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Daram Van Oers - Gus Wetter School

Clearview Public Schools

I began my teaching career in Cadotte Lake, which is a First Nations Reserve located east of Peace River.  At that time Cadotte Lake was a school in Northland School Division.  After 3 years there, I got married to Carla (who was teaching at a nearby school in Little Buffalo) and accepted the principalship in Gadsby School and subsequently relocated to Central Alberta.  Following 6 enjoyable years in Gadsby (after which Gadsby School was closed),  I accepted the principalship at Gus Wetter School in Castor.  I have very much enjoyed my job to date at Gus Wetter and would like to thank my very dedicated, passionate and compassionate staff and wonderful students who have helped make our school an excellent school to learn and work in for all of us!

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Ray Hassenstein - Gus Wetter School

Clearview Public Schools

Ray Hassenstein has been a dedicated and passionate teacherfor over 24 years.  He began his teaching career at a vocational college in northern Alberta where he was the Program Head of the Small Business Management Program for a decade before moving on to teach in the K-12 area.  Ray spent a year in B.C. before returning to Alberta, eventually teaching high school business and technology courses as well as junior high math and science at Gus Wetter School in Castor. 

During the past 12 years, while employed at Clearview School Division, Ray has spent a year on a teaching exchange in Ballarat, Australia, regularly spends summers teaching English in Turkey, and has completed a Masters of Educational Technology specializing in online instructional development.  Ray is a strong believer in experiential education and has developed several annual field trips for students to enhance their learning. These trips include a high school European trip during the March break as well as grade 7-8 science trips to the Columbia Ice fields.  Both of these trips include a strong technology component wherein students complete projects such as podcasts, blogs, wikis or alternate digital media. 

Before teaching Ray lived a myriad of lives as a broadcast journalist, roughneck, newspaper editor, economic development officer, and businessman.

Ray is married to Marion who works at Coronation School.  They have one daughter, Cassandra, who lives in Edmonton.

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Peter Weeks - Botha School

Clearview Public Schools

Peter Weeks demonstrates his passion for, knowledge of and dedication to teaching on a daily basis as Principal of Botha School. He continually applies the concepts and skills he is teaching to the real world situation of his students with great success.

Peter is well known for his organization of project-based, cross-grade, cross-curricular programs to maximize learning opportunities for his students. His Medieval Literacy Faire included jousting, student presentations and community involvement. The implementation of such themes throughout each subject area stimulates learning in all subjects.

A national and international presenter, Peter is clearly a team leader in Clearview Public Schools where he has helped to develop an Emerging Technology Committee. He also led Clearview teachers on a trip to New York to attend the National Council of Teachers of English Conference. Peter is passionate about the education of the students and remains an enthusiastic learner himself.

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Wendy M. Dunkle - Gus Wetter School

Clearview Public Schools

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Rob Howell – Stettler Elementary School

ClearviewSchool Division

I graduated from Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School in Red Deer in 1973. I played high school football for 3 years in a variety of positions on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. I was also the president of our high school weightlifting club.

In the late 1970s I was a member of the U of A Golden Bears wrestling team. In 1976 I placed 2^nd in  Alberta in the  senior men’s category  ( age 21 and over) in my weight class.

I met my wife Patti in Edmonton , and we got married in the fall of 1978. In 1984 our daughter Amy was born.

I began teaching in the town of Stettler at Waverly School in the fall of 1981, after graduating from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Physical Education degree and an Education Teaching Certificate. In the 16 years I taught at Waverly, I had homerooms in grade 8, grade 3, and grade 5. I taught a wide variety of subjects. From 1988 – 1990 I helped write for Alberta Education grade 3  problems for The Elementary Diagnostic Mathematics Program.  This program was implemented across Alberta in the fall of1990. At Waverly, my main coaching responsibility for junior high was girls’soccer. We won several local championship trophies in the 1980s and 1990s.

After Waverly School closed in 1997, I was offered a grade 5 homeroom at Stettler Elementary School. From 2000 to the present, I have been the lead teacher for our grade 5 SES Science Fair. Our top entries are sent to the Central Alberta Regional Science Fair to compete in a grade 5/6 competition in Red Deer. We have experienced tremendous success there, and we often have 5 entries chosen in the top 10 exhibits.

In 2003 I began to referee bantam and high school football games in Stettler. In 2004, a new pee wee football team, the Stettler Panthers, was formed, and I was chosen to be the head coach. From 2004– 2008 our team has had unparalleled success in Central Alberta. We have had a league record of 45 wins, 5 losses, and 1 tie. From 2004 – 2007 we won 3 league championships. In 2008 our team went undefeated with a record of 13 wins and no losses. We won our games by an average score of 55 -7. The Panthers won the league championship, the Tier 3 Northern Alberta championship, and the Tier 3 Alberta championship in which the Panthers defeated the Calgary Hilltoppers 46– 24 in Stettler in November of 2008.

I believe as a teacher and a coach that young people thrive in an atmosphere of positive reinforcement. This brings out an optimal effort  which leads to high achievement, and increased self confidence. This will serve young people well throughout their lives.

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Clearview Public Schools

Myranda attended the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta completing her practicums at Camrose Composite and Forestburg School.  After graduating in June 2006 with distinction, Myranda moved to the Donalda area and was employed by the Clearview School District teaching Legal Studies.  She is currently working at Wm E. Hay teaching Social Studies 9, 10/13, and 20, Science, and Cosmetology.  Myranda's extracurricular activities have included coaching Grade 9 Boys Volleyball, JV girls Basketball, Chairing the grad decorating committee, and acting as a facilitator for the implementation of the Grade 10 Social Studies Curriculum.

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Clearview Public Schools

I was born June 30 1975 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I then spent the next 16 years of my life growing up on a farm with one older sister by Wynyard, Saskatchewan. I was fortunate enough to be able to take most of my schooling in small school setting. My first school had two teachers and 6 grades. (kindergarten to grade 5 and about 45 kids) My parents kept me very involved in sports as a child which is fortunate because I was then too busy to become a farmer. Plus I couldn't drive the tractor straight. When I was 16,  I moved away from home to Tisdale (two hours north of Wynyard) to play hockey. The hockey and schooling were top notch but the best thing that came~from moving away was I met my future wife Karen while attending high school there. I graduated from Tisdale High School in 1993 and set out to become a professional hockey player. After playing a few years of junior hockey throughout Saskatchewan and Manitoba I realized hockey probably would not pay the bills and I enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan to become a teacher. This is also the time of my life that I became an expert in the fine art of chicken processing. (From the barn to the dinner plate) This made me study just that much harder during exams. In the spring of 2000 I graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a combined Education and Kinesiology degree. Karen and I then got married in June and we settled into life in Saskatoon. I started my teaching career as a substitute teacher (K-12) and then got a job teaching grade 7 in Saskatoon. It was an eye opener. In the summer of 2001 we moved out West because Karen had a job as a dietician and I saw that the sub list was very small in Clearview. That fall I was fortunate to get a part time job teaching at William E Hay and then moved to Gadsby to a full time job two months later. I stayed there for two very enjoyable years teaching with Wayne Mohn and Daram Van Oers and then the school closed. I moved back to teach at Hay and Karen and I welcomed our first daughter Avery to the family. After a year at Hay it was back to a small school in Big Valley. I have been teaching there for three years now and we had another daughter Jayden in April of this year. I have been fortunate to have taught grades 7-9 mainly (all subjects from art to zoo trips) from the start of my career as they always keep the days exciting. I also am thankful for all the great teachers I have worked with since moving to~Clearview and look forward to another 25 years (give or take) of looking forward to going to work everyday to work with such great staff and students.

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Clearview Public Schools

Wm. E Hay Composite High School would like to congratulate Mr. Darren Fleischhacker in his nomination and winning of the Excellence in Teaching Award 2006 (SMARTer Innovative Use of Technology).  Mr. Fleischhacker is a gifted and passionate teacher who greatly influences the students that he teaches.  Our school can attest to the success of many different students in Darren's Drama and Communication Technology classes who have suffered from emotional, social, or family problems.  Prior to their contact with Mr. Fleischhacker's classes or after school productions have learned through drama, technical theater, television production, or performance, that they can make positive and significant contributions.  There have been countless circumstances where Mr. Fleischhacker's program has been the difference in a student's life.

Some of the events that Mr. Fleischhacker's Communication Technology classes have been involved with include, the Safeway Provincial Men's Curling Championship, public service announcements for AADAC, the Tobacco Reduction Network, Suicide Awareness, Rotary TV Bingo, Wildcat Corner TV, along with dramatic productions of every variety.  Students do all the tasks involved in production: writing, storyboarding, videography, directing, acting, lighting, sound, and editing.  As well, Mr Fleischhacker insists that his student work groups interact completely with their clients to learn the necessary people skills to be successful.

Mr. Fleischhacker cares deeply for students and staff and thus contributes very positively to the climate of our school.  Without a doubt, teachers touch the lives of children and impact on student learning.  Darren has a graduate working at RDTV who has done contract work for MuchMusic.  He has former students who have attended film and acting schools in Vancouver.  He has student graduates who have had major roles in college theatrical productions.  In addition, he has saved many students and simply helped them graduate from high school.  Darren Fleischhacker is the most creative and innovative teacher at Wm. E. Hay.  He never looks at anything as challenges, but rather as opportunities.  Congratulations, Mr. Fleischhacker, on your success in teaching and in winning the 2006 Excellence in Teaching Award (SMARTer Kids Innovative Use of Technology).  Wm. E. Hay is very proud and lucky to have you as a part of our staff.

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