Cindy Smith the new principal at Canora Composite School (CCS), and is looking forward to the opportunity to be involved both in the school and the Canora community.
Smith and her husband Leonard Puchala live on an acreage near Yorkton, and have two adult daughters, Chassidy and Chelsey.
Even though she is starting a new position, Smith and her family have multiple ties to the region. Her family moved around Saskatchewan when she was very young, but for the most part, Smith grew up in the Endeavour area.
Smith said she has always enjoyed the outdoors, especially riding horses and spending time on the water, hobbies which began when she was very young.
“I grew up either in a saddle or the bottom of a canoe.”
She began her working career as a veterinary technician in Preeceville. But when she decided it was time for a career change, Smith decided to pursue her interest in education.
She went back to university and obtained an education degree, which included studies in math and biology. She taught senior math in Yorkton Regional High School for about 10 years.
While working, Smith obtained a master’s degree in educational administration and took on a Stirling McDowell research project in math and inquiry-based education. She learned the advantages of how, in inquiry-based education, students are presented with questions, problems, or scenarios rather than educators simply giving them established facts.
Smith worked as a math coach in the Good Spirit School Division for five years, traveling throughout the division as part of her duties. During this time, she came to appreciate the good work being done at CCS.
New CCS principal welcomes students back to school
“It was well known throughout the Good Spirit School Division that there are strong teachers here, and that the school has a reputation for great students,” said Smith.
When the job of CCS principal became available, Smith was confident this was the right position for her. Not only does she believe she can contribute to the school, she is also looking forward to being a part of the Canora community.
Even though CCS students have produced results that are well above average in pretty much every area, Smith believes there is always room to do even better. Her overall goal is to always try to build up the teachers and the students, and help them find ways to improve in all areas. Her specific goals are for improvement in math, writing, and student and staff culture.
She said it’s a very exciting time to be involved in education. There is presently about a decade of research available on cognitive learning, which is essentially how the brain works.
“Thanks to this research, we know what stimulates learning and we know how to create meaningful learning. We can measure what we do in education and how well it works,” said Smith.
Another valuable piece of information now available to educators is that the majority of successful students have a positive attitude and believe they will be successful at it, something which can be reinforced by teachers and parents, she said.
Smith said that her new position comes with its share of challenges. Cuts to spending on education are making it necessary for teachers to work double time to cover budget holes. This is making scheduling extremely difficult.
She asked parents to trust the teachers at CCS and remember that they are highly trained and well prepared in all the different subjects.
“If the parents could see what the teachers want for their kids, they would be thrilled. The teachers at CCS all say that the most important thing to them about being a teacher is to do what is best for the kids,” said Smith.
She welcomed the students back to school and reminded them that they have a lot to look forward to.
“You have a team of teachers who plan everything to benefit you, even if you don’t always see the benefit right away,” said Smith.
For her, one of the benefits of working in Canora is that it’s not too far from the farm owned by their family near Rockford, northwest of Preeceville. The farm is surrounded on all sides by provincial forest, providing Smith with ample opportunities to pursue her hobby of horseback riding. She also looks forward to going cross country skiing in winter.
