Province-wide teaching award for retiring Land O'Lakes French teacher

Jeff Green | Jun 23, 2011

Photos: Brian Robertson

“Who would have thought little old me from little old Mountain Grove would win this award?” said Brian Robertson on Monday after the news came out that he has been named by the Ontario Teachers Federation as the elementary panel recipient of the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan award for 2011.

The award is one of three offered by the federation. The others are for the secondary panel and for a new teacher. The federation represents teachers in all Ontario public and separate school boards, and the awards are funded by the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan, who will be awarding $1,000 to Brian Robertson and another $1,000 to Land O'Lakes Public School (LOLPS), where he has been teaching since 1995, when the awards are handed out at a gala dinner in September.

In addition, a crew from TV Ontario spent last Thursday filming at LOLPS as Robertson showed them around the school and the grounds. A feature will air on TVO in October.

“They interviewed the kids, the teachers; we were able to show them the grounds, and show off our school for them a little bit,” Robertson said.

The award is a tribute not only to Robertson’s career, but to Land O'Lakes Public School as well. Barry Harding, another teacher at LOLPS, spearheaded the nomination, which included testimonials from the school’s principal, Emily Yanch, from most of the other teachers and some parents as well.

Not bad for a school that was saved from closure at the very end of a Program and Accommodation Review Process exactly one year ago.

Among the reasons that Brian Robertson was chosen over 500 plus nominees for the award were the extra-curricular activities he has spearheaded at Land O'Lakes, including the cross-country running track and field program, Remembrance Day and local heritage programming.

He is perhaps best known for the spring musical that he writes and directs each year.

In the spirit of “no child left behind”, as in all the activities Brian Robertson has championed, there are roles for every child who is interested to fully participate in the spring musicals.

He said that it helps that he is the core French teacher at the school, because that puts him in the unique position of teaching every child in the school. “That gives me all sorts of opportunities to rally the masses for school-wide events.

After 34 years of teaching, Brian Robertson has made the decision to retire at the end of this school year.

“What this award does is really cap my career off,” he said. “I am really honoured by this.”