Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Ms. Lea Lamoureux, principal of Kaw Tay Whee School in Detah, on being recognized as one of Canada’s outstanding principals for 2015.

She is the most recent in a long list of Northwest Territories recipients who have been recognized for their dedication and passion for teaching our students in the Northwest Territories.

The Learning Partnership recently announced Ms. Lamoureux as one of 40 exceptional educators from across Canada. Through her leadership, Kaw Tay Whee School is now a vibrant learning environment, connecting families and the community of Detah.

Ms. Lamoureux and her staff have built an active, inclusive environment in their school, where everyone strives to do their best. Ms. Lamoureux’s leadership, with the dedicated support of her staff and community, has resulted in library and classroom resources to support a balanced literacy program, and a new computer lab to help students develop reading, inquiry and writing skills, with 80 percent of students now reading at or above grade level.

They have brought a community elder into the school to work with students in the Weledeh language and to teach skills in traditional activities like beading, sewing, working with hide and drying fish. They established an Aboriginal Role Model Program that brings in authors, singers, naturopathic doctors and other professionals to promote career pathways and the importance of education. With her guidance, her students created a story in clay and turned it into a book called “Walking in Dettah,” in English and Weledeh. You can find this book at the Yellowknife Book Cellar.

She has gone beyond the walls of her school and reached out to her students’ families, and every family now has alarm clocks to support the “On Time by 9” initiative. There is a family literacy initiative in place, and every family with children under 12 has a family library based on the children’s ages, interests and reading levels.

She also reached out to the community and forged key partnerships, which raised over $400,000 for

resources and programming that focus on literacy, science and technology, active living and nutrition programming. She and her staff were successful in securing funding for a community playground.

Mr. Speaker, I visited Ms. Lamoureux’s school this past October. I saw a passionate educator, engaged students and an environment full of activity and energy. Lea Lamoureux personifies everything we are working on in the Education Renewal Initiative. Through this initiative, principals have critical roles in creating inspirational and healthy learning environments and they are key connections in the school-community relationship. Ms. Lamoureux intuitively understands that this is the way to create the best school and learning experiences for her students.

Ms. Lamoureux now has the opportunity to attend a five-day Executive Leadership Training Program delivered by the internationally renowned Rotman School of Management later this month. Once complete, she will join some 500 exceptional educators that comprise the National Academy of Canada’s Outstanding Principals.

Please join me in congratulating Ms. Lea Lamoureux and her dedication to her students, community, and excellence in education. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.