Botha School's Melissa Burton has been selected by the Clearview Board of Trustees as the 2016 Alberta School Board Association (ASBA) Zone 4 Edwin Parr Teacher Award according to a statement released by the Clearview Public Schools on Tuesday, March 1.
"The Edwin Parr Award is a real honour to be nominated for as it gives appreciation to first year teachers and encourages them to become even better," said Melissa Burton. "I feel very honoured and privileged to have been nominated for the Edwin Parr Award, it is really gratifying to see that people recognize what you do in your classroom and can see all the extra work you put in to make the students' year more successful and fun."
It is easy to see the efforts Burton has taken to transform her kindergarten classroom into a colourful and creative learning hub for her kids.
"Melissa is a terrific candidate for the Edwin Parr Award as she embodies all the qualities we look for in a first year teacher," said Peter Barron, superintendent of Clearview Public Schools. "We wish her all the best at the next stage of this competition and for the rest of the school year."
According to the statement, Burton was nominated for this prestigious award because she has an excellent understanding of her students' learning preferences and plans accordingly.
"I use a lot of centre-based learning in my kindergarten classroom and I make most of my activities into centres, which seems to disguise learning into fun activities while reaching our Alberta curriculum outcomes," explained Burton. "My students' also gain a lot of one on one time with me, so they think they are always playing but love learning at the same time."
According to Burton, her method works because of her small class size, which might not work in larger classes.
"Being able to give more one on one with my students means they receive more help reading to me every day and I also try to spend one on one time working on their writing," added Burton. "The one thing I want to do more of is craft. I am still a bit of a control freak that likes perfect crafts, but am slowly letting go of the control and letting kids' creations come out as they make them."