About Me
Hello! My name is Kayla Meller. I am a graduate of the Education program at the University of Lethbridge. I began my education at Mount Royal University in Calgary. I currently teach Grade 1 at Ralph McCall School in Airdrie. I have also taught Grades 2, 3, 5, and 6 in various contracts and practicum experiences. I have also spent time as a substitute teacher with the Calgary Board of Education and Bearspaw Christian School.
I was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, and after completing two years at Mount Royal University, I transferred to the University of Lethbridge to complete my education degree. Shortly after moving to Lethbridge, I met my husband. We were married on May 17, 2014. I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember and I am excited to now be a part of this great profession. I have a passion for seeing children succeed no matter what their background, home situation, or learning style. My first practicum was in Brooks, Alberta in a grade 3 classroom. In this experience I learned a great deal about working with students for whom English was a second language. This was an eyeopening and challenging experience for me. My second practicum was in Coaldale, Alberta in a grade 6 classroom. To read more about my experiences in my second practicum, see my teaching blog. My third and final practicum was in a grade 5 classroom in Lethbridge. I taught Math, Language Arts, Bible, and one period of PE a week. I was involved in a literacy intervention team as a part of my Professional Inquiry Project. For more information on the literacy intervention team, see my Professional Inquiry Project page, where I explain it further. In the summer of 2014, I worked for Interfaith Food Bank Society of Lethbridge as the Summer Program Coordinator. In this position I worked on a number of projects including workbooks to be used in collaboration with the kitchen programs; programs related to the Interfaith Learning Garden; and a tote program which will encourage school and community groups to learn about topics related to the garden. To read more about my experiences at Interfaith Food Bank, see my teaching blog where I have posted an update on the projects that I am working on. Also take a look at my Activity Totes page to see the totes mentioned above. In my first year, I taught grade 3 in Lethbridge. I taught all subjects but music. In this position, I learned lots about managing my own classroom, differentiating for many students' needs as well as working with a variety of staff to help my students learn. I participated in regular Response to Intervention meetings with the Learning Support teacher and grade level team. This is an opportunity to collaborate in order to improve learning for my students. Throughout the year, I participated in professional development opportunities such as the Daily 5, Daily 3, and CAFE workshop; Numeracy Assessment workshop; and Insight Into Equality Seminar. Each of these provided me with ways to improve my own teaching and therefore, student learning. For examples of lesson plans and student activities, please see my Classroom Teaching page. Don't forget to check me out on Twitter @MrsKMeller. |