkled by Ms. Ruyter and they didn’t feel scared anymore. Her classroom is a magical place where her youthful perspective makes all the kids feel comfortable. Though she may have some challenging days, she always finds the positive and does it with a smile on her face.

Deborah Lumley is an ecologically-minded grade 5-6 teacher who is committed to creating environmental awareness and developing environmental literacy among her students. She is creative, caring and determined to provide her students with integrated learning experiences that go above and beyond on a daily basis. Her Go Green attitude is contagious. She is determined to empower students to be change makers who educate others about living a sustainable lifestyle. She loves teaching and inspiring her students to build confidence and become the best they can be. As seen in her photos she makes days at school memorable! Her students would agree that she is is very deserving of this award.

We are nominating Mr. Sheehy from Lakewood Academy in Glenwood, NL. My three children who are 9, 12 and 16 truly adore Mr. Sheehy and he is always there when you need him. He always has a smile and is so easy to talk to and is so so motivating. When asked who is their favourite teacher without hesitation they all shouted “Mr. Sheehy

Here is my submission for my best teacher I could not get permission for a picture because I am not at that school anymore but he did make a big difference in my gym classes and in my life. My teachers name is Mr. McAvella, He is a physed teacher and he made a difference in my life. My teacher is also a police officer with the Hamilton Police. This is why I picked this teacher .

I would like to nominate my grade 5 teacher, Mrs. Jodee Monkhouse. She is the best teacher that I have ever had. She is so kind and cares about all of her students. She makes everyone feel special by her kind words and actions. She makes learning fun. We have lots of good laughs. We go on fun trips. She takes the time to get to know each one of us on an individual basis including our likes, dislikes, families and preferences. I really like Mrs Monkhouse!!

When you drop your 5-year-old off at school for the first time, you can’t help but worry. Will they demonstrate a love for learning? Will they learn how to be a student? Will they retain their alphabet? Will they learn to solve problems? Be kind? Make life-long friends? Will they demonstrate resiliency? The vortex of worries can be overwhelming. Then you walk into the classroom and you meet Tali Miles. Morah Tali, as the students at the Calgary Jewish Academy call her, has the authentic ability to connect with her students, and calm the parents. She is, in one word, magical.

Without a doubt Tali is remarkable in her pedagogy and in her ability to support all learners. Before anything else, she engages her students with a relationship first. She knows them inside and out and uses this to foster trust, a growth mindset, and above all a love for learning. When dropping my child off at school one morning, she jumped out of the car and ran into the school! “Look! Mom! You have to come see the fairy door! I bet the fairies left us a special message again!” The fairy door is just one example of the way Tali engages with her students to leave them with a sense of wonder and curiosity. Whether they were building their own castles out of recycled products to practice their shapes and build fine motor skills; observing their own plants growing; or reading about fairytales, students were hooked. The excitement that these students feel entering the classroom is truly what education is all about.

When Covid-19 hit, Tali did not skip a beat. She was mailing personalized letters, setting up one-on-one zoom meetings, and continued to maintain engagement, curiosity and wonder in our youngest students. The sense of joy that Morah Tali brings her students is foundational and will leave an impact on them for the rest of their lives. Morah Tali deserves the best teacher award for her sense of joy, imagination, and learning that she has truly installs in all her students.

Krista Sarginson approaches learning with an enthusiasm, passion, wonder and excitement that is contagious and inspiring. I worked alongside Krista in the Special Education department at the Ottawa Catholic School Board for almost a decade as an Assistive Technology teacher. In this role, I witnessed Krista find seamless new ways to support accessible and inclusive learning for all students. She pushed back against assistive tech as having to be the clunky, big, embarrassing stuff of years past. She found ways to empower students with learning disabilities to experience being the expert in the room with tools such as speech to text, coding, robotics. This school year Krista chose to go back to classroom teaching and it was not surprising that as the year unfolded so too did the wonder and joy of learning in her classroom. Her approaches to Math are concrete, real life and exciting. Workflows live digitally and shared online so that students are able to learn at their own pace – reaching ahead and checking back. When she called me to tell me about entering a cyber security contest with her grade 6’s – I was in awe of the undertaking and proud of her passion to be vulnerable, take learning risks alongside her students. All year – I watched the posts from her students as they learned an incredible timely and future ready skill of cyber security. I won’t pretend to know the correct verbiage – but running operating systems such as Linux and the pressures of time to solve problems while real programmers worked against them -Krista saw her grade 6’s all the way to place second in Canada. She taught not only the computer skill but the communication, maturity, problem solving and confidence that comes with working together as a team in a high pressure situation. Krista did all this, the year she decided to return to the classroom. She challenged herself to a change, to push forward with her own learning and spark excitement and wonder in her students. I am so proud to learn from Krista and to call her a friend and colleague. I believe she is truly one of Canada’s best teachers.