In Nicole Blais' Grade 6 classroom, students maintain contact with a class in a Ugandan village and have helped the school build a playground and make improvements to the school.

In Nicole Blais' Grade 6 classroom, students maintain contact with a class in a Ugandan village and have helped the school build a playground and make improvements to the school.
June 13, 2016
RAMON GONZALEZ
WESTERN CATHOLIC REPORTER

Under the guidance of Grade 6 teacher Nicole Blais, students at St. Mary's Elementary School in Lloydminster are communicating with and helping their peers in a village in Uganda.

Her award-winning Our Village Uganda program brings Canadian and African students together over Skype for prayer and discussion.

Our Village Uganda involves regular contact with students in a Ugandan village over Skype. Students in Lloydminster and Uganda hold joint prayer services, share Bible stories over Skype and discuss everything from science, math and English, to politics and the latest trends.

In addition, St. Mary's students raise funds to help the village become sustainable. Over the last two years, they have sent about $3,000 to the village to buy windows and doors for the school and to build a playground.

Blais said the project has been an eye-opener for the students, many of whom are not aware "that there are people in the world who live in extreme poverty."

"They are happy to raise funds for children who don't have as much as they do. They easily buy into it when they see the difference that they are making in someone else's life."

Blais is a happy combination of technological savvy, positive attitude, quick wit and genuine care for others.

"It was definitely an honour to be nominated and even more than an honour to win and be recognized nationally," Blais said of winning the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence.

As leader in technology and collaborative learning at St. Mary's School in Lloydminster, Blais encourages the use of technology to enhance learning. She teaches all subjects, including language arts, math, science, social and drama.

Her students use social media and online tools to monitor a section of the Borneo forest for deforestation and use Tinkercad, a 3D design and printing program, to create and then print planes, rockets and spacecraft models.

What led Blais to become a teacher?

"I think just growing up," she replied candidly. "I was always interested in helping kids. I always had a passion for kids. I started babysitting really young.

"I was always interested in being around kids so it just seems to fit to want to educate them, to help kids succeed."