Melanie Beebe stands with students in the outdoor gardens at École Oriole Park Elementary

A recently retired teacher at École Oriole Park Elementary has been recognized at a national level for her excellence in teaching.

Melanie Beebe has received a Regional Certificate of Achievement from the Prime Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence in STEM. She was nominated by the school’s Principal Lori Irvine.

“It’s an absolute honour to be recognized,” said Melanie. “Many names belong on this award. I have to give many people credit for this award because I couldn’t have done it alone and without the support I had from admin, my colleagues, parents, students, and the community.”

Melanie, who retired last June, began her teaching career in 1992 in Edmonton before spending the last 13 years in Red Deer Public Schools. “I’ve worked with some incredible teams throughout my career who have created some rich learning environments for students,” she said.

Teaching was always something she knew she wanted to do after having experiences in the educational system following the completion of her Bachelor of Science in Psychology Degree.

“I have always loved kids. I love their energy, and I love that they just give,” said Melanie. “Something that was really important to me was to create a classroom that was safe and caring where students felt that I loved them.”

She said she was fortunate enough to spend many years of her career in a French Immersion setting.

“Giving kids the opportunity to learn a second language is a gift. It opens your mind to learning a whole new language and a new culture,” she said. “French Immersion is challenging as it adds a layer in education, but students learn to problem solve and to work as a team, so I think it adds a good layer. It gives them a gift at the end of their school career in that they can converse in a second language.”

Some highlights of Melanie’s career include the Rethink Red Deer Capstone Educational Program which saw students plant and harvest vegetables at the Capstone Gardens beginning in the spring of 2022.

“I think giving kids opportunities and experiences to do different things really helps them grow and learn,” she said. “I saw this as a really exciting opportunity outside of the classroom and it was something that was hands-on. I saw a real difference in my classroom when we started the gardening project. My classroom changed and the kids became really cohesive and became a team.”

The project received national recognition in that Melanie and her class won the Canadian Geographic Queen’s Jubilee Classroom Challenge grand prize for their community involvement in gardening and native plant research.

“All of these successes came about through teamwork and collaboration,” she said. “The food that we helped grow was donated to the Red Deer Food Bank and Mustard Seed. It was an adventure in global citizenship and community involvement.”

She was also instrumental in bringing the Northern Coding Academy to Oriole Park. The program, funded by the Government of Canada’s CanCode program and administered out of the Telus World of Science in Edmonton, saw online instructors guide students in a 10 week coding school.

“It was an incredible technology learning experience for all of my Grade 5 students and for myself. This project incorporated the Social Studies Canadian history curriculum, French Language Arts, English Language Arts and Math,” said Melanie. “Students learned to code video games with Makecode Arcade about historical figures and moments in Canadian history.”

For Lori, she said nominating Melanie for the prestigious award was a no-brainer.

“When a teacher steps up and goes that extra mile and looks for opportunities to connect students to the community like Melanie did through the Capstone Garden Project, and when you have a group of students who you want to do right by each and every day, that is what Melanie does, and that is deserving of recognition,” she said. “She ran a very respectful and rigorous classroom and taught her students first and foremost to be good human beings. Academics are very important, but Melanie wanted to ensure her students were good people in society, too.”