SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 73
“T-Rex” Teacher Librarian Inspires Students to Thrive Through Goal-setting

In the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan, our District Mission is to provide learning opportunities and environments that inspire students to thrive. Recently, Ms. Wendy Cachelin, Library Assistant at Aberdeen Elementary School, reflected on her experiences with the teacher/librarian, who is new this year at their school. Her name is Amanda Therrien, (Erin) but Ms. Cachelin said, "We all call her T-Rex', here at the school (staff and students) because this is her nickname from students at Brock Middle School from 2011."

Ms. Cachelin explained, "Erin was on the National Swim Team of Canada for ten years, from her teenage years, and she qualified to attend the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece! When she went to the Olympics, her specialty stroke was the backstroke. She devoted many years to the sport and has many wonderful memories of swimming around the world for Canada."

T-Rex currently is sharing all of her experiences with our classes here at Aberdeen. Specifically, she teaches "goal setting" and how important it is to have goals in life and the road to achieving those goals. She relates all of her experiences with her own goals and how it all led to her becoming an Olympian. She does a slide show of her swimming for Canada and talks about her successes and failures over the years. She teaches the students about picking themselves up again after disappointments and how to persevere toward their dreams. She talks about having realistic goals versus those that would not be, and how the smaller ones can lead to the big ones. She wants the students to learn about how to make themselves better at whatever they choose to do in life, and she is bringing important life lessons to many of our classes. She truly cares about making a positive difference for our students.

"Our classes listen with intent and are very interested in her journey as an athlete. The ones that didn't know that she had been to the Olympics, are impressed to learn that one of their teachers actually did that. One even reminded her that he wanted an autograph as he signed out a book! She has promised to bring many of her medals to show the students and she proudly shows her Olympic ring, which has the five Olympic rings joined together! The students love seeing it!" shared Ms. Cachelin.

As T-Rex relays her journey, they start to talk about what their own hopes and dreams are, and what they hope to achieve in life. The goal-setting lessons are wonderfully taught when you have the real-life experience of having gone to the Olympics yourself!

T-Rex is a vibrant addition to Aberdeen this year and the students love her. She is a powerful teaching force and she brings with her, the strong work ethic that comes from many years of training as an athlete. She is always willing to help with anything and gives her best efforts in our school. It is a joy to work alongside a colleague who brings so much of herself to everyone who is a part of our school.

The students here are very fortunate to have her. They come through the library saying, "Hi T-Rex", daily and you can tell how much they all enjoy her.  

Biographical Note: That is my experience with working with Erin. Thank you, Wendy Cachelin, Library Assistant