LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - A Fort Simpson teacher has been recognized for the difference she has made in the lives of some of her students.

Bernice Gargan, the language specialist at Bompas Elementary School, is one of two winners of this year's Thank You for Making a Difference Initiative. This is the 13th year that the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association has run the territory-wide initiative.

Bernice Gargan, the language specialist at Bompas Elementary School in Fort Simpson, won this year's Thank You for Making a Difference Initiative run by the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association. Melissa Pascua-Matte, right, wrote the winning submission about her teacher. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

"The purpose is to have people stop and think about positive things that are going on in education," said Gayla Meredith, the association's co-ordinator of member services.

Students are encouraged to write submissions about a teacher that has made a difference in their lives, said Meredith. Parents and teachers also send in entries.

In its first year as a pilot project in Yellowknife, 29 submissions were received. This year there were more than 1,800 entries, 1,180 of which came from outside of Yellowknife.

Over the 13 years, close to 16,000 messages of thanks have been written to educators. Each submission is given to the teacher it is written about.

Because there are so many submissions now, a draw is done in each school and the wining entries are put in the larger draw. Andrew Austen, a Grade 5 teacher at Range Lake North School, won the Yellowknife draw while Gargan won the draw for the rest of the territory. Last year's territory winner, Kelley Andrews-Klein, is also at teacher at Bompas Elementary School.

Melissa Pascua-Matte, 12, wrote the winning entry about Gargan.

"Ms. Gargan is kind and nice to everyone. She taught us how to sew and make earrings, key chains and so on," wrote Pascua-Matte. "She takes us to culture camp and we learn about life in the bush. She teaches us traditional things and the Dene language."

Pascua-Matte said she decided to nominate Gargan for the award because she is a good role model.

"She helps kids with what they need," said Pascua-Matte. "She's good to kids, she doesn't get real mad."

The Bompas student said she was very excited that her teacher won the award. For writing the winning nomination, Pascua-Matte won a laptop while Gargan received a flight for two with First Air.

"I was very honored," Gargan said. "I didn't think that I'd ever get it."

Gargan has a collection of entries that students have written about her, dating back to the earliest years of the initiative. This year even some of her former students sent entries. Jordan Villeneuve, now a high school student at Thomas Simpson School, thanked Gargan for asking him not to smoke, a request that led him to quit.

Gargan has been involved in students' lives since she started as a classroom assistant at Louie Norwegian School in Jean Marie River in 1986. After she had worked there as an assistant for a number of years, the teacher in Jean Marie encouraged her to take the next step and become a teacher too. Gargan's mother also made a death-bed request that she become a teacher.

"I wish she was alive to see me but I'm sure she sees me from heaven that I fulfilled her wish," Gargan said.

She completed two years of field-based training in Jean Marie River, followed by a year at Aurora College to earn her teaching certificate. She began her career as a teacher at Bompas in 1991, first as a Grade 1 educator and later with kindergarten and Grade 3 and 4 students.

While she was completing her Bachelor of Education at the University of Saskatchewan in 2008, Gargan was offered a position as Fort Simpson school's language specialist, a role that she accepted and plans to continue in until retirement.

Gargan said she enjoys taking students into the bush and teaching them things that her parents taught her when she was younger.

"I see the enjoyment on the kids' faces when I take them out," she said.

Gargan said she tries to teach her students that with hard work and by continuing their work at school, they can do anything, including becoming an aboriginal teacher. Pauline has an expanding family that currently includes 17 grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and eight great, great grandchildren. One of the granddaughters, Jolene Lacorne, made the birthday cake that the family brought to celebrate the occasion. Pauline managed to blow out all but one of the candles that were lit on the cake.

After learning it was her 97th birthday, Squirrel said that Pauline proclaimed in Slavey, 'I'm 97, I'm getting smarter.'"

Her other comment on her advancing age, which elicited laughter from her family was, "They're not going to make me brand new again."