Leaside resident and middle school teacher Cory Cattell was recently honoured with the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence in STEM.
Cory, whose career began three decades ago, has been teaching science and health and physical education at Zion Heights Middle School in North York since 1999. She was nominated for this prestigious award by a former student, Caroline Chan, who is now in Grade 10. Caroline wrote a lengthy nomination letter of support. Cory received the award at a presentation at her school last June and was interviewed on CP24.
As a science and technology teacher, Cory was eager to embrace STEM when it was added to the curriculum. For her, STEM brings together all the different sciences and allows her classes to move forward with trends around the globe and to recognize interconnections. She gets her assignment ideas from current events, encouraging her students to understand why they should care about vital issues such as the environment, sustainability, food insecurity and poverty.
As the media release for the award states, Cory “inspires a love for science and technology in students by exposing them to new ideas and inviting them to view science concepts through diverse lenses.” For example, she teaches how cells work by asking students to compare them to a solar system, an orchestra or a radio. Or she might ask them to create a water filtration system for an Indigenous community without access to clean water and will encourage them to explain why this is a pressing issue. By using the inquiry method, she “instills a sense of scientific curiosity that extends beyond the classroom” and encourages them to use STEM to solve a variety of problems by building apps and websites.
In addition to regular assignments, Cory also organizes special projects to challenge the students. For example, she runs monthly contests in the goIT (go innovate together) club where students design digital innovation projects or apps that aim to achieve one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Another assignment, “Planet in Focus,” requires students to make films about environmental issues. She also set up a science fair at the school and sent eight teams to the Toronto Science Fair where seven teams won medals. All these assignments develop marketing, writing, presentation and collaborative skills.
Cory reports that her students love creating technology while advocating for change, and in doing so find their own causes and identities and learn what other young people around the world have accomplished. She says, “I am inspired by their enthusiasm in the same way I have been inspired throughout my life by my immigrant parents, who taught me to tackle challenges and appreciate the power of the possible.”
On top of her teaching duties, Cory is a tireless contributor to the life of the school through coaching various sports such a volleyball, track and field, and soccer, setting up house league teams and the Terry Fox School Run and acting as the staff advisor for the student council as they organize school spirit events, dances, fundraisers and tournaments.
As she nears retirement, Cory is enjoying mentoring students and fellow teachers, passing on her experiences and helping to develop the community and legacy of the school. It is obvious that she loves her job of “working with our future.” As nominating student Caroline Chan concluded, Cory is a “once-in-a-lifetime teacher” who has a “lifelong impact” on her students.
