Teachers have their own extracurricular activities. Some volunteer. Some write books. Others produce podcasts, create art or make music. Here are some endeavours undertaken by your colleagues “out there.”
Books
Jenna Greene
Lomond Community School, Lomond
jennagreene.ca
Heritage House Publishing
Demonstrating her love for telling stories, teacher Jenna Greene has written picture books and young adult novels. Her latest release, An Owl Without a Name, tells the tale of a juvenile great horned owl who searches for understanding and a name to call his own after being injured and taken to the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre. Greene, who has spent many years teaching middle school and now teaches a Grade 1/2 homeroom, encourages all her students to make magic with words.
Marcheta Titterington, Penny Smith, Karen Williams, Marcia Hicks, Valsa Peter, Lee Nagy
Substitute teachers, Calgary School Division
WestBow Press
Substitute teachers from the Calgary School Division have produced a special collection of stories and poems about their experiences subbing. A project initiated to honour the centennial anniversary of the ATA, the collection shares personal reflections that represent the new teacher, the career substitute teacher and the retired teacher returning to the classroom. This collection provides insight into the work of substitute teachers and celebrates their dedication and passion.
Music
Substitute teacher Laura Keith has channelled her passion for the fine arts into writing and performing eight songs for her album "Musical Sunshine," for which she uses the stage name Lori LeRose. For the album, Keith drew on her teaching experiences in the Northwest Territories and uses her music to capture the landscape, individuals and activities there. She is currently working on other artistic projects, including her second album, "Famous from the Woods." "Musical Sunshine" is available on YouTube and Spotify.
Laura Keith
Substitute teacher, Evergreen Catholic Separate School Division and St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Separate School Division
Facebook: Lori LeRose
Calista Lonsdale-Pangle’s love of music is evidenced by her work as music and band teacher, but also by her role as the new (and first female) director of the Red Deer Royals Concert and Marching Show Band, central Alberta’s only marching band for youth. In spring 2023, Lonsdale-Pangle’s work in the Red Deer music community, and specifically for the Red Deer Royals Marching Band, was recognized and featured by the Alberta Music Advocacy Alliance.
Calista Lonsdale-Pangle
G H Dawe Community School, Red Deer
Business
Barb Hazenveld, a career and technology studies and science teacher, spends her summer days running a family business, CoCreative Seeds. Hazenveld brings her expertise as a horticulturalist to the business, trialing seeds in the foothills to produce the best cold-hardy plants for veggies, herbs and flowers for people living in this tough growing climate.
Barb Hazenveld
CBe-learn, Calgary, AB
cocreativeseeds.com
| What’s new with you? If you’d like to make a submission for publication in Who’s Out There?, email a summary (50–75 words) to section editor Lindsay Yakimyshyn at lindsay.yakimyshyn@ata.ab.ca. |
