Of the six persons new to the teaching staff of Victoria School in Kamsack, two are well known in the area, one as a bagpipe player, the other as a basketball coach; one was born in Poland; one is married to an occupational therapist; one was born and raised in Nova Scotia and one lives in Churchbridge.
The six teachers are: Keri Lindsay, Ken Paskewitz, Mike Woollard, Rebecca Gibbs, Barbara Johnson and Aleksandra Stankusz.
Also new to the staff are seven persons working as educational assistants. They are: Kyla Mines, Ashley Burback, Masako Knight, Andrea Marsh, Jenna Bowes, Kelly Salahub and Karen Koreluik.
Kari Thomas, who was the vice-principal last year, succeeds Jana Thomas as the school’s principal.
Keri Lindsay
Hired to teach Grade 3 students, Keri Lindsay has spent the last five years working as a Grade 1 teacher at Keeseekoose Chiefs Education Centre. Born and raised near
North Bay, Ont., Lindsay obtained a bachelor of education degree from Nipissing University in North Bay, a bachelor of arts degree from Laurentien University at Sudbury and a bachelor of religious education from the Prairie Bible Institute of Three Hills, Alta.
While in the area Lindsay has dressed in a Scottish kilt and played the bagpipes at a number of functions, including at Remembrance Day programs held by the Kamsack branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
A member of the Parkland Evangelical Free Church, Lindsay works with the church’s children’s program, has substituted as a Sunday School teacher and plans to hold a youth night once a month.
Living in Kamsack with a pet dog and two cats, Lindsay is an avid reader who enjoys playing board games, skiing and kayaking.
Ken Paskewitz
A native of Brandon, Man., Ken Paskewitz was hired to teach students in Grade 4.
A graduate of Crocus Plains High School in Brandon in 2001, Paskewitz obtained a bachelor of education degree from Brandon University in 2012 and then taught grades 5 to 8 students at a Hutterite colony near Winnipeg for a year and then Grade 6 students for a year at Fort Qu’Appelle.
He lives in Yorkton with his wife Kelsey, who works as an occupational therapist with the Sunrise Health Region.
A former hockey player, Paskewitz enjoys reading, watching television and hanging out with his wife.
Mike Woollard
Born and raised in Kamsack, the son of Tim and Maryann Woollard, Mike was hired on a half-time basis to teach physical education to all the students from Kindergarten to Grade 4.
A 1989 graduate of the Kamsack Comprehensive Institute, Woollard obtained bachelor of education and a master of education degrees from Minot State University and has spent 10 years coaching basketball in several colleges in Canada and the USA. The basketball team from the University of Northern B.C. at Prince George, which he coached, placed fourth at the national competition in 2008.
Woollard taught Grade 6 students and physical education for three years at the KCI about 10 years ago and worked at that school on a part-time basis last year, teaching grades 11 and 12 physical education.
Among Woollard’s plans is to set up a basketball academy for district students. He will also be helping to coach the KCI peewee football team.
Rebecca Gibbs
Born and raised in several communities in Nova Scotia, Rebecca Gibbs has been hired to teach Grade 3 students.
A graduate of Cobequid Education Centre in Truro, N.S., Gibbs obtained a bachelor of education degree in primary elementary education from Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s in 2012 and for the past two and a half years she taught students in multi-grade classes at Stony Rapids, which is near to the Saskatchewan/ Northwest Territories border.
A resident of Canora, Gibbs is learning how to sew. She says she loves to read and shares her home with two rescue dogs, Bailey and Java, which are husky-lab crosses, which she acquired while living in northern Saskatchewan.
Barbara Johnson
Born and raised in Lloydminster, Alta., Barbara Johnson is teaching Grade 1 students.
Johnson, who graduated from the University of Alberta with a bachelor of education degree in 2003, lives in Churchbridge with her husband Kevin, an engineer. She has one adult daughter who lives in Lloydminster.
After teaching Kindergarten and Grade 3 students in Lloydminster, she moved to Churchbridge after her marriage in 2004 and has been teaching pre-Kindergarten students at Hoffman Elementary School in Langenburg and high school students in Esterhazy.
A Ukrainian dancer in her youth, she enjoys baking and reading and has a keen interest in politics, especially watching the American political system.
Johnson began working at Victoria School in January and has been hired to replace Desiree Lorenzo, who will be on a maternity leave until the end of December.
Aleksandra Stankusz
Aleksandra Stankusz, who was born in Poland and raised at Oshawa, Ont., was hired to teach Grade 2 students.
A graduate of Monsignor Paul Dwyer High School in Oshawa, Stankusz received a diploma in early childhood education from Durban College in Oshawa in 2004, a bachelor of arts degree from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia in 2009 and a bachelor of education degree from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay in 2010.
Stankusz taught Grade 4 students at Dillon for three years, and then taught grades 1 and 2 students at Good Soil for a year and then last year taught Kindergarten and Grade 1 students at the Sturgis Elementary School.
A Polish folk dancer, she plays guitar and enjoys reading.
