I am truly honored to be the Principal of Sigurbjorg Stefansson School. Every day I try to emulate through my words and actions, the school and the culture that I believe should exist for every child to flourish. This 2020-2021 school year has been very challenging as we work together as educators, parents, and families to ensure that we are all safe while teaching and learning during the pandemic. We are so grateful for the support of our parents and the community as we navigate through the many restrictions and protocols together. Thanks to all of our SSES staff, parents, and community for your outstanding efforts to support our school and one another.

My Background Info:

This is my eleventh year as principal of SSES and before that, I was also the Assistant Principal for eight years. I have three university degrees including my Bachelor of Education, Post Baccalaureate in Education, and my Masters of Education, all from the University of Manitoba. I grew up in Riverton which is a half an hour north of Gimli, close to the shores of Lake Winnipeg, and right on the bank of the beautiful Icelandic River. I have lived in the Interlake  all of my life, except when I attended university to become an educator.  I have taught and have been involved in leadership in Evergreen School Division for 34 years, including teaching Kindergarten, Grades 3, 4, 6, , Early Year's Basic French, and facilitating the infusion of literacy with information and communication technologies. I have also been involved with the Manitoba Department of Education developing curriculum and resources for the province. Throughout my career, I have presented to other educators and university students on various topics such as Math, ELA, and Information & Technologies infusion. More recently, I have been presenting on Education for Sustainability, Leadership, Contemporary Learning Competencies, and sharing the many successes and challenges with teaching and leading for excellence in education. I am so grateful to have the privilege to positively impact the lives of children and marvel at how they energize me everyday with their intelligence, creativity, compassion, and excitement for learning. What I love most is their insatiable curiosity and sense of wonder about people and the world in which we live.

I thrive working with people of all ages, to help make our community and our world a better place to learn and grow together. I come from a large family of five and all of my siblings still work and live in this area, including Winnipeg. I have been married for almost 34 years am the proud mom of two lovely daughters who were raised and educated in Gimli. My eldest daughter, Brittany (29) is a NICU (Neonatal) nurse and is currently working and living with her partner in New Zealand. My youngest daughter Ali (26), has been teaching for several years in Pembina Trails School Division in Winnipeg. My husband Paul retired from being a Superintendent in this division for 34 years and is now enjoying working from home with his educational consulting company in the company of our rambunctious two old Yellow Lab named Will...(while squeezing in some golfing, fishing, skiing, and snowmobiling trips when time permits.) I love music, art, dancing, nature, reading, cooking, skiing, being physically active,  gardening, boating, decorating, traveling and playing the piano. My favourite thing to do when I am not working is to spend time with my family and friends.

I believe that  collaborating with families, students,  colleagues, and the community enriches our learning environment and helps our students to not only achieve their full potential, but to live a beautiful, meaningful life. At our school, we believe in striving constantly to achieve the highest academic standards while also ensuring that alongside excelling in the foundational literacies of reading, writing, and math, we integrate important Social Studies, Science, and Health content. Providing opportunities for our students to develop strong social emotional skills while integrating the Arts, learning about the environment, and the world around us is critical to developing their full potential and helping them to become participatory, contributing citizens. 

 Please e-mail or call the school if you have if you have any questions !!

Rosanna Cuthbert