Three outstanding TDSB teachers have been recognized with the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence and Teaching Excellence in STEM. The passion and commitment these educators bring to their work fuels joy and engagement in their students and school communities. They are remarkable individuals and role models. Congratulations to Sheri Alcordo, Zélia Capitão-Tavares and Sarah Torrie!
Sheri Alcordo is a Grade 7 and 8 teacher at Gulfstream Public School who received the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence. Sheri's work is much more than teaching. She supports all students in the classroom by carefully providing individual education plans and using differentiated assessment and evaluation strategies. She strives to create a safe and inclusive learning environment for all learners. She builds constructive rapports with students through positive influence, professional judgment and empathy. She works hard to discover their strengths, interests and cultures of individuals. Read more about Sheri.
Zélia Capitão-Tavares, a Grade 4 and 5 teacher at McMurrich Public School for a Certificate of Achievement in Teaching Excellence in STEM. Zélia is committed to the conversation on how to build system capacity, and is intentional in highlighting cross-cultural contributions to the STEM fields and addressing the gender gaps. Students who identify as female all need opportunities to see themselves as contributing members beyond their communities, and seeing/hearing from Women in STEM. Students see themselves as potential global changemakers through the daily choices and actions provided by Zélia. Read more about Zélia.
Sarah Torrie is a Grade 9-12 physics teacher at Victoria Park CI for a Certificate of Excellence specifically in Teaching Excellence in STEM. Sarah was recognized for her uniquely creative approach to science education, and for her innovative strategies to help students develop their skills and interest in science. She creates effective and engaging digital lessons, activities, and assessments for her students, providing them with real-life experiments at research labs, STEM events and interesting field trips. Her approach recognizes the specificities of different learning backgrounds, styles and abilities. And as a result, her students not only learn the content, but also have fun while learning and develop interest and love for the topics. Read more about Sarah.