Last June the SMUS Junior School said warm goodbyes to beloved Kindergarten teachers Caitlin Barnes and Tawnya Mullen, both relocating to Toronto and Calgary, respectively. With the start of a new school year just around the corner, SMUS spent the week leading up welcoming new staff and faculty and this year that included welcoming an expert trio who will lead some of the school’s youngest learners.
The two kindergarten classes will welcome teachers Jean Hollingworth (’98) and Katie McNeil, who will work closely with primary associate teachers Kathleen Cullen, who is returning, and Shayna Arscott, new this year.
Familiar faces and full circles
Ms. Hollingworth and Ms. McNeil are no strangers to each other, as in past teaching roles crossed over at Christ Church Cathedral School (CCCS) as teaching colleagues. The pair will get a chance to work even closer together in their new roles at SMUS.
“I am really excited about these new wings and looking forward to collaboration teaching because that is something that I have been looking for,” said Hollingworth. “I am excited about the creativity that will come out of working with this group. I have been feeling that has just woken up for me and I’m so driven by that right now.”
It’s even more full circle for Hollingworth who started as a day student at SMUS, graduated in 1998 and is currently a house parent. Now her SMUS ties go a little deeper as she gets to work as a primary teacher impacting one of the most transformative years of a student’s life.
The perfect blend of experience
While Hollingworth does bring experience from her teaching in New Zealand, it is McNeil who bring the breadth of international experience. McNeil recently came back to Victoria after two years teaching in Croatia and that followed three years at CCCS and 15 years teaching in Dubai.
“Teaching internationally has given me rich cultural experiences, fostered my adaptability, and enhanced my global perspective. It has allowed me to grow both personally and professionally while making a positive impact on the lives of children in different parts of the world,” reflects McNeil about teaching around the globe before noting one similarity. “But five-year-olds are the same all over the world – full of joy.”
McNeil’s overall approach has rarely wavered as she highlights her approach as hands-on learning, playing and having a joyful classroom. She also loves to sing songs and tell stories.
That theme marries well with fellow newcomer Arscott.
“I just love to have fun, love to play and I love being creative and just being a part of the learning,” described Arscott, who joins SMUS after teaching in Grand Forks in the Kootenays.
Arscott is no stranger to the Victoria community having done her undergraduate degree at the University of Victoria just up the hill. After working in a smaller town, Arscott is excited to learn from the experienced McNeil and Hollingworth and also highlighted her eagerness to teach in the beautiful spaces at the SMUS Junior School.
“It’s absolutely beautiful and it is a dream to work in a space like that,” highlighted Arscott. “It’s bright and there are so many resources. The classroom is the third teacher and it’s right there. It can be the most magical place.”
A life-long learning community
“I’m really looking forward to being part of (the SMUS) community because it is such a warm, welcoming community of life-long learners,” added McNeil. “I’ve taught in many international schools and I grew up in an international school and this school has that feel too because there are people from all over that we get to work with.”
“I always feel like SMUS is moving forward, too. They don’t stay stagnant."
Point and case is last week, the SMUS Junior School welcomed over 60 early learning educators and leaders for a Reggio-Inspired Summer Institute. A two-day workshop featuring some of the West Coast Reggio Network’s most inspiring leaders set the stage for what is to come.
“The Reggio conference we just went to before school started was so inspiring to do before the school year starts,” said Hollingworth with an infectious energy. “It brought back a lot of connections from when I taught in New Zealand so I’m excited to bring that in to play too.”
Junior School educators got to learn and play with their peers and were inspired to take their learning in to practice. The Reggio approach is based on the ‘image of the child’ and the belief that children are capable, competent and the constructors of their own knowledge and understanding.
Both Kindergarten classes will feel those benefits in just under a week’s time as the Junior School gets set for the first day of School on Sept. 4.
