Mme Vriend attended Campus Saint-Jean (the French faculty at the University of Alberta) and received her Bachelor of Education, specializing in French Immersion. For her last teaching practicum she accepted a placement at École Mountain View School in Hinton. Having never spent any time in Hinton, she was keen to get to know a new community, and explore a new area, so she packed her bags and headed west for her 7 week student teaching practicum. At the end of her practicum she was offered a full-time job teaching grade 5 French Immersion at École Mountain View School. Her 7 week stay turned into a long term stay in Hinton.   She has now taught various grades at École Mountain View School, always in the French Immersion Program.

Her philosophy of education is for each student to be at the center of their learning. She does this by allowing her students to ask the questions while she takes on the role of facilitator pointing them in the right direction. She strives for her students to be confident, independent and resourceful learners.  She believes that every child is on the edge of a new discovery and that every child learns differently.   She uses the Daily 5 approach for teaching French Language Arts as well as CAFE reading strategies.  With these methods,  the student becomes the master of his/her learning and the teacher is there to guide them along their path of discovery. Above all Mme Vriend wants every student to know that there is a plan for each of their lives, that they have a purpose in this world. She wants her students to know that they are loved, respected and valued for their uniqueness and their individuality. She strives to foster a community of cooperation and collaboration. She wants each of her students to feel that they are free to share their opinions, thoughts and beliefs without the fear of being judged or put down by others. Lastly she wants each of her students to develop and be fulfilled in the gifts they have been given, because in using their gifts, she believes that they will find the greatest joy and sense of fulfillment this world has to offer.