CCHS teacher named Edwin Parr nominee

By Dale Woodard on March 6, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDsports@lethbridgeherald.com

Amanda Omilon thought it was a job performance review with her bosses.
In a way, it was, and it turned out to be quite the stellar review.
In fact, it could be award-winning.
Omilon, a first year teacher at Catholic Central High School, has been selected as Holy Spirit Catholic School Division’s Edwin Parr Nominee for 2020/2021.
The award is sponsored by the Alberta School Boards Association for first-year teachers.
“I found out last Friday when I had a meeting my principal as well as our deputy superintendent for our division,” said Omilon. “I thought it was going to be a meeting updating me on my teaching or my planning or some feedback. They told me the news and I was so surprised and immediately so humbled by it. It was not something I was expecting. I’m usually pretty good at being able to figure out surprises and that one completely blew me out of the water. Definitely a shocker, but I felt so humbled and blessed after.”
Omilon hails from Red Deer and went to school for two years at Red Deer College before transferring to the University of Lethbridge to finish her degree.
The path to becoming an educator started early in her life.
“I started thinking about it when I was young, but I wasn’t sure,” said Omilon. “It was kind of a teacher and student thing with my sister when I was younger and it was always something I enjoyed.”
But in high school, a teacher of Omilon’s spotted her gift and encouraged her to pursue it.
“I had a teacher who spoke to me and found my talents that I didn’t know were there in the first place and because of that I felt seen and heard,” she said. “That was really the big catalyst where it came into the forefront of my mind. I’ve always wanted to help people and I’ve always felt called to help youth, specifically, and I think it was that teacher that pulled it out of me and said I definitely needed to go into this profession. So I really started to take that into account. I had a love for English language arts and putting those together. That’s where I felt like I was meant to be.”
After graduating from the U of L last year, Omilon headed to Catholic Central.
In her first year, she’s already taught all of the high school grades, currently teaching English 10-1 after teaching Grade 12 in the first quarter and Grade 11 in the second quarter.
“So I’ve been able to try every single grade in our high school, which has been very beneficial,” said Omilon.
Like all of the Edwin Parr Nominee’s this year, Omilon’s first year of teaching just happened to coincide with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If you would have asked me five years ago this is what it looked like, I probably would have started laughing,” said Omilon. “I think it was scary at first, but I honestly would not change it at all. Just the way I was thrown into this. A first-year teacher is stressful, but a pandemic on top of that? I think it really let me dive into who I was and what I was capable of as well as learning how to lean on others for help, too, with the incredible staff here at my school.
“I think they understand what us teachers are also going through and being able to lean on each other and have that two-way street, I can’t even imagine what it would be like without the support from our school community. As much as it’s been rocky and busy, it has been an incredible journey at the same time.”
The students in each of the grades Omilon has taught have also helped her.
Of course, she has helped them along the way as well as everyone navigates the pandemic and the unprecedented time it has put everyone in.
“I think even though you can tell they’re so stressed and they’re confused and sometimes I think they’re scared, too, even in all of that tiredness they’re still laughing every day and cracking jokes with each other and with me,” said Omilon. “I think they’ve helped remind me not to take things too seriously. I usually don’t, but they go even further and remind me it’s OK to just laugh about all of this. I think, being in my position, it’s been nice to think back to my experience and ask how I’ll do that for my students. Any time it’s important, but especially now it’s letting those students be heard and seen and I think that’s the most important thing they need in a time they’ve never experienced before.”
In December, Omilon and her fellow teachers got the word classes were going online as the pandemic continued.
She admitted it was a scary moment for her.
“It’s kind of interesting. I’m the youngest at my school, but I’m not super tech-savvy,” said Omilon. “I’ve never been a huge fan of technology. I think I was terrified, but once I started doing it I (said) I worried about that for nothing. There was lot of praying to God to help get me through this because this was uncharted waters. But I think being able to adapt and hone in my skills and flexibility was something that was incredibly beneficial.”
The students continued to learn online when returning to school in January after Christmas holidays.
“It was funny, some students loved it because they got to stay home, but you could tell most of them just wanted to be back in the classroom. I think that was beneficial for them to just recognize the blessing our education can be,” said Omilon.
For her, nothing beats the in-classroom experience.
“I think it’s different when I can actually see all of their faces, even though I’m only seeing half of them right now with masks,” said Omilon. “But being able to see their eyes crinkle when I tell my morning pun and making those funny jokes or whatever it may be, actually hearing that in live time and being able to connect with them and talk with them before class or after class, you don’t really get that as much online. So that’s something I definitely prefer and I think I feed off that energy I get from them, which makes me feel more lively in the classroom.”
This year’s Edwin Parr will be announced next month, but no matter what happens, Omilon was happy to get the vote from her Catholic Central peers.
“It’s very exciting, but I think just the nomination alone was more than I could ask for,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting it, so that alone was enough for me to be incredibly happy and also proud of our community at Catholic Central.”
Omilon hails from Red Deer and went to school for two years at Red Deer College before transferring to the University of Lethbridge to finish her degree, graduating with a Bachelor of Education Degree and Bachelor of Arts Degree in English; both with Great Distinction.

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