Humans of SJK: Ms. Kristen Boonstra

For SJK Upper School students, “The person that helps them with science-related questions” is not Bill Nye the Science Guy, but in fact, SJK’s Upper School Science Lab Technician Ms. Kristen Boonstra. Passionate about science and mentorship, Ms. Boonstra is in the lab to not only answer questions or help find the answers but also supervise internal assessments (IAs). Almost every day she is on campus, Ms. Boonstra is busy supervising students’ IA experiments after school because, at this time in the school year, DP students are very IA-focused until November Break. As part of their IAs, students formulate research questions, design experiments, run experiments, collect data, and analyze the results. IA supervision often follows a full day of helping SJK’s science faculty members plan and run their experiments. Ms. Boonstra is responsible for sourcing and ordering materials, supervising classes and experiments, and mentoring students working on their experiments for IAs and the Science Fair. She assists with chemistry and biology, but occasionally physics, too. Some Upper School students might also recall Ms. Boonstra filmed video tutorials, labs, and demonstrations during remote learning at the start of 2022.

After three years working as a police officer for Waterloo Regional Police Service and missing the science environment, she was looking to return to the field, a field she had experience in as a former research technician at Toronto General Hospital. This experience and love of science brought Ms. Boonstra to SJK in August of 2021. You can find her in the prep room or lab, three days a week.

Ms. Boonstra’s favourite subject is biotechnology in DP1. For example, she enjoys supervising experiments using gel electrophoresis and polymerase chain reactions because it is something she has previous research experience with and is very comfortable doing. However, Ms. Boonstra commented the interesting aspect about her job is moving back to a more generalized approach to science. In graduate school, you narrow your focus and research expertise, but as the Upper School Science Lab Technician, you need to go beyond your comfort zone and rediscover parts of science you didn’t have time to enjoy before. For Ms. Boonstra, this is chemistry. She loves having the space to dive back into chemistry and relearn topics that best support SJK students’ learning. Ms. Boonstra noted her work at SJK involves a wide variety, which is the opposite of when you get into a research field that requires the narrow specialization on a single topic. Here at SJK she gets to exercise a breadth of knowledge across various science subjects.

“It’s always hands-on,” Ms. Boonstra replied when asked about her favourite hands-on learning activity. Especially IAs, but most of the science lab-related work is very hands-on, requiring supervision by Ms. Boonstra and other science faculty members. In addition to lab work, Ms. Boonstra commented she enjoys Mrs. Malcolm’s environment science activities that takes them and the students down to the pond and Boathouse where they collect samples and create mesocosms.

Ms. Boonstra has a couple favourite aspects of SJK. First, she thinks the resources and opportunities SJK students have to support their exploration of different science topics is a special part of the SJK experience. As well, the expertise and dedication of the teachers working closely with students to explore their ideas and execute their experiments is another favourite aspect. She observes that teachers will spend a lot of time working with students to figure out how to make their experiments work, ordering materials, and organizing labs, just so they can answer the research questions they designed. Lastly, the science equipment at SJK is truly unique. For example, you likely won’t find the same biotechnology equipment in other high school classrooms. 

Next time you spot Ms. Boonstra in the science lab or prep room, make sure you give her a warm "Science rules!" SJK is thankful for her mentorship of students and passion for science.