Guest: Kerri Malazdrewicz
Kerri Malazdrewicz is a Grade 9-12 teacher at Neelin High School in Brandon, Manitoba and the Vice President of the Manitoba Student Leadership Association. In this episode, she shares with us how she uses social media in education and how she fosters student leadership at her school. Kerri also shares her ideas for building connections with colleagues and students. Listen to this episode for some great ideas to try with your students or colleagues this school year!
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What book are you currently reading?
I’m reading Harry Potter with my eldest child and I’m planning to re-read A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray.
Who has influenced or inspired you as an educator?
My co-workers inspire and support me. My biggest inspiration as a new teacher was principal Michael Adamski.
What tech tool(s) are your daily essentials?
Microsoft Teams, Instagram
You’re a member of our book club and you read Social LEADia by Jennifer Casa-Todd with us. Can you tell us about how you use social media in education?
I’ve done a fun assignment inspired by “The History of the World According to Facebook”. My students create “French-English Relationships in Canada according social media” projects: they take the perspective of French and English people giving their ideas and opinions through social media posts and interactions. Students create posts on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook or other social media to show their knowledge of French-English relations. They can actually post their ideas on an account, save the content (and not post it) or they can create mock up “fake posts”.
Something that’s really important to us as educators is connection and community. What are some of the ways that you connect with other teachers?
Our school staff is really close. We do monthly potlucks and gather in the staff room to eat together. We will go out for an activity or a meal together. It has been harder to do these things during the pandemic, but we have found ways to stay connected. This year, we had fun playing 2 truths and a lie.
I also get to connect with other student leadership advisors through the Canadian Student Leadership Association. This year, we had video calls to share ideas and I picked up an idea for the 6 Ways of Being: Genuine, Involved, Considerate, Knowledgeable, Welcoming and Persevering. We keep cards on hand and write little notes to recognize these traits and show support for each other. I can anonymously leave a colleague a note recognizing their work or hand it to them in person.
I am the moderator for the Manitoba Leadership Instagram page, so I follow many school accounts across Canada. I get so many incredible ideas from following other schools. I’m also part of some Facebook groups where I can get ideas and ask questions.
I know that you’re involved with student leadership initiatives at your school and beyond your school. How do you foster and support student leadership?
I am one of the advisors for the Neelin Student Council. Something we are working on letting it be truly student-led and letting them fail (unless we really need to step in). The Canadian Student Leadership Council has leadership levels for advisors and they’ve now added levels for students to get training and resources. We are going to support students in taking the leadership training.
The council does spirit activities and helps students connect. One event they plan is Grade Wars. Each grade is a team and we have two half-day events in the gym for games and activities that involve different skills, including athletics, academics and arts. We award points for every event on those two days and then we sometimes have pop-up games between events.
One of the things we’re passionate about at KG Education is teacher wellness. Education is both a demanding and rewarding field. Can you tell us what you like to do to take care of yourself physically and mentally?
I do my very best to keep my all of schoolwork, my marking and my planning at school. I try not to bring it home. Sometimes I have to, but I’m a busy mom of two and I like my home time to be my family time.
We got into hiking and geocaching during the pandemic. I do yoga to de-stress and get grounded again.
I set my Microsoft Teams to turn off notifications after 5PM and then my evenings are mine. I didn’t have that set up at first and it was really important for me to create those boundaries.
Can you share with us one way that you build strong connections with your students?
We take the first 5 days [of school] and we play games, build relationships and we learn about other people in the room. We have rock, paper, scissors tournaments. I use Teamwork and Teamplay Cards and give them to students to use as prompts or ice breakers. I’ve used the Table Topics to provide discussion starters like “What’s the perfect topping for Kraft Dinner?” or “If you could go anywhere in Canada, where would it be?”
I’ve also learned a lot from Phil Boyte and his book School Culture by Design. There is also a School Culture by Design Facebook group.
“School culture is NOT something that just happens. You build it. That’s how it works.”
If teachers want to connect with you, where can they find you online?
On Instagram @mrs.mal_24 and @manitobaleadership
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