{"id":2393,"date":"2013-06-05T12:17:24","date_gmt":"2013-06-05T16:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=2393"},"modified":"2013-06-12T17:02:06","modified_gmt":"2013-06-12T21:02:06","slug":"ahs-fowler-named-teacher-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/ahs-fowler-named-teacher-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"AHS’ Fowler named Teacher of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aurora High School teacher Teri Fowler marks her own successes on her students\u2019 own \u201cmusical moments.\u201d <\/p>\n

These moments aren\u2019t limited to those that are necessarily imparted in the classroom, but simply making a connection with a particular piece or instrument, but whatever gets them out of themselves and one with the music.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we as an ensemble, or students as individuals have had that out of body experience with the musical performance they themselves achieved, that is really one of the highlights of my job,\u201d Ms. Fowler, head of Aurora High School\u2019s (AHS) music department tells The Auroran. \u201cIt is seeing the elation with the students of how well they did or how far they have come after a really successful performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

These examples of \u201cmusical moments\u201d outside of the school often come her way at this time of year when, as the school year wraps up, she asks her students to reflect on the last few months. Many of the responses that come in speak about out of school experiences, such as playing outside of the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna where a rogue piece of sheet music is caught and held in place by a total stranger in the audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m satisfied if, at the end of the year, they can appreciate [a musical experience] that was out of the norm, exciting memories that they can cherish.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a philosophy she has made an integral part of her teaching career, since her first days in 2000 with the music department at Richmond Hill High School. She moved to AHS a year later, where she has remained ever since. <\/p>\n

It is as head of the school\u2019s music department Ms. Fowler was named last week as the York Region District School Board\u2019s Secondary School Teacher of the Year. With Terry Cariglia-Bull of Georgina\u2019s Morning Glory Public School, winning the elementary school honours, both women were honoured for \u201cexemplifying the Board\u2019s mission, vision and values.”<\/p>\n

\u201cTeri is a selfless advocate of the arts and has worked tirelessly at providing rich opportunities for students to be involved in music appreciation, performance, and creation,\u201d said the Board. \u201cTeri is a consummate professional, who consistently exhibits optimism and kindness in all her interactions with students, staff and parents. Teri shares her expertise and knowledge with colleagues, offering many examples of how we can celebrate every students\u2019 success, demonstrate our commitment to their well-being, and inspire them to learn and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Fowler was nominated for the honour by the administration of AHS. Principal Maria Maiato says Teri\u2019s humble attitude adds \u201cbeauty\u201d to the honour because she consistently downplays her own achievements. Of the board\u2019s values, Ms. Maiato says she exemplifies them to a high degree and they were happy to put her name forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only is she an incredible educator, but the way of her rapport with students is very different and exceptional,\u201d she says. \u201cShe is always smiling, always positive, and it is all about the kids. She is here every morning, she stays late at night, she has kids of her own, but she is always there for our international trips and just goes above and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Case in point: When both teachers were honoured by the Board with a reception, Ms. Fowler was unable to attend, leading the students on a trip to New York. Nevertheless, days after receiving the gong, she said she was still in shock that she would be chosen from all the teachers within the school for simply doing what she loves to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have held music close to my heart since I was young and I find there is nothing better than making music all day with the students who love it as much as I do,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She knew coming out of high school that teaching was something she wanted to do. Her mother was an English teacher and her father a computer studies teacher, and while it might be in the blood, when it came down to her choosing a path, she was torn between science and music. Her passion ultimately won the day.<\/p>\n

Within her role, she not only teaches the Grade 11 and Grade 12 students, but also helps sow the musical seeds in incoming high school students. She tries to get elementary school students to come to AHS to get involved with the Senior Students to see what high school life has to offer, and the benefits one gets becoming involved with music classes and programs. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is really exciting because students are just in awe of the older students and they realise that music is a pretty fun place to be,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur motto in the department, especially to students who may leave, is \u2018May music never leave your life.\u2019 Keep it as close to your heart as much as you can for the rest of your life. Try to stay involved in some way. Music develops all sides of the brain, it develops the ability to work as a team. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows an extremely strong character discipline that teaches the whole mind and the whole heart. That is important to pass onto the kids in today\u2019s day and age.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aurora High School teacher Teri Fowler marks her own successes on her students\u2019 own \u201cmusical moments.\u201d <\/p>\n

These moments aren\u2019t limited to those that are necessarily imparted in the classroom…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/2013-06-05-13.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-CB","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-18 05:36:33","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}