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Teacher of
Teacher of the Month Stephanie Huff
Flipgrid, a platform where students can respond in video form to teach others about a topic or show what they know about a given topic.” in their classrooms! That, or working with animals. (One of the things she loves doing when she isn’t at school is spending time with her pets — her dogs, Daisy and Lavender, and four cats.)
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Congratulations to our May teacher of the month, Stephanie Huff! Mrs. Huff is a third-grade PLATO teacher at Highland Park Elementary in Roanoke City. Mrs. Huff started teaching 28 years ago and has been in the PLATO classroom for eight years. While she’s taught all subjects over the years, this year, she’s teaching math to two classes. (When she was in third grade herself, Mrs. Huff’s best subject was reading. She says, “I teach math in hopes that my students will be better at it than I was at that age!”) She also teaches language arts, spelling, science, and social studies to her homeroom. Of course, now that schools are shut down, Mrs. Huff is using Zoom, email, and more virtual tools to teach her classes. “We’ve distributed novels, paper packets on reading and math, and a logic packet for gifted learners,” she says. Her students log in to their Clever portal to find links and apps — including Highland Park’s very own YouTube channel. “Our newest tool is Third grade, she says, is a “pivotal moment in a student’s school career, where they become a
‘big kid.’” It’s her favorite part of teaching this age group; the kids change and grow so much during this year.
If you can imagine a room full of twenty or so eight-year-olds, you might wonder how one teacher can hold the attention necessary for learning, especially during the year SOLs start up. Her tactic? “I create lessons I would enjoy doing myself. I like to keep students active and engaged. I also share lots of stories about myself at that age, as well as tales of my two grown sons.” It works. Just take it from one of her current students, Alasdair Hackworth, who nominated her for this teacher of the month recognition. “Mrs. Huff is nice and makes learning fun, especially when we get to do STEM activities.” Lesson planning is absolutely Mrs. Huff’s forte. As a matter of fact, if she wasn’t a teacher, she says she’d be creating lessons for teachers to use Of all the lessons Mrs. Huff teaches her students, the one she hopes sticks the most is that they be problem-solvers. “I also want them to learn it’s okay to make mistakes,” she adds, “and to dream big.” Sometimes, the lessons we learn from our mistakes can be humorous, like when one student recently tried to “save” their popsicle for later in their lunch box. “A great lesson was learned that day,” Mrs. Huff says. Mrs. Huff doesn’t teach music, so her students might be surprised to know that when she was in high school, she played the flute and was even the drum major in the band! The 1989 film Steel Magnolias is Mrs. Huff’s favorite movie, and it’s also the source of her favorite quote: “I’d rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.” She also loves reading mysteries and watching shows that are suspenseful or that make her laugh. “I also like to see Tom Brady play football, cheer on UVA basketball, and hang with my family and teacher friends.” We love educators like Stephanie Huff, who make learning fun and engaging, whose classrooms are places of warmth and laughter, and whose passion for teaching makes a real difference in the lives of our kids and communities. N o m i n a t e d b y A l a s d a i r H a c k w o r t h
to my mother to my sister to my daughter to my partner to my friend to the future to me to my mother to my sister to my daughter to my partner to my friend to the future to me I MADE A PROMISE. What ’ s your promise ? River’s Edge Sports Complex | Reserve Avenue | Roanoke, VA NEW EVENT DATE! Saturday, September 12th, 2020 | komenvablueridge.org/race to my mother to my sister to my daughter to my partner to my friend to the future to me
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