Hi there!
Before I introduce myself I would like to acknowledge the Indigenous land of Treaty 7--the Siksika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Blood), Piikani (Peigan), Stoney-Nakoda, and Tsuut’ina (Sarcee)--that I grew up on and completed my university education on.
My name is Kate Lawless. I grew up in Banff, Alberta! I lived there all my life, until I moved to Lethbridge in 2015 to attend the University of Lethbridge. I have specialized for Early Childhood Education and my major is general humanities with my three streams being English, Music, and Religious Studies.
Before I introduce myself I would like to acknowledge the Indigenous land of Treaty 7--the Siksika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Blood), Piikani (Peigan), Stoney-Nakoda, and Tsuut’ina (Sarcee)--that I grew up on and completed my university education on.
My name is Kate Lawless. I grew up in Banff, Alberta! I lived there all my life, until I moved to Lethbridge in 2015 to attend the University of Lethbridge. I have specialized for Early Childhood Education and my major is general humanities with my three streams being English, Music, and Religious Studies.
Growing up, I was in an elementary school of 350 students from Kindergarten to Grade 6, and a high school of 300 students for Grades 7 to 12. Being in such small schools, I was able to have a very personal, and close relationship with my teachers. I have experienced first-hand the necessity of creating relationship within the classroom. Had I not trusted my teachers to express my struggles I may not have ever received extra help throughout my education journey. The one-on-one help I was able to receive made my school experience amazing and motivated me even more to pursue a degree in education.
Throughout my K-12 experience in Banff I was lucky enough to experience place-based learning. Being in the mountains and in a national park my school always encouraged and facilitated outdoor activities as much as possible. This was in the form of field trips dedicated to exploring different local areas, yearly school hike days, activities throughout the community and more. Some of my fondest memories of K-12 were the outdoor activity days. I hope to incorporate place-based learning as much as possible in my PSIII and beyond for my future students.
Throughout my K-12 experience in Banff I was lucky enough to experience place-based learning. Being in the mountains and in a national park my school always encouraged and facilitated outdoor activities as much as possible. This was in the form of field trips dedicated to exploring different local areas, yearly school hike days, activities throughout the community and more. Some of my fondest memories of K-12 were the outdoor activity days. I hope to incorporate place-based learning as much as possible in my PSIII and beyond for my future students.
Prior to attending university, I took two years off to travel. My first year traveling, I went to Thailand for 3 weeks and Australia for 1 month. The following year I went through Southeast Asia for 4 months! I spent time in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore. This was an incredible experience for me and helped me become independent. I also volunteered in multiple schools and orphanages while traveling. Meeting and playing with kids from all types of backgrounds was incredibly eye-opening for me
I have had numerous volunteer experiences within schools, mostly elementary schools. During high school I volunteered in my local kindergarten classroom twice a week. This experience helped affirm that I wanted to pursue a career in education, specifically early childhood education. Reflecting back on this experience I was more of a friend than authority figure within the class, however it helped me understand that trust and relationships are very important to students. In my future teaching I hope to create a classroom that has healthy relationships while also behavioural boundaries.
I completed my PSI fall 2018. I was placed in a Grade 6 classroom in Lethbridge and loved every minute of it. The jump from Ed2500 in Grade 2 to PSI was great, as it allowed me to be more interactive with students and be their teacher, not simply a helper. During my PSI I taught a LA novel study unit on The Breadwinner, which was a great opportunity. I absolutely loved being in a Junior High, and was given the opportunity of being an assistant-coach with the development Basketball team. My PSI helped me realize the importance of relationships. I was a bit nervous to be in Grade 6, as unlike younger grades where students are quicker to welcome a new face into their classroom. Ensuring I focused on relationship building prior to jumping into lessons allowed me to develop better classroom management and ensure I was creating a classroom that students felt welcome. The relationships I formed within the 5 weeks of PSI genuinely surprised me. I did not think I would be able to connect with over 60 students so quickly and deeply. My PSI experience is something I look back on often to remind me to the importance of relationship building in the classroom.
Spring 2019 I completed my PSII teaching Grade 2/3 Montessori at Fleetwood Bawden Elementary in Lethbridge. This experience helped affirm my desire to specialize for Early Childhood Education prior to entering PSIII. I enjoyed and valued every moment of being in this classroom and school. During my time at Fleetwood Bawden I had the chance to teach a Language Arts poetry unit and two Math units, one measurement and one on fractions. During this practicum I also experienced a classroom that worked collaboratively with the other teachers also teaching that grade. Each week I was part of the Grade 2/3 team meeting and was able to form meaningful connections with the other Grade 2/3 teachers. Being part of this school community was an amazing experience and I cannot wait to enter my PSIII internship.
The two full semesters and one summer semester I took after my PSI and PSII were some of the most helpful courses I had taken throughout my degree. After completing PSI and PSII I was able to recognize my strengths and areas I wished to grow. English Language Arts in the Elementary School, Issues in Native Education, Curriculum and Instruction for Science non-majors, Literacy and Learning in Early Childhood Education. All these courses were not necessary for my major but I chose to take, as I believed they would positively impact my future teaching. Having the extra semester to complete additional courses was something that has benefited me, as I have had the chance to choose classes based solely on interest.
Prior to beginning my PSIII internship in Calgary, I was working in Lethbridge at Bridges Consulting as a Level 2 behaviour coach for children with cognitive and physical disabilities, including but not limited to, Autism, ADHD, ODD, down syndrome, visual impairments, hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, dandy walker syndrome and diverse behavioural needs. Through this job I create and form relationships with children between the ages of 4-17. I worked with children with diverse needs one-on-one in social skills group programming. I also provide respite care for children and their families. As the Level 2 behaviour coach I was responsible for creating and leading daily teaching interactions, taking and totalling data, training new staff and assisting with behavioural intervention. This job has taught me about inclusivity and I plan to take these learned skills into my future teaching career as best I can!
Some of my hobbies are reading, embroidery, knitting and walking my dog. One of the best ways to form and build relationships in the classroom is to share hobbies and interests. I believe it is important to be a consistent, excited and confident adult in a room full of children. One of the best ways to create a fun and welcoming classroom are to share interests, using a friend FILE. f=friends and family, I=interests, L=likes and dislikes, E=experiences. Using a friend file is a common activity I did at my job when new kids come into social skills programming. Sharing one fact about yourself can be all a child needs to feel comfortable and begin a conversation with their peers or myself. This is something I hope to bring into my future classroom to create a welcoming community where students are excited to share! The picture to the left is a pic collage I made for my Curriculum and Instruction in Early Childhood Education. Using pic collage to create a photo that explains who you are is a great way to integrate technology as well as introduce yourself to students. I hope that this picture, along with all my information, has helped you get to know who I am!
For my PSIII Internship I was placed at Queen Elizabeth Elementary School, QES, through the Calgary Board of Education, CBE. This was an incredibly rewarding experience, and a very unique experience, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the new restrictions schools had to implement. I taught all subjects in my Grade 1/2 class under my teacher mentor, Joy Coutts. My Grade 1/2 class consisted of 18 students; 11 Grade 1’s and 7 Grade 2’s. This class had a variety of skill levels, due to the combined grade classroom, as well as Covid-19 shutting down schools in March. Students entered Grade 1 and 2 with only six months of their previous grade completed in person. The levels of engagement online were different depending on the student, and this was something I needed to take into consideration early on. Prior to beginning to teach academic lessons, ensuring students’ social and emotional needs were met was crucial. Students were entering school with completely new protocols, routines and expectations and many expressed they felt nervous about this. My main goal in the beginning few weeks was to ensure students felt safe and comfortable in their classroom, and were able to understand why these precautions were necessary and how they could keep themselves and each other safe. One of my strategies early on in my internship was to be extra excited about all of the new changes while in front of the students. Telling them how exciting it is that they get their own desk and their own school supplies just like an adult made the transition easier for them, as they were excited to be like their parents who may also have their own desks or offices! Creating relationships with other teachers and the other students I was able to meet and work with for a short period of time made me feel more confident and part of the school! I consistently made an active effort to be as involved in the school as possible. I attended every planning day, PD day and every staff meeting. I attended and participated in parent teacher interviews, IPP writing and ELL benchmark assessments. These were all experiences that helped me learn different skills I will need when I have my own classroom.
My Personal Inquiry Project, PIP, question was: how can Blackfoot Values be used to incorporate FNMI content into the Early Elementary classroom in order to consistently teach Indigenous content to students while also teaching them valuable social and emotional concepts? Throughout my PSIII I introduced 5 different Blackfoot values to the students. These values were: kindness/compassion, respect, being independent, being grateful and being helpful. I was able to teach the kindness/compassion lesson to one of the other Grade 1⁄2 classes as well, which was a great way to meet some of the other students in the same grade level. I continued to share these lessons with the other Grade 1⁄2 teacher who used them in her class as well! It was great to see students excited to learn about a new culture and teach Indigenous content in a respectful and effective way to students.
My Personal Inquiry Project, PIP, question was: how can Blackfoot Values be used to incorporate FNMI content into the Early Elementary classroom in order to consistently teach Indigenous content to students while also teaching them valuable social and emotional concepts? Throughout my PSIII I introduced 5 different Blackfoot values to the students. These values were: kindness/compassion, respect, being independent, being grateful and being helpful. I was able to teach the kindness/compassion lesson to one of the other Grade 1⁄2 classes as well, which was a great way to meet some of the other students in the same grade level. I continued to share these lessons with the other Grade 1⁄2 teacher who used them in her class as well! It was great to see students excited to learn about a new culture and teach Indigenous content in a respectful and effective way to students.