“Our Schools” News Family, Community, Excellence March 2020 alleganps.org
L.E. White Middle School Teacher is one “Cool Teacher” Congratulations to L.E. White Middle School teacher, Mrs. Mary Hunziker, who was named 2019-20 WGVU Cool Teacher. Mrs. Hunziker was nominated by sixth-grader Summer Jones. Summer said she likes that Mrs. Hunziker makes learning fun and encourages them to work with partners. In addition, Summer has learned the importance of being kind to others. “She has taught us what kindness is, and I feel like I am more kind because of her,” Summer said. Mrs. Hunziker is a proud graduate of Allegan High School and has been teaching for 31 years. She loves to teach writing and instills a love of literature in her sixth graders. Mrs. Hunziker works extremely hard to create a classroom atmosphere that is welcoming, while also challenging her students academically. She has built a substantial classroom library that includes genres that represent the voices of the ethnicities and cultures in her classroom. She believes it’s important that students see literary characters like themselves and that they learn about the world around them. WGVU visited Mrs. Hunziker’s class to present the award to her on February 5. The WGVU crew even learned something from its time in her class. “We will definitely be using the awesome informational text reading skills we learned today with this class,” WGVU posted on its Facebook page. Awesome work, Mrs. Hunziker! (Pictured right: Summer Jones presenting Mrs. Hunziker with her award.)
Alternative High School Science Teacher wins Science Innovation Hall of Fame Award Allegan Alternative High School Science teacher Mark Mattox (pictured above) has been selected as one of the Air Zoo’s Science Innovation Hall of Fame Educator Excellence Awardees. He is being recognized for his project-based approach to teaching engineering including underwater robots, remote-controlled cars, coding, gardening, hydroponics, aquaponics, and more. The Science Innovation Hall of Fame (SIHOF) Awards are focused on recognizing and further encouraging southwest Michigan high school students and K-12 level educators who have innovated and excelled within, or shown exceptional support of, education in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM). Each spring, the Air Zoo bestows the Science Innovation Hall of Fame Awards at a highly publicized, red carpet gala and dinner that draws notable Michigan luminaries from all corners of industry - education, government, and the arts. This year’s event will take place on April 18, 2020, at the Air Zoo. Congratulations, Mr. Mattox!