Gym class hero: Saskatchewan’s newest teachers step up to the plate

Saskatoon’s newest gym teacher will be literally teaching her students to walk before they can run, shortly after she walked across the stage to receive her education degree.

“It will be a lot of focus on routines and transition,” said Tseganesh Killoh – or Madame Killoh, as the 24-year-old’s students will soon know her – explaining what the first lesson of her career will be this Wednesday.

“Right from the classroom, how do we walk down the hall? And they have to prove to me that they’re able to walk nicely. Because yeah, we can have fun, but we’ve got to get the basics down first,” she said with a smile.

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Killoh, who often goes by Tesgu, is École Victoria School’s newest physical education teacher.

“It feels very exciting and, like, a big start to my, like, a new part of my life and my career,” Killoh said of her new title.

Excited and a bit nervous for her first day of school as a teacher, Killoh is still eagerly awaiting which grades she’ll be responsible for teaching at École Victoria.

“I have, maybe, a personality that matches the younger years,” she reflected. “I am very eccentric and I love to give out a lot of my energy. With the older students, it is a little bit of a shift because you don’t want to treat them like they’re young, right? So, the way you explain certain activities or how you address certain situations is going to be based on the age and the grade and the student.”

Killoh didn’t initially intend to be a physical education teacher – though she said she’s always known that she would become a teacher generally. After learning more about physical health and literacy, and interning at Sylvia Fedoruk Elementary School in the area, she found her new favourite subject.

Being from Ethiopia, Killoh also grew up playing soccer.

Tseganesh Killoh – or Madame Killoh, as the 24 year old’s students will soon know her – grew up playing soccer and knowing she wanted to be a teacher. Born in Ethiopia, she’s fallen in love with physical education and is excited to share her passion with her first group of students this fall in Saskatoon. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

“That’s like my sport. I love it. I did track and field. I did cross country, and I have two brothers,” she said, rounding out her active résumé. She’s also been preparing by seeking advice from mentors, tailoring lesson plans to her prospective students and gathering information from the school’s other gym teacher.

While the first things that might come to mind for many who think about a school gymnasium might be smelly socks in lockers and dodgeballs thrown under basketball hoops, Killoh said that stereotype is changing.

“You’re trying to build a space where it’s not just about athletics, right?” she said. “I’m not thinking, okay, if you can’t do 20 laps, then you’re not good at gym. That is a horrible mindset to have.”

Instead, Killoh said there are curricular outcomes to meet, as well as students’ needs and abilities to focus on in gym class.

“You want kids to have fun,” Killoh said. “For some, it’s the best space. They love it. They thrive in it. For others, they may not have had a whole lot of phys ed or physical activity influence. And so, I think stepping into this role, it is my job and my responsibility to ensure that every child feels welcome, safe, and that they’re having fun in the gym.”

And while that might sometimes take the form of a fitness test or a game of dodgeball, it also means teaching kindergarteners spatial awareness and strategies such as how to tag another person.

Killoh came to Canada in 2007. She and her brothers were adopted and grew up in Warman.

“I have always, like, known to care for people, and I’m not a shy person, really, I wouldn’t say, and so I’ve always kind of had a personality that goes well with younger kids or taking care of people and kind of stepping in,” Killoh said, describing herself.

She knew other subjects such as accounting or medicine were not for her and quickly focused on a career where she could nurture others in a way similar to how her aunt, who also worked for the Saskatoon Public School Division, did.

“She was someone I looked up to, and I was like, oh, I need to be like her when I grow up,” Killoh said.

The new teacher has a few fears in the back of her mind, notably overthinking her new job and the start of this new season of life.

“Is this the right lesson? Can I ask this person this? You know, there’s just little things that can kind of go over and over in your mind,” she said.

“You want them to like you, of course, and there are going to be challenges that you naturally face. And I’m hoping that I’m taking enough and absorbing enough information and strategies to be able to handle those situations positively.”

She’s hopeful that her goofiness and ability to spin stories and scenarios will bode well for entertaining and holding her students’ attention in the right moments.

Being that it’s Killoh’s first year, she has yet to develop any superstitions or rituals for the start of the school year, though she did say she bought a new pair of shoes for the occasion.

“Oh, it’s starting school. I’ll just buy myself some new shoes,” she joked.

Killoh is working on honing her lesson plans, starting with routines and transitions, and hoping to incorporate lots of time outside while the weather is nice. She said she has been inspired by time in the sun during her own summer break and seeing how active people are in places with nice weather during some of her travels in recent months.

For the 2026-27 school year, Killoh wants to see growth in herself, taking what she’s learned and making it her own with her first batch of students and impacting them in a positive way.

“I really hope that having them in the gym with me is a space that they really can come to,” she said. “I don’t want to just be their phys ed teacher. I want them to be able to come to me whenever they have any issues or problems. I want to be a safe space that they can talk to at recess, in the library, at lunchtime.”

Regina teachers also preparing for new school year

Teachers at Regina’s St. Gregory School were busy Tuesday readying their classrooms.

“We are making sure that everything is in place for the students, making sure that the environments are ready for them to thrive and learn, and just making sure that the teachers are filled in on the students so that they are ready for transition into new classrooms,” Samantha Dech explained.

Dech is part of the student support team, responsible for the new Learning Centre, one of eight around the Regina Catholic School Division. It was created with provincial funding targeted at a specialized support classroom model.

Samantha Dech, Learning Centre teacher at Regina’s St. Gregory School. (Geoff Smith/980 CJME)

“It’s a space that creates welcoming, and a space that provides a safe spot for kids to go, but also extends not only our room,” she explained. “Our team is able to work right within other people’s classrooms and collaborate with teachers, so that we can then build the capacity in one another and collaborate, so that we all are a team and working for the students.”

Dech was spending her Tuesday putting together emotional regulation bins for classrooms, as well as flexible seating options such as rocking chairs and “sit and turn” cushions.

But for teachers, it’s the end of a countdown that began last month.

“The to-do list is never-ending, and we usually like to triage it and make sure that we’re tackling the proper things first,” she said.

“I’m excited to build new relationships with kids, and that is kind of the start of a wonderful year, is if we have those relationships in place and being able to make sure the kids have what they need to learn. But that’s the best part, is the kids in the relationship.”

—with files from 980 CJME’s Geoff Smith