Primary-Junior French as a Second Language Multi-Session BEd teacher candidate Amanda McBain has found a creative and heartfelt way to build community for the Class of 2026: designing and hand-making personalized Queen’s sweatshirts for her classmates.
A longtime maker of handmade clothing and accessories, Amanda said the idea emerged after classmates admired a shirt she crafted for herself—one that read “Kindergarten is my jam”— and a few peers encouraged her to take on a larger project. “Emma suggested I make sweatshirts for our graduation,” she recalled. Further encouragement from Tammy and Hannah convinced her to go for it (they also offered to help with taking and organizing all the orders). When she shared the idea with the full cohort, interest was immediate and enthusiastic. For the next in-person weekend, she brought in sample sweatshirts in Queen’s colours of red, blue, and gold for classmates to try on and choose from. She selected a plaid fabric for the appliqué and designed the lettering herself. Each classmate could choose the combination that felt most like them
For Amanda, the project filled a genuine need within the group. Over two years of learning together, the cohort has grown very close, and she saw the custom sweatshirts as both a fun and personalized way to celebrate their accomplishments at the end of the year (each sweatshirt will feature the Teacher Candidate’s name and be in their preferred Queen’s colours) and a way of acknowledging their shared journey. “It’s something that brings us all together as a cohort,” she said, still sounding touched by how excited her classmates were. The project also captures Amanda’s teaching philosophy that a classroom community (whether in an Elementary school or at the University level) should feel like a family, where everyone belongs.
Amanda’s goal is to complete all the sweatshirts by the April in-person learning weekend so the group can wear them during their final days together on campus. She envisions handing them out and capturing a class photo “a very exciting” moment that she is eagerly anticipating.
She hopes future PJ-FSLM Teacher Candidates recognize just how vital community is. “Finding your people and creating community in this type of program… is the only thing that gets me through,” she said. The PJ-FSLM BEd program is demanding—rewarding but intense—and there are moments when perseverance depends on feeling connected and supported. Her initiative and effort stand out as an awesome example of what it means to create connection and lift others up. Bravo, Amanda – bien fait!