FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE

CHARTER ACADEMY
FFCA High School Campus
2116 MacKay Road NW
Calgary AB T3B 1C7
Telephone: 403 243-3316 ext. 318

February 18th, 2020

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Jim Poirier, and I have been employed with Foundations for the Future Charter
Academy for the past 14 years as an educator. I enthusiastically write this letter as reference
for Katelyn Watson for any educational position in which she pursues. I have known Katelyn
personally and professionally over the course of this year; during that time, I have come to
regard her as a mentor and friend. This past year, Katelyn spent months in my classroom as a
student-teacher where she had a tremendous impact on the students, me, and other staff
members. I have incredible respect and admiration for Katelyn as both an educator and
person, and she would be a wonderful asset to any school organization.

Perhaps the greatest attribute Katelyn has brought to our organization is her unyielding
commitment to our students and other constituents of our school organization. This permeates
every choice, decision and action she performs, as her first consideration always was the well-
being of her students, their parents and her colleagues. Katelyn has the uncanny ability to
impart this passion and her expertise to others she works with as well. Furthermore, I was
impressed with her open-mindedness to try new lesson ideas, and even if they did not go as
planned, she would absorb knowledge from these “perceived failures”. Teachers learn through
reflection, and one must accept failure as part of the learning process. Katelyn displayed
maturity beyond her years in both being able to talk about mistakes and shortcomings, and
exhibiting a thirst for knowledge to improve in her passionate pursuit of bettering her craft.

Throughout her time at FFCA, Katelyn has taken on a leadership role in a variety of
professional areas and school responsibilities. Professionally, Ms. Watson has demonstrated her
commitment to our organization both inside and outside of the classroom. She continually
would arrive at school early and was prepared for class upon arrival. She would use this time
to interact with students, furthering her relationships with them while learning about their
passions and concerns. Katelyn also has contributed to the school community outside of the
classroom volunteering to help coach the JV girls’ volleyball team, leading the coordination of
our Orange Shirt Day, and co-presenting a professional development seminar. Additionally, she
organized and taught a badminton unit for our PE staff outside of her teaching duties.

Katelyn’s contributions to our organization will be felt long after she has left, as she has always
been willing to offer assistance and has an excellent rapport with many of the constituents
served by our school, including students, staff members and parents. She would be a great
asset to any employer, and I would highly recommend her for any endeavour she chose to
pursue, as her commitment to excellence and professionalism would lead her to success.
Please contact me further to discuss Katelyn’s skills and my working experience with her at 1-
403-990-1026, or by email at jim.poirier@ffca-calgary.com.

Sincerely,

Jim Poirier
Jim Poirier