Amanda Filipchuk and Danielle Schmidt, new teachers at Canora Composite School (CCS) this year, are living proof that "it's a small world."
The two good friends taught at Melville Comprehensive School last year, and moved on to CCS at the same time.
Filipchuk was born and raised in Ebenezer, and spent plenty of time on the family's farm near Canora, run by her parents Andy and Angie Filipchuk. She said she thoroughly enjoyed being involved in farming as a youngster, especially at harvest time. Other interests growing up included art, fishing, reading and taekwondo. Filipchuk achieved her black belt at the age of 13.
After high school she attended Parkland College in Yorkton and the University of Regina (U of R), graduating with a Bachelor of Education, majoring in history with a minor in visual arts. Her education included a teaching internship in Saltcoats before spending a year in Melville.
Filipchuk is teaching half time at CCS, which includes Grade 7 homeroom, Science and Math. She said she enjoys the creativity that comes with teaching and having multiple options for teaching each different area of focus.
"I find it rewarding to watch students grow throughout the year and get to know them," Filipchuk said. "My hope is that each of them becomes the best possible version of themselves, and that they don't get too wrapped up in comparisons with others."
She is grateful for the friendliness and welcoming nature of teachers and students at CCS. "It was neat to see how excited the students were about having a new teacher.”
After having grown up in the area and spending a great deal of time at the Filipchuk family's cabin at Burgis Beach, she is quite familiar with Canora itself. Filipchuk lives in Yorkton.
She continues to enjoy art and reading as an adult, and has become an avid traveller. Favourite destinations so far include Peru and Berlin, Germany, where, thanks to a scholarship, she studied history as part of her Education degree.
"A highlight was experiencing the culture of Berlin," she said. "It was amazing being surrounded by history everywhere you turn. Some areas are still being rebuilt from the Second World War and they still have lines to show the location of the Berlin Wall."
Danielle Schmidt was born in Saskatoon and raised in Rosetown.
She said she was an “athletic nerd” as a youngster. Her interests ranged from reading, drawing and painting; to jumping on a trampoline, swimming at the local pool and playing outside among the caragana trees on the family farm.
Schmidt graduated from the U of R with a Bachelor of Education degree, and plans to pursue a Humanities degree at some point in the future.
At CCS she is the senior English teacher. In addition to ELA classes she is also teaching Psychology and Native Studies.
Prior to CCS, Schmidt taught for one year at Preeceville School and three years in Melville.
Her prior knowledge of Canora included mainly, “great pizza, great Chinese food and having fun in the Canora corn maze.”
Schmidt said she loves the welcoming and inclusive nature of the students and staff at CCS and how they “seemed to know all about me before I even got here.
“The school has a vitality about it that makes a person want to smile and be energetic and happy to be here,” she said.
Schmidt said she is from a Metis background and she strives to make everyone feel safe and welcome in her classes.
“I like classes to be inquisitive, even if we’re covering a difficult topic,” she said. “It’s important to openly look at both sides of conflicts.”
Schmidt encourages students to read as much as possible.
“I believe that people who say they don’t like it just haven’t found the type of reading material that they like yet,” she said.
She wants parents to know that she’s very approachable.
“I encourage strong communication between parents, students and teachers. I’m trying to teach my students to be strong communicators,” she said.
Schmidt believes good communication skills will serve students well long after they graduate from high school.
“Here in the 21st century you need to be able to communicate,” she said. “No matter how many good ideas you have, how are you going to be successful if you can’t write down what your ideas are?”
In addition to her teaching duties, Schmidt is the coach of the CCS junior girls volleyball team.
“I’m looking forward to being a contributing member of the Canora community, even though I don’t live here,” she said.
Schmidt lives in Yorkton with her husband Travis and their two large dogs, a Great Pyrenees and a German Shepherd/Husky cross. In addition to walking the dogs, their hobbies include volleyball, badminton and snowboarding, which is how the couple met.
Schmidt and her husband recently found out that they are expecting their first child in the new year. But she fully expects to return to CCS after maternity leave during the 1919/20 school year.
