ARCHIVED—Susan Galbraith
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Year: 2009 – Province: New Brunswick
Certificate of Achievement Recipient
Carleton North High School
30 School Street
Bristol NB E7L 2G2
Principal: Paul Roy
School Tel.: 506-392-5120
School Fax: 506-392-5133
School Email: blancros@nbed.nb.ca
School Website: http://cnhs.nbed.nb.ca
Subjects and Grades Taught: Visual and graphic arts in grades 10 to 12
Susan Galbraith's colleagues celebrate her for bringing the arts back to the school and the community of Bristol, in northwestern New Brunswick. Since coming to the rural school in 1990, she has built the art program from the ground up. By organizing cultural events to display her students' art to the public, setting up a student-run gallery in the school and establishing a permanent collection of artwork to display, she also transformed the school, so much so that in 2008, ARTSNB named it the Anglophone School of the Arts for the province.
Teaching Approach
Mrs.Galbraith encourages her students by making quiet suggestions but never taking ownership of projects. In the same vein, she sets up her classroom so that each student has his or her own creative space. She places herself at the centre of the room, such that all students have clear site lines and so she can easily move to all the student areas, consistent with her hands-on teaching style.
Outstanding Achievements
- Mrs.Galbraith believes that to effectively prepare students for post-secondary education and careers in the arts, they need to be exposed to information and communications technology in high school. To that end, Mrs.Galbraith worked with two other teachers to secure a massive grant from Government of New Brunswick and McCain Foods, a major local employer, to update the technology at the school. With the funding, the team set up a mobile digital lab, with 30 laptops, digital cameras, printers scanners and other technology, that students use for art, music, graphic design and video production.
- With her colleagues, Mrs.Galbraith organizes a biannual art, music, culinary arts and music show, which is well attended by the students and the public. This event gives her students a goal to work towards, knowing that their work will be on display for the entire community.
Rave Reviews
"Susan Galbraith is a shining light. She has an immense soul that touches everyone she smiles at. Her eyes glimmer with sheer joyfulness and it places my heart at peace." Student
"Ms. Galbraith has worked tirelessly over the last 18 years to expose, enrich and educate not just the students under her tutelage, but the entire school community, along with the community at large." Colleague