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Teacher of the Week: Kareen Caron and Sophie Labrom
Teaching tandem at Beacon Hill keep Grade 1 and 2 students energized and enthused
The Gazette
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Sophie Labrom (left) and Kareen Caron work together with Grade 1 and 2 students.
Teacher of the Week is a new weekly feature spotlighting a local educator.
Name: Kareen Caron
School: Beacon Hill Elementary in Beaconsfield
Grade: 2
Experience: 9 years
Extracurricular activities: Volunteering, running, dodgeball, tutoring
Hobbies: Running, reading, technology
Most recently read book: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Name: Sophie Labrom
School: Beacon HIll Elementary in Beaconsfield
Grade: 2
Experience: 7 years
Extracurricular activities: Soccer, sports, volleyball, hiking, softball
Hobbies: Painting, watching movies
Most recently read book: The Good Doctor by Damon Galgu
When Kareen Caron and Sophie Labrom take their students clubbing, rest assured that it has nothing to do with alcohol or dancing.
They like to create a circuit of “clubs” the students can participate in which will include things like cooking, origami, yoga, construction, puzzles, detective work or drawing.
It is just one of the many ways this teaching tandem like to get their students involved and interested in the learning process.
Caron and Labrom are the Grade 2 early French immersion teachers at Beacon Hill elementary school in Beaconsfield. They are Cycle 1 teachers who sometimes teach Grade 1 and sometimes teach Grade 2 – but always teach together.
“We like to do most activities together,” said Caron. “We both have lots of energy and lots of interest in technology and sports. We just complement each other well.”
Labrom believes the students benefit from the fact they work as a team, although each is responsible for a different class.
“We both have sports backgrounds and we both believe in the teamwork and life lessons that you get from sports,” she said. “And we both want to be role models for the children.”
They take the children skating in the winter and outside as much as possible.
According to the parent who nominated them for Teacher of the Week, they are both young, energetic and enthusiastic.
“They bring to the classroom, every day, a passion for teaching and for children,” said the parent.
Caron and Labrom have been teaching together for five years and hope they can continue for many years to come.
Sometimes they mix up their classes so the students will have a chance to get used to another teacher and other students. They both work on the Lester B. Pearson School Board’s Digital Learning Project to integrate Smart boards into the classroom and set up portals so the students can show off their work to their parents at home.
“Technology is important because it’s what their life is going to be,” said Caron. “It also helps kids who have difficulty focusing or writing. We use it every day in the classroom.”
Labrom agreed that it is important to incorporate technology into the classroom because it is such an important part of the students’ lives.
“If it makes them like school, great,” she said. “We want them to be lifelong learners and technology helps with that.”
They both find that it is the students’ unique outlook on life that makes the job so interesting.
And all their energy and enthusiasm have not gone unnoticed. Said the parent who nominated them: “They are true role models for their students, embodying not only the skills they teach in the classroom but also important life skills such as teamwork, co-operation, kindness and respect.
“Mme. Sophie and Mme. Kareen, together, work hard for the students ... to prepare their young students to be active, responsible and effective learners. Beacon Hill is truly blessed to have them.”