Alexandra Winchester, visual arts teacher at East Three Secondary School, received a Prime MinisterSA国际影视传媒檚 Award for Teaching Excellence. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo
It was not even a minute into the interview when Alexandra Winchester rushed out of her seat to put a cap back on a Sharpie pen on a studentSA国际影视传媒檚 desk.
SA国际影视传媒�Sorry, teacher things,SA国际影视传媒� she said, before going back to saying how honoured she was to receive a Prime MinisterSA国际影视传媒檚 Award for Teaching Excellence.
SA国际影视传媒�I was shocked and honoured and humbled by it,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
Winchester has been teaching art in Inuvik for just over six years, having moved from New Brunswick for the job at the old Samuel Hearne Secondary School. She teaches Grade 7-12 visual arts and has recently brought in ceramic and theatrical makeup classes as well.
The Inuvik job was her first real gig in teaching.
SA国际影视传媒�I try to make it fun,SA国际影视传媒� she said of her teaching philosophy.
SA国际影视传媒�I want them to enjoy being in the classroom. I want them to feel like they can express themselves in the classroom, and I want them to learn at the same time. If I can bring all those things together, I think it makes for a successful classroom.SA国际影视传媒�
Chrissy Hvatum, one of her Grade 11 students, seems to think that approach is working.
SA国际影视传媒�She is very hardworking, but sheSA国际影视传媒檚 also fun about it, and she makes everybody laugh,SA国际影视传媒� said Hvatum. SA国际影视传媒淚 think she really deserved that award.SA国际影视传媒�
Winchester said sheSA国际影视传媒檚 lucky in the North to have such great support for arts initiatives.
SA国际影视传媒�You always hear about it being cut, especially in the States,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
SA国际影视传媒�If there are ideas or subjects or new things I want try, (East Three School) is really receptive to that. I value that up here, because I know that not everyone has the same resources that I can bring into my classroom, just because of the fact theySA国际影视传媒檙e open to letting me try different things, like the theatrical makeup and the ceramics.SA国际影视传媒�
Arts sometimes doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 get the same credit as subjects like science or math, but Winchester thinks the same creative thinking and problem-solving skills are used and developed in all of those subjects.
SA国际影视传媒�In ceramics, thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a lot of failure in the beginning, but if you push past that youSA国际影视传媒檒l find success, and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 something that translates into everyday life,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
Winchester also runs a biannual Art Travel Club trip out of the country to visit places with prominent art scenes, and she was instrumental in the creations of the Lights On! Drugs and Alcohol Off program that sees high school students hired as mentors for their junior peers.
She said she has no plans to quit on a high note and wants to see where some of the schoolSA国际影视传媒檚 arts programs can go in the future.
