Pam Vanderhelm

I am a teacher, mother, and student currently living and playing on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Stolo First Nations in the Fraser Valley. In my free time, I love hiking, cycling, movies, reading, camping and traveling with my family.

I'm a grade 1/2 teacher in my third year of teaching, and, despite it being the most challenging work I've done, it's also the most fascinating, and I love my new career. There are so many memorable moments in teaching, but the ones that stand out are when I'm able to make a connection with my students who struggle with self-regulation due to anxiety or trauma. I remember one long, hard day, where I struggled to offer consistent expectations and choices throughout meltdown after meltdown that interrupted my teaching. Near the end of that day I was frazzled and exhausted but that child put their hand in mine and said "I love you, Mrs. V." which melted my heart. I was so relieved that I had been able to stay consistent and get us all through that difficult time together.

Another memorable experience was my first time performing with my class in an assembly. We had practiced our song everyday for weeks and they sang beautifully. We had several practices with the other class that would be singing with us. They absolutely knew the lyrics. But when we performed in the assembly, they fell apart! I was already a nervous wreck, and when they practically stopped singing in the middle of the song, the other teacher looked like she was going to restart them, but I didn't want to prolong the performance! I started singing loudly to get them back on track, and most followed suit. I think I was singing more than my class was, and I am still laughing about it as I type this! I'm looking forward to new performances when we start having assemblies again.