Today, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, and the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families, on behalf of the Right Honourable Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, announced that 70 of Canada’s top educators have received this year’s Prime Minister’s Awards. Award categories include Teaching Excellence; Teaching Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM); and Excellence in Early Childhood Education. Within these categories, awards were given at regional or national levels. Each award recipient has shown innovative thinking in their educational practices, motivating both students and colleagues to pursue excellence. These awards celebrate the educators who drive innovation in Canada by inspiring young people to reflect, ask questions and challenge themselves.
Trafalgar Castle School is immensely proud to announce that its Technology Teacher for Grades 7-10, Penny Senior, has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Award Certificate of Achievement for teaching excellence in STEM.
Penny Senior is a visionary educator who inspires young women to see themselves as leaders in science and technology. Through barrier-breaking programs and real-world learning experiences, Penny expands the possibilities of STEM and who it’s for. As the Coordinator of Experiential Learning, her leadership has helped establish Trafalgar Castle School as one of only 23 Apple Distinguished Schools in Canada, a home to award-winning robotics teams and has established a vibrant tech-integrated curriculum and a culture in which students develop confidence, passion, and take pride in their learning journeys.
Penny’s classroom is grounded in possibility. She breaks down barriers by introducing skills not historically taught in all-girls environments and designs experiences rooted in digital innovation, creativity, and real-world experiences. A certified Apple Teacher, Apple Coach and Canva Educator, Penny continuously learns alongside her students to bring the latest technologies into the classroom. Whether leading field trips or facilitating post-secondary opportunities, Penny helps her students make meaningful connections between the classroom and the world around them, and these in-class initiatives include:
- A cross-curricular “Accessibility Project” combining math, tech, and robotics—students identified areas of the school that weren’t accessible, designed solutions, and coded robots to test their designs
- Woodworking integrated into the Design Tech program, outfitting the classroom with tools and benches so students could design and build birdhouses
- Teaching digital literacy and responsible AI use, inviting guest speakers like Microsoft engineers to talk about cybersecurity and emerging tech
- Using interactive tools like VR headsets and green screens in the “Design Tech Classroom” to support STEM learning, from coding to examining ecosystems in a local creek
- Leading field trips that connect technology to empathy and health, like exploring how VR helps dementia patients
- Founding “Beyond the Castle,” an annual week-long program where students explore everything from Indigenous sites to potential career paths; Grade 10s focus on “Women in STEM” through partnerships with Deloitte, Microsoft, and the University of Toronto
Senior’s achievements in STEM at Trafalgar are vast and include, but are not limited to:
- Established the school’s first post-secondary STEM partnership, securing conditional acceptance and scholarship opportunities at Ontario Tech University
- Launched “Trafalgar Talks,” a speaker series featuring women from fields like nuclear engineering, pastry arts, and entrepreneurship
- Led and continues to lead Trafalgar’s award-winning robotics teams, taking students to national competitions, including Ontario Tech’s LEGO Sumobot Challenge—grade 8s won the Women in Engineering and Referee Award for Sportsmanship, while grade 7s earned Best Poster Design
- Facilitated and continues to facilitate learning opportunities outside the classroom—for example, leading a trip to the Dominican Republic that focused on gender equity, environmental issues, and community impact
- Building student leadership by mentoring robotics team members, guiding student council initiatives, and coordinating volunteer projects with community organizations like Durham Feed the Need
Across Canada, educators are empowering the next generation with the skills, tools and experiences they need to thrive in Canada’s innovation economy. For over 30 years, the Prime Minister’s Awards have recognized those who stand out for their teaching methods, dedication and ability to inspire our youth to reach even greater heights—and who share their stories to help others learn. Trafalgar Castle School is incredibly proud of Penny on this milestone achievement and looks forward to all her future accomplishments in breaking barriers for girls in STEM.
For more information about the Prime Minister’s Awards, visit ISED.