Prime Minister Praises Outstanding Science, 
Technology and Mathematics Teachers

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced the winners of the 1995 Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence in Science, Technology and Mathematics at a ceremony held today in their honour on Parliament Hill.

"Today we honour these outstanding school teachers for their commitment, innovations and invaluable contribution to Canadian youth," said Prime Minister Chrétien. "In classrooms across the country, educators are teaching our children the skills they will need to meet the challenges of the next century."

The Awards recognize elementary and secondary school teachers who have had a major, proven impact on student performance and interest in science, technology and mathematics. Helping students access a high-powered telescope via the Internet, experience a space walk simulator, or write scientifically-literate rap songs -- these are a few of the ways that remarkable teachers across the country have sparked their students' interest in science and math.

"Excellence in these areas is essential to building and sustaining a more innovative Canadian economy," said Industry Minister John Manley. "Teachers play a critical role in shaping students' attitudes and equipping them for the exciting career opportunities in the global knowledge-based economy."

Appropriately, the event honouring the national-level recipients took place during National Teacher Appreciation Week, an annual celebration of the contributions teachers make to Canadian students. Award recipients and guests at the ceremony were treated to a demonstration featuring teams of young people who are digitizing federal heritage collections and making them accessible on the information highway via SchoolNet.

During their stay in Ottawa, the national-level recipients discussed and exchanged their award-winning ideas in seminars with local teachers and education partners. National-level recipients and their schools will be hooked up to SchoolNet so that they can share their ideas on-line with teachers across the country.

This year's recipients were recognized for a variety of achievements in areas including community partnering, peer tutoring, mentorship and computer programs, and innovative course development.

Awardees received certificates signed by the Prime Minister and cash awards shared by recipients and their schools, with two-thirds allocated to the educator for professional and personal use and one-third to the school.

The selection committee received 246 nominations. From these, 106 teachers were chosen to receive awards (15 national, 28 regional and 63 local). Award recipients at the regional and local level will be honoured by Ministers, Members of Parliament, their principals, peers and students at events held across Canada. All recipients will also be recognized in Exemplary Practices, a collection of effective teaching methods designed to be shared with educators across Canada.

Brief descriptions of the award winners and their achievements are attached. Electronic copies of these descriptions are available on the Internet at gopher.schoolnet.carleton.ca or at our Web site at http://schoolnet2.carleton.ca. Information on the Prime Minister's Awards For Teaching Excellence in Science, Technology and Mathematics may be obtained through the Internet at pmawards@ic.gc.ca.

PMO Press Office: (613) 957-5555

Industry Canada: (613) 957-9554

National level recipients

Alberta

When a student at École Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Sherwood Park, Alberta, approached Rocque Richard with a broken toy vehicle, a lot more than that toy got started. Mr. Richard's Fix-It noon hours, during which students learn to use their problem-solving skills, is only one example of the many initiatives that he has launched to benefit Grade 5 and 6 students. Other projects have included developing an environmental education program and soliciting private-sector support for education.

British Columbia

Danielle Clermont has made extraordinary efforts to ensure that her students at Marlborough Elementary School in Burnaby, British Columbia, get hands-on experience putting scientific principles to work. Her Grade 4 classes regularly carry out such activities as building and launching rockets and comparing the density of bones from different animals. These activities occur as part of several integrated units that bring the sciences, language arts and other subjects together.

In addition to a solid science education, David Gabel offers three basic things to the students he teaches at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia: encouragement, challenge and praise. Mr. Gabel has always worked hard to provide more opportunities for physics students. He began with curriculum reform in 1973 and today continues to work on such projects as new text books, seminars and resource reviews.

Ivan Johnson firmly believes that the best way for his students at Burnaby South Secondary School in Burnaby, British Columbia, to learn is for them to teach as well. He uses cooperative learning strategies in which students work in pairs and help one another to learn rather than rely on the teacher for assistance. As head of the mathematics department, he has also worked to introduce computers into the classroom and has produced a significant improvement in student interest and achievement.

John Reily's efforts helped his fellow teachers at Pitt Meadows Elementary School in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, overcome a big challenge: implementing a new science program even though none of them had taught science before. Mr. Reily led the team that developed the Framework for Learning Activities-Based Science -- Hands-On (FLASH). Today, the local school district has 36 dedicated teachers who approach their science classes with new-found enthusiasm.

Aubry Farenholtz and Gordon Spann developed and then implemented a computer-based physics program for their respective schools, H.D. Stafford Secondary School and D.W. Poppy Secondary School, in Langley, British Columbia. The Technology Enhanced Physics Instruction (TEPI) program has greatly increased both interest and achievement among students at the schools. Mr. Spann and Mr. Farenholtz are now conducting a pilot project to introduce TEPI in other British Columbia schools.

Manitoba

Rudra Subedar, of Austin Elementary School in Austin, Manitoba, has spent his entire teaching career helping students succeed despite limited opportunities. Prior to teaching in Austin, Mr. Subedar helped a group of native students enter and do well in a regional science fair even though they didn't have a school at which to prepare their entries. Currently, Mr. Subedar is in the midst of a very successful campaign to build interest in sciences at his school.

Newfoundland

David Keefe decided to make sure the science education of his students at Menihek Integrated High School in Labrador City, Newfoundland, did not suffer because the school is in an isolated mining town. He has made the most of the resources available and taken advantage of funding from corporate sponsors to expose his students to a wide and varied science program; they have learned how science applies to everything from automobiles to model rockets.

Ontario

Parents of Rene Aston and Mary Storey's students at Central Park Public School in Markham, Ontario, were very happy when their children were introduced to a science program that is fun, but strong on basics. Ms. Aston and Ms. Storey teach an integrated program they developed that has students spending entire afternoons working on science, mathematics and technology. The program has proved to be especially beneficial for students who previously showed little interest in or aptitude for science.

Reni Barlow's former students at Churchill Heights Public School in Scarborough, Ontario, still talk about The Shreddies Submarine, The Singing Tube and The Mystery Bottle. These aren't the titles of the latest Goosebumps books, but the names of units for an inspiring and challenging science program Mr. Barlow instituted. Today, he continues to develop new teaching techniques, use hands-on learning and serve students with special needs at Heritage Park Public School, also in Scarborough.

Richard Clausi, the head of the mathematics department at Elmira District Secondary School in Elmira, Ontario, has long been an advocate of looking ahead and preparing for the future. He has spearheaded movements to introduce computers into the curriculum and to prepare for destreaming. To help teachers handle new destreamed report cards, for example, Mr. Clausi and his senior students created a special database into which teachers can easily enter marks.

André Ladouceur arrived at the Collège catholique Samuel-Genest in Ottawa, Ontario, with a mission to replace teaching by rote with more effective methods. He has used his time as head of the mathematics department to set up a program that helps students become independent learners by emphasizing comprehension skills and the connections between the concepts being taught. He is currently working on new evaluation methods and on introducing advanced electronic calculators into math classes.

At Lisgar Collegiate Institute in Ottawa, Ontario, Terry Prichett uses simulations to teach his students important concepts in mathematics, computer programming, physics and chemistry. Students have been exposed to computer-based community planning games in which they learn the multiple effects of decisions, and a space program that shows them how science can be applied to practical problems. Mr. Pritchett has, even during a period of financial restraint, expanded the space program to make it available to the entire school board.

Prince Edward Island

James Wicks' students at Bluefield High School in Hampshire, Prince Edward Island, get excited by his science classes -- even those who normally don't like science. Mr. Wicks not only gains students' interest, he also takes the time to prove to them that they have learned something each day. His physics students, for example, are given assignments that, although they don't initially appear to be related, help them to understand how the concepts they have just learned can be applied.

Quebec

Michel Goudreau and Danielle Umbriaco have set up a learning laboratory at École St-Joachim in La Plaine, Quebec. This new environment has helped build curiosity about science among the students and teaches them how to use a wide variety of learning tools. Since the laboratory was set up, interest in science has risen significantly among students at the school, and a number have gone on to take part in local science fairs.

Regional Recipients

Alberta

At Oilfields Junior/Senior High School in Black Diamond, Alberta, Marion Florence and Chris Hughes created several multimedia software programs that help students learn mathematics at their own pace. One of their programs, OHS STATISTICS, presents Grade 9 and 10 students with real-world problems. For example, after analyzing United Nations data, students are asked to decide which countries should receive financial assistance. The software guides the students through the basics, giving teachers time to answer difficult questions.

Stephen Jeans collected four computers for his Grade 7 and Grade 9 science classes at St. Stephen Elementary and Junior High School in Calgary, and 11 more that he found are shared among students and teachers. Mr. Jeans believes that a computer offers the motion and colour to make abstract scientific concepts easier to view and manipulate. Computers can, for example, explain the universal theory of gravitation in a fraction of the time it takes to explain it using a traditional medium such as a chalkboard.

British Columbia

Selwyn Lewis, the science department head at Vancouver Technical Secondary School, disagreed that students at his inner-city school could not meet high academic standards in physics. He insisted that standards should be raised, not lowered, and was proven right. More than 85 percent of students get credit for both Physics 11 and Principles of Technology, a course designed as an alternative to the traditional physics course.

Math teacher James Nakamoto is behind much of the success in math content of Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in Vancouver. It is the only public British Columbia school to win the Canadian mathematics competitions more than once -- Pascal and Euclid (1989) and Fermat (1995). The school has also been named provincial champion of these competitions more often than any other public school. Mr. Nakamoto, who has been developing curricula for many years, also shares his expertise with other teachers.

Stephen Taylor wants to invoke a higher order of thinking skill in his mathematics students at J.N. Burnett Junior Secondary School in Richmond, British Columbia. Every week, he gives students a word problem that can be solved in several ways. This not only encourages students to approach problems from different angles, but also builds communication skills. Mr. Taylor's problem-solving approach has now permeated the school's entire mathematics department.

Peter Vogel set up a Grade 12 physics course and created a computer science program from scratch at Notre Dame Regional Secondary School in Vancouver. Along the way, he introduced students to new challenges such as a bridge-building contest, which has proven extremely popular and successful at the school. As a result of his enthusiasm, more than half of Mr. Vogel's Grade 12 physics students go on to a career in engineering or a related field.

Manitoba

Mark Blieske brought the Internet to Selkirk, Manitoba. The Selkirk Junior High School technology education department head proved that the Internet and multimedia can be exactly the tools that poorly performing students need. Yet Mr. Blieske has also shown a sensitivity to the human side of technology. He has resisted other job offers because he believes that tomorrow's competitive workplace will depend on the resources spent and the effort made for students at the junior high school level.

Newfoundland

Allan Neil has consistently helped advanced math students at Bishops College in St. John's, Newfoundland, to fulfill their potential. Math teams coached by Mr. Neil have shown that Newfoundland can compete with the best schools from the rest of Canada: from 1991 to 1994, Bishops College was the provincial champion in the Grade 12 Euclid mathematics contest. This repeated success has resulted in the school being named to the Canadian Honours List of Mathematics.

Nova Scotia

Greg De La Lis' Grade 11 and 12 chemistry and physics students at J.L. Ilsley High School in Halifax not only stay after class, they're willing to stay there for 12 hours at a stretch. Mr. De La Lis organized a marathon class to raise money for the World Wildlife Rainforest Fund. With the help of local entertainers, scientists and community members, the school managed to raise $4 200. This environmentalism also extends to his classes' efforts to rejuvenate Halifax's MacIntosh Run, a river near the school.

Peter MacDonald, a chemistry teacher and the science department coordinator at Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford, Nova Scotia, sees his subject as a chance to improve students' critical thinking skills, since chemistry focuses on the scientific method of investigation. Mr. MacDonald tries to teach his Grade 11 and Grade 12 students not just the rules of chemistry, but also the process whereby chemical knowledge is discovered. One way he does this is by having students track recent scientific issues in the press.

Ontario

Raymond Bowers is a godsend to students at Bathurst Heights Secondary School in North York, Ontario, who are at risk of dropping out or who speak English as a second language. To teach these students, Mr. Bowers uses graphics and other visuals to make his points. As a result, students with special needs learn more and stay in school longer. Mr. Bowers has been sharing the secrets of his success at workshops. He was such a hit at the 1994 Science Teachers of Ontario Conference that he was asked to come back in 1995.

Pearl Bradd is sometimes called a "Pearl of Wisdom" at Riverside Secondary School in Windsor, Ontario, advocating as she does for her students, science and the environment. Her concerns are reflected in projects such as one in which students measure ultraviolet (UV) radiation behind the school. The results are noted on a poster that is updated daily. Students also prepared an information kit on UV radiation. It is this kind of dedication that won Ms. Bradd the Roberta Bondor Award for Educational Achievement in Science and Technology.

A huge banner in Katie Branovacki's classroom at Forster Secondary School in Windsor Ontario, says "Mathematics is enjoyed here". And her students do enjoy math. So much so that many willingly put in extra time to tutor younger students. Students who graduated in previous years sometimes return to help as well. Adult and junior students alike spend their lunch hours working to improve their math skills, all under Ms. Branovacki's supervision.

Allan Burston's mentorship program at Downsview Secondary School in North York, Ontario, has sparked enthusiasm for science among both secondary and elementary school students. Grade 12 and OAC students prepare labs for Grade 4 and 5 students. The younger students get excited about science by watching metals react violently with water and by learning to use microscopes. High school students increase their understanding of scientific concepts by researching and explaining them.

Diane Gervais has had a significant impact on elementary and secondary students and their teachers in northern Ontario from her home base at École secondaire MacDonald-Cartier in Sudbury, Ontario. As a mathematics, science and technology consultant for the Ontario Ministry of Education, she has developed a new science program for elementary students, integrated science, mathematics and technology into other subject areas, and created extra-curricular activities for students interested in science.

Walter Howard, the recently retired head of mathematics at Jarvis Collegiate Institute in Toronto, didn't want his students to fail at university. So he decided to give them university-level challenges in high school. The result was Jarvis' "double math" and "triple math" programs, which integrate two or three OAC-level mathematics courses into one class. Students take rigorous exams, and Mr. Howard helps them develop strong study habits. As a result, many go on to excel in mathematics at university.

Raymond Letheren assigns projects to his technology students at W.A. Porter Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, Ontario, that reflect his wide-ranging education: he has degrees and credentials in design, art history and philosophy. Assignments have included building a scale model of a medieval cathedral and designing a futuristic mass transportation system. These projects show students how to find and use knowledge from various disciplines, such as architecture, philosophy and environmental studies.

Robert McLeish's impact as a teacher extends far beyond the doors of J.S. Woodsworth Secondary School in Ottawa. Mr. McLeish is one of the main author's of an "Examplar Booklet" that has ensured that Grade 10 standards are applied uniformly throughout the local school board and that all students are subject to the same expectations. His hard work in these and other areas, such as planning the first Ontario Mathematics Olympics, has made him universally respected by faculty and students.

Every Christmas, Roberta Messinger's Grade 10 chemistry students at St. Matthew High School in Orleans, Ontario, experiment with the partial degradation of mixed polysaccharides with protein inclusions. The students simply call it the peanut brittle experiment. Another popular event is the crystal growing championship put on by the Chemical Institute of Canada, in which schools compete to grow the largest crystal. As Ms. Messinger says, "Students can only learn science from doing science."

Dalia Naujokaitis has pioneered the use of computers, interactive media and the Internet for effective learning within the Ottawa Roman Catholic Separate School Board, for which she is a special assignment teacher for gifted students. Students from 21 schools are bused to Ottawa's St. Elizabeth School, which is Ms. Naujokaitis's home base. Once there, they are introduced to her discovery-based teaching program that integrates science, mathematics, creative problem-solving, database management and Internet communications.

Alphonse Orlando, the head of the science department at St. Joseph-Scollard Hall in North Bay, Ontario, often finds physics problems for his classes in the movies. For example, Indiana Jones hopes to avoid setting off a trap by replacing a gold idol with a bag of sand of equal volume. As Mr. Orlando explains, "Which is more dense: sand, gold or Indiana Jones?" For another program, Mr. Orlando uses a video camera and VCR to create Phreeze Phrame Fisix, in which freeze-frame video footage helps illustrate physics principles.

Daniel Thorsley, the science and technology coordinator at the G.A. Wheable Centre for Adult Education, is part of the team that is bringing the Canada-Wide Science Fair to London, Ontario this year. Mr. Thorsley has been meeting with potential sponsors and producing a newsletter called Science2000, to raise awareness of science and technology in the London area. He also designed a computer program that shows how a lens works, and another for students to test the upper limits of their own hearing.

Robert Watt, of Centennial Public School in Ottawa, believes that technology should fit the student rather than the other way around. And he's not afraid to ask for corporate help to get the tools he needs. For example, one of his students had a serious speech impediment. Mr. Watt found multimedia that could help with therapy, and the student's speech and language skills soon began to improve dramatically. The communication disorder also became less of a barrier to the child's education.

As a Grade 2 and 3 teacher at Bala Avenue Community School in York, Ontario, Geoffrey Winship regularly used the skills he picked up while working as a demonstrator at the Ontario Science Centre. His students learned fractions by doing Japanese paper folding; discovered problem-solving through chess; and studied astronomy during stargazing evenings. And, at Mr. Winship's invitation, 30 adults visited the school to explain how they use science in their jobs. Mr. Winship now teaches Grade 4 at Fairbank Memorial School.

Charles Wolfe set up a program that allows students at Collège catholique SamuelGenest in Ottawa, Ontario, to concentrate their efforts in the sciences throughout high school. He draws students in by focusing on their science and technology-related interests and then provides them with progressively more challenging subject matter each year from Grade 9 to Grade 12. Mr. Wolfe previously won the Roberta Bondar Award for Educational Achievement in Science and Technology.

Quebec

Students in Yvon Lapointe's Secondary 5 (Grade 11) physics classes at Polyvalente SainteThérèse in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, are expected to learn the qualitative aspects of science as well as the quantitative ones. Students can become very good at problem solving, Mr Lapointe explains, without ever really grasping the concepts behind the physics they are using. To remedy this, the students often participate in practical demonstrations that show the relationship between the numbers on the textbook page and reality.

Claude Ménard was the right man for the job when École secondaire Joseph-Charbonneau, a Montreal school for students ages 13 to 21 with multiple disabilities, needed a new laboratory. For 15 years now, thanks to Mr. Ménard's efforts, the Montreal school has been able to deliver a full lab program in physics, biology, chemistry and other subjects to its students whose movements are limited by disabilities such as muscular dystrophy, spina bifida and paralysis.

Suzanne Turcotte, of École polyvalente de l'Érablière in Gatineau, Quebec, has been a resource person for science students and teachers throughout the local school board. She conveys her love and enthusiasm for science to all she helps. Over the years, she has led her school's science club and supervised many science fair projects, including those on subjects as varied as medicine and nuclear science, space garbage, microwave technology and nutrition.

Local Recipients

Alberta

Margaret Dart's students at Dr. Elliott Community School in Linden, Alberta, don't study in a vacuum. They learn how science and technology relate to their village of 400 people and to the larger world. Ms. Dart teaches career and technology courses, as well as science and computer science at the school. In one of her innovative programs, "Bridging the Gap," Grade 8 students help adults who have no computer experience to learn basic computer skills.

In Strathmore, Alberta, principal Douglas Erickson takes his students at Brentwood School birdwatching. Back at the school, Grade 4 students become "creature keepers," as they tend to the animals who make their home in Mr. Erickson's classroom. These are just two examples of Mr. Erickson's hands-on approach to teaching, which was a large part of Brentwood's response to the provincial government's new science curriculum.

British Columbia

Terry Bateman's students at Aldergrove Elementary School in Aldergrove, British Columbia, are quite a mix. Some are gifted, while others have learning disabilities. All of them enhance their learning with HyperCard, a multimedia software package. One project had groups of students use HyperCard in their study of different aspects of the Fraser River. In the process, students learned useful computer skills, and more traditional research, language and organizational skills.

A strong advocate of young women in pursuit of science careers, Maria King teaches Grade 5 students at Corpus Christi School in Vancouver. As the school year progresses, she watches children warm to science after field trips, guest speakers and such hands-on experiments as dissections. These activities bring science into the classroom and within the real-life perspective of Ms. King's students.

Visitors to Susan Kovach's class at Walnut Grove Secondary School in Langley, British Columbia, had better be prepared to duck. Ms. Kovach regularly resorts to throwing things, such as coloured balls, to demonstrate difficult scientific ideas. She has carried this "learn science by doing science" approach into a variety of areas, including having her class adopt a nearby stream and work to return it to a state such that salmon will begin using it again for spawning.

A former student clearly remembers Zaitun Mahedi's science classes at Crofton House School in Vancouver. She describes "ravenous faces eager to absorb more fascinating knowledge." Ms. Mahedi has a knack for making science, and in particular biology, relevant to her classes. One lab has students draw the face of their own future babies by comparing their own phenotypes and genotypes to those of ideal future husbands.

Daniel Major's students at West Bench Elementary School in Penticton, British Columbia, use computers daily for assignments in language arts, science, math and social studies. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, in a drop-in program Mr. Major founded, students share their knowledge with their parents in the school's computer lab. Mr. Major, who is the school's computer coordinator and a Grade 5 teacher, has received district, provincial and national awards for his work.

For three days each year, Philip Mendez's students at Cariboo Hill Secondary School in Burnaby, British Columbia, live and breath calculus at his home. Billed as a "retreat," this concentrated study session helps students prepare for their Advanced Placement exam. It works, too. Mr. Mendez's students regularly score better on the tests than the provincial average. His approach has spread to Advanced Placement programs in chemistry, biology and physics at the school.

The girls at Ballenas Seconda