New Eaton School teachers Kailin Mayes, Adam Naismith and Kaitlyn Rohrke are brand new to the school. Missing from the photo are Joanie McLay and Steve Mealey, who have returned to teach in Eatonia.

Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

A total of five new staff members have started the year at Eaton School in Eatonia, and the school’s principal says everyone has started out on a good note.

“We’re off to a really good start this year,” said Lisa King, the principal, adding that the school’s returning staff members have been helping the newcomers. “We did have a number of new staff, so we had some team building activities.”

The school division has a mentorship program for new staff members, so the newcomers all have a mentor to lean on at the start of the school year, she said. The staff is continuing to work on a student mentorship program the school started last year, so the program will continue to be a focus at Eaton.

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She noted that the staff has spent time talking about the continuation of the mentorship program. She said the school’s Character Day on Sept. 26 would also be an important topic among the staff. The school also wants to work on community engagement and the culture within the school, King said.

The school has been working to create more flexible learning spaces for the students, she explained. The library has gotten a face lift and fresh paint has been applied to space in the high school portion of the building. It is an exciting time.

“Everybody was really excited to start the year,” the principal said, adding that the school starts the new year with 130 students and an open house was already held this past Monday. “When the students came our first week, it was a really great week.”

Four of the new staff members are teachers, and the fifth addition to the school’s staff is a new band director. Steve Mealey, a music teacher, has come out of retirement to teach the Grade 5 and Grade 6 band programs, along with the grades 8-12 concert band program.

Mealey, who came to Saskatchewan from Wisconsin several years ago, taught music programs at Eaton School for 30 years before he retired. With a passion for music and instilling a love for music in students, along with a desire to maintain a strong band program at the school, he was motivated to come out of retirement.

Kailin Mayes, who grew up in Saskatoon and completed her education at the University of Saskatchewan, will be teaching English to middle and senior grades, along with Grade 10 history and arts education to grades 8-9 students.

She noted that she is excited to meet new students and work in a K-12 school. Mayes has taught senior English at Kindersley Composite School and arts education at Dalmeny High School. The teacher added that her goals for the year are “to inspire a love for learning and guide students on their search for knowledge.”

Adam Naismith has lived in Moose Jaw, but his father was in the military and he moved around a lot growing up. He has receive a Bachelors degree in drama and education from the U of S. He will teach arts education, social studies, health and English to varying grades.

The newcomer said he is excited to teach arts education because of his background in drama. Naismith has taught at elementary schools in Delisle and Dundurn, along with at Willow Park Hutterite Colony School, and at North West Central School in Plenty. He said he hopes to learn from his students and give them an “authentic learning experience.”

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