On the evening of June 2, Kira Romans of École Notre Dame School was recognized by the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) as one of two zone 2/3 recipients of the Edwin Parr Award, which is given annually to exceptional first-year teachers from six zones across the province.
Ms. Romans, who began working in kids' summer camps at just 12 years old, said she has always known she was destined for a career working with children. When she reached high school, she realized she wanted to achieve this as a teacher.
"I've always been told that I'm kind of a kid magnet, and I feel one of the reasons why I was put on this Earth is that God gave me the gift to work with kids. It was what I was passionate about and what I really felt I could see myself doing for the rest of my life," Ms. Romans explains.
Between the COVID-19 pandemic, students with special learning considerations, and a dual role as both a Kindergarten and Fine Arts teacher, Ms. Romans says navigating the ropes as a first-year teacher was both exceptionally challenging and highly rewarding.
"The first year challenged me even more than I expected, but I received a lot of support and I love my job so much. Despite all the chaos, I look back and I wouldn't change a single moment of it because it has made me a stronger person, a better teacher, and it has pushed me in the best way possible," she says.
While École Notre Dame School Principal Monique Tellier-Phillips agrees that Ms. Romans had a challenging first year, she says the young teacher's enthusiasm and passion for helping children learn bubbles into every day and is highly evident in her classroom.
"Her reflective and inquisitive nature has led to a year of well-founded, intelligent teaching practices that the children have benefited from. Without a doubt, Kira is an outstanding first-year teacher that is most deserving of an Edwin Parr Award," Ms. Tellier-Phillips says.
Ms. Romans says she was humbled to be nominated for the Edwin Parr Award alongside so many talented and passionate educators, and that learning she was a winner was a surreal but amazing feeling. During her ceremony speech, she likened the past school year to a roller coaster of ups and downs and twists and turns.
"I feel I've spent a lot of the last year in the loop de loop," she laughs. "But when you get off the roller coaster and you look back at it, you see all the uphill climbs, the down drops, and the loop de loop. You look back on it all and you say, I would do that again.' That's what my year has been."
Based in central Alberta, Saint Thomas Aquinas Roman (STAR) Catholic School Division represents 12 schools that serve the communities of Beaumont, Drayton Valley, Lacombe, Leduc, Ponoka, and Wetaskiwin. The STAR Catholic Schools team of teachers and support staff are committed to giving more than 4000 students across our division every opportunity to achieve their potential in a caring, safe and Christ-centred environment.
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