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Transcription – Stacey Stairs, 2020 Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence
Transcription – Stacey Stairs, 2020 Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence
[Close-up of woman in an interview setting. Music playing.]
"It is the greatest joy to meet these kids every year and see them grow, I love it."
[Fade to black and then up to white with medium shot of woman, smiling, on the left side of the screen, with the following words appearing, line by line, on the right: Stacey Stairs, Sussex Regional High School, Sussex, New Brunswick. Fade to black and then up to close-up of Stacey in the interview setting.]
"I think the number one factor that contributes to a student's success is their overall mindset. When they are young, in elementary, we really rely on their parents to really value education and get them to school every day and have them well prepared. But when they become a high school student, it really has to be on them, they have to start making plans for their future. And so, if they're in the mindset of "I cannot do this, I don't know anything, I'm not good in math", that is where they're going to get stuck. I really do try to find something they're good at and give them the tools to feel good about themselves, to make sure that they know "I am good at this and I am good at that". But to see those little sparks of, you know, attempt, really can make a difference in my day too."
[Fade to black and then up to Stacey in the interview setting.]
"I try to find ways to get the kids out of the classroom. So no matter what course I happen to be teaching, I try to find real life situations for them to use the skills for, to learn about the topic, in the real world. So, I guess, I guess that is my best practice to try to find relevant things for the students to use when they're learning in everyday life."
[Fade to black and then up to Stacey in the interview setting.]
"I really feel like we need to get on board with digital literacy. I really think that if they don't have some digital skills, they don't have a comfort level with technology, they are not going to get very far."
[Fade to black and then up to Stacey in the interview setting.]
"I meet aspiring teachers every year and I would always encourage someone to follow their path. When you meet someone and you get into that role and you think that this is what I want to do with my days and if you are good at school and like school, you want to make it a positive environment for other children, I think then, you should definitively go for it."
[Fade to black and then up to Stacey in the interview setting.]
"When I wake up in the morning and I have to go to work, its not going to be a very good day. But when I wake up in the morning and I get to go to school, that means I get to learn something, I get to see my people, it's a connection. You know, I know these kids, I know if they have done well at their hockey game, I know if they got a three pointer at their basketball game. I just, I feed off their energy."
[Fade to black and then up to Stacey in the interview setting.]
"I would say if someone is thinking about nominating someone for the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence, that they should go for it, because if it came to their mind at all, they have a reason to nominate."
[Fade to black, with the Government of Canada FIP and then the Canada Wordmark appearing in white.]
Year: 2020 — Province: New Brunswick
Certificate of Excellence Recipient
Sussex Regional High School
Home Economics (Culinary Technology, Early Childhood Services, Housing and Design,
Child Studies), grades 10 to 12
Sussex, New Brunswick
Counsellor, nurse, life coach and a teacher of appropriate social norms, Stacey uses every square foot of our property to engage students of all levels in learning. … She has a true gift for involving all aspects of the school culture in her classroom.
Known at her rural high school for being happy, optimistic, intelligent and resourceful, Stacey Stairs can feed the whole school for a year on the proceeds of one grant. Always there for anyone in need, she removes barriers so everyone is on equal ground, teaches them the sky's the limit and supports them along the way.
Teaching approach
Stacey teaches the entire person. She seeks to maximize each individual's strengths and to support them in areas where they need to improve, while creating out-of-the-box thinkers who are community-minded, and involved both locally and globally.
In the classroom
- Designs practical, relevant approaches to learning and evaluation: students run a preschool, including one day a week in French, prepare breakfast and a hot lunch for middle- and high-schoolers; the culinary course exam involves creating a menu, running the kitchen and operating a café for parents, staff and others.
- Integrates literacy skills into her practical courses: culinary students learn math concepts when working with and converting recipes from imperial to metric; they then share their literacy and numeracy skills with younger students, along with lessons about healthy living.
- Champions collaborative learning to show students they are all part of a bigger team: for example, students and community members cooperate to run the school breakfast and lunch program; everyone must show up to do their shift, follow food safety guidelines, prepare and serve the food and clean-up afterwards.
- Support students with various abilities so they can succeed: assembled a wheelchair-accessible space in the school kitchen, bought nesting measuring cups for a blind student and coloured ones for a student who struggles with numbers, supplies "Good Grips" tools for children with physical impairments.
Outstanding achievements
- Secured nearly $250,000 in grants, including to purchase technology to better serve students who don't have home Internet access, to completely refurbish a welding lab, and to feed students through school lunch program; she also provided funds to local middle school for their breakfast program.
- Headed a committee to bring provincial Skills NB competition to the school: students competed in areas such as cooking, sewing, carpentry, welding, electrical and automotive; Stacey recruited community judges for each category, sourced materials and equipment, and recruited volunteers to make it happen.
- Recognized by the New Brunswick Teachers Association with a teacher recognition award, the Town of Sussex with a community volunteer award, and the school's staff and students with a school-wide award.
- Provides exceptional support to each year's graduating class, helping them with team-building events that develop a sense of family among the grads, seeking donations of prom dresses for grads who can't afford one, and working with students to organize class fundraisers and help students contribute in other ways.
Get in touch!
Sussex Regional High School
55 Leonard Drive
Sussex NB E4E 2P8
506-432-2017
Lori-Ann.Lauridsen@nbed.nb.ca; sussexhigh.nbed.nb.ca/
Twitter: @sussex_regional