I stayed at the Colony for four years, serving as Team Leader for the Colony Team for the final year before moving into a Learning Coach role. This position had me travel to various schools throughout the school division to support teachers while they learned new or perfected old strategies and tools for technology integration and literacy instruction in the classroom. During the two years, this role existed as full-time in our division, I greatly expanded my personal toolbox while supporting other teachers. My most significant learning has been in the realm of EdTech (education technology) as well as various literacy assessments, interventions, and programs. 

After leaving the role of Learning Coach, I spent three years teaching at Rimbey Elementary, first teaching a 5/6 split, then grade 6. Being in a "regular" classroom full-time allowed me to further build my skills as an educator and discover and learn new technology tools that work well at this grade level. I also loved being part of a great team of educators who support each other. Fortunately, I could still participate in the EdTech community by running workshops and presenting sessions at various conferences throughout Alberta.

 The COVID-19 pandemic opened the door to a new position: Lead Teacher for At-Home Learning (K-6) in Wolf Creek Public Schools.  In this role, I led a small group of teachers through preparing, delivering, and monitoring digital at-home learning materials for all elementary students whose families chose to keep them home. It was a unique challenge and opportunity that I thoroughly enjoyed. Working primarily from home, all of my contact with students and families, and the great majority of contact with staff, was either over the phone or through digital means. In this role, I was responsible for preparing digital learning content for Grades 4-6 in LA and Math and Grade 6 Social and Science while supervising 3 part-time teachers as they created learning materials for K-3 LA and Math and Grades 4 and 5 Social and Science. Additionally, I managed and delegated regular weekly contact with all families and the transitioning of students in and out of the Virtual Learning program. The role shifted to become a Department Head for At Home Learning through Lacombe Outreach School, still working with elementary-aged virtual students but with a much smaller team and client base.  

In 2022, when the threat of COVID-19 was greatly reduced, the demand for an elementary virtual program considerably dwindled. I was lucky enough to be able to return to Rimbey Elementary School, once again teaching grade 6. I committed to acting admin when needed, which turned out to be quite a bit in the first few months of the year. I stepped into the Acting Assistant Principal position for two weeks in October while our Principal had to be away. This allowed me to gain a reasonably strong insight into what the admin role looks like in our school, and it was an opportunity to build stronger relationships with some of my co-workers as I was able to help support them and their students.

 My children are now 17, 19, and 21 and have all become kind, caring people who are very busy in their lives. We recently moved out of the town of Rimbey to an acreage nearby. Our oldest children are now on their own but come home often. We love having our own space to snowmobile, toboggan, boat, and just relax.