Teachers

Ms. Cruickshank

Laura Cruickshank is a teacher in Calgary, Alberta who works with a diverse population of gifted learners.  Some of her interests include: experiential learning, incorporating student voice into her teaching, and hands-on and interdisciplinary projects.  As a new teacher, she hopes to continue to work with and support all types of learners while developing meaningful and memorable learning opportunities for her students.  She values an open and communicative classroom where students are comfortable and willing to take risks in their learning and share their opinions while contributing to the design of their learning tasks and classroom experiences.  Previously, Laura taught students who are learning from home and enjoyed how current circumstances provide a unique opportunity for connecting with learners in new and innovative ways.

Ms. Lai

Heather Lai has been an educator for over 20 years and has taught in a variety of settings. Some of her interests are in the following areas: outdoor education, learning through inquiry with an integrative approach, the practice of Reggio Emilia, collaborative Design Thinking, and Executive Function skill development.  Over the years, she had many partnerships with different interest groups where she shared and presented to a diverse audience.  Currently, she is a middle school teacher and her practice focuses on the education of the gifted, with a content specialization in math and science.  She values an inside out approach to teaching where students share their learning and voice.

Mlle Marceau-Briggs

As a teacher, I love when I successfully find a way for students to engage in their learning creatively and innovatively, but I am even more thrilled when they take initiative and come up with ideas! I have volunteered to support students in this project because I am a lifelong environmentalist who strives to reduce, reuse, recycle and find ways of living well while limiting my impact. Over the years, my curiosity about world cultures and appetite for the outdoors have led me to discover many ways people from around the planet live more sustainably and more affordably. I hope this project is just the beginning of an adventure for our students, one in which they lead us to think and act differently about our use of resources. 

Ms. Spencer

Danielle Spencer is a teacher here in Calgary Alberta, and currently a generalist in a grade 5 classroom. She is a specialized teacher in a school for gifted and twice exceptional learners. Her interests in education focus around innovation, creativity, integration, and social emotional learning. She has been working in education for 17 years teaching grades 5-9, all core subjects. Also science and technology, photography and epistemology. She has also had a role in student services working as a learning strategist and developing plans for student success in the class. Currently, Danielle is working on her masters degree in the “Classroom Specialist” stream through the Queens University.  In her class, Danielle enjoys problem and project based learning, Socratic Seminars, STEM challenges, robotics, programming, and simulations, encouraging risk taking and team work.