Hello!
My name is Jenna Mathies and welcome to my professional e-Portfolio. I am a first-year student currently enrolled in the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina pursuing my bachelor’s degree in elementary education. I am also in the midst of my motherhood journey alongside my husband and our three children. They keep our lives and home beautifully full and complete. When I am not working on homework, caring for my family or managing our household affairs, I enjoy being creative! While I was a stay-at-home mom, I started two small business that are creative outlets of my own – avenues in which I still enjoy expressing and allowing my creativity to flow through. One is a photography business and the other is an Etsy shop. Prior to beginning the pursuit of my degree in education I worked as a Veterinary Technician. I enjoyed working in equine practice the most however, I love all animals – big, small, furry, feathered or otherwise! I had the privilege of growing up on an acreage which housed various animals that my family and I cared for. The acreage where I grew up is nestled in the Foothills just outside of a small town in Alberta, called Black Diamond. All of my family still lives there and we travel from Regina each year to see them – while also taking in and exploring the scenic recreation that the area and mountains surrounding have to offer.
Why teach?
Growing up as a child I always loved school. I would stand and wait for my school bus to roll up each morning in a tall and narrow sheltered school bus house at the end of my driveway that my dad built for me. Overall, I had very positive experiences in all of my school years from kindergarten all the way up to the twelfth grade and then afterwards, in college – where I obtained my diploma as a Veterinary Technologist. Some of the most memorable school years for myself were my high school years, with one of the reasons being that I had the opportunity to participate in playing school sports. Team sports taught me the importance of working together, sharing, commitment, patience and community. Through participating in team sports I learned the difference that together makes versus alone. When you work as a team you have a much better chance at succeeding than if you are standing alone. Working together, united as a team you are able to elevate and lift each other up along the way. In my role as a teacher, I hope to make school for my students a positive experience where they will feel elevated by their peers, uplifted by their environment and empowered by their learning. It is my hope that no child will stand alone on the sidelines of the classroom or otherwise – but instead that every child will have the opportunity to be an active participant and a player on the team.
Land Acknowledgement
In the spirit of reconciliation, I would like to acknowledge that I am from Treaty 7 territory – the ancestral and traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy: Siksika, Piikani, and the Kainai First Nations, the Stoney Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Wesley First Nations, the Dene of Tsuut’ina First Nations, and the Métis Nation Region 3, and all those that made Treaty 7 lands their home.
Today, I presently reside on Treaty 4 territory. These are the original lands of the Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Nakota, Lakota, and the homeland of the Métis Nation. Today, these lands continue to be the shared Territory of many diverse peoples from near and far.
