2006 Winning Teachers

October 04, 2006

Ontario teachers will honour their outstanding peers tomorrow at the 2006 OTIP Teaching Awards ceremony in Toronto. This year’s ceremony is taking place as part of OTF’s commemoration of World Teachers’ Day, recognizing the contribution of teachers to society.

In October 1994, at the 44th Session of the International Conference on Education in Geneva, UNESCO declared October 5 as World Teachers’ Day and recommended that this be an annual event

The Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan sponsors the awards which are administered by the Ontario Teachers’ Federation.

The following educators received the OTIP Teaching Award:

2006 Winning Teachers

October 04, 2006

Ontario teachers will honour their outstanding peers tomorrow at the 2006 OTIP Teaching Awards ceremony in Toronto. This year’s ceremony is taking place as part of OTF’s commemoration of World Teachers’ Day, recognizing the contribution of teachers to society.

In October 1994, at the 44th Session of the International Conference on Education in Geneva, UNESCO declared October 5 as World Teachers’ Day and recommended that this be an annual event

The Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan sponsors the awards which are administered by the Ontario Teachers’ Federation.

The following educators received the OTIP Teaching Award:

Beginning Teacher Category

Gregg Lee

St. Francis Xavier Secondary School, Mississauga

In the category of Beginning teacher the 2006 honouree is Gregg Lee. Mr. Lee teaches Grade 10 and 12 Business and Hospitality at St. Francis Xavier Secondary School in Mississauga.

Mr. Lee is certified to teach in the International Baccalaureate program, geared for highly academically-inclined students. But he also teaches workplace-bound students.

Still in his first five years of teaching, Mr. Lee is sharing a lifetime of experience with his students.

As a child, Mr. Lee watched his parents run a series of businesses including a pizza store, doughnut shop and a Jamaican restaurant. He grew up in kitchens, washing pizza pans and overseeing the night shift. As a result, he understands hospitality and he has a passion for business.

He established a successful and popular chapter of DECA, a student business club, at St. Francis Xavier. Its members have won hundreds of awards. In his hospitality program, he organized an “Iron Chef” competition giving teams of students a selection of ingredients to work with to come up with a winning menu. His students know the goal is never the award but to learn and gain as much experience as possible.

And that applies outside the business world as well. Among his many extra activities, Mr. Lee worked with a student to set up the school’s first Relay for Life which raised $40,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society.

A former student remembers, “his commitment to education beyond the classroom environment has lead many students to achieve beyond their report card.”

Elementary Teacher Category

Elaine Ireland

Duncan J. Schoular Public School, Smith’s Falls

Elaine Ireland teaches Grade 2 at Duncan J. Schoular Public School in Smiths Falls.

Schoular is a “turnaround school” and receives resources and support to improve reading and writing. Mrs. Ireland has taken on the challenge.

She engages students and gets them reading and writing with enthusiasm. She’s done that in large part by introducing the world to her small-town classroom. Her students have e-pals from around the globe. They share stories and journals describing what’s going on in their lives.

A stuffed animal dubbed “Bruce the Moose” plays a big role. Mrs. Ireland’s class packages him up and sends him on travels to other countries. Bruce has been to England, Germany, Japan and many parts of the U.S., carrying the students’ stories with him. In return, other school mascots are welcomed to their classroom.

Mrs. Ireland also uses tools that are closer to home. As a farmer, her knowledge of apples, blueberries, maple syrup, dogs and goats enhance and supplement the curriculum. And there is always a song, a rhythm or some kind of music to help keep the students engaged and the memories working.

Her principal Pat Graveline calls her the epitome of the teacher who teaches the whole child, reaching students through their various learning styles and multiple intelligences.

Mrs. Ireland quite modestly sees herself as part of a team. That team is already seeing results in improved reading and writing.

Here’s how she lights the spark for learning.

Secondary Teacher Category

Yvonne Dufault

Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School, Markham

Yvonne Dufault, an extraordinary teacher of French immersion, ESL and Special Education at Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School in Markham is honoured in the category of secondary teacher.

Pierre Elliott Trudeau graduated its first students in 2005. Many of them had the privilege of being guided not just in academics but in citizenship by Madame Dufault.

As part of the call for 40 hours of community service from high school students, Madame Dufault set up chapters of the Octagon Club. It’s the youth wing of Optimist International. Her students have flipped hamburgers at charity events, assembled gift bags for a women’s shelter and learned to tutor and train younger students.

She sees the results in students who develop such a passion for giving that it becomes part of who they are. They may forget about the marks they got in high school but they will remember the feeling they got when they did something that touched someone’s life in a good way.

Yvonne also organizes conferences for students in the area of race relations. She also particpates in her community through involvement with the public libraries and runs reading programs there for her students. In her classes she integrates story telling, music, arts and technology.

She considers French a language with great heart and communicates her passion for the language to her students.

As a colleague, Yvonne Dufault is a multi-faceted teacher who demonstrates innovation and altruism. Her generosity and dynamism inspire and motivate many who have worked with her. But nothing is as important to her as her students.