Year: 2018 – Province: Newfoundland and Labrador
Certificate of Achievement Recipient
Holy Trinity Elementary School
10 Doyles & Quigley Lane
Torbay, NL A1K 1A6
School telephone: 709-437-6433
School website: https://htek6.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @flatrocknewfie
Subjects and grades taught: Math, Science, Language Arts, Religion, Social Studies, French and Health, Grade 4
A teacher with a range of classroom experiences and a long-term commitment to professional improvement, Kimberley Keating's excellence shines most brightly in her interactions with students and through the emerging new technologies and creativity in her classroom.
Teaching approach
Kim recognizes that students are most engaged when classroom activity is relevant and purposeful, and when it incorporates technology. With enthusiasm, she takes on the challenge of developing such activities to not only engage the children in her class but also ensure their success.
In the Classroom
- Implemented solid blocks of time for students to immerse themselves in hands-on literacy activities, such as researching, writing and publishing e-books on topics of interest; a new block approach to math followed, with students moving through challenges and practical applications of the curriculum in five essential areas, including problem solving and instructional games
- Creates purposeful learning opportunities: students are responsible for raising 100 salmon eggs to the fry stage and then releasing them; the students take and analyze digital pictures and videos to identify changes in the eggs, and devise solutions to problems that arise
- Experiments with and implements a wide variety of technological options to help students of varying abilities learn and become more independent in pursuing their interests
- Promotes the social and moral development of students by integrating the Roots of Empathy and Lions Quest: Skills for Growing programs into the curriculum
Outstanding achievements
- Led the incorporation of digital literacy into the overall school program, including creating a pamphlet for families introducing the initiative, adding digital literacy to the school's behaviour matrix and code of conduct, and presenting the changes to the school council
- Leads numerous in-school and school district professional development sessions and has been featured in videos shown during in-service training; she presented on new robot-based coding activities to STEM teachers from across the province
- Worked on a provincial pilot project investigating the efficacy of bringing iPads into science classes so students could use them to investigate, record data and present findings
Rave reviews
"I'm certain [Ms. Keating's] unique skill set, her genuine love of knowledge and passion for teaching will continue to impact and offer every child an equal opportunity to be their very best."