KENORA — Kindergarteners at Valleyview Public School have the benefit of a first-class teacher, if the prime minister’s teaching awards are anything to go by.
Kate Mays has been awarded a 2023 Prime Minister’s Certificate of Achievement for teaching excellence.
“I actually found out about (winning the award) late in the summer and was told to keep it under wraps,” Mays said Thursday.
The Lakehead University grad has been teaching for 18 years and is in her 11th year at Valleyview in Kenora.
She knew in the spring that she was being nominated for the honour. The school’s principal and some colleagues showed her the nominating papers which included letters of support by other educators and some parents.
“That meant a lot to me, that they took the time to fill out the nomination,” she said.
Keewatin Patricia District School Board announced Thursday, which was World Teachers Day, that Mays received the award.
A news release from the board quotes Valleyview principal Lisa Achilles as saying Mays is “an exemplary kindergarten teacher who fully participates in all aspects of the teaching profession, striving to fulfil the board’s vision statement of putting students first.”
The certificate is part of the annual Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching recognizing leadership, exemplary teaching practices and commitment.
Mays said there’s joy in teaching kindergarten.
“It's busy, but it's really neat helping kids at the beginning of their school career and just teaching them how much fun school is and how much learning they're capable of.
“It's always amazing to me, how much they absorb and how eager they are to learn and the things that they’re capable of.”
Mays is not the first person at her school to be honoured under the Prime Minister's Awards program.
Another Valleyview educator, Cheri Grandbois, received the Prime Minister’s Excellence in Early Childhood Education Certificate of Achievement in 2021.
Grandbois happens to be Mays’ early childhood education partner.
