Instilling well-being within students - body, mind and soul!
Thank you so much for visiting my portfolio. My name is Heather Papp and I currently hold the position of Administrator at St. Michael School in Cambridge. Prior to this role I was an Administrator within varied school settings, including a Section 23 school for students who struggle with behavioural difficulties as well as a Summer Learning Principal role. Having the opportunity to start my administrative journey within these varied settings has offered incredible depth of learning and understanding of systems and processes within our Board. I have proven ability to support student growth in all areas of academic and personal development including positive well being. I have extensive experience in creating collaborative environments in which staff feel safe and secure to discuss plans of care for the students they support. I am able to energize and mobilize community members to engage within our school to support student growth and achievement. I have extensive experience in leadership capacities, including strategic planning and setting directions, building relationships within the school and community, aligning resources with identified priorities, promoting and participating in collaborative learning, and using data to inform practice thus leading to student achievement. Lastly, I have a deep confidence in my ability and experience in having courageous conversations to support the development of people, the organization and student achievement and well-being. Answering the call to become a leader has been an enlightening personal journey and one that I have enjoyed very much. I have put extensive time and reflection into the Emerging Leadership Seriesoffered within our Board in addition to the Principal Qualification Program. In my current role I have been asked numerous times to sit on panels to discuss my call to leadership and provide some informal mentoring to others who are discerning currently about leadership opportunities within their own lives. I have also had the privilege of being chosen as a Mentor in a more formal setting through our Induction to Leadership Program offered within the WCDSB. I have also invested my time within the broader educational community by participating in committees such as the Mental Health and Well-Being committee and the Equity, Diversity and Learning Team granting the opportunity to gain Board perspectives and incredible knowledge on how to best support students who may have been marginalized. Taking the time to ensure that I am always learning and growing within my profession is something I value. I was chosen to participate in the LEAD Academy Training Collaborative working towards facilitating future training on equity and diversity issues for our teachers and those within our educational community. This experience has shown that I value student success and collaboration with all invested parties to ensure student achievement and well-being. I understand how to assist students in moving forward in their learning and encourage teachers to deliver and showcase practices that support the advancement of learning within our Board. All of my interactions within my various roles have shown me that one of the greatest skills in being a successful leader is to really understand how to build relationships with those around you. I believe that this is one of my strengths and work diligently to engage with all members of the school community, including students, staff, parish, parents, community agencies and other stakeholders in efforts to promote collective responsibility and accountability for our student’s growth and development. I take great pride in influencing a school culture that brings about success in students’ lives, regardless of their personal circumstance. In addition, I believe in promoting and offering a faith based differentiated instruction that helps to develop a school environment that fosters a sense of learning for all.
In my leadership journey I have also participated in many formal professional development opportunities such as the CITE Project (Collaboration in Teacher Education), partnering with Nipissing University in which I was able to engage in collaborative problem solving with other teachers and community partners. This project led to many opportunities in which I was asked to present my findings to a larger educational body, presenting at both the MISA (Managing Information for Student Achievement) Conference in London and the OERS (Ontario Educational Research Symposium) Conference in Toronto. Lastly, I was a co-author of an article highlighting our collaboration work with the CITE Project that was recently published by Brock University in their Educational Journal.
Personally, my leadership discernment has centered my focus on providing an instructional program that elevates students in achieving their full potential by recognizing their God given gifts and to showcase the possibility that they can become change agents in this world. I believe that education and school should be the hub of our communities, not only for the wisdom and knowledge that they create for our present and future, but for the connections that they create among a community.
Schools and the teachers and staff within them, not only invest time and effort into the learning process of a child, but also in the development of students as people of faith. My personal journey of leadership has shown me that now, more than ever, a focus on faith development must be instilled into our everyday life. Infusing our beliefs into our learning each day will open up opportunities for students and staff to be more connected with God. Investing in teacher’s spiritual growth alongside their professional growth is imperative. Catholic identity flourishes when teachers model faith in their daily lives and as a leader. I will work to ensure that everything we do within our school transmits the importance of faith. Everything we do teaches Catholic identity because how we behave shows what we value. Seeing myself not only as a leader but also as a Catholic-school leader will enable the Catholic identity of the school to thrive. I will live my faith through my actions and will take great pride in my faith formation journey.
In my personal life, I am a very active individual who loves to travel to places unknown! I am a mother of one beautiful daughter who has given me 2 adorable grandchildren. When my husband and I are not travelling, we love to renovate our home and landscape our yard. I am an active member of my church community as well as a local volunteer focusing my efforts on the issues of poverty and homelessness. I was a social service worker for 10 years before making the leap into education. I have always believed that my duty in life was to serve others and I cannot think of a better way to serve than to be involved in education. Thank you for visiting and I encourage you to look further into my path towards Catholic leadership.