Community Spotlight

Recognizing the People Making a Difference in Our Community

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A new school year begins and with it, an opportunity to recognize those who make a difference.

When we first had the idea of recognizing the teachers, Teacher Assistants and school support staff heading back to the classroom this fall, we thought it would be a simple shoutout.

It became so much more.

Thank you to everyone who sent along names, photos, memories and stories. As they began to come in, one thing quickly became clear: our little community has made a remarkable contribution to education.

From those who taught generations of children right here in Havre Boucher, to those who travelled or continue to travel to neighbouring communities, and others whose careers have taken them into colleges and universities across the country, educators with roots here have reached far beyond our community.

And it isn't only teachers. Teacher Assistants, bus drivers, administrative staff and other school support staff have all played a part in helping generations of children learn, grow and find their way.

As another school year begins, this month's Community Spotlight is for all of them.

From then to Now

Education has been part of the story of Havre Boucher for generations.

The earliest classrooms in the community were connected to the convent, where the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception taught local children. In 1955, Havre Boucher School was established, welcoming students from the younger grades through Grade 9 and serving Havre Boucher and several surrounding communities.

By its later years, the school served students up to Grade 6. In 2000, the new East Antigonish Education Centre opened in Monastery and Havre Boucher School closed its doors for the final time.

But education here was never limited to what happened inside the school walls.

Local retired teacher Alicia Vink also helped us look back on Havre Boucher’s school history, sharing fond memories of fishermen taking students out onto the harbour, local volunteers teaching children about the tides, and science coming to life through experiments with sea grass on the beach. Parents, neighbours and community members shared their knowledge and their time.

The community was invested in its children and their education.

Today, our children may travel a little farther from home each morning and our educators can be found in schools, colleges and universities near and far. Chalkboards have given way to smartboards and textbooks now share space with technology.

But one thing has remained constant:

The people who teach, encourage, guide and care for our children.

Generations of Teaching

For many of the retired teachers we spoke with, education wasn't simply a career. It became a lifetime of relationships.

Francis DeCoste still meets former students who were only 11 or 12 when he taught them and are now successful adults.

“Teaching is a very honourable profession. Children keep you young at heart.”

For Alice Mattie, teaching started long before she entered a classroom professionally. The oldest of six children, she remembers “playing school” with her younger siblings on stormy days. With three aunts who were educators, teaching was part of her life from an early age.

That childhood game gradually grew into a 34-year career.

Some of Alice's most rewarding memories aren't about lessons at all. They're about seeing struggling students succeed, watching children find friends and meeting former students decades later who still stop to chat.

Her advice to today's educators?

“Be patient with students. Be kind. Try to help the shy ones. Give the students as much love as you can.”

When Teaching Runs in the Family

For some local families, education has crossed generations.

Maureen Parks grew up with a teacher for a mother. She remembers evenings when “we all sat at the kitchen table and did schoolwork or read while Mum did her marking and lesson planning.”

Her mother, Carmelita McKeough, influenced not only generations of local students but her own daughters. Maureen and her sisters, Bunny Roberts and Anne McKeough, all went on to careers in education.

Years later, former students still remember Carmelita's discipline, fairness and her familiar words:

“If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.”

Maureen's own career eventually included helping students prepare for employment and work experience, getting to know them and helping set them on the path toward their future careers.

And theirs is far from the only family with education woven through its generations.

There are retired educators whose former students are now teachers themselves, people who left Havre Boucher to pursue their education and returned to work close to home, and others who carried their roots into classrooms and campuses across the country.

Education runs deep in our community.

More Than a School Day

It's easy to think of education as something that happens between the morning bell and dismissal.

Those who work in our schools know differently.

There are lessons to prepare, assignments to mark, meetings, individual student needs, activities and events, not to mention the early mornings, late evenings and thoughts about students that sometimes follow educators home.

And some of the most important work has little to do with academics.

Alice remembers teachers helping children through loss, family difficulties, not having lunch or simply not having a friend.

New teacher Myetta Breen has quickly discovered the challenge of meeting the needs of students at different learning levels while balancing curriculum, structure and behaviour.

“Being a teacher goes way beyond your scheduled hours because you care about creating the best school experience for your students.”

Kate Simpson says it even more simply:

“We're doing it because we care.”

More Than Teachers

A school community extends far beyond its classroom teachers.

Teacher Assistants provide individualized support and encouragement. Bus drivers are often the first and last familiar faces children see each day. Administrative staff, custodians, librarians, counsellors, Pre-Primary educators and many others help create schools where children can feel safe, welcomed and ready to learn.

Melissa Bennett told us that seeing the positive impact educational support had on her own family inspired her to do the same for others.

Her work includes planning, observation, communication, problem-solving and working with teachers to support individual students.

But the greatest rewards can come from very small moments:

“The most rewarding part is seeing all the small wins that lead to big accomplishments.”

Those relationships matter. When a former student sees their TA years later and runs over for a hug, it's a reminder that some of the most important work in a school can be difficult to measure.

Much of it happens quietly. Its impact can last a lifetime.

Coming Full Circle

Our retired educators gave us a wonderful opportunity to look back, but another generation is now carrying that tradition forward.

Kate Simpson remembers choosing to shadow teacher Jeanine Gunn for Grade 9 Take Your Kid to Work Day. Today, she teaches in the same halls she once walked as a student.

“I was very quiet in school, and being able to say ‘I did it!’ in the exact same hallway I ran down to play with friends outside is amazing.”

For Nikita Jarvis, spending time at her Aunt Carol Melong-Brow's daycare helped inspire her passion for working with young children. Today, she works in Pre-Primary in the same school she attended and where her own children now go to school.

“This community played such an important role in raising me, and being able to give back to it through my career feels very full-circle.”

Nikita also hopes people understand that Pre-Primary is much more than “just play.” Behind those play experiences are planning, observation and intention, helping young children develop language, social skills, independence, confidence and problem-solving abilities.

For young children, play isn't separate from learning, it is how they learn.

Different Generations. The Same Message.

Perhaps the most striking thing happened when we asked educators what they hoped their students would remember about them.

Whether they taught 40 years ago or are just beginning their careers, their answers sounded remarkably similar.

“Be kind.” - Alice Mattie

“I hope they felt welcomed, respected and safe in my classroom.” - Retired educator

“I hope they knew how much they mattered, that their voices were important, and that they were valued for who they were.” - Nikita Jarvis

“I want my students to remember that they were always welcome with me.” - Kate Simpson

“I hope they remember that they were supported and believed in.” - Melissa Bennett

Different generations. Different classrooms. Different roles.

But the same message.

That students feel seen. Supported. Encouraged. Safe. And cared for.

Perhaps that is one of the greatest legacies of education in our community, generations of people who have given their time, patience, knowledge and hearts to helping young people become who they are meant to be.

With Gratitude

As we gathered names for this Spotlight, our list grew to more than 100 people, an incredible reflection of the contribution Havre Boucher and surrounding communities have made, and continue to make, to education.

And we know the list still isn't complete.

These names represent teachers, teacher assistants, bus drivers and other school support staff, past and present, who have taught, encouraged, supported and cared for generations of students both close to home and far beyond our community.

To every person whose name appears here, to those we may have unintentionally missed, and to everyone who has played a role in educating and supporting our children over the years,

THANK YOU!

And as a new school year begins, we wish our students, teachers and school staff a wonderful, safe year ahead.

May there be new friendships, new discoveries, plenty of small wins and big accomplishments and, most importantly, people along the way who make each child feel seen, supported and believed in.

To our entire teaching and school community, past and present: thank you for all that you do!