Tell us about yourself!

I’ve been teaching in a really wide variety of contexts for many years, but I guess it first started when I was a child and set up my own “school” for my stuffed animals! This year I’m teaching all the English subjects in grade 6 at St.Thomas More. Before joining the OCSB, I worked at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum as a tour guide for over 16 years. I’m really passionate about finding ways to engage students and show them the practical applications of their studies. I volunteer with Girl Guides of Canada as an Embers Leader and I am a Medical First Responder Instructor volunteer with St.John Ambulance. When I’m not teaching, I also work as a Medical First Responder and Dispatcher on the Rideau Canal in the winter, and with Little Medical School in the summers for Wilderness Camp.

Who is your favorite NHL® player and why?

I’d have to say my favourite NHL player is Zdeno Chara. Because two of my brothers in law are both very tall (6’7″ and 6’9″), I have a real appreciation of the fact that height does not always equal skill in sports (they are both very uncoordinated). I really appreciated his skill and his attitude on and off the ice when he played for the Ottawa Senators.

What is your favorite part of the Future Goals™program? How do you see STEM in the game of hockey?

I’m a big fan of the Future Goals program because of how engaged my students are every year that I present it. I find it’s a really amazing way to showcase and even assess my students’ math modelling skills, because they are applying their math skills to real-life situations. I’ve used this program for several years now with both grade 5 and 6 students, and I think it will be a part of my math curriculum for a long time!

If you played hockey, what position would you play and why?

If I played hockey, I would probably play left defense, because I am right handed and like to play a more supporting role.