Gambo Teacher Wins Governor General’s History Award for Excellence

Minister of Education Krista Lynn Howell is extending congratulations to Jo Anne Broaders, a teacher at Smallwood Academy in Gambo, on receiving the Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Recently, Broaders’ Grade 8 students consulted archives and worked with Saqamaw Mi’sel Joe, then-Chief of Miawpukek First Nation, and Fred Jeans of the local area’s heritage committee to explore the identities of the 13 people believed to be buried in a Mi’kmaq cemetery in their town.

Students used their learnings from the project to help design a plaque to honour the individuals and then collaborated with the town to erect signage at the cemetery.

The Governor General’s History Awards recognize excellence in the categories of Teaching, Museums, Scholarly Research, Community Programming, and Popular Media.

Each award category has its own jury, selection process, and prize structure. Each award is accompanied by a $2,500 prize as well as $1,000 for the teacher’s school.

Broaders is a past recipient of the Premier’s Award for Teaching.