With the COVID-19 pandemic shuttering schools this spring, teachers have been thrown into an unfamiliar role — trying to teach their students at a distance.
We wanted to throw a spotlight on Greater Sudbury educators who have gone above and beyond the call of duty for their students in these unusual times, and perhaps shown a bit of creativity as they engage their students.
Sudbury.com asked readers for their nominations for local teachers who fit this bill, and we received a couple of nominations for Grade 6 École Ste-Marie teacher Jennifer Bernard.
“Mme. Jen from École Ste-Marie is AMAZING!!” said Anyse Pilon-Leclair. “:My son is so sad that his year has to end. We should get the same teacher next year to make up for it?”
Krysta Robert said her daughter Maddie has missed being with her friends in school, but the situation has been made better by Bernard, who is her teacher.
“Not only is she still learning, she is still having fun,” Robert said. “Her teacher is going above and beyond every Friday to do something fun with them. Thank you, thank you, thank you for making Maddie still ‘enjoy’ school.”
Bernard said she’s used videoconferencing to do fun activities with her students including making Rice Krispie squares (they used the microwave to melt the ingredients) and playing Bingo.
She also paid a personal visit to each of her students (while respecting physical distancing) to drop off the materials for a Mother’s Day craft. Bernard also uses videoconferencing to do live lessons for her students, including in math and French.
Bernard also has Sunday night parent/student meetings to go over the expectations of the week, make special announcements and to offer further tutorials to students and parents (apps, documents, etc.), and address concerns.
Bernard does all of this while making sure her own two kids, who are in Grades 5 and 7 at École Ste-Marie, are keeping up with their school work.
She said she’s touched that her students’ parents would nominate her to be featured on Sudbury.com.
“I’m in shock,” she said. “I’m not doing it for the praise or anything. I just truly love my job. I miss my students. This way here, by doing these activities, I just find I get to have fun with them as well. It kind of fills up my day, too. It just gives me something to look forward to.”
Do you know of an educator who has gone above and beyond for their students as learning moved mostly online during the pandemic? Send your nominations to [email protected].
Be sure to include their first and last name and where they work so we can get in touch with them.
Please note these educators could teach anything from daycare or kindergarten, to grade school, to high school, to college or university.
