Thank you. Mr. Speaker. I want to take the occasion today to speak about Education Week, and we draw attention to the people at the heart of our education system, our teachers. While the Weledeh riding can’t claim to have a monopoly on teaching excellence, we do boast some of the very best and I’ll name just a few.
Amanda Mallon’s career is a catalogue of achievement: 22 years as a teacher, past president of the NWT Teachers’ Association, four time Canadian Teachers’ Association vice-president, winner of the NWTTA’s Cliff King Award, YK Education District No. 1 executive and committee memberships. There isn’t time to mention them all.
Angela James, the principal of the K’alemi Dene School in Ndilo has been repeatedly recognized for her superb contributions to education: Canadian Association Principal of the Year in 2009, named one of that association’s outstanding principals the previous year and truly the driving force of K’alemi Dene’s remarkable success story.
Eileen Erasmus, also at K’alemi Dene School, is a winner of this year’s Prime Minister’s Certificate of Excellence in Education. Her devotion to improving the lives and education of at-risk students and in enriching the vitality of Weledeh culture make her a model of dedicated community leadership.
Mindy Willett has lived and taught across the North, shared her rich experience through educational consulting and contributed to the literature of the North through her authorship and community engagement. Her leadership role in Canadian Youth Abroad and the Arctic Youth Abroad programs is exemplary.
Mary Rose Sundberg is an honoured pioneer in interpreting/translating skills development and certification and has recently expanded the community-based delivery of aboriginal language education through the creation of the Goyatiko Language Society based in Ndilo. A local advocate for aboriginal language enrichment, she was a key participant in the recently developed Languages Strategy.
Mr. Speaker, Helen Balanoff, heading up the NWT Literacy Council; Scott Willoughby leading the On-the-Land Program at Sir John; Barb Cameron at Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. These are just a few of the people who, one by one, build our future by building the education of our youth. I ask you to join with them in saluting their achievements and those of all educators in Weledeh riding and across the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
