Recipient:  Paula Windsor  

School: Christ the King

Number of Years Teaching:  9

Grade: Paula was nominated when she was teaching grade 1 at Christ the King.  She is now the Itinerant Numeracy Teacher for JK to grade 6 for 11 schools in the Waterloo Region Catholic School Board.

Students inspire Paula.  She believes that they are capable and doesn’t listen to testing that frames them by saying “they can’t”.  She helps them to expand from where they are.  She does this by helping them have their first success and then building on that, “little success by little success”.  Paula describes every day as a ‘good’ day but the ‘best’ day is a day when a child who has struggled all day, finally gets it!

Paula believes it is essential to focus on the “good” in each student.  To help her get to know her students quickly at the beginning of the year she asks parents to write a 1,000 word paper titled “What is Great About My Kid!”  This gets parents focussing on what is good in their child. Every day Paula lets each student know that she has noticed him or her…whether in a big or small way.

In her new role Paula is helping teachers to expand their strengths so they can better understand and reach the students.  She helps them create lessons where the subject matter links to real life.  In planning lessons Paula always remembers that the teacher must be incredibly flexible.  The death of a family pet is way more important than a math lesson for that day!

Parents Don and Tina wrote this about Paula:

Looking back at all the years we spent in school, we have never had such an awesome experience with a great teacher such as Mrs. Windsor.  Having our daughter with her was more than we could have hoped for.  She really recognizes each student for their abilities and talents and treats them as special individuals.

Early in the year Mrs. Windsor told all parents that she has an “open lines of communication” approach.  Many times she gladly went over and above the call of duty, we could tell she was sincere.  When the school day was over she would come out with the students into the school yard talking to the parents about the good things that happened that day, the issues, updates, reminders and sometimes just about life in general!  Many times she gave us advice, tips and tons of resources to assist us with the education of our daughter.

Mrs. Windsor is a very caring and down to earth person.  She is very understanding, bright and very giving of her time…all exceptional qualities that parents love to see in a teacher.