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of Guelph. She earned Bachelor of Applied Science degree in 2002. "I was interested in healthy living but while I was in Guelph, I took all my elec- tives in child studies, knowing that my heart was in education and that someday I would like to be teaching elementary stu- dents," she said. With her degree, she decided to enter Loyalist College's early childhood educa- tion program and was able to complete the diploma in one year, not two. She went on to teachers' college at Queen's University last year and earned her certificate earlier this year. During her studies, she spent 16 weeks on teaching placements in local schools. There was never any question where she wanted to teach. "I only applied to the Hastings and Prince Edward board because my family is here, my husband works here and his fami- ly is here as well. We wanted to stay in the area." She and her husband, Mike, a project manager at Decoma Autosystems, recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary. Hadley recalls the June job interview with a principal and vice-principal. "I was nervous because it was so impor- tant to me to be a teacher with this board. But the panel made me feel quite at ease and I had a very good interview." Hadley attended professional develop- ment workshops this summer dealing with early math and early literacy training. She also participated in the four-day orienta- tion session for new teachers where she learned everything from crisis intervention to health and safety. She couldn't be more thrilled working with Grade 1 students. "I have always loved working with chil- dren," said Hadley, adding she has taught swimming lessons and kids' cooking class- es and worked in child care facilities. Hadley smiles when she talks about teaching, saying "I'm enjoying it very much." She's proud of how she has set up her classroom. "I've prepared the classroom to involve children in a number of ways, in small and large groups and individual work." She has a large group meeting area with bright-coloured mats in one corner of the room, which also doubles as the reading corner. There are various areas in the room where her students can work in small groups or individually either sitting at their desks or sitting on the carpet. Several bulletin boards covering the different sub- ject areas are strategically located inside the room. "The room is set up the way I want it for the beginning of the year but it will change as the year goes on to reflect the different learning that will be going on in the class- room and the different strategies that I will be using," Hadley said. "Being a teacher, you're always learning new things, new strategies ... I don't con- sider myself to have finished my education to be a teacher." Contact Henry Bury at: newsroom@inteUigencer.ca Seff i f f /of !