Ottawa Senators November 2021 Teacher of the Month
Name:
Annalisa Mazzarello
School:
St. Gregory Catholic School; Ottawa Catholic School Board
Classroom Team:
Tell us about yourself!
I graduated Teachers College from the University of Ottawa in 2019 and was hired in the Ottawa Catholic School Board that same year. This is my third year teaching, last year I taught Kindergarten, this year I am teaching Grade 4/5 Language and Math (St. Gregory) and Junior Special Needs Social Studies and the Arts (St. John XXIII). I wanted to become a teacher because while I was in high school I had an English teacher who would always take the time out of her busy day to work with me. She cared about me, knew I was struggling and would never ask for help. She would work with me before and after school or during lunch. She gave me tips and tricks to help me enjoy what I was learning. I love being around kids, building relationships, getting to know them, joking around and having fun. There is no better feeling than to see the progression of a student, to see them work hard, have fun and to smile. I want my students to want to come to school, to feel comfortable in the classroom, and be able to talk to me if they need help with something. Fun fact about me is I played ball hockey for the National Women’s Italian Ball Hockey Team, where I travelled to Newfoundland, Switzerland, and Czech Republic. I scored the first ever goal for the team and the ball is sitting on a shelf in my room. I’m a huge hockey fan, I eat, sleep, and breathe hockey. I absolutely love the Ottawa Senators! I love to be active and love trying new sports and activities. I have ran 3 full marathons and 9 half marathons. I would love to coach a girls hockey team one day and be able to share the love of the game with them.
Who is your favorite NHL® player and why?
Brady Tkachuk because he is a hard working player, has great leadership skills, always smiling, brave, positive, team player, tremendous work ethic, and impactful on and off the ice.
What is your favorite part of the Future Goals™program? How do you see STEM in the game of hockey?
My favourite part of the Future Goals program simply is being able to connect hockey to math and science. I never realized how much they actually relate. I love that I can explain math to my students with using examples of hockey or really any other sport. STEM is used in the game of hockey in many different ways. Hockey uses angles, surface area, perimeter, measurement, statistics, geometry, velocity, reflections, vectors, speed, motion, temperatures, force, gravity, percentages, and time. Different jobs that include math and science in hockey are equipment manager, player and goalie coach, time keeper, camera man, engineering of arenas, the players, and ice technician.
If you played hockey, what position would you play and why?
I do play hockey! Absolutely love the game. I play forward, either wing or centre. I love grinding in the corners and coming out with the puck. I love being the player in front of the net even if I’m small. I love being in the face off circle battling to win the puck back to my defenceman. I play with grit, determination and always a smile on my face.