Congratulations to all of our Second Quarter Shining Stars!
Annie Ray, Family Involvement Coordinator, Robidoux Middle School
Annie goes above and beyond to help our students in need. She delivers food directly to our students' homes every week in cooperation with Second Harvest Food Bank. She also assisted families with the Adopt-a-Family program applications, as well as adopting a family for Robidoux. She holds food drives to stock our Campus Cupboard and also personally drove her vehicle to pick up books for our free book fair that had been delayed by shipping issues. She is an asset to our building and has a heart for kids.
Kayla Bielby, Secretary, Pickett
This year Kayla has gone above and beyond each day. You can often see Kayla picking up shifts in the cafeteria, after our lunchroom supervisor resigned. She is the first one to step up and take over when another staff member can’t do their shift with no complaints. She sees the good in each child and can be found hugging the kids as she walks through the hallway. The kids view her as a celebrity at Pickett. When she walks through the halls or into a classroom the kids smile and can often be heard calling out for her. She’s a gem to the Pickett family and I’m so thankful that I get to work alongside this secretary.
Annie Bramlage, Theater Teacher, Central High School
Over the summer she spent weeks organizing and updating the Central auditorium and it looks amazing! The fall musical, Mama Mia, was the highlight of the fall semester at CHS. Mrs. Bramlage recruited and introduced many students to their first experience on stage. The musical was a hit and had exceptional ticket sales. She even managed to recruit several staff members for memorable cameo appearances! Mrs. Bramlage has brought new life and enthusiasm to CHS, and she has quickly become beloved by many students. We are very grateful to have Annie on our team!
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Jessica Keefer, Ag Education, Hillyard/LHS/RMS/VA
Working near Jessica, I have been able to witness her compassion for even the most troubling learner. She is innovative and always developing solutions so students can achieve their true potential. She never gives up on a student. Jessica also donates her time after school to ensure beginning teachers have an experienced resource to go to for help with classroom questions. If she does not know the answer she does not give up until she gets one. Jessica does not teach for the recognition from awards like this, she does it because it is her passion
Kelsey Davis, 7th grade ELA, Robidoux
She is an engaging, facilitating, motivating queen. Kelsey plans and designs lessons that bring curriculum to life. She has a beautiful way of getting students to think critically and express themselves using a variety of mediums. She set such a high expectation for her students the last round of I-ready testing and students consistently met her expectation. They were so proud of themselves and were so excited to share their scores with anyone walking by, which is a direct reflection of the time, passion, and energy Kelsey pours into her classroom and her students everyday. Kelsey is truly a champion for students at Robidoux!
Kerry Funck, Library Facilitator, Skaith Elementary
Kerry has expanded library time for students to include weekly words of the week, jokes of the week, and question of the week. Kids are digging through dictionaries and books to find answers and are deeply engaged in learning while in the library. She's also doing fun things for students, families, and staff, including crafts for students to gift their families and making teachers into paper elves and hiding them around the school. She is just amazing at making the library a rich experience for our students and helping our school feel like a home for everyone.
Michelle Shepard, Nutrition Services Manager, Central High School
Working next to Michelle has been my best years in the kitchen. Her ability to take on anything from pandemic, virtual lunches, changes in guidelines, to short staff, to shortages, day to day management, the list could go on. With anything she keeps her calm with a smile and laughter making everyone not feeling any stress to what is going on. She is always working beside and with us as a team. Her character and management skills are something employees can respect, learn and grow from.
Tiffany Thompson, 6th Grade Social Studies, Spring Garden
Tiffany Thompson is a high-quality educator who is utilizing the work of her department plan to improve the craft of her instruction. She shared her unit of instruction data with other teachers as a model for them to use and helped them craft an instructional plan to address the tier 1 instruction. She also stepped up in a leadership role to facilitate professional learning for the middle school social studies teachers. Tiffany realizes the importance of mentoring our new teachers and is always open to opening her classroom for learning. Not only that, but she also stepped up to teach an overloaded course with digital publications. Mrs. Thompson is the "real deal" when fostering a community for all teachers.