Cait Vail

Hi, I’m Cait!

I graduated from Teacher's College in 2011 with Intermediate / Senior Qualifications. My teachables are English and Geography. Job prospects were dire back then, so after applying to over 210 jobs over a 4 year span, I finally had an opportunity to teach English through an LTO position in a Secondary School. Once that ended, I was back where I started. No supply list, no jobs. During this time, I took several AQ courses, including my Junior ABQ.

Unemployment had me baking up a storm, and out of that came: Cait's Cafe. My husband and I have run our thriving cafe for almost 7 years. For the past 3.5 years, I have done the administrative side of our business from home while raising our daughter, Gabrielle, and son, Andrew, while my husband and our team of about ten, have and continue to manage the cafe.

This past February, I happened to be covering a shift at the cafe and a teacher came in, which led to her telling me how desperate they were for supply teachers. Within an hour, the school called me, and I started work as an Emergency supply teacher at our local Elementary School. I ended up working there full time for the remainder of the year, and became their “go-to” person, supplying in classes from K-8.

My own kids, being (almost 2), and 3.5, I spent most of COVID preparing Montessori-style learning areas in our home. I have invested much time, money, and effort learning about Montessori education, and am passionate about an orderly, attractive learning environment that encourages participation, focus, and fosters confidence.

For the final two weeks of school, I was placed in a Kindergarten class, and realized this was a really great place for me. I am eager to learn as much as I can to support and foster the Primary learning environment.