Seven dedicated educators have been inducted into the NWT Education Hall of Fame for their contribution to expanding the minds of students in the North.
Two of the inductees – long time teacher Gerard Landry and language services coordinator Jean-Marie Mariez – were inducted as members from Yellowknife schools, last week.
Landry, 63, a long-serving English teacher at St. Patrick High School, was awarded the honour after close to 40 years of service.
“I feel a bit overwhelmed by it to be honest. It's quite an honour to be recognized,” said Landry. “Yellowknife Catholic Schools has been almost like an extended family for me and my family ... I really appreciate the relationships I have made over the years at the school.”
Landry began his career by spending four years teaching phys-ed and French to kindergarten to Grade 6 students at St. Patrick Elementary School (later renamed Weledeh).
After receiving his masters in English literature from the University of Waterloo, he began teaching English at the high school.
Landry said his focus has always been teaching students with purpose.
“I want my students to challenge themselves and to think about all the concepts I am teaching,” said Landry. “I'm here to teach but also to learn, I want students to know that we are going through the semester together, we're learning from each other (over the course of the year).”
Landry added he is now taking a year-by-year approach to the rest of his career.
Meanwhile for Mariez – supervisor of French language programming at Yk1 – he said it was a surprise to be given the award and he is thankful to be recognized for his many years of service.
“I keep thinking about it like I'm a legend, like a hockey player who has been inducted,” Mariez said with a smile. “Sometimes you don't realize what you are doing during your career but when you look back on it you start to realize just how much you've accomplished.
Mariez is the founder of the intensive French Program offered by Yk1 and was also one of the founders of College Nordique Francophone.
A member of the the Yk1 board for just under 15 years, Mariez began his career in Yellowknife as a core French teacher with Yellowknife Catholic Schools before moving to the GNWT's Department of Education Culture and Employment.
Superintendent Metro Huculak said Mariez has been influential to the French curriculum, with the impact of his programming being felt as far as the Beaufort-Delta region.
“He's a strong advocate for French and each year we see more and more students start the Intensive French Program, an initiative Jean-Marie created,” said Huculak. “Without him (Mariez) we wouldn't have started the program.”