GISS welcomes two new teachers
Donal Duncan and Suzanna Ritchie are two new teachers at GISS this year.
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By BRONTE RENWICK-SHIELDS
Driftwood Contributor
Two new science teachers are among the new faces at Gulf Islands Secondary School this year.
Suzanna Ritchie and Donal Duncan are both excited about the year ahead and love what GISS has to offer.
This is Duncan’s first year of full-time teaching after completing his practicum at Parkland Secondary in Sidney. A teaching profession was not the first thing that Duncan had in mind after graduating from high school in Parksville. He first went to UBC for an undergraduate degree in engineering. He worked at UBC for a couple years in an engineering position, but while working and studying he found himself tutoring on the side and enjoying it more than what he was doing in the engineering field.
“I thought, ‘Hey, if I could help one student, maybe I can help 30.’”
This encouraged him to take the teaching program at UVic and he now teaches math, junior science and physics at GISS.
Duncan still lives in Victoria and has to commute daily, but is considering making the move to the island after his wife finishes her masters degree at UVic.
Ritchie grew up in Hamilton, Ontario and took biological sciences at the University of Guelph. After graduating, she moved to B.C. eight years ago to attend UVic’s teaching program. Ritchie has been living and teaching in North Vancouver before coming to Salt Spring and said she is really enjoying the school and the island so far.
Living on Salt Spring isn’t a completely new thing for Ritchie. She lived here for a few months before returning to university and loves the island. She’s known for a long time that she wanted to be a teacher.
She describes teaching as “something I have always loved.”
“I’ve been teaching in public schools now for two years and I’ve been teaching outside of the public school system since I was a teenager.”
Both of the new teachers have much to offer our school and our island and are enthusiastic about being here. Salt Spring Island and GISS welcome them.
The writer is a Grade 12 student at Gulf Islands Secondary School.
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