About Me

I am an Ontario Certified Teacher and have been since 2009.  The story of how I got to where I am now is somewhat long, so I won't bore you with the details.  Just know that I've wanted to be a teacher since I started school at the age of 5 years old, but it took me a while to get there because I took a few detours.

Even at 5 years old, I knew that I wanted to teach.

I worked on my BA in Français and Geographie while my first child was just a toddler.  Those were very intense years as I was basically a single parent.  I was up all night with her, then working all day on school work.  There were many evening classes where I struggled to stay awake, but I had some very understanding and sympathetic professors who guided me through and helped me achieve my goal.

Looking for a change in my life, I accepted a position in 2004, as an Official Language Monitor, in Alberta.  I basically worked in French Immersion schools to promote the French language through games and activities with groups of kids. I worked with kids from Kindergarten to Grade 8. I loved my job and it only made me want to teach even more.

I then worked as an Educational Assistant, in Grades 3 and 4.  I left that job to have my second child, and shortly after he was born, my husband and I decided to move back to Ontario.  Once we bought our house, I started looking for work.  I became an occasional Educational Assistant and an Unqualified Occasional Teacher.  In other words, I was a substitute.  I was working almost every day, and again, it made me want to become a teacher even more.

I went back to school to complete my Bachelor of Education.  I remember sitting in my first class and tears were rolling down my cheeks as I listened to the teacher tell us about some of her experiences.  I was so excited to FINALLY be working towards my dream career!  It was very difficult to juggle the intense work load with family, a house and work, but we all got through it.  I became a qualified teacher in 2009.

For 6 years, I continued to work as a substitute for two different school boards, at about a dozen different schools, all the while applying and interviewing for permanent teaching positions.  Getting on the sub lists and being recognized as a qualified teacher proved to be more difficult than I had anticipated, and I often feel like quitting and moving on to something more stable, but the truth is that I can't imagine doing anything other than teaching.  It is what drives me, it is what I was born to do.

Just as I was about to give it all up, I finally saw the light.  Someone encouraged me to apply for a position that I wasn't considering and I had a very successful interview.  When they called me to offer me the position, I started bawling.  I was finally going to get to do what I so desperately wanted from life.  It was one of the best moments of my life.  I have been teaching in a split grade 4 and 5 classroom in a francophone school and I love every single minute of it (even the planning and marking!).  I learn tremendously from all of my colleagues and from the kids every day and I am blessed to be able to do what I love.

At home, I am a mother to two wonderful kids.  We live in Northern Ontario, where the kids get lots of fresh air while playing with our dog and cat. In my spare time (which I don't really have a lot of!), I love to read and create engaging resources to share with other teachers.

Every morning, I wake up with a smile and look forward to the day.  What more could I ask for? :)