By Spencer Sterritt

3 SD68 teachers up for provincial education award for teaching excellence

Sep 7, 2018 | 6:51 PM

NANAIMO — Three Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District teachers are recognized for being top of their class.

Mandy Jones from both John Barsby and Ladysmith secondary school and Nanaimo District Secondary School teacher Emily Recalma are finalists for the Indigenous Education category of a new award called the Premier’s Award for Excellence in Education. Randerson Ridge teacher Tanya Adelborg is a finalist in the Extracurricular Leadership award.

Jones teaches the Hul’q’umi’num language to her students, which she said is an important part of keeping local Indigenous culture alive and relevant.

“It preserves our land, such as place names for areas which are never used,” she said. “It carries them a long way to the understanding of First Nations people and helps our kids really excel.”

Jones’ class also tries to instill in Indigenous youth the passion for understanding and properly using traditional names.

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“I tell my students it’s going to take them to really boost the language to the point where we’re going use it in our community much more.”

While Jones’ classroom is focused on language, Recalma’s is about providing a safe space to learn and grow. Roughly 180 Indigenous students use her classroom at NDSS, where every student is guaranteed a hot lunch.

“There’s so much financial need in Nanaimo and families are working really hard to get by and do the best they can for their kids,” Recalma said. “We see an opportunity to help them in doing so.”

She and her team try to support the students as best they can and fill any gaps in care, everything from a little help with homework to working with a student to understand whatever emotional turmoil they’re going through.

“I think kids need to be loved and supported right now, even while they’re making decisions that make you say ‘What are you doing?’ But if you love and support them, they’re free to move on. Otherwise they’re stuck.”

Randerson Ridge teacher Tanya Adelborg and the extracurricular exercises she runs with her Grade 7 students are all about seeing more of the world and making sure they’re not stuck in their own lives.

Each year, her students run three fundraisers, with one each focused on a local, national and global issue.

“It gives the kids a good perspective of when they’re watching children in other countries literally walking 10 kilometres to school, they don’t. So it really gives them skills to think they can make a difference in the world.”

Last year, her students took part in a campaign to promote global issues and Adelborg said she was astounded by the variety of topics selected. Her class showed the rest of the school issues as far-ranging as women’s rights within the Taliban to genocide and homelessness.

Extracurricular also means sports and activities with a lighter touch, though Adelborg said it’s just as important.

“When you have kids who perhaps struggle with their academics, all of a sudden you put a ball in their hand and they grow so much more. They feel like they belong to something.”

Adelborg, Recalma and Jones will attend an award ceremony in Victoria on Oct. 5, which is World Teachers’ Day.

If any of them win their category, they receive a $3,000 bursary and their school is given a $2,000 contribution.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit