Mac Olsen
Express Staff
@SmokyRiverExprs
Georges P. Vanier has three new teachers and a new wellness coach for the 2017/18 school year.
Here are their profiles and what motivates them to work with students.
Lindsay Lehman is the new art teacher for Grades 7-12.
Lehman is from Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. She completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree, comprising of Art and Art History, as well as Communication, Culture and Information Technology at the University of Toronto, and a Diploma in Studio Arts and a Certificate in Digital Communications from Sheridan College in Oakville. At Queen’s University in Kingston, she completed a Bachelor of Education.
Lehman taught a mixture of art and design courses in Kuwait for the last six years, to Grades 6-12, and she was also involved in the yearbook production process. She also worked as a supply teacher in Ontario prior to teaching in the Middle East.
Lehman always wanted to be a teacher and worked in graphic design at a newspaper outside Waterloo and she interned at a magazine company in Toronto. After that, she decided on teaching as her career.
Lehman has a passion for arts and culture and wants her students to build their skills and techniques, as well as their passion, to grow into budding young artists.
Brock Whalen teaches Band, Social Studies and High School Drama.
Whalen completed a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Music at the University of Saskatchewan. He volunteered to teach band clinics in Saskatoon.
Whalen covered for maternity leave in Peace River last year and GPV is his first full-time position.
Whalen is from Wetaskiwin originally and his high school band teacher instilled a sense of music in him, which led him into the education field. He wants to encourage students’ passion for music, and for it to grow inside and outside school.
Whalen has a strong affinity for the piano and his family is quite musical. He likes the complexity of music, as it forces you to solve problems.
Sara MacLachlan teaches English for Grades 10-12.
MacLachlan completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and a Bachelor of Education at the University of Calgary.
She was a substitute teacher for May and June in Calgary and GPV is her first full-time position.
MacLachlan’s mother is a teacher at the college level and an advocate for learning, which influenced her to get into the profession.
MacLachlan hopes her students acquire a passion for reading and become life-long learners.
For volunteer work, she was part of a Shakespeare by the Bow for one summer and she worked with a YMCA youth program for one year in Calgary.
Chelsea Hausler is the new wellness coach for Grades 7-12.
Hausler is from Edmonton originally and she completed her Diploma in Social Work at MacEwan University. She completed her Bachelor of Social Work at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C.
Hausler’s mother was a caseworker for persons with developmental disabilities, which gave her a desire to help others.
Hausler says her role provides an ability to advocate for others who aren’t able to do it for themselves.
She looks forward to working with students and staff, and to promote physical, mental and community wellness.
Volleyball teams are getting ready for action
The junior volleyball teams were being organized last week, while the senior teams are ready for action.
Look for photos and stories in the Sept. 27 edition of the Smoky River Express.