Teacher Jaime Hunter has just finished up with one of her middle school classes. Rocking out to Steppenwolf, her students were rehearsing their various instrumental and vocal parts in preparation for an upcoming performance. Some of them clutched their instruments a little tighter or stole quick glances at their friends, nerves flickering under the excitement, but they kept going. They have put in the work, and it shows.

As the room quiets and the last chord fades, the Birchmount School K–8 music specialist pauses in the doorway and takes it in. These are the moments, she says, that still catch her off guard with gratitude.

“When you know you’re supporting kids the right way, and they respond to it, and they start to excel and then you’re the facilitator instead of the idea dropper, that’s my favourite part of my job,” says Ms. Hunter. “‘Go get this, you got it. I’ll go to the soundboard.’ And for them to be in Grade 6, being able to hold their own in that way, that’s so much of a privilege of mine to be their teacher. That’s the drive, just these kids.”

Ms. Hunter, a 2025 recipient of the provincial Minister’s Excellence in Education Awards, says the recognition is meaningful, but it also sharpens a feeling she already carries: an immense responsibility for her students. She works hard to show up for them every single day, in ways big and small.

Having benefitted from a multitude of chances to explore and play music throughout her own life, opportunities she credits with shaping who she is, she is determined to open those same doors for her students.

And the rewards, she says, are deeply personal.

“You meet kids along the way, and there are (…) some that are just going to be forever in your heart and just impact the way you do things. That’s also my driving force at the end of the day,” she says.
Ms. Hunter didn’t initially set out to be a teacher, but it eventually became clear it had always been her path.

Her mother was a teacher, and she remembers spending time in her classroom while she finished up for the day. Ms. Hunter would play teacher, writing out lesson plans on the board until her mother finished her marking.

Growing up, Ms. Hunter filled her days with sound and movement. She played a variety of instruments, sang and danced, and eventually went on to study classical piano at Mount Allison University. At first, she imagined a future as an accompanist, until her father helped her connect the dots to her real passion.

Her father gently questioned her about what she loved most. He noticed that when she talked about her courses or about playing, her eyes lit up when she described explaining concepts, helping others, and breaking music down so people could understand it. Those pieces, he pointed out, sounded more like education than performance.

Taking his perspective to heart, and grateful to her parents for always standing behind her passion for music, she decided to give a music education program a try and enrolled at Memorial University.
“I walked in the doors of my music education degree, and I went, ‘Oh. I was supposed to do this. Yes.’ And then it locked into place,” she says.

Ms. Hunter got her start in teaching fulltime at Birchmount in 2021. The school currently has 29 homerooms, and she sees the majority of them, typically 520 kids a week.

From basic music education to conducting the school concert band and choral programs, as well as running the extracurricular rock band program, she’s constantly switching hats.

“I feel like the day in the life is trying to just see where the arts take kids,” she says. Each class feels like an invitation for students to get a little closer to becoming themselves.

With her youngest learners, she starts by sparking simple joy and curiosity, using puppets, scarves, and boomwhackers to help them feel rhythm, pitch, and movement in their bodies. As they grow, she introduces them to a range of instruments and vocal techniques, watching as hesitant hands become steady and quiet voices grow stronger. Ultimately, her goal is to help them build confidence and find a way of expressing themselves that feels true.

Time and time again, through their engagement with music and the arts, Ms. Hunter watches her Birchmount students change in front of her eyes. A student who barely made eye contact in September will be leading a section by June. Another who struggles in other subjects suddenly discovers a place where their effort is noticed and their talent is real.

She sees how the meaning and connection they find in music ripple outward. The confidence they build in her classroom carries into how they walk down the hallway, how they speak up in class, and how they see themselves. This is especially true for her older students, who might be struggling with the messy transition from child to teenager and trying to figure out who they are.

Ms. Hunter has countless stories of students who, with the right support, found themselves on a more hopeful path because of music. Sometimes it is as simple as a student who finally feels they are “good at something.” Other times, it is a turning point that pulls them away from more negative choices and toward a community that lifts them up.

She lights up when she talks about former students, who reach out to tell her about organizing Battle of the Bands nights at their high schools, or share clips of songs they are recording in basements and bedrooms with friends.

Ms. Hunter encourages others to consider following their own path to teaching.

“I think that in life, there are two responsibilities,” she says. “We are students, and we are teachers. Whether or not we call ourselves that. You know, you could be at work, and you could be training somebody, and the way that you connect that training to them makes them become a better employee. We never escape these roles.”

She suggests anyone with an interest should come in and see what the profession is like.
“The kids are going to sell you,” she says. “The kids are going to sell you every time to be here, because there is no greater love than students in their appreciation for their teachers. You get a dandelion brought to you, and it’s like someone gave you a $100 bouquet of roses. They think of this rock, and they bring it to you, or they practise this song they really want to show you. There’s so many things that make this profession an extension of your heart.”