Recipient’s Name:  Donna McIntyre

School:  Southwood Secondary School

Subject Area: History, grades 10, 11 and 12

Number of Years Teaching: 21 years

Donna recalled the teachers she had who poured so much into her and their subject matter.  She always loved school and wanted to work with kids as their teacher and their coach.  Donna loves the day to day successes that are different for each student.  Those whom she can she pushes to their max as they are preparing for adulthood.  For others she is there to inspire them to learn not only knowledge but confidence so that they can understand and contribute to society.  Much of the time she sees her role as “demystifying life”.  She enjoys studying and discussing current events with her students, teaching them to read the newspaper, express their opinions and look for opportunities to learn.  Donna always sees potential and delights when her students engage and express interest and enjoyment in learning.

Sisters Michelle and Andrea nominated Donna.  They wrote:

Ms. Mac is one of those superb teachers who puts all of herself into her subject.  Her openness and frank beliefs in the importance of the information she is communicating affects the learning process of students in her class.  One couldn’t help being affected by the passion she used to describe the lives of ordinary people during the Great Depression in Canada, or the enthusiasm to explain the vast intellectual prowess of progressive thinking of the Ancient Greeks.  Her passion extends beyond the classroom, into hours of research preparing students to take on leadership roles within the provincial or federal government at Fed-Prov at U of W.

As a history teacher, Ms. Mac seeks to provide real applications to what her students are learning in class, encouraging them to make connections between events of the past and the present, and demonstrating how we can connect the trends of history to what may occur in the future.  We will always remember Ms. Mac for the inspiration she has given us.  She is an amazing role model who demonstrates the importance of continuing to learn throughout one’s life.  She is truly inspirational and would be a most worthy recipient.