Jinny Sims, President of the British Columbia Teachers' Association
Wednesday December 14, Michael J Fox Theatre, Burnaby, BC, served as the venue for the December Graduation ceremony for over 160 students of the Professional Programs in the Faculty of Education. With their loved ones, the new graduates celebrated the successful completion of their year-long teacher education program.
Coordinators Kathryn Yamamoto and Anne Hales, served as Masters of Ceremony. Platform guests included faculty, past and present Faculty Associates and Coordinators — who presented certificates — and members of the Education Students’ Association.
Dr. Paul Shaker, Dean of the Faculty of Education, provided opening remarks, noting the unique challenges this class faced with the job action that occurred in October, during their final practicum.
Introduced by Meguido Zola, Jinny Sims, President of the British Columbia Teachers' Association, gave a moving keynote address, welcoming graduates to the profession, and encouraging them to find sources of passion to sustain them in this challenging vocation. She thanked them for their professional conduct throughout the recent job action.
SFU Alumni representative Jim McCarthur, welcomed the graduands into the community of over 80,000 SFU alumni in this 40th Anniversary year of PDP. Fully 20% of all alumni are graduates of the Professional Development Program.
Modules completing their year-long practicum included PQP — the Professional Qualifications Program (teachers from other parts of the world who gain BC certification through SFU) — and IPTEM, the Indigenous Peoples’ Teacher Education Module.
Congratulations to all of our graduates, and best wishes in your future classrooms, wherever your teaching path takes you. |
| Last Updated June 26, 2007 |  |