GUELPH – For Michael Moore, teaching continues far beyond the bell to end the school day.

Regular school hours aren’t enough time to teach students what they need to know to succeed in technology industries, Moore said. 

He realized that in the 1990s – a few years into his teaching career. It’s what motivated him to start leading skills clubs on Saturdays while teaching at Holy Family Technology Centre, and to lead the robotics club at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School in Guelph. 

The clubs give students a chance to gain in-depth  hands-on experience.

“It is one thing to know it – it is another thing to do it,” Moore said, and “experiential learning cannot be confined to the minutes of the school day.” 

A number of students that attended Moore’s club more than 20 years ago were in the audience at Our Lady of Lourdes on Sept. 20. 

The support for Moore in the gymnasium was palpable, with significant chatter about his legacy and prolonged applause and enthusiastic cheers for the teacher and head of technological education. 

The assembly was to celebrate Moore receiving the school’s National Leadership Award in recognition of his success delivering many students into apprenticeships and careers in the transportation and automation industries. 

Award ceremony guests included veteran Chuck Merry, Guelph councillor Linda Busuttil (she spoke in place of Mayor Can Guthrie, who was away), Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) director of education Michael Glazier and WCDSB chair Vikki Dupuis. 

With tears glistening in his eyes, Moore admitted he didn’t expect to feel so emotional about receiving the award. 

He regularly spends hundreds of hours every semester supporting students outside school hours, including the Our Lady of Lourdes robotics team. 

He led the team to the World Robotics Championship in Houston, Texas in April, where his students’ robot took first place of 619 teams from 59 countries. 

The National Leadership Award was established in 1991 to recognize important members of society.

Past recipients include National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Perry Bellegarde, the Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mats Sundin, and prime ministers Justin Trudeau, Paul Martin and Brian Mulroney.