Katherine Bacik is a full day Kindergarten teacher at St. Jean de Brebeuf and is an example of a warmhearted, caring, educator in our community.
Bacik began her teaching career in 2006, and has been teaching at St. Jean de Brebeuf since 2017.
She began teaching grade 4/5 her first year of teaching at the school, and for the past two years has been teaching full day Kindergarten.
Bacik became interested in teaching when she was in high school.
"I had a great high school co-op experience in my own elementary school, where I was given an opportunity to teach math and language to small groups of students," she said.
Shortly after her co-op placement, Bacik realized that embarking on a career path where she could witness children learn and grow would be “Very fulfilling.”
Though there are multiple, Bacik recounts one of her most memorable moments as a teacher “During a morning meeting with my grade 4/5 class a couple years ago, we were all sitting around sharing any regrets we had in our lives and the children were being so open and honest. I think I may have started crying because I was so proud of them and how far they had come as a class.”
There are many wholesome moments shared in the classroom and Bacik recognizes the influence she has on her students in her position as a teacher.
“I can create meaningful relationships and positively influence children through my own actions. Taking the time to validate a child's feelings and empower them to come up with useful strategies to solve a problem is what I love most about my job.”
Bacik notes that one of the most important things to teach a child before they leave elementary school is to be kind.
“Hold a door, offer a compliment, smile at a peer, do the things that take little effort but can turn someone's day around.”
She added,“This past Christmas, we read The Sparkle Box by Jill Hardie and it focused on small acts of kindness and how we can offer them as gifts for Jesus for Christmas, and it was such a wonderful introduction to the concept of small acts of kindness for my Kindergarten class.”
Bacik says the most special aspect teaching is making relationships. What she loves most about teaching Kindergarten is how she and her teaching partner, Susan McInerney, are often a family's introduction to formal education -- a responsibility the two take seriously. She notes how wonderful it is to see parents put at ease when they realize the two will love their child as if they were their own.
And Bacik has her own inspirational role model from when she was a student: her grades 7 and 8 teacher, Mr. Blago. He was dynamic, and had a great sense of humour but also made an effort to get to know his students, and always treated them with respect.
Bacik has a simple teaching philosophy: Let all that you do be done in love, from the 1st book of Corinthians. She follows this simple sentence to ensure a child's dignity will always be intact. She describes herself in the classroom as energetic, silly, fun, patient, and kind.
Advice that Bacik would like to pass on comes from parenting guru, Barbara Coloroso, from her book Kids are Worth It: “If it's not life-threatening, morally-threatening or illegal, let kids try it.” This advice has served her well both in her career and personal life.
Throughout the month of January, BradfordToday will be featuring teachers in the community who stand out and make a difference in the lives of their students.
