About Us - Past Presidents
 Roxanne
LeBlanc 2001-2002
As
the current school year draws to a close, I would like to present my version
of this year's top ten reasons (in no particular order) for being a STAO
member involved in STAO educational and professional development activities.
- The annual conference,
STAO 2001: A Science Odyssey, continued the tradition as a highly professional
science education meeting place with a growing emphasis on technology.
- Two regional ScienceWorks
workshops have now been held as well as an Astronomy Day and hopefully
they will broaden to other regions next year.
- Science educators
have gathered, focused on issues, produced and delivered meaningful,
insightful articles, workshops, and presentations, and continued to
provide excellent PD and mentorship.
- The STAO Safety
Committee's Be Safe document which addresses safety issues for elementary
Science and Technology education is finding its way across Canada. In
partnership with school boards, a new document and CD, Stay Safe, is
currently in the works.
- Partnerships have
been established with organizations such as the Elementary Teachers'
Federation of Ontario, the Science Consultants and Coordinators Association
of Ontario, and the Ontario Society for Environmental Education to provide
quality professional development and curriculum delivery.
- The 2001 elementary
calendar and Extremely Elementary are informative, interesting, and
hopefully the beginning of a long tradition. o STAO members have provided
Ministry of Education workshops throughout Ontario, have been involved
in summer institutes and have produced quality resources for the implementation
of the secondary curriculum.
- STAOCom continues
to produce a great magazine with articles that you have submitted, and
www.stao.org seeks to take an expanding role by posting relevant information
to the membership.
- In an effort to
further communication among the membership, STAO Board, Executive and
committee members are now communicating using First Class and soon you
will easily be able to reach members by firstname_lastname@stao.org
- Most of all, it
is fun to meet with enthusiastic, dedicated and knowledgeable educators
of all grade levels and share experiences, challenges and successes
as everyone works through the new curriculum. As STAO members gather to share, learn and mentor effective
pedagogical strategies, excellent science-education materials, and innovative
ways to bring science and technology best practices to the classroom
continue to benefit all Ontario's students! As
I end my term as STAO President, I wish to extend my sincere gratitude
to the STAO Executive and Board for their support and encouragement.
I have had the privilege of their experience and their enthusiasm and
look forward to continue working with them in a different capacity.
To all committee members who produce this magazine, workshops, calendars,
conferences, the Website, focus groups, etc., to our honorary president,
Don Galbraith, thank you - merci bien - your commitment has exemplified
service and leadership! To Marietta Bloch, our incoming president, and
the upcoming STAO Executive and Board, my best wishes for a successful
2002-2003.
On behalf of the Board, thank you, the members of STAO, for your commitment
to excellence and learning, and for your continued dedication to the
students of Ontario. Have a great summer and I look forward to sharing
with you next year.
À bientôt, j'espère !
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