Congratulations Holly Campbell, ORIGO’s Teacher of the Month for October 2021

Holly Campbell, a first-grade teacher at John Cooper School, is the ORIGO Education Teacher of the Month October recipient. With 18 years’ experience in the public school sector, four of which where she was a Math Coach, and five years in the private sector, Holly’s win couldn’t be more deserving.

Holly’s time in the public sector saw her mostly teach second grade with her stint as Math Coach taking her out of the classroom for her final five years in the sector.

“Math was never easy for me as a student because I couldn’t visualize it,” Holly explained.

“I was taught the basic algorithms and then would memorize them.

“When I discovered ORIGO Education as a teacher it was like everything fell into place and this was something that I could then use in the classroom, and as a Math Coach.”

Despite thriving in her role as Math Coach, her love for teaching never disappeared, and when making the transition to the private sector, Holly decided to head back into the classroom at John Cooper School where she currently teaches first grade.

“I currently have 19 students in my classroom and I love using Big Books, Animated Big Books and the Big Book Tunes,” said Holly.

“We’re currently reading Cupcake Capers and the students love this one. It may be their new favourite!”

Like many teachers, Holly’s classroom and teaching ability was tested throughout the COVID 19 pandemic and despite remaining in the classroom (with partitions, masks and lots of hand sanitizer), the inability to share resources and games proved to be a challenge.

As an answer to this, Holly who had previously used ORIGO Education during her time in the public sector, presented the resources to her school during the pandemic.

“Once the teachers got a look at Stepping Stones and other ORIGO Education resources, they fell in love, and we’re now in our first year of using ORIGO Education at John Cooper School!”

In fact, in addition to her time in the classroom, Holly is also assisting in the smooth implementation of ORIGO Education at her school and was chosen for the role due to her cheery disposition and ability to positively help other teachers with change.

“We have meetings every three weeks to help plan the upcoming modules,” said Holly.

“The work we’ve done with ORIGO Education Learning Service Educators is invaluable and one of the greatest gifts ORIGO Education has to offer.

“In my experience, having support from ORIGO Education within the school is key to a smooth rollout.”

We would like to congratulate Holly on winning the ORIGO Education Teacher of the Month Award for October 2021.

Starting in January 2021, ORIGO Education will recognize a teacher every month in our newsletter and website. The teacher selected will be recognized from the Stepping Stones Pre-K through Grade 6 family of educators. We are looking for educators to share a story, activity or tip that has made an impact in their classroom. Click here to learn more.