ARCHIVED—Thomas St. Amand
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Year: 2008 – Province: Ontario
Certificate of Achievement Recipient
School: St. Christopher
Catholic Secondary School
1001 The Rapids Parkway
Sarnia, Ontario
N7S 6K2
Principal: Deborah Crawford
School Telephone: 519-541-1811
School Fax: 519-541-1814
School Email: ecolenda@csap.ednet.ns.ca
School Website: www.stchris.ca
Subjects and Grades Taught: English in Grades 9 to 12
Teaching Approach
- Show, don't tell is a good guiding principle both for writing and for teaching students to write.
- Describes his mandate as English teacher as teaching "the love of language, the joy of literature, and the tragedy of grammar."
Outstanding Achievements
- Uses hands-on learning in English class, to promote student interest. One lesson involving a bicycle pump and a tire, for instance, focused on the importance of giving very clear and specific instructions.
- One of the first teachers at the school to embrace the opportunities offered through teaching e-learning courses. Mr. St. Amand grasped that this new tool would be particularly useful for a school board with only three secondary schools because it would enhance accessibility of education.
Rave Reviews
"I believe that one of Mr. St. Amand's greatest attributes is the mutual respect that he has with the students within the school. This mutual respect has allowed him to be an innovator and experiment with his teaching practices with students always being willing participants." Superintendent
"I can't think of a subject more onerous to most high school students than English composition, and Tom handled even that with aplomb. He didn't simply teach the fundamentals; he tried to explain and integrate the lessons to the world we experienced around them." Former student