My Teacher Rocks

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• Winners are from Richmond High School and Elizabeth Starr Academy – pages 2-3 • Essays start on page 4 SPONSORED BY:

Sunday, May 29, 2011

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K-6 Winning Essay

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Student: Aaron Gibb, Grade 4 Teacher: Melissa Jordan, Elizabeth Starr Academy Mrs. Jordan is the kind of teacher everyone should have.

She is fun, creative, and loving.

She has a lot of fun with us, and we do too. That is why my teacher rocks.

We have a lot of fun with Mrs. Jordan. She makes learning fun.

She plays games, sings songs, or anything else that helps us to remember. She even finds ways to make spelling fun, and I’m a bad speller. The things she does help me a lot.

Mrs. Jordan never gives up on us. She is always willing to help us. She will work with us anytime, even after school or during her lunch. I am dyslexic, and school is really hard for me.

She does NOT like it when I say I’m stupid. She makes me think I’m not. I am good at math, so she calls me her math whiz. She believes in me.

Mrs. Jordan loves us. She wants us to make good choices, but still loves us if we forget. We were a very bad class last year, but we are better because of her.

Most of the time, kids like it when you have a sub, but we are sad when we do. We all love her.

Every kid should have Mrs. Jordan. I am better because of her.

I have learned so much this year. I wish I could have her next year. I HATED school, but she made me like it. That is why Mrs. Jordan rocks!

Judges impressed, overwhelmed by students’ essays Judges for the Palladium-Item’s My Teacher Rocks essay contest had no easy task. They immersed themselves in reading 400-plus submissions and commended the essays from area students. The number and quality of the entries made their decisions very difficult, they said.

Judges were Lee Ann Adams, reading specialist at Indiana University East, and Jan Sims, writing center director at Earlham College.

They selected as their winners Aaron Gibb in the K-6 division (teacher Melissa Jordan of Elizabeth Starr Academy) and Hannah Weikart in the grade 7-12 division (teacher Karrianne Polk-Meek).

Gibb and Weikart each will receive a free iPad for winning their divisions. Jordan and Polk-Meek each receive $500 in school supplies.

“Reading the students’ essays made it clear to me that teachers have an enormous impact on the lives of their students,” Adams said.

“Over and over again, the students wrote about how their teachers expect them to do their best.

“Trying to pick only one winner from each category was very, very difficult because all of the essays present both teacher and student in unique and delightful ways. I know your readers will enjoy meeting

this group of dedicated teachers through the eyes of their students.”

Sims echoed her colleagues’ thoughts.

“I thoroughly enjoyed reading about so many wonderful, inspiring teachers in our area. It’s also great that so many students recognize exactly how hard-working, creative and understanding their teachers are. ...“I have to agree with the students who had a hard time picking just one teacher to write about and wrote sentiments such as: ‘I think all my teachers rock.’ ” “We don’t often enough recognize the great efforts that our teachers put forth every day with our children,” said Mickey Johnson, general manager and executive editor of the Palladium-Item. “Our intent with this project was to go straight to the young people in classrooms and ask them why they believe their teachers are the best.

“We received more than 400 answers and each of them tells the story of teacher excellence. Their letters clearly explain why our teachers rock.”

Jan Sims

Lee Ann Adams

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Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 3

7-12 Winning Essay

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Student: Hannah Weikart, Grade 12 Teacher: Karrianne Polk-Meek, Richmond High School

Horace Mann once said, “A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.” I first learned of Horace Mann in Mrs. Polk-Meek’s AP U.S. History class.

Mann’s reform changed the American education system. Mrs. Polk-Meek’s work in the classroom is changing the lives of her students. The quote above articulates Mrs. Polk-Meek’s teaching methods. She is passionate about history, economics, and her students.

Her dedication to her job inspires

students to learn. Students get excited to take her classes even though they’re challenging. She convinces students the subject is worthwhile and interesting.

She incorporates several learning styles and is constantly checking for student engagement.

Students’ successes prove her teaching techniques work. I speak from personal experience. In her class, I acquired a thirst for history. I absorbed every fact and incorporated them into what I now consider to be the greatest story ever lived. I received a 5 on the

AP U.S. History exam, and I will study history at Hillsdale College next fall. As my academic team coach she led us to a fourth-place finish at State last year. This year, with the topic of Latin American history, she learned with us and we won our regional Super Bowl. I currently have Mrs. Polk-Meek for comparative economics. Once again, a complex topic is manageable and exciting for seniors who are ready to graduate.

Mrs. Polk-Meek inspires classrooms of students daily. She has also shaped my future.

4 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011

K-6 Essays

Adrianna, Grade 5 – Jenny Meadows, Fairview Elementary

She doesn’t like to do things out of the book. She lets us do things like science Jeopardy and tons of projects. She also goes at everybody’s own pace.

Kally Leanne Grice, Grade 5 – Julie Richmond, Northeastern Elementary She is helpful, patient, and caring. In her class learning is interesting and fun!

Harli Rogers, Grade 4 – Kelsey Whitton, Highland Heights Elementary Miss Whitton is the best teacher. She always helps me when I need it. She has tasting parties where she makes all of us snacks and brings them in. My favorite is called fluffer nutters. It is a peanut butter sandwich with marshmallow creme on it. (yum) Whenever I have a problem like someone making fun or being mean, I can go to Miss Whitton and she always helps me out. :) She takes time to help all of her students when they need it. She is very special to me. I go home after school every day and I play school in my room. I pretend that I am Miss Whitton. I hope when I grow up, I will become a great teacher just like her. She even takes us on field trips and a lot of times we do not even have to pay for them, because she does things around the classroom and uses that money we raise for field trips. She is great at singing also. Miss Whitton and Mrs. Climer made up a song to help us all pass the ISTEP tests. I listen to the CD of them singing it all the time. I feel so lucky to have gotten to have her as a teacher and someone that I will always love. I have had her as a teacher for two years now. I had her in third and now in fourth grade. :) These are just some of the reasons that I think my teacher rocks ! I hope she knows how good of a job she does. Miss Whitton makes me want to go to school everyday! She is AWESOME. Cameron Woods, Grade 2 – Jane Harvey, College Corner Union School Mrs. Harvey is the greatest teacher. She is always the first teacher at school and the last to leave. She is willing to take extra time to talk to my parents about how to help me at home. She cares enough to stay after school and work with me and other students. We also have a dog in our classroom. His name is Barkley and whenever someone is having a bad day he can make them smile. Mrs. Harvey and Barkley are the best team ever. She makes learning fun and shares so many secrets with us about how to understand things easier. I have struggled with fractions and story problems and she has worked with me and she encourages me and my confidence is so much better now than when I started second grade. Mrs. Harvey told me she is proud of me for asking for extra help. Mrs. Harvey has high standards and who would not want to work hard for her as much as she works for us? She is what I would call a leader and she inspires me to be the best I can possibly be. I admire her and I hope I can love my job when I am older as much as she loves being our teacher.

I will never forget Mrs. Harvey or Barkley; they help mold me and gave me the guidance to become an even better student and person. My teacher rocks because she is our rock.

Madison Black, Grade 4 – Amanda Isaacs, Hagerstown Elementary She helps kids who need extra help. And is strict when she needs to. Other times she just likes to have fun.

Amaya Latello, Grade 1 – Peggy Moore, Randolph Southern Elementary Mrs. Moore rocks because she helps us learn the easy way. And she’s very nice. In spelling tests she makes up sentences instead of just saying the word. She gives us a quarter when she pulls our tooth. If we get five stickers we get a prize. She put 14 eggs in an incubator that we are waiting to hatch. She’s very smart.

www.pal-item.com Judah Belcher – Ruth Murray, Vaile Elementary Mrs. Murray is a good teacher. She reads books to us and is very nice. I wish she didn’t have to retire.

She is the best!

Micah Belcher, Grade 1 – Jennifer Bryson, Vaile Elementary She is the best teacher that I ever had! She gives us recess. Sometimes we watch movies. Mrs. Bryson is my favorite teacher.

Seth Ritter, Grade 6 – Ted Sangfroid, Centerville-Abington Elementary My teacher ROCKS! My teacher Mr. Sanford rocks because he knows how to make school and science exciting and educational at the same time. He is experimental, scientific, caring, and he’s really good at playing the guitar. He loves to joke around. Almost any thing he does is funny and sometimes educational. Mr. Sanford loves teaching and he takes school very seriously. He’s into sports too. I’m never bored in science.

He’s why school is fun.

Tyler Hudon, Grade 6 – Ted Sanford, Centerville-Abington Elementary My teacher rocks because he makes learning fun. He is funny but he has fun things we can do like PowerPoint and bug collection. He lets us go to the computer lab and get on learning sites like brainpop.com and he lets us have extra recess at ISTEP. He is also fun at field trips. Sometimes he lets us clean out our lockers or lets us go to the computer lab at the end of the day on Fridays. He tries to get first at meetings in the gym so we can have the top seats and he lets us sit with our friends if we are good. Sometimes he tries to get us first at lunch and he almost does every day and that is why Mr. Sanford is my favorite teacher.

Colten Reese Sawyer, Grade 6 – Paula Warfield, Centerville-Abington Elementary My teacher rocks because if we fall behind she always helps us. Mrs. Warfield is the teacher who can make things alive in anything. Mrs. Warfield needs supplies for her room for next year’s classes. She always tries not to raise her voice at students if they’re goofing off. She has her own class pet. He’s a Sugar Glider.

She’ll always have new projects for us. One of those projects is called Super Hero Academy. At our junior high they’ll bring K-2 grades over to see our superheroes. We tell who we are and talk about what we do.

She provides the clothing for us plus she makes our superhero clothes. That concludes my story about Mrs. Warfield Noah Norman, Grade 6 – Paula Warfield, Centerville-Abington Elementary The teacher that I think rocks the most is Mrs. Warfield. Mrs. Warfield is our art teacher and she is happy to be that. Mrs. Warfield is very supportive and she always has something fun for us to do. She lets us do our own thing and be as creative as we want in art class. Without Mrs. Warfield I wouldn’t be excited for art. So far this year she has worked very hard buying new art supplies all year and I think she deserves some money so that kids next year will have fresh and new art supplies to use. Mrs. Warfield lets our imagination run wild with the lessons she teaches us. Right now we are creating our own superheroes and even dressing up as them in front of the kindergartners. Which is fun for us and the little kids. This year I think my inner artist has come out thanks to Mrs. Warfield. She has a hard job to do. Every day Mrs. Warfield switches back and forth from here to Rose Hamilton. She always keeps her room up to date with decorations. In every corner there is some kind of decoration whether it’s a skeleton bobblehead or a stuffed squirrel it’s there. Teaching art is like her life. She always has something artsy going on whether it’s homemade earrings or paper bats it happens. Mrs. Warfield also has a pet sugar glider named Finn Soar’o. He is like her best friend and she brings him in every day. Mrs. Warfield is my favorite teacher and I hope you choose me to win.

Cassidy Frame, Grade 3 – Patti Sharp, Centerville-Abington Elementary

Carlitos Harlan, Grade 6 – Paula Warfield, Centerville-Abington Elementary

My third-grade teacher, Mrs. Sharp, ROCKS because she makes it fun and helps us learn at the same time. She brings in special people to talk to us about what we are learning. Mrs. Sharp inspires us to reach our goals and won’t stop until we reach them. For example, when I was having trouble reaching my AR goal she helped out by letting me borrow some of her favorite classroom books. She let me read her Patricia Pollaco book called, “Thank You Mr. Falker.” It was about a girl who couldn’t read very well and her teacher, Mr. Falker helped her learn to read, just like Mrs. Sharp helped me learn to like reading. She always has a smile on her face. Her smiles encourage me to smile and do my best. I can tell that Mrs. Sharp loves her job and she does a GREAT job at it. That is why I think Mrs. Sharp ROCKS!

My teacher rocks because she is caring and works at student paces. Mrs. Warfield is our art teacher. Mrs. Warfield gives us help if we need it and never raises her voice, loves to teach us, and is a kind person. She loves animals and has her own sugar glider that she brings to school. She loves to do new projects and keeps looking on the bright side of things. Right now we’re working on a project called superhero academy where we make a superhero costume and stand in front of kindergartners, first, and second-graders. She loves making new activities and sharing her creations. She loves kids and is a great art teacher. She tells us that all people have an artist inside us and will come out at one point in time and will be a great art work. What she cares about the most though is that we are safe. She loves to see us succeed or excel in our art. She keeps a good attitude and care.

Cade Richey, Grade 4 – Diane Luken, Centerville-Abington Elementary My teacher, Mrs. Luken, rocks because she is a phenomenon of a teacher. She makes learning lots of fun. If you need help Mrs. Luken happily helps you with what you need to do with a smile on her face. She will help you improve on any and I mean any subject. So far she is one of the best teachers I have ever had.

Mrs. Luken is kind, compassionate and always makes you feel like you can do anything. You can even call her at home as long as “Survivor” isn’t on. That is why my teacher rocks!

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Kelsey Woodruff, Grade 5 – Vickie Avery, Centerville-Abington Elementary

Ashley Nicole Cook, Grade 6 – Monica Tinkle, Vaile Elementary

My teacher, Mrs. Avery, has inspired me to learn more about math and science. She does very fun activities with us in science. These include chocolate chip mining, building our ecologically sound cities, and our independent study. Mrs. Avery also does fun activities in math. She is an excellent teacher and really helps with our homework when we need it. She is a fun teacher in and out of school, and made a Facebook page for the students. We always have had an amazing time on the field trips we go on. Overall, she is an amazing teacher and that’s why my teacher rocks!

My teacher Mrs. Tinkle rocks because she understands me. If we don’t get something she will help us.

She is the best. When we are not getting along with another student she helps us and she solves the problem and helps us though. I like Mrs. Tinkle a lot because she is awesome because she is a caring teacher. She is funny and fun to be around. Sometimes I’d rather talk to her than my friends. She rocks so much. But the real reason is that I think that she takes her time to show that we can understand to solve a question or something like that. She is so nice also and funny, so funny. She is great. She understands us very much. The real thing is that she is 28, but she is just like us. She has a great personality. To me, she is the best. She is not hard on us except when we get on her last nerves. She is a problem solver. She is pretty. She is so pretty. But the real reason she rocks is because she helps us, not because she is pretty. She is funny. She always has a story to tell.

She makes us do math, writing, and reading, but she has to do that, but it is fun. That’s why she rocks.

Cassidy Riney, Grade 4 – Patti Sharp, Centerville-Abington Elementary My teacher rocks because she ALWAYS makes learning fun.

Jordyn Tipton, Grade 3 – Miss Shepard, Liberty Elementary School

Katrina Marie Andrews, Grade 6 – Monica Tinkle, Vaile Elementary

Do you want to know why my teacher rocks? My teacher rocks because she makes learning fun. She tells really neat stories about what we’re learning. Today she told us a story about a tornado she saw when she was little. If we don’t understand something she will tell it to us in a different way. We play games like Around the World to help us know our math facts really fast. If we don’t know what something is or how it works she might bring it in and show us. Once we didn’t know what a sand dollar was so she brought one in.

It was really neat! That’s why my teacher rocks!

My teacher rocks! Okay, so I have this teacher and she totally rocks. She’s pretty, she relates to her students and she has the best smile in the whole entire world. She has it all. Her name just happens to be Mrs. Monica Tinkle. Mrs. Tinkle never leaves any of her students behind and she understands our needs of education. She is like 26 years old so she tries to make learning as fun as possible while still getting things done that needs to be done. We have a lot of fun memories together. I’m going to miss her when I move on to a higher grade. Mrs. Tinkle makes me want to accomplish my work and do good in life and complete our goals and set new ones, because a teacher like that deserves to be happy, and not be disappointed. I like the way Mrs. Tinkle teaches us things because she takes consideration about how much work she gives us and she’s a really awesome teacher. I wish she could move on with me when I go to seventh grade. She is one of the few adults that I can trust. If I tell her something then I know that she keep my secrets safe and sound. She is an amazing person and teacher and I love her.

Jalyn McDaniel, Grade 4 – Kelsey Whitton, Highland Heights Elementary A lot of kids think of school as boring and not fun but my teacher Miss Whitton does not make it seem like that. I have had one of the best school years in a long time! My teacher plays games with us while we learn at the same time. When I have trouble learning something my teacher will sit and talk it out with me My teacher encourages me all of the time. I feel like I have learned so much this school year. I have had tough days at school and I can always talk it out with my teacher. Miss Whitton encourages me to do my best to get through the day each week. My teacher Miss Whitton is trustworthy and I can always count on her. She can be so fun and funny once you get to know her. Miss Whitton is very reliable when it comes to us kids. She will always smile at us and always makes me smile. I THINK MY TEACHER ROCKS! Carrie Anderson, Grade 6 – Theresa Goss, Vaile Elementary Why Miss Goss rocks: She rocks because she lets you express yourself by painting, drawing, and sculpting. One time, last year, we had made the art room look like Monet’s garden. We had made a fence, pond, flowers, and we also stuffed a shirt with cotton and put a stuffed Monet together. Now we are going to make the art room look like the ocean by making fish and then tracing them to make two fish then we will glue them together and that is why Miss. Goss is the best teacher ever. Miss Goss also helps you when you need it, but you have to try to figure it out before you ask for help and that is why Miss Goss is the best teacher ever and she also ROCKS!

Sarah Ann Brattain, Grade 4 – Denise Scalzo, Centerville-Abington Elementary Mrs. Scalzo is a fun challenging teacher. She is always teaching us something. She makes learning so much fun. When I come to school she greets me with a nice smile on her face. She plays games with us to help us study for all the tests that are on the way. Whenever I need help , she’ll always help me no mater what the problem I need help on. If I had to pick the best teacher I’ve ever had I would pick Mrs. Scalzo for sure. And that’s why my teacher ROCKS! Angela Paczkowski, Grade 4 – Patti Sharp, Centerville-Abington Elementary Well she isn’t my teacher anymore. She is thoughtful and is pleasant to talk to. She is great. She is cool.

She is Mrs. Sharp! She was my third-grade teacher, I’m now in fourth grade but my favorite teacher is still Mrs. Sharp.

Emily Willis, Grade 6 – Ted Sanford, Centerville-Abington Elementary

My favorite teacher is Mrs. Tinkle. She is the best teacher. The things that make her a good teacher are that she is understanding and funny. She can joke around and be really serious. She is like the best sixthgrade teacher that anybody could ever have. Mrs. Tinkle is awesome. I like it when we have fun days like before we go on breaks and things, she is one of the few teachers that would have fun with us. She is like the youngest and coolest teacher in our school. When we will be having bad days, she will make it better.

Haha I love how Mrs. Tinkle will play around us in our free time. I also like how she makes learning fun for everyone. She makes everybody laugh. Mrs. Tinkle helps us when we need help. I like being in her class.

She makes all of the students feel like they mean something. That is why my teacher ROCKS!

My teacher is always teaching my classmates and I new ways to remember all sorts of things that are sometimes hard to understand. From little dances to hand movements, Mr. Sanford makes learning fun!

Throughout my sixht-grade year Mr. Sanford has talked to me about making the right decisions, for example, choosing the right crowd to be friends with. He always helps me stay on the right track. Mr. Sanford inspires me in so many ways. He asks me to help in the classroom and tells me when I’ve done a good job on my schoolwork by writing little comments to the side. It always make me feel great when I do a good job and I get rewarded. I feel like I could go to Mr. Sanford and talk about anything from school work to personal things. Mr. Sanford has taught me things that I will never forget throughout my whole life. I think Mr. Sanford deserves the teacher of the year award for everything he does for the school and the kids. I want to thank Mr. Sanford for being an inspiration to me and making my sixth-grade year a year I’ll never forget.

Mr. Sanford defiantly rocks.

Lexus Perkins, Grade 6 – Monica Tinkle, Vaile Elementary

Kennedy Foor, Grade 6 – Bruce Nicholson, Hagerstown Elementary

My teacher Monica Tinkle rocks. Why? She just had the cutest baby girl and she still makes time at the end of the day to help her students like so. Well she always is there to help. She says if you need help don’t be scared to raise your hand and ask. She also helps after school. If you need help she will give up her own time to help you so you understand for the math test for the next day. I feel like I can trust her because she is young and she can relate to what we feel. She is so great though. I really can’t sum her up. It’s hard there are so many cool things about her. One thing you can not call Mrs. Tinkle is dishonest. She is the best sixthgrade teacher anybody could ever have. She really rocks. She is the nicest teacher I’ve ever had. She is really fun too. Well that’s how awesome my teacher is and as for the younger kids, well I hope you guys have her when you’re in sixth grade. THE END!

School, to me, was always boring, until my first day of sixth grade. That’s when I met Mr. Bruce Nicholson, my science teacher! From the start I somehow knew he was not like all the other teachers. Maybe it was his scientific classroom or maybe just the way he acted. Mr. Nicholson is not just any old teacher, he is our teacher. Some teachers tend to pick favorites, but then again they may not mean to, yet sometimes at our school, teachers do. Not with Mr. Nicholson, he loves us all and we all love him. He sometimes lets us watch movies in his class. The only “bad” thing about Mr. Nicholson is he tends to talk a lot and most times gets completely off subject and some times he will talk the whole class time and even if the class listens we never know what he is talking about. This ISTEP I realized Mr. Nicholson is not a crazy, old, super talker.

He knows what he is talking about. About 95% percent of the questions on ISTEP I knew. Mr. Nicholson is a great teacher who throughout my future years I will never forget him! His encouraging words and his out-ofthis-world jokes and his way of when we are reading out of out science books randomly saying “your such a good reader,” right in the middle of a sentence, well that makes him who he is and everyone knows that there is no way he is going to ever stop being the way he is and for now lets keep it that way! Without him I don’t think any of the students in my grade would want to go to science class. That is why Mr. Nicholson will forever be the teacher that I think rocks!

Jacie McGathey, Grade 6 – Monica Tinkle, Vaile Elementary

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6 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 Garrison Fansher, Grade 6 – Claire Prinkey, Westview Elementary

My teacher, Mrs. Prinkey, is the best teacher in the whole entire world! She encourages us to do our best. I think she is the best EVER though because she knows how each and every one of us ticks. She gets involved with stuff we face not just in school, but the real world and helps us understand what we are facing.

If one of my classmates said, “Mrs. Prinkey, my little brother was annoying me so I pushed him in the pool” (and yes some kids do say that kind of stuff) she would tell them everything that is wrong with doing that and tells about all the stuff that could’ve happened. She also cares about our education and rewards us with candy if she notices a good deed. Mrs. Prinkey laughs a lot and perks up our class when we are all tired and gloomy in the morning. She inspires us to do our best and BE our best whether its school or home. I think overall she is the best teacher in the entire universe. Thank you for inspiring my classmates and I Mrs. P! Glenn Perssel, Grade 5 – Melissa Jordan, Elizabeth Starr Academy

My favorite teacher would be Miss Hunteman who was my fifth-grade teacher at Starr Elementary. She was fun and inspired me to learn many new topics. She loved to do fun science experiments. One time she kept water in two bowls upside down! She didn’t challenge us greatly until we got a hold of the topic, which help us all in her class especially with hard topics. Miss Hunteman was fun especially with her tarantula.

Once she told us to put a glove on and she would put the spider on the hand that had the glove and we had a tarantula on our hands. No one got hurt while we were doing this. Sometimes she would do fun science experiments like the one time we made green snow for Saint Patrick’s Day. On the last day of school we had a Hawaiian party which was the funniest thing of the entire year. When we were stuck on something like circumference she would spend a few days going over the topic until we got it down which help us a lot in math and science. Miss Hunteman inspires her class by doing fun actives while getting the facts into our head faster than doing worksheets all the time. She inspired me to learn math and science topics such as the human body and algebra. I’ve learned many things from her like how to find the circumference of circles.

Miss Hunteman inspires, teaches, and has fun in one school year that made it the best school year I ever had.

Paige Strothman, Grade 1 – Linda Shepherd, Westview Elementary Mrs. Shepard goes out of her way to get the extra help we need to learn. She lets my dad and mom come to school with me and gives me extra things to help me at home. She’s a very good teacher.

Nicolette Ramsey, Grade 6 – Ryan Higgins, Vaile Elementary My gym teacher Mr. Higgins rocks because he teaches us how to stay healthy. By having us run, jog and walk around the gym once. Then we stretch so we can get ready to play soccer or basketball or any other sport he had planned for us. He explains the rules to where we understand what he is talking about. If we need help he will stop the game so that we understand. Why he rocks to me is because he is one of the best gym teachers I have ever had. I trust for him to keep us healthy and to teach us new things about sports having us try something we probably never would have. He is also one of my favorite gym teachers I have ever had. The gym teacher at my old school never taught us as good as Mr. Higgins did. I’m glad this contest happened so now I can tell you who my teacher is that rocks. That’s why my teacher Mr. Higgins rocks!

Cayla Ray Hall, Grade 6 – Monica Tinkle, Vaile Elementary Some people think that their teachers are totally stupid because they give assignments but really know students realize really who their teachers are and I know that by experience. Some teachers are strict but it doesn’t mean they’re not a good teacher. My teacher now totally ROCKS. Yes she’s strict sometimes but she’s fair. She just came to Vaile this year and all the students and teachers love her. She’s like some friendly person who everyone loves and cares for. She’s also like some school work magician. It’s like she knows every single thing. When we struggle she gives us like 10 ways to figure it out. Sometimes we don’t have that many school supplies like calculators and geometry templates but she can still teach us everything we need to know to pass the sixth grade because she’s just so smart. I couldn’t even write words to describe her.

She’s just such a rockin’ teacher. She went to Purdue University. I think that’s why she’s so smart. Overall I think my teacher is the best teacher ever. She is so smart. I myself think she’s the smartest teacher at Vaile and she’s only 26. Well I definitely know one thing for sure and I don’t care what no one will say but for me I think my teacher totally rocks.

Jesse, Grade 6 – Monica Tinkle, Vaile Elementary Because she respects the students and we respect her.

Kayla McFarland, Grade 1 – Lori Fields, Highland Heights Elementary She goes above and beyond what is expected.

Kristin McFarland, Grade 4 – Kelsey Whitton, Highland Heights Elementary She makes learning fun.

Mikayla Miller, Grade 5 – Diane Luken, Centerville-Abington Elementary She helps me.

Renee – Chris Buchholz/Karen Bolle, Charles Elementary My son’s teachers are the absolute best! They are so caring and kind. They believe in their class kids and push them to achieve their best. Mrs. Bs take time with parents about their kids and provide extra materials for practice at home. Honestly, without them our son probably would have struggled through this year.

I can’t stress enough just how grateful we are that he had them this year. They work so hard to make class entertaining and educational. They are an asset not only to Charles but to RCS. I could never thank them enough for all of their efforts that they put forth day after day. They truly represent what a teacher should be in my eyes.

Jesse Schenk, Vaile Elementary, Grade 6 – Mrs. Karaba My favorite teacher is my old teacher. Her name is Mrs. Karaba. We always did experiments. I learned how to make a lightbulb turn on without screwing it in. She gave us two recesses one in the morning and one in the afternoon. She used to turn on music when we work. Another good thing about my old school was that there was no dress code. So I wouldn’t have to worry about what to wear in the mornings. My math teacher’s name is Mrs. Karmarmi. She was another good teacher. My best friends were Austin and Cameron. Cameron had a brother named Devin. We would always ride four-wheelers and dirt bikes. That was the funnest thing to do in Michigan.

Ky’Ara Williams, Grade 6 – Monica Tinkle, Vaile Elementary My teacher Mrs. Tinkle rocks because at reading time she usually lets us read on the floor or in the beanbag.

She also breaks down the problems or situations to where we understand them. My favorite part about my teacher is that she lets us talk our problems out too her if we have a bad situation that needs to be solved. She works it out to where you aren’t being talked about behind your back and is not being told to other friends about what was said. So my teacher is a person that understands me. Mrs. Tinkle is a respectful teacher because she teaches us in a different way. She takes the things that we don’t understand and she helps us until we do understand it. Sometimes it’s hard working with Mrs. Tinkle because she is very strict about what we say. She never lets us say we can’t do something! She will help us and then she will ask if we understand it now. Whenever we break down and start yelling and telling her we aren’t going to do something instead of her yelling back she will just ask us to go in the hallway and wait for her and once she gets everything and everyone settled she will go out there and talk to you and calm you down. Those are all the reason mostly why she rocks. Mrs. Tinkle you TOTALLY ROCK. Haley Shipley, Grade 1 – Jennifer Wesler, Garrison Elementary My teacher rocks because she is very kind and patient with the kids in my class. She always has a kind smile each morning and has different ways of making me understand what she’s trying to teach me. She really makes sure I understand and says you’re doing a good job a lot.

Ginny Clark, Grade 5 – Rett Foster, Centerville-Abington Elementary She always is happy and fun and awesome. She lets us talk, play, watch TV, and have fun.

Sam Roberts, Grade 4 – Kelly Van Winkle, Centerville-Abington Elementary My teacher rocks because she was a first-grade teacher and now she’s VP of two schools.

Cody Jennings, Grade 6 – Kathy Ray, Centerville-Abington Elementary Mrs. Ray is a very nice teacher. Some days when the school schedule is crazy she will assign no homework and the kids will be happy. She will let students sit somewhere else to read during SSR (Sustain Silent Reading) for 13-15 minutes. She makes us laugh, helps us with homework, and she always keeps her promises! But one thing that I really like about her is that she tells us she loves us to death. Also that she volunteers to do things that she doesn’t need to do, which is great. She is very nice and will always be in my heart and memory when I got on to seventh grade.

Cheyenne Brook, Grade 3 – Debby Brogan, Hagerstown Elementary My teacher rocks because Mrs. Brogan takes us to other countries in the school. When she reads to us, she lets us lay down. Some of the countries we went to were Mexico, Antarctica and a lot more. She helped us make a lemon cake and lemonade. Mrs. Brogan is the greatest teacher I have ever had.

Clay Brooks, Grade 1 – Stephanie Bradway, Hagerstown Elementary Mrs. Bradway rocks because she takes us to Subway. She has a store where we buy stuff with money we earned by being good and reading. She played music while we were working. She taught how us how to read and write.

www.pal-item.com Clay Brooks, Grade 1 – Carol Fannin, Hagerstown Elementary

Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 7 Jeremy Dickenson, Grade 4 – Patti Sharp, Centerville-Abington Elementary

She is the world’s best teacher. She goes to her kids’ basketball games, gymnastics and still has time for school.

I think Mrs. Sharp is the teacher who rocks the house. She encouraged me to go beyond what is needed.

Mrs. Sharp always helped me when I was stuck, unsure, and confused. She was funny at times, and she always gave great attention to us students. Mrs. Sharp made sure we accomplished any goal of ours. Mrs. Sharp always gave us something to do like reading, sharing, drawing, and making a list. She would make study guides for the people who needed it. Mrs. Sharp never told you to quit. If you did quit she would always tell you keep on going. She would also give us an extra recess as an award for being good.Mrs. Sharp is the sharpest teacher I know. I know she is most of the time funny, happy, and smart. That is why I chose Mrs. Sharp as the teacher who rocks.

Hailey Wren, Grade 4 – Denise Scalzo, Centerville-Abington Elementary

Rebekah Richmond, Grade 6 – Angelina Breitenbach, Northeastern Elementary

Mrs. Fannin took us to the grocery store this year to learn about healthy foods. She would take us to Subway. She has helped me be a better reader. I like to be good in her class because she gives rewards for reading. Mrs. Fannin is a very good reader.

Cole, Grade 4 – Amy Luce, Crestdale Elementary

The reason why my teacher rocks is because she is caring. Her name is Mrs. Scalzo. She’s the best!

Whenever I need her, she comes right away. She loves to read and she has a great smile on her face. She greets us when we come in for school. She is always prepared for us to learn and be educated to go to college. She wants us to have a great school year to remember over the summer. She is very kind, awesome, brave, #1 teacher! I hope she will remember me next year in what I’ve done.

Allison Grimes – Roger Martin, Rose Hamilton Elementary Mr. Martin rocks because when he would read a book to the class he reads it with expression like if he would read what a girl says like, “I love flowers” said a girl from afar he would make his voice sound girlie.

He would make school fun for me. I think he was the nicest teacher I’ve ever had. He also rocks because if someone is sick or something like that he would send then to the nurse’s office. He WAS the best teacher I have had .

Emma Frye, Grade 5 – Diane Luken, Centerville-Abington Elementary

Mrs. Luken rocks because she knows when you have trouble. She also makes you feel special because she challenges you to new things, encourages you, gives out her love as if we were her children, and believes in you. I would love to win because she deserves the money for her classroom. I think if you had Mrs. Luken you would nominate her, too. Mrs. Luken is not just some teacher that’s nice, she’s like another mother.

When I had her as a teacher she just touched my heart. I’m so thankful she was my teacher. Every day when I see her in the hallway she always talks to me and everyone else. She is just a friendly person. Mrs. Luken knew when something was wrong, and she always knows how to fix it. It’s like she lifts all the weight off of your back and fills your heart. I love her so much and God put her in my life for a reason. She deserves this because she shows so much love so much that I can’t even say. One of my favorite things that we did in her class was quotes. She had quotes on the board and we said what we thought they meant. Those quotes brought the whole class closer together and we learned more about each other. I just want to say thank you to Mrs. Luken for all she’s done and her loving heart.

Savana Kates, Grade 5 – Tiffani Hokey, Centerville-Abington Elementary

My teacher ROCKS because she makes learning fun for her students. She is very nice and caring, too!

She is always willing to help you and answer your questions and knows you can do it! She loves her students and the teachers she works with. She always has a smile on her face. She loves to work at Centerville Elementary. That’s why Mrs. Hokey ROCKS!

My favorite teacher is Mrs. Angelina Breitenbach. She is my reading teacher. She rocks because she makes learning fun and exciting. I’m always ready to get to her class. I love how she lets us do fun and challenging projects. Another thing I love about her class is that she really lets us give our opinions about the book we are reading.

She makes learning fun because she has an idea of what we like and mixes it in with what we need to know for seventh grade. She lets us have our choice on lots of things, such as the book we want to read, partners, (if we work in pairs) and our end-of-the-book projects.

The last thing about Mrs. Angelina Breitenbach is that I know I can ask her for help and not be laughed or yelled at. Some teachers aren’t like that, but she is. She’ll always help if we need it and never laugh when we ask for help.

Reading is my favorite subject because of my great teacher. I know everyone else in the sixth grade at my school would agree when I say Mrs. Angelina Breitenbach ROCKS! :) Autumn Toschlog, Grade 4 – Paula Warfield, Centerville-Abington Elementary I bet you didn’t know this, but everyone has one. Ask your mom, grandfather or your great aunt. What is it you ask? A teacher that rocks. Centerville-Abington Elementary School has a teacher that rocks and her name is Mrs. Warfield. Mrs. Warfield is my art teacher. This year we have learned how to make bats and god’s eyes. Not only have we made things out of different materials, but we have also learned all about these things. We have learned where bats live, what their skeletons look like, and that there are many different kinds of bats. We made god’s eyes and also broke a Guinness world record for the largest one. It was almost 8 feet tall and the whole school helped. Mrs. Warfield rocks, because she is not only the greatest art teacher ever, she makes learning fun! I can’t wait till sixth grade when we get to make our own superheroes. If someone would ask me, “what teacher rocks at your school,” I would say Mrs. Warfield. Mrs. Warfield, “you rock” at Centerville Elementary School.

Araya Sparks, Grade 3 – Teresa Downs, Centerville-Abington Elementary My teacher rocks because every time she calls us the wrong name she gives us candy. She also rocks because during science she lets us check the weather. In my class when we have a sub she says “ If we are good we can have a class snack.” That’s why my teacher rocks.

8 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011

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Sidne M. Thompson, Grade 4 – Patti Sharp, Centerville-Abington Elementary

Kayla McFarland, Grade 1 – Lori Fields, Highland Heights Elementary

My favorite teacher that I had in 3rd grade was Mrs. Sharp. I picked her because she helped me achieve at different things like: reading, math, writing, and spelling. Mrs. Sharp is a very creative teacher and puts fun into learning. Mrs. Sharp is a very bright and outstanding teacher. Mrs. Sharp always has a smile on her face no matter how the day is going. I remember when I was having a hard time with reading and she helped me by giving me a special book mark that helps you comprehend books better. I also remember when it was Dr. Suess’s birthday, and she made a green colored breakfast. My favorite moment of the year when I was in Mrs. Sharp’s class was when we had a water balloon fight on a special day. Mrs. Sharp is still my social studies teacher. Mrs. Sharp is unique in different ways. She likes to make lessons fun and is a great teacher for teaching about the earth. Mrs. Sharp is an extraordinary teacher and I am proud to pick her for the My Teacher Rocks essay.

My teacher is Mrs. Fields. She teaches first grade at Highland Heights. I think my teacher rocks because she is kind and she teaches us. We learn math, reading, writing, spelling, science and social studies. For math we do math facts and sometimes we play games like Around the World. We learn social studies during our morning meeting when we do the calendar and count money. It’s kinda weird, but we count money to see how many days we are in school. It’s really fun when we get to spell words on our desk with shaving cream.

We do triangle spelling and look, say, cover, write, check. We do ABC centers, math center, and writing center. At the poem center we get to act like we are on stage. Then we get to read with Mrs. Fields. We got to paint ourglobes. We glued planets with construction paper on our balloon. We put a little bit of words on it like Africa, North America, and the North Pole. Mrs. Fields takes us on fun field trips. We went to the art museum and the apple orchard. My favorite part of school is when Mrs. Fields takes us outside for recess to get our wiggles out. I think Mrs. Fields rocks because she is kind and nice.

Jamie Stout, Grade 6 – Paula Keesling, Hagerstown Elementary

Mrs. Keesling is the 6th grade math teacher. Math is one of my favorite subjects, and Mrs. Keesling makes it even more fun than it already is. She’s patient and kind and explains things when they are difficult to understand. She is also the teacher for the Math Club for 5th and 6th graders after school. But she’s not just my math teacher, she’s also my good friend. She’s is my Sunday School teacher on Sunday at church, then my math teacher on Monday through Friday. If there is a teacher I will never forget, it would be Mrs. Keesling!

Christina, Grade 5 – Jessica Creech, Highland Heights Elementary

My teacher rocks because ever since I came to Highland I have felt a great influence on me since I met my teacher. I have learned so many things. I am better at reading and writing I am still working on getting good at math. My teacher is the best! I love reading in school. Every time my teacher says it’s writing time I already have my notebook out and ready! My teacher has really been getting all of her students on track. I think that’s a great way to improve kids learning skills. That’s why my teacher rocks!

Bradly Ditmer, Grade 6 – Lindsey Miller, Hagerstown Elementary She lets us watch movies, talk, and let us have fun.

Jessica Smith, Grade 2 – Mary Beth Unger, Community Christian School

My teacher, Mrs.Unger, rocks because she is a wonderful woman. She is very pretty, caring, and compassionate to everyone. She is very nice and lets us do fun stuff. She gives us neat stuff for Easter, Christmas, and Valentines Day. She even had her mom give everybody in 2nd grade a hat that she made. She is a lot of fun and teaches us very cool songs every week. She is very intelligent with the Bible and science. She makes being in school fun. Mrs. Unger is the best teacher that I’ve ever had! I wouldn’t care if I didn’t pass 2nd grade because I would want her as my teacher every year! The End. Jayden Bussell, Grade 2 – Debby Brogan, Hagerstown Elementary

Every day my teacher rocks because she does a lot of really cool stuff. Sometimes my teacher, Mrs. Brogan, lets us throw away our morning work. If you read two hours a month we get to have a party. At recess she lets us get on computers. The coolest thing she does is takes us on fake trips. We have been to Alaska, Hawaii, Ireland, Africa, Mexico, and we’re going to Texas. My favorite trip is Hawaii because we got to wear bathing suits. We ate and drank Hawaiian food. I really like Mrs. Brogan. I will miss her next year.

Parker A. Jaynes, Grade 4 – Paula Warfield, Centerville-Abington Elementary My art teacher for fourth grade is Mrs.Warfield.

Allison Allen and Madison Rosenberger, Grade 4 – Denise Scalzo, Centerville-Abington Elementary

We are doing an essay over Mrs.Scalzo, a fourth grade teacher. We had her last year in fourth grade, and she was an excellent teacher. She was our language arts and reading teacher. She is always complimented on how well of a teacher she is. Her favorite year of teaching was in 2009-2010. She has been teaching for twenty-two years. She started teaching in 1989. One of Mrs. Scalzo’s favorite books is “Harriet the Spy.” Also her favorite author is Kevin Henkes. Mrs. Scalzo has a very friendly dog named Brody. One of her favorite colors is green. She is also a big fan of pizza. Mrs. Scalzo is one of our favorite fourth grade teachers, and always will be. We are now volunteering in her classroom during our recess time just to help out her classroom. Mrs. Scalzo is a great and intelligent teacher. That is why Mrs. Scalzo is our favorite teacher!

Matthew Abrams, Grade 6 – Bronson Curtis, Northeastern Elementary My name is Matt Abrams and I’m in sixth grade at Northeastern Elementary. Mr. Bronson Curtis was my teacher. Mr. Curtis rocks because he taught me a lot of things in life. He taught me a lot of things in fifth grade. The first thing in fifth grade that he taught me was new math problems. I loved how he taught them.

He explained them so well Mr. Curtis is inspiring because he never really gets mad at kids, but he does have rules about things. I think Mr. Curtis inspires a lot of teachers and kids. He is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. Mr. Curtis makes every subject fun and exciting, but Mr. Bronson Curtis makes math the most fun subject.

Trey Seifer, Grade 6 – Bronson Curtis, Northeastern Elementary My name is Trey Seifer. I go to Northeastern Elementary School and my favorite teacher is Mr. Curtis.

He was my fifth grade teacher. Mr. Curtis helped me when I was going through rough things. He is probably the coolest guy in our school. He is really encouraging when you’re down he always pulls you back up. Mr. Curtis is the best teacher in the school.

Mr. Curtis is inspiring because he knows when you’re down and he always knows what to do. Mr. Curtis is one of the wrestling coaches and he is really good. I want to grow up and coach something like Mr. Curtis.

He always made learning fun because he threw games into our lessons. Sometimes he would let us get an extra recess or something really fun. Mr. Curtis is awesome. My teacher ROCKS! Logan Myers, Grade 6 – Melissa Jordan, Elizabeth Starr Academy If I were to nominate my favorite teacher for my teacher rocks it would be … drum roll, please, it would be my favorite teacher Mrs. Jordan. I love Mrs. Jordan because if we were good she always gave us extra recess and she played this really cool bingo game like if we did something good we got to put our name on the bingo board and at the end of the week she drew 2 cards one was a letter card and one was a number card if your name was in the box you got a full sized candy bars. But the most fun was when we did our auction with Mrs. Mayes. She was our student teacher. You could buy stuff such as lunch cards so you could eat with Mrs. Jordan and it was really fun because we got to play board games with her at lunch and I always bought them cards because I always wanted to spend time with her. I always ask if I could hang out with her after school and she usually let me but sometimes she had meetings, parent teacher conferences, and other things to do. But I love her cause she was almost always nice to me. And she will always be my favorite teacher.

I LOVE MRS. JORDAN Garrett Schuler, Grade 6 – Nancy House, Northeastern Elementary My favorite teacher is Mrs. Nancy House, who was my fifth grade homeroom teacher in 2009 and 2010.

Mrs. House inspired me by helping me when I asked for help, teaught me how to do things when I didn’t know how to do them, brought me back up when I was down, and most importantly she was always there for me. Mrs. House always taught things in a fun way, even if she got laughed at while doing them. My most favorite thing that made Mrs. House rock is that every time there was a sentence with one name in it, she changed it to Henry. That is why my favorite teacher is Mrs. Nancy House.

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Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 9

Samantha Scales, Grade 6 – Melissa Jordan, Elizabeth Starr Academy

Loren Scales, Grade 6 – Yancy Sons, Centerville-Abington Elementary

My teacher rocks!

My favorite teacher is Mrs. Jordan. She’s my favorite teacher because she teaches kids in a whole different way, a way where it’s, exciting, fun and educational and that’s by her being herself. She has a wonderful sense of humor. She would sing randomly, although one of her songs got stuck in my head and the song was about division. The song is “Long division, Long division,” “The key we found, The key we found, First must divide, Then you multiply, Subtract bring down, Then look around.”

And that actually helped me learn to divide. I think Mrs. Jordan deserves $500. She’s a good teacher and a good person. But if a person does get into trouble she will be strict about it and she will not put up with bad behavior. Those are some of the reasons why she is my favorite teacher. I think she would be the best kind of teacher anyone should have. She teaches fun math games. One of the math games is called All Around the World, which is pretty easy for me. Sometimes every Wednesday she would have a Wednesday song because that day is in the middle of the week. Whenever she sings it she would have one student to dance with her. She would control their arms and make them dance. It’s always funny to see someone dance so weird and funny. That is why my teacher rocks.

My teacher Mr. Sons rocks because he cares not just about your work but teaching you about being an adult. He uses mini economy to test how we handle money, instead of keeping us in at recess or using a hall pass. When you run out of money or can’t be paid because you got in trouble, you go into debt just like real life. Also he might not try to make you laugh or be funny during class, but he sure does help when you need it. Thats what really counts, and that is why my teacher Mr. Sons rocks.

Hannah Crail, Grade 6 – Cheryl Surles, Westview Elementary The best teacher I have ever had is Mrs. Surles. She was my 5th grade teacher .She was only there for half the day. She taught me math and science, and social studies.

Mrs. Surles taught me math and I never really liked math but, she made me good at it. She explained things in ways that I never would have thought of and, they made sense! I got so good at math that I started going ahead in my math journal. I got to the point where I never had homework and loads of free time. Then Mrs. Surles asked me to join math bowl. Mrs. Surles was the math bowl coach of course! I loved math bowl it was a good challenge because some of the problems were 6th grade work. On the day of math bowl me and my partner were last to go up and compete. We got are problems done early and drew Sponge Bob on our work paper (thanks to Mrs. Surles). Then we waited for the results it turned out we won math bowl! It felt so good to be on the winning team!

Mrs. Surles was also an amazing social studies teacher. She made learning about the past fun in the present. I loved learning about the Civil War. I also loved learning about the Oregon Trail. That was my favorite thing we learned about. She made so many fun projects that sometimes replaced the boring paper work. I love social studies because of Mrs. Surles.

Mrs. Surles helped me love math and social studies. She made math simple and history fun. Mrs. Surles truly Rocks. My 5th grade teacher rocks.

Jacob Fordonski, Grade 1 – Melissa Powell, Rose Hamilton Elementary Hello, my name is Jacob Fordonski and I am in Mrs.Powell’s first grade class. Mrs. Powell rocks because she is very awesome. She makes learning fun and teaches us where we can understand. She teaches us spelling, math, reading, how to count money and tell time. She helps us at work stations and plays with us at recess. She gives us treats which I really love. She never gets mad if don’t understand something. She works with us til we learn it. Mrs. Powell doesn’t end when the school day ends. She works nights and weekends too so we learn well. I am sure gonna miss Mrs. Powell when I go to 2nd grade. To all you students that get Mrs. Powell this fall you will be very lucky to have her as your teacher. And to Mrs. Powell, “Thank you so much for being such a great teacher.” I will miss you but I will never forget you. You Rock, Mrs.Powell.

Thomas Fordonski, Grade 5 – Sara Mills, Centerville-Abington Elementary Hello my name is Thomas Fordonski. My teacher’s name is Mrs. Mills. Mrs. Mills rocks because she is very interesting. She is actually just one of my teachers. I have more but she is my main teacher. I have learned a lot in her class this year. She has taught me to be a better reader. I didn’t like to read but Mrs. Mills has taught me that reading is very interesting and you learn a lot from reading. By being in her class I have been on the honor roll all year long and I have never done that before. Thanks to Mrs. Mills I have learned that school is very important and you need as much schoolling as possible to be someone in this world.

“Thank You Mrs. Mills, you definitely Rock.” I will miss you and never forget you!

Hannah Scales, Grade 4 – Diane Luken, Centerville-Abington Elementary Mrs. Luken rocks because she is kind, gentle, and helps you with any hard assignment. I can ask her any question, and she will give me an answer. I wouldn’t change anything about her. She doesn’t move on to a new lesson if not all of us are ready. She is an excellent teacher. If I could go back in time and pick my teacher, I would still pick her. She doesn’t play around but she does make learning extra fun. If there is any teacher who needs to be recognized, it is her. For example, she sometimes lets me fix papers that I miss a lot of problems on, and helps me understand what I did wrong. For all these reasons and more, Mrs. Luken rocks.

Kristin McFarland, Grade 4 – Kelsey Whitton, Highland Heights Elementary Miss Whitton is a fantastic teacher. She rocks in whatever she does. She is fun, nice, and smart. She is strict, but she means what she says. She greets me every morning. When I first went to her room, I felt scared, but she was super nice to me and I did not feel scared anymore. Miss Whitton is great at everything she teaches us. She shows us how to do things by talking us through step by step. She helps me with questions I am not sure of and helps me figure it out. Sometimes when we are really good, she gives us extra time to play or go outside. She is so nice to me. One day, she helped me pull my loose tooth and it didn’t even hurt. She gives us tasting parties. She brings in food that we have never tried before, and most of it is super great. She lets us get on the smart board, so we can play learning games. Sometimes we do writing projects with a partner. We get to research Indiana and fun things like sports. She also takes us on lots of field trips. Miss Whitton gives her best when she teaches us every single day. She taught me so much this year.

I learned how to write longer paragraphs, that potatoes grow roots, and how to do long division. The most important thing she taught me is to be trustworthy. She said, “If we do the right thing, right things happen.”

Payton VanMiddlesworth, Grade 4 – Roya Maze, Charles Elementary My teacher R.O.C.K.S.! She is REALLY OUTSTANDING, CREATIVE, KIND and SMART! Miss Maze is my 4th grade teacher at Charles Elementary School. She enriches my life each day by making me the best student that I can be. She makes learning fun by teaching subjects in a different way. For instance, to study our vocabulary words we made our own creative board games. It helped me to learn the definitions of my words more than if she would have just made us memorize them off a sheet of paper. Miss Maze interacts with all her in such a positive way. She always encourages us to do our personal best and always have a positive attitude. I know when I go into her classroom each morning that I am going to have a wonderful day! She cares so much about her students and our learning. Miss Maze even gives her time after school to help coach our school jump rope team. Miss Maze is an awesome teacher. She R.O.C.K.S.!

Mason Hale, Grade 3 – Dana Reagan, Centerville-Abington Elementary My teacher is the best. Her name is Mrs. Reagan and she teaches 3rd grade at Centerville. She will give you drawing time, study time and extra recesses. She lets you lay down when it’s read aloud time. She is very funny at times and always in a very happy mood. She never gets mad when you mess up because she’s always in a happy mood. I try not to make her mad. She likes to make jokes with you. Sometimes she says we give her grey hair. She likes every student.

Mrs. Reagan never leaves a student out of games and drawings. If you don’t get a paper she’s always happy to give you one. She likes to let us have parties when we reach our goals. She lets us help her grade papers. Mrs. Reagan is always on your side. My teacher is the best teacher ever.

Abby Stewart, Grade 5 – Sara Mills, Centerville-Abington Elementary My teacher is Mrs. Mills. Her goal is for each fifth grade student to do their very best. Every student looks forward to entering her classroom. When we enter her classroom she greets us with a warm smile. Mrs. Mills teaches the fifth grade students Saxon Math. She makes sure each and every student understands each lesson.

If not, she takes the time to personally tutor them on their way to success. Mrs. Mills test our skills with follow-up tests after each lesson. If we ever fail (that happens rarely) she knows that we put all of our effort into it and that it is the student’s and her job to never let that happen again. Mrs. Mills understands everyone’s needs in learning. One day, Mrs. Mills taught us a lesson about dividing fractions. It was really confusing.

Mrs. Mills noticed that I needed help, she walked over to my desk and told me not to be embarrased and that it’s OK. She helped me get through the lesson and at the end of the class I got an A on our assignment. Mrs. Mills is retiring this year and all of the students are sad to see her go. We all appreciate Mrs. Mills and hope that she enjoys her retirement. That is why Mrs. Mills is my favorite teacher. Mrs. Mills really rocks!

Katy Stewart, Grade 3 – Patti Sharp, Centerville-Abington Elementary My teacher is a wonderful teacher. Her name is Mrs. Sharp. She always is smiling when we see her. In the morning she greets us in a happy way as we enter the classroom. Mrs. Sharp does her best to lead us to success. If we get a bad grade she tells us we need to do a little better. We are working mostly on reading skills but she teaches us everything that we need to know about everything. I think she tries to copy one of her favorite books “Hooray For Diffen Doofer Day.” If we are on a lesson she stops and says, “Is there anybody that does not understand then please raise your hand.” Mrs. Sharp really cares and wants everyone to do their best. Whenever we do new things she always makes it a fun lesson. One of the lessons we are working on is body language. There was a list of sentences on the paper and we had to figure out how you would say for example, “Let’s be friends.” You wouldn’t say it in a mean voice you would say it in a happy voice. Mrs. Sharp is the best you can get. I Love Mrs. Sharp!

10 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011

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LaQuent Hogg, Grade 3 – Mrs. Rose, C.R. Richardson Elementary

Chantae Soper, Grade 2 – Courtney Breitenbach, Galileo Charter School

Mrs. Rose was my 3rd grade teacher at C.R. Richardson. She made learning fun. She always woke her class up by jumping around while she was teaching. She would have groups for behavior and your groups would have to fill your bubble gum jar up. Each time your group was doing something good, you got to fill in your jar with one or however many gum balls she gave you. She had a chart when you had a good day, you got a star. Every five stars she would let you pick a piece of gum.

It was fun when she was teaching me. She would sometimes give extra recess time when the whole class was good. She had us do a play the play was funny. The play was based on the story we were reading in class. My part was the old man. On special days she would throw a party, like on Valentine’s Day. She put snacks in each bag. At the end of the year she let us have a pizza party and get on the computers.

The best thing about her class was after P.E. we would have snack. It was only if you had brought a snack. She gave us an animal report, my animal was a shark. I liked most of the activities we did. Thanks to Mrs. Rose, 3rd grade was my best year. That’s why Mrs. Rose Rocks!!

My favorite teacher is Miss Courtney Breitenbach. Miss B is my favorite teacher because she is nice, fair, honest, and respects herself and others. She is fair because she treats everyone the same and helps them.

She is nice because she helps people with their work and gives them time to think about it. Miss B is respectful because she takes care of herself and helps people she doesn’t even know. She is my favorite teacher because we could play games and not just do work. She would let us have fun with it as we went.

I know Miss B because she was my second and third grade teachers at Galileo Charter School. She would always help me and make me feel comfortable in my learning zone. She is the reason why I want to finish school and go off to college. That is why Miss B is my favorite teacher and why she rocks, and if ever have Miss.B as a teacher I am sure that you will like her.

Deonte Redmon, Grade 6 – Sara Williams, Galileo Charter School

The best teacher I’ve had is Miss Williams. The reason why she is the best teacher is because she listens to you even if you’re mad or if you just need somebody to talk to, she will listen. She is funny and respectful. Miss Williams makes learning fun. She is not dull like other teachers can be. Miss Williams had a good relationship with everyone in her classroom. She treats the students like we are her kids.

Miss Williams works at Galileo Charter School as a sixth grade teacher. She doesn’t embarrass you in front of the class; instead Miss Williams pulls you aside and asks, “What’s the matter?” She motivates you when you are thinking about quitting; she tells you that quitting is not an option. That’s why Miss Sara Williams rocks!

Nautika Williams, Grade 2 – Courtney Breitenbach, Galileo Charter School

My favorite teacher is Miss Courtney Breitenbach. I had Miss Breitenbach for two years: in second and third grade. She taught me at Galileo Charter School. We called her Miss B. She was very nice. Miss B. only got on us when we were doing something wrong. She always had a fun way to teach us and always had fun crafts to do. Miss B sometimes would have her mom come in to class and help out, we called her Grandma B. Miss B and I had a good relationship, especially because I had her two years in a row. I knew what would upset her and she knew when something was wrong. Miss B listened to you and understood you, which made you feel even more like you could trust her. She made you feel confident in yourself and your work. Miss B was the best teacher I have ever had. Miss B Rocks!

Shanea White, Grade 1 – Cathy Showalter, Northeastern Elementary

The teacher I am going to write about is Mrs. Showalter. Mrs. Showalter teaches at Northeastern Elementary School. She was my teacher in first grade.

I am writing about Mrs. Showalter because she taught me how to do a lot of things. She taught me how to read little picture books. She taught me my ABC’s and how to count from 1 to 10 and by 5, 10, 20, and 50. She taught me how to write simple words like I, me, so, him, her, she, and he. She also taught me how to write my name.

Mrs. Showalter helped me a lot with things. She helped me with addition and subtraction. She helped me when I was hurt or if I was bullied. Mrs. Showalter helped me with my speech because I talked too fast.

She helped when I was down or sad.

Mrs. Showalter’s saying was “I will be fair, but fair does not always mean equal.” She still treated us fairly. She took us on one field trip we loved which was to the zoo. She had fun days like show & tell. She had Christmas and holiday parties. On holidays or special occasions she would do fun stuff with us. I don’t think there was a day she wasn’t at school and feeding our brains.

Mrs.Showalter made all of her students want to come to school. She would tell us were doing great.

Most of all she taught us well and made us who we are.

Shaylynn Sparks, Grade 4 – Vicki Pierce, Highland Heights Elementary

My 4th grade teacher was the best teacher I ever had. Her name is Vicki Pierce. Well, I called her Ms. Pierce. Whenever I got in trouble she would sit me down and talk it out with me. Then, after I was calmed down or got better that day she would take me to the teacher’s lounge and buy me a pop or a treat. Ms. Pierce would keep me after school almost every day when she was not too busy and I would help with cleaning the room or help with paper sorting. Well most of the time we would just sit and talk. When it was time to take me home she would take me to a restaurant and usually it was Wendy’s. She would get my family each a chocolate Frosty.

She would always tell my mother that I had been fantastic. She improved my reading too. I think I went from a second grade book to a fourth grade book; I even got rewarded for it too. I loved my teacher. Also, at the end of the school year she took me out to Golden Corral. She and I had a great bond together. That is why she was and will still always be my greatest teacher ever.

Kelsey Green, Grade 2 – Matthew Hasecoster, Crestdale Elementary My teacher rocks because he always plays around with the math or reading. He encourages us to pass a test. He is so awesome. I want to be in his class till I get out of college.

He gives you candy for answering questions right. He is so nice. He gives out candy for having the fastest time in math fact in a flash. He always making subjects fun. He’s fair and even. He talks about his little daughter Mira. How she always plays around. She is only about 2 years old.

He told us that a high school professor stuck a rose in liquid nitrogen and banged it on the table and it shattered.

He told us that he jumped off the toilet acting like Superman and hit his nose on the bathtub. Once he was hooking up wires and he got electrocuted. He told us about the time his friend could not pronounce a name with a hyphen in it. He told us about the time he went to France and ate sweet bread and didn’t know what it was.

He read us “James and the Giant Peach” and then let us watch the movie. He let us make parachutes and go outside and drop them it was fun. I love being in his classroom. His class is fun, exciting, and awesome.

Angelise Jones, Kindergarten – Melissa Bourff, C.R. Richardson Elementary My kindergarten teacher rocks because she was just like me and she was very nice. Her name was Melissa Bourff and she taught me at C.R.Richardson. She was always there when I needed her for assistance. She made school fun and easy. She taught me how to read bigger books and before you know it I was learning independently. Mrs. Bourff helped us through obstacles we had faced with challenging work and also helping us with our behavior. She liked to teach her students coping skills and social skills too. Every morning Mrs. Bourff would have the students sit on the carpet and have a morning meeting. We would have a discussion about how to make friends and how to treat others. Then we would play a game to get us started and excited about the day. If we were to get into trouble we would first get a warning, then a time out, then office time. I would never want office time because then i wouldn’t be able to be around Mrs. Bourff for a while and I hated that! When it came towards the end of the year we were getting ready to graduate and go to first grade. We made caps and we had these little gowns. When we were sitting at the assembly I noticed Mrs. Bourff was slightly crying. She was sad we were graduating and I was sad I wouldn’t have her anymore. My teacher ROCKS! Taija Price, Grade 2 – Courtney Breitenbach, Galileo Charter School My favorite teacher is Miss Breitenbach she taught at Galileo Charter School, she rocks because she was not hard on her students but when somebody got out of line she handled it. She was the easiest teacher to understand. She always worked hard to achieve goals for herself and for other students. I learned a lot from Miss B. She didn’t just make us do work all the time; she also played games with us and took us outside.

We all had a lot of fun! Miss B. was my second and third grade teacher, the best teacher ever! She inspired me to get this far in school. I am in the 6th grade. Miss B. and other teachers inspired me to go even farther!

Miss B. treated her class like we were one of her own. I loved that! Her mom came in sometimes to do crafts with us. We called her Grandma B. I will never forget the times Miss B. and I spent together!

Joey Fox, Grade 3 – Michelle Hilbert, Charles Elementary Mrs. Hilbert is the world’s greatest teacher. She totally rocks and not only because she doesn’t believe in homework. She thinks we do enough at school. Mrs. Hilbert (aka Mrs. Green) cares so much about earth.

She also always lets us go outside. Mrs. Hilbert is also a total helper and she is so nice. Everytime it snows she lets us go outside. If it is extremely hot we go inside. That’s not all she cares a lot about.To everyone she’s nice, sweet and sensitive. There’s always a fact about earth everyday! She is an expert at being the best and that’s why she ROCKS!!!

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Benjamin Price, Grade 6 – Sara Williams, Galileo Charter School

David Walter, Grade 4 – Karen Bradburn, Miss Van Note, C.R. Richardson Elementary

Miss Sara Williams, from Galileo Charter School, is the best teacher I have ever had. She sticks with us and re-teaches us if we don’t understand what she is teaching. She is a good listener and I can tell her anything because she will keep it to herself. She is very respectful to me and my classmates, but if you act up she’ll get on you. I know she does that to teach me how to become a successful adult. Miss Williams and I have a good relationship.

Miss Williams makes learning fun. In reading, we have Scholastic Reading Counts teams, and whichever team wins gets Subway for lunch. She also orders books online that we are interested in. Right now we are making dioramas in class and they are a lot of fun. I like when we go to our groups in reading, because she helps us individually.

Miss Williams rocks because she is creative. When I was in third grade, she made up songs for the multiplication tables. Even though I didn’t know her that well back then she was still always doing things with children. Now I’m in her sixth grade class. What I like about her the most is that she helps you will whatever you need help on. She’s caring, respectful, a good listener, and she’s hip. She definitely makes learning fun.

My teachers Miss Bradburn and Miss Van Note are the best. When they are teaching all of the subjects are exciting. When we are sad or don’t understand something they are there for us. They both graduated from college which inspires me to go to college too.

When I feel like giving up, they say it’s OK, just keep trying, don’t give up and I eventually understand what’s giving me trouble. They both have a sense of humor and play games with us outside. Miss Van Note and Miss Bradburn tell us funny stories about their pets. Miss Bradburn has a dog named Ginger and Miss Van Note has a cat named Zoey. I enjoy learning from both of them.

When they both teach lessons if someone doesn’t understand something they help them and they both do tutoring after school. When we are having problems, they let us have a cool down time.

If they don’t think we are ready for a test then they let us study more and just let us take the test when they think we are ready for it. They both are very awesome. They both make educational stuff very exciting by using our smartboard. Miss Bradburn and Miss Van Note both say that the class and I read eloquently.

They also say to never be embarrassed and it is OK to be scared of stuff. They both are very good at being inspiring, helpful, understanding, generous, and being very great teachers.

Ciara York, Grade 4 – Karen Bradburn, Miss Van Note, C.R. Richardson Elementary My fourth grade teachers are the best. Their names are Miss Bradburn and Miss Van Note. I am lucky to have two teachers. They are always there for me when I need them. They help me with me with my learning.

They made me understand how to do it everything better.

They made what I am today. They are nice teachers. They help us be responsible for our own behavior.

They do it in a quiet way and not up in your face. Sometimes they let whatever happens that day go by. Miss Van Note and Miss Bradburn buy stuff for us with their own money. I think that is so sweet. They put a whole new life in me because of what they do. Each day when I get up, I am so happy to see them at school.

They are fun to be around. Miss Bradburn and Miss Van Note helped me in so many ways that I have lost count. If I am having trouble with a student, they will let us sit down and talk about it.

Miss Van Note helps one of our students who have a disability. I think he is smarter then he was when he started. Miss Bradburn shares many things with us, like funny stories about her dog Ginger. Miss Van Note shares stories about her cat Zoey. They inspire me to do well.

Trentavia Lear, Grade 4 – Karen Bradburn, Miss Van Note, C. R. Richardson Elementary

My teacher Miss Van Note is a very nice person and I hope one day she can have her own classroom.

She would make a wonderful teacher and a great mom. She is a very hard working person. She is a very caring, respectful, and a loving person. She really does care about us and the school and every person she works with. She follows all the C. R. Richardson rules and I really do like her being my teacher. She has helped our class a lot this school year and she has taught us a lot too. She is my friend and teacher. At first she and I were not the closest but we have grown to like each other a lot and I hope I can see her next year. Miss Van Note rocks as my teacher. Miss Bradburn is my other teacher and she is very nice too. She has been there for me and we have had our good times and bad, but we also have grown to work together. Miss Bradburn is a great teacher too and a wonderful friend to have. She is a good person inside and out and I have never been this close to my teachers like I am with Miss Van Note and Miss Bradburn. I love them and we’ve been through a lot together this year. I hope I can see them both next year and all the years to come.

Kali Wilson, Grade 4 – Karen Bradburn, Kathy Benner, Mrs. Anshutz-O’Maley, Miss Van Note, C.R. Richardson Elementary

Whose my favorite teacher you might ask? Well, that is hard for me to choose, considering I have had so many of them. I’m just going to name a few of my favorites.

First, Mrs. Anshutz-O’Maley was my second grade teacher. You can call her Mrs. A-O’M for short. She helped me by always being there for me when I needed her to help me with a problem.

Second, Miss Benner was my third grade teacher. She is also a great teacher. She gives you plenty of chances and she helped me by being very considerate. She is a very caring person. She helped me understand my work in a better way.

Miss Van Note is one of my current fourth grade teachers. She is a special helper to one of my classmates. She is a very polite teacher and she helps me by telling me to calm down when I get too hyper. She rocks!

Finally, Miss Bradburn is my other current fourth grade teacher. I also had her in kindergarten. She rocks too! She is there for me and encourages me to do my very best.

I think each of my teachers are amazing! I chose four teachers because they all encourage me in their own way and they go beyond to make sure each student learns and understands.

Thank you very much, to all my teachers for every thing you do!

Kyle Stygleman, Grade 4 – Pam Kirk, Charles Elementary My teacher Mrs. Kirk is the best. She puts the air in awesome. She won an award for the best teacher in the world. She never leaves kids out of games unless they get in trouble. Somedays she lets us play whatever we want. It would be an honor for her to get the credit for the stuff she does for us. We wrote our letters in library skills class with Mrs. Friend.

Ashley Santos, Grade 6 – Sara Williams, Galileo Charter School My favorite teacher is Miss Williams. She is my sixth grade teacher at Galileo Charter School. I think she rocks because she does not yell at us, she just tells us to not do something that we are not supposed to do.

She also makes up a lot of activities to do. I really think she rocks.

She also rocks because if we don’t get all of our work down, she lets us do it another day. She also lets us do projects because she trusts us. I think she is real nice and smart and she teaches us a lot of things. I always want her to be my teacher, but now I have to go on to middle school. I will miss her when she isn’t my teacher anymore.

Jimmy Murphy, Grade 6 – Kendra Biava, Galileo Charter School My teacher, Mrs. Biava, rocks because she helped me when I started having troubles at home and I would bring my problems here to school. She got another teacher to help me when I need someone to talk to.

Mrs. Biava didn’t just help me; she taught me how to control my actions.

She also made a song or found it to help use remember how to add and subtract negative numbers.

She is teaching us how to make our own coordinate system picture. I really liked it when we were singing the adding and subtraction negative number song. It is really fun making my own figure in my coordinate system, because you will never know what you will make. That is why my teacher, Mrs. Biava, rocks.

Ellis Washington, Grade 3 – Rebecca (Ramsey) Deloney, C.R. Richardson My favorite teacher is my third grade teacher, Mrs. Ramsey from C.R. Richardson. She makes your day fun if you turn in your homework in for the whole week then you get a king size candy bar. She will also help you the whole day if you did not understand the work. If the whole class was good for the whole month we would get a pizza party, if it was approved by the principal, Dr. Doering. Mrs. Ramsey was nice, sometimes if only a couple people do their work or homework she gives them a ringpop or 100% for the rest of the week. I like when she read us a story then watch a movie about the story. Now she is a librarian at C.R. Richardson.

Joatham Johnson, Grade 6 – Sara Williams, Galileo Charter School My teacher, Miss Williams, rocks because she makes sure I get my work done in a short amount of time.

She makes sure I get it done in the time of day, so I don’t get a bad grade on the assignment, so I can pass the class and go to the next grade. The most fun thing about her class is that she lets us choose what we can do after we get our work done. She lets us choose to get on the computer on Mr. Nussbaum or Study Island.

This is why my teacher is great.

Alejandro Hernandez, Grade 5 – Leah Alexander, Fairview Elementary Mrs. Alexander was the best teacher ever. I mean the best. She would make us laugh all the time. At the end of the day she would put a movie in, so everybody could see it. I remember that she would put in Monster Inc. and E.T. OH! At the end of the year we went to a baseball game. I had to talk Spanish in front of our school, so that was really weird.

I saw her in the Boston Run and The Reality Store. She said that she went to Alaska and Rome, Italy.

Then she would bring photos and videos. So that’s how my teacher rocked. She was the best teacher ever.

She gave me lots of memories. I won’t ever forget about my favorite teacher, Mrs. Alexander.

12 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 Christian Jackson, Grade 6 – Kendra Young, Galileo Charter School Ms. Young rocks as a math teacher. Ms. Young helps me with my math work when I get stuck on a problem. Ms. Young helps us be reviewing some of the lessons before we take the test. Then we switch to Miss Williams’ class. At the end of the day, Miss Williams lets me go to Miss Young’s classroom, but that is when I am good. Miss Williams’ says that going to Ms. Young’s classroom is a privilege. I like to come over to Ms. Young’s classroom because I think that Ms. Young is a cool teacher. This is the reason that Miss Young rocks!

Tayler Hill, Grade 2 – Jaclan Ayotte, Crestdale Elementary Mrs. Ayotte is the best teacher I have had. She is nice she gives us all candy when we would be good, and play a game if she seen us being good and responsible. She taught me multiplication.She would count days every day I was there. But I was not there one day she passed out candy and was going to send me some, but she did not mail it to me): Every year she has chicks and keeps them in a toy box. I love Bob, he was cute. And took a picture of me with Bob, Bill, Jill, Jack, Jilly, and Terry. That is all she really does, but she also does pass the pickle and that is a game that she plays for birthdays.

Christopher Sanchez, Grade 3 – Courtney Breitenbach, Galileo Charter School Courtney Breitenbach is my teacher that rocks! She has inspired me to read more and achieve my dreams. She did this by congratulating me every single time I learned something new. Miss B. taught me that the more you learn the more beneficial your future could be. She always supported me and helped me do my work. She, Courtney Breitenbach, would encourage me to do my work fine and delicate. Now, I have gotten well-cared grades in reading. She would use words like: try harder, good job, and keep going to give me a goal.

I picked Miss B. because she is very nice and has had fun with my and my friends. I’m sure my friends are writing about her too. There are many characteristics that I like about Miss B. that keep me going. I’m sure you kids out there would want Miss B. to be your teacher…Ms.Breitenbach rocks!

Mary Turner, Grade 3 – Courtney Breitenbach, Galileo Charter School My favorite teacher is Miss Breitenbach. I had her in 3rd grade at Galileo Charter School. She was real nice. We did really fun things in her class. She had fun arts and craft activities for us. The thing I like the most about her was that she taught me how to borrow in subtraction.

I never once got written up in her class. I knew I would get in trouble if I did. When I had Miss B for a teacher, I was really good. I messed up just a little bit. I just got warnings, and I fixed my behavior. Well that is why Miss B rocks to me!

Joshshawn Williams, Grade 6 – Sara Williams, Galileo Charter School Miss Williams rocks because she helps me on everything. When I didn’t understand writing she told me how to write a paragraph. She is encouraging and fun. We do a lot of smartboard activities and PowerPoint presentations. She also lets us go outside. I have lots of fun with Miss Williams. She lets us listen to the radio in class while we are working. Miss Williams puts the lunch, birthday, recess schedule, and stuff that is happening on the board. She put fun posters on the wall and lets us see pictures on the smartboard. Her library is full of educational and fun books. At the end of the day she lets us get on the computer or sit down and talk.

This is why Miss Williams rocks!

Jalen Turner, Grade 4 – Melissa Jordan, Elizabeth Starr Academy The teacher who I think rocks is Mrs. Jordan. She is my teacher this year. She is amazingly special, makes learning a blast, and makes me feel special every day.

Mrs. Jordan is extremely dedicated. She always works long hours to make sure that everything that my class needs gets done. She likes to be prepared. Sometimes I think she is still working even after I’m in bed!

My rockin’ teacher does so many things to make learning fun. She sings songs to help us memorize stuff.

She plans a weekly learning challenge against the other fourth-grade class. Whatever we have to learn, she does in a fun way. It is always fun to be at school.

Mrs. Jordan always makes me feel special. She gives us fun rewards when we earn them. She tells my mom when I do good things. She never gets mad when she has to remind me to do the right thing; she just talks to us about it. When she tells us she loves us, I know she really means it!

Mrs. Jordan truly is a rockin’ teacher. I’m glad I’m in her class. She makes me want to come to school every day.

Ben Lair, Grade 6 – Patti Sharp, Centerville-Abington Elementary Mrs. Sharp is the most phenomenal teacher I have had at Centerville Elementary School. She is incredibly hilarious. She makes jokes even when trying to get us to behave. She would “threaten” to cut off our tongues, hang us by our toes and tickle us. But she was just joking. Then we would always laugh and behave.

Mrs. Sharp and Mrs. Luken took us on fascinating field trips, like an overnight trip to COSI and a trip to Conner Prairie. At COSI we got to sleep by the ocean exhibit after exploring the whole museum. Conner

www.pal-item.com Prairie is an old kind of town that shows you how life was in the pioneer days. Our class had a great feast before Thanksgiving and all of the students helped to make it a success.

Mrs. Sharp challenged us to read many books by offering gift cards for a bookstore. Mrs. Sharp also loves chocolate, especially dark chocolate. For our birthdays we sometimes bring in goodies and give her some. She may love chocolate but she loves us more. She pushed me to help me do my best in my academics. That’s why I’m still in the excel program. I want Mrs. Sharp to know that I think she is awesome.

Katelyn Ferguson, Grade 3 – Pauline Stanton, Crestdale Elementary My teacher rocks because she gives us gifts when it’s close to our birthday or is our birthday. She rocks because those gifts are nights of no homework, 15 extra minutes of recess, or a game. She rocks because she tells us if we pasted are time tests.

Miss Stanton you rock and you will forever.

I love you Miss Stanton.

You rock because you give us “Caught you being Good” cards if were good.

You’re the best teacher ever. You’re the sweetest teacher in school.

Parker Jaynes, Grade 4 – Paula Warfield, Centerville-Abington Elementary My art teacher for fourth grade is Miss Warfield. Miss Warfield is an awesome teacher. She supports me and gives help whenever I need it. She gives me everything I need to learn and improve. She let the whole school do a big project. It was the world’s biggest God’s Eye. The the previous world record was only 3 ft.

It is 7 ft 10 in tall, we broke the world record by almost 5 ft. Miss Warfield entered the school in a contest to get a Guinness World Records official to come and watch the school make the God’s Eye. The contest was where you vote online. You pick which school you wanted out of 10 schools that were breaking World Records. Centerville got second in the contest. The school broke the record on May 5th. It is going to be outside of the playground at Centerville. Miss Warfield did all that and that is why she ROCKS! Clayton Scott Atkinson, Grade 4 – Teresa McNew, Northeastern Elementary Let me tell you about my awesome 4th grade teacher Mrs McNew. She rocks for lots of reasons. She lets us have a little free time after a hard day of work. We also get to have FUN FRIDAY if we earn it. She even plays with us when she wants to, or we want. She lets us vote for what we want. The teachers are playing in a survivor game competition, she is on the yellow team. She told us to tell the other teams that YELLOW RULES! Trust me, she is fun. Even math is fun. Here is something else nice about my teacher, she buys snacks for the kids in our class who don’t have snacks. She also let us have 2 frogs and 1 beatta, the 2 frogs are named Tom and Jerry. I like pets a lot, I have 5 frogs, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and twenty chicks. Mrs. McNew always listens to my stories about my pets, she tells me funny stories about her new puppy. We just went to Conner Prairie to spend the night, we were allowed to spend the night because they like our school. I don’t doubt them. Mrs. McNew teaches us to have respect for others places. She makes learning FUN, I’m almost too smart. But if I ever need help she is always there.

Lillian Dickman, Grade 6 – Terri Schroeder, Seton Catholic Elementary My teacher rocks because she is enthusiastic and inspiring when it comes to learning. She encourages us to always do our best, even if it is difficult. Mrs. Schroeder is always there for our class when we need her the most.

Mrs. Schroeder is always enthusiastic when she fills us with knowledge. Whether it’s cracking jokes, or being sarcastic, she is always spirited and tries to make the best of our learning experiences. When something is perplexing to our class, Mrs. Schroeder reassures us that we are capable of anything. She makes learning intriguing and captivating. My teacher is a mesmerizing educator!

Mrs. Schroeder is inspiring to me because I have never seen her make a wrong decision. She is an excellent role model to have. She puts all things into consideration when in a complex situation. She is an amazing and inspirational teacher!

Mrs. Schroeder is humble and not all about herself. She cares about everybody around her. Mrs. Schroeder rocks because she is not all serious, but not all silly. She is comical, but she is also very professional.

She places trust in our class to do the right thing, which inspires us to do so. She keeps our class in line, but makes sure we are enjoying every minute of our school day. Mrs. Schroeder rocks!

Brianna Berry, Grade 6 – Angelina Breitenbach, Northeastern Elementary Hi, my name is Brianna Berry. My teacher Mrs. Angelina Breitenbach rocks, because she goes the extra mile to make reading fun. She is my reading and homeroom teacher, and she is the best! Mrs. A-B inspires me, because she makes learning fun, and exciting, but she also knows when to give discipline. Mrs. Breitenbach makes learning fun, because she lets us express our thoughts, and pick the books we read. Mrs. A-B also lets us do end of the book projects, which are very fun! I don’t know about you, but that makes me look forward to 4th period reading!

I think reading is rewarding, because we are learning things to become better students, but at the same time we also are learning how to have fun and be creative. From dictionary races, to book groups, Mrs. Angelina Breitenbach is the best you can get!

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Eva Elmore, Grade 4 – Donna Sparks, Centerville-Abington Elementary Ms. Sparks rocks because she’s always there for the students. She knows the right answers to every problem there is! She teaches her class like she is a scientist! When I have a problem, she explains the problem, but never just gives me the answer. She works so hard to teach us, and to do fun activities on special days such as Cinco de Mayo. Ms. Sparks knows best! She rocks! I can always count on her! She’s fun, but can also be serious too. That’s what teachers are supposed to be! She’s my first teacher here at Centerville.

I’ll say she’s a WONDERFUL teacher! Why, she’s the best teacher I’ve ever had!

This is my first year here and she has made my school life comfortable here at Centerville! I’ll never have another teacher like her! She’s the best! She gives us awards like candy if we get a green card. That means we never got a yellow, purple, or pink card pulled for the week! She’s just amazing! When I get my graded papers, I know she has done a lot of work! She has to grade more than 2,000 papers a year! That’s why Ms. Sparks rocks!

Thomas Martin, Grade 5 – Vaile Elementary Every time I pass through addition to division math fact tests, she buys us fast food for lunch. If she gives us homework, we are allowed to work on it in class. If we don’t think we like the snack we get in the afternoon, she will try it first. We go on walking field trips to McDonald’s and she bought the entire class ice cream.

We do cool experiments and models. We did one where she poured water in a box and it just sat there then it leaked out and we had to guess why. We built cars out of parts she gave us and it had to at least roll down the ramp.

She’s always been calm about mistakes or just needing to cool down she’s the best teach I’ve ever had and has a really low temper. When it comes to reputation she has it with everyone. I forget to turn in homework she says it’s ok because I always usually turn in everything.

Valaree Kaiser, kindergarten – Mrs. Thompson

My teacher rocks because she is nice, smart and funny. Nice because, when we are good she gives us candy, and if we are good she will give us a stinger card and we will get a sucker or a tattoo. Smart because she teaches us things we don’t know, and pus it in words that we do know and that we understand. My teacher is funny because on April Fool’s Day Mrs. Thompson said since we missed so many snow days we have to come back two days early on spring break. We all fell for it except for me. It was funny. She is THE BEST!!!

Zachary Tyler Martin, kindergarten – Mrs. Thompson

I think my teacher Mrs Thompson is the best teacher there is. She is super nice. If we get a right answer we sometimes get candy. Sometimes we get extra reading or writing time. She always has a smile on her face. Every day is more exciting then the last. We never get in trouble. It is always a blast. We never get extra homework. I am always learning something new. And that is why my teacher Mrs. Thompson ROCKS. Joseph Ernst, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary Teacher, you rock. You help us learn and read and be smart. You are the best rocker. The things you do are awesome. You do the best science things in the whole wide world.

Adriana Lewis, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary She is nice and cares about us. And we all think that’s nice and we like it all. I love my teacher, so she rocks. I like my teacher so she is my friend.

Isabella Davis, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary My teacher rocks because she is fun and teaches us about what’s inside your body. And on holidays she will let us have candy. It is fun being in room 6 because we like Mrs. Pearson. We do math, reading, and spelling. I like it here.

Mika Sugaya, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary My teacher rocks because her Teacher Happy Dance is funny. She rocks because when she gets mad she looks like she is a rock star.

Kayla Theobald, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary She teaches and she helps people. She helps with math. She helps to read a book. She helps with writing.

Ryan Gilbert, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary My teacher rocks because she lets us do science. And when we get all our pennies in the cup we get a second recess. My teacher rocks 100 x 200!

Trace Farris, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary This is why my teacher rocks, because she teaches us math and science and words. And writing and reading! And reads us Farmer Boy and different holidays.

Ashley Clark, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary My teacher rocks and is COOL! She is the best in the world and she can be a funny teacher. Her class always makes pictures for her. We love our teacher. All the teachers are cool but not as cool as our teacher!

Katelyn Bishop, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary She is nice and helps me. We have learned about capitals and periods. And we learned to spell hard words. We learned how to count change. She works hard to help us.

Benjamin Williamson, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary My teacher rocks because we do fun experiments and then we run or jog or run backwards. It is the best.

And also my teacher rocks because she teaches us new things like molecules and other stuff. I like everything that we do with her and that’s how we learn new things and more and more and more! And that’s why my teacher rocks.

Andrew Seal, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary My teacher rocks because she has pennies in the cup that gives you a second recess. And they have centers to do activities. That is why my teacher rocks.

Adrianne Weber, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary Mrs. Pearson is my teacher. She rocks because on holidays she gives us candy, like pop rocks and gum and lollipops and tootsie rolls. I love my teacher.

Echo J. Hehr, Grade 4 – Emily Gross, Northeastern Elementary Ms. Gross is from Northeastern Elementary School. She gives out homework passes that way we would have no homework! And she gives out extra recess and she give’s us little homework! She lets us draw on the chalkboard and write on it too! And for language she let’s us just write the word! And for spelling she let’s us write the words in ABC order. I love Math. She gives us a little bit of math and she lets us do the rest of it the next day! And science she lets us do half the questions and lets us do the rest the next day! She lets us watch movies and gives us candy, pop, cake, chips, and punch! And for reading she read’s us about a girl and the name of the girl is Jessie and the book’s name is called running out of time. She is the best. She lets us do experiences in the classroom! And she lets us do the mobile lab with the laptops that way we can get on the internet! She lets us eat in the classroom and lets us play board games and lets us bring our Ipad and phones to play games on! Ms. Gross rocks!

Morgan Burk, Grade 3 – Sarah Vance, Garrison Elementary My teacher rocks because everything we learn she tries to make fun. She is also awesome because when she is kind of mad she speaks weird. She does vampire voices when she needs to calm down. When some people say, “I can’t do this” she helps them through it until they get what they are doing and understand it.

Like I am having some troubles at school in math, so when I don’t understand it or get confused or something she walks me through it and helps me. Another thing that makes her rock is because she makes things like work, reading, math, science, social studies, writing, and even recess fun! I love her, she is my favorite teacher of anybody ever! She is so so nice to me and others. One time I forget who it was but he or she got in big trouble and they only missed two minutes of recess! She also reviews everything so she makes sure we know it correctly. Her attitude is what I like about her the most of all. She loves the Ohio State Buckeyes.

She loves them so much she has a chart for how many times they lose but that has only been twice. FYI, this is why MY teacher rocks!

Whitleigh Motley, kindergarten – Mary Jane Keifer, Crestdale Elementary I am in kindergarten. My teacher is Mrs. Keifer. She is the best teacher and she loves all the kids. She is a good reader. My mommy is in Heaven. My friend’s mommy is not in Heaven. We all miss our mommys.

Mrs. Keifer says that missing our mommys is just part of us getting big. I can learn at school because Mrs. Keifer makes me feel safe.

Kayla Burroughs, Grade 4 – Donna Sparks, Centervillle-Abington Elementary She makes learning fun.

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14 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 Kadie Bennett, Grade 4 – Thomas Moore, Garrison Elementary

My teacher rocks! His name is Mr. Moore. He does cool things with us. Like play volleyball with us in gym. Sometimes he plays 4square with the boys. When we are really good he gives us extra recess. He makes learning so fun. He even jokes around to get right. He taught us 6 x 7 with a rhyme 6 and 7 went on a date and got a table for two so the answer is 42. He’s the best ever. He teaches us at Garrison school.

Ashlyn Spurrier, Grade 2 – Aubrey Wildey, Garrison Elementary

Today, in the middle of May, you know, hey, I just want to say my teacher rocks. My teacher rocks because she is so nice. And that’s not the only reson I like her. She’s inspiring because she teaches so good sometimes it makes we want to be a teacher. There are really nice teachers at Garrison but Mrs. Wildey is the nicest yet.

Tessa Nicholson, Grade 2 – Aubrey Wildey, Garrison Elementary

My TEACHER rocks because she usually gives us 40 minutes of recess and we do fun activities and very cool work. My teacher let me go to the prize box today for sitting quiet and sitting in my seat correctly.

And she reads very cool books and sometimes she lets us watch a movie or get on the computer. Sometimes she gives us extra recess. She’s the best teacher ever she gives the best homework and teaches the best Math.

I learn a lot from my teacher Mrs. Wildey. She teaches second grade. And Mrs. Andrews is are principal. Another reason why my teacher rocks is she lets us eat with her sometimes. Today we did really cool math and my teacher said I was awesome because I finished my whole research project. When my teacher said I’m awesome well she is awesome too and cool. And she ROCKS so much. I’m awesome because I got finished with all my work so I think she was very proud of me. She always calls me awesome all the time because I get finished with all my work. And she lets me got on the computer and get on successmaker or math facts.

Or she lets me read with her.

Kayla Burroughs, Grade 4 – Donna Sparks, Centervillle-Abington Elementary

Ms. Sparks is a very nice and caring teacher. I want to give her the $500 because, I think she deserves it. She makes learning fun.You can tell she wants us to succeed. She makes school a fun enviorment. Ms. Sparks is AWESOME. Ms. Sparks is a wonderful teacher. For example when we do math she helps us if we need help. She explains how to do the problem. She cares about us like we are her own kids. She rewards us with green card. Green card is where if you don’t get cards pulled for that week, then we either go outside or stay inside. SHE IS THE BEST!!!!

Tyler Lahman, Grade 2 – Aubrey Wildey, Garrison Elementary My teacher, Mrs. Wildey rocks for many reasons. I have ADHD and sometimes I need extra help she is always willing to help me when I need it. I like being in Mrs. Wildey’s class. She makes learning fun.

She reads to us every day. She helps me learn so that one day I can go to college. I really like it when Mrs. Wildey rewards us with two extra minutes of recess time. Thanks for helping me with my cheetah project Mrs. Wildey, you are the best teacher ever.

Jackie Hochberg, Grade 2 – Aubrey Wildey, Garrison Elementary My teacher rocks because... She is always so nice. Mrs. Wildey helps me when I don’t know what to do. If I have a problem she helps me. She understands me. I think Mrs. Wildey is sooooo caring. I know this because she came to visit me in the hospital! That made me feel so special and even made me feel better!

Sometimes when my class is bad, she tells us to stop talking. She is not being mean, she is teaching us a lesson. Even if she takes away recess, she lets us have a little anyway. Mrs. Wildey is a very good teacher for Math. Sometimes I have trouble with Math, and even my parents cannot help me with it, but Mrs. Wildey helps me understand it. What I really like most about Mrs. Wildey is that she is friendly, kind, and considerate. Her favorite color is green, and that is a great color. It’s awesome that she never makes a mistake! On anything! I feel very lucky to have her as a teacher. I think Mrs. Wildey is the best and she rocks!

Abby Collier, Grade 5 – Brad Pitcher, Charles Elementary My teacher is Mr. Pitcher. He’s the best teacher in this school. He makes learning fun. He takes us on lots of cool and fun field trips like: Newport Aquarium, Bowling, Hockey, Wright Patt Air Force Museum, Freedom Center, Dr. Kaboom, and Wicked Jack. And we get a buy-in. He also lets us have extra recess if we’re good. I would say he’s the best teacher ever in the whole entire world. He is my favorite teacher since I’ve been in Charles Elementary School.

Braxtyn Hurley, Grade 5 – Brad Pitcher, Charles Elementary M y teacher rocks!

Y Because he is an awesome teacher and takes us everywhere!

T he best part was Newport Aquarium E ncouraging A lso he would spend his money on buyins for us C ools in the world H e rally loves the STeelers lol E ats alot R eally loves his kids I s awesome S o cool T op teacher of the year H e loves his wife E asy H.W. B est teacher E xcellent at Spake S o cool T eacher of the year T op person E xcellent at science A pples C hampion H appy person E xcellent R unner Rebekah Johnston, Grade 5 – Brad Pitcher, Charles Elementary My teacher rocks because when we are in the middle of doing something he’ll say something that when we’re down we will laugh. He really is amazing! He loves running! It is funny because I love the Steelers and he loves the Bengals so we are always arguing about the teams. Boo Ohio State!! When someone will talk out he’ll say some sentence that is forever long. He will also spend $70-$85 on us on a buyin. He goes outside and he’ll play football, basketball, and kickball. He also takes us to a whole bunch of field trips, such as Wicked Jack, Dr. Kaboom, Newport Aquarium, Wright Patt Air Force Base, Freedom Center, Bowling, Earlham Planetarium, and a hockey trip. He also lets us play spelling and math games.

www.pal-item.com Edessal Shouse, Grade 5 – Brad Pitcher, Charles Elementary

My teacher rocks. His name is Mr. Pitcher. Mr. Pitcher rocks because he teaches us a lot of things and makes it fun. When he teaches us he makes us laugh. We go on field trips and one time he spent $20 just so we could have a pizza party. Plus even when he is not feeling well he comes to work because he would hate to miss a day with us. The field trips we have gone on were Newport Aquarium, Bowling, Hockey, Wright Patt Air Force Museum, Freedom Center, Dr. Kaboooom, and Wicked Jack. And that is why Mr. Pitcher is the best teacher and he totally rocks.

Lauren Pierce, Grade 5 – Jamie Schwartz, Garrison Elementary I have had many fine teachers at Garrison Elementary School. As a fifth grader, I have had good role models. Specifically though, my Language Arts Teacher, Ms. Jamie Schwartz, really ROCKS! First of all, Ms. Schwartz is very understanding. She “gets it’’ that we all have unique abilities. She will come around and help us with our assignments. If someone doesn’t understand something, she will sit down and work with that student.

She is also flexible. If she knows that the class needs more time, she will change her schedule to help us.

Next, my teacher is a good role model. She teaches us life lessons by helping us understand our mistakes and how to fix them. She tells us in real life that sometimes mistakes have bad consequences down the road. She shows a caring attitude by correcting our behavior, gently but firmly.

Best of all, she gives us rewards for good behavior. Some rewards we have earned are extra time at recess and candy bars!

Lastly, Ms. Schwartz is responsible. She is always prepared for each day. She grades and hands back our papers within two days. She is willing to help us prepare for the next school year.

I feel like she is my “at school mom.’’ She even shares stories about her adventures and travel. She shows us her travel pictures and artifacts.

The above listed reasons are exactly why my teacher “ROCKS!’’ Matthew White, Grade 5 – Jamie Schwartz, Garrison Elementary

My name is Matthew White. I am a fifth grader and my teacher is Jamie Schwartz. Ms. Schwartz rocks because she teaches us with English Language Arts and other subjects at Garrison Elementary and always is available to help us if we need extra help. Some others teachers that rock at Garrison are Mr. Higgins, Mrs. Barton, Mr. Moore, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Wesler, Ms. Cermack and all of the teachers. Even I never had these teachers Mr. Moore and Mrs. Barton; I still think they are good teachers because of what their students tell me. The French word for teacher is Instituteur and the Spanish call a teacher Maestro; having learned these definitions gives me hope for my future because my teacher is teaching lots new and wonderful things.

Ms. Schwartz teaches us from her trips about different cultures. So if you choose me for the winner for my teacher rocks I would be happy because this would bring attention to my teacher and our school. This would show everyone that Ms. Schwartz and all the other teachers at Garrison rock. They are very good teachers they deserve a prize so do I and so do you. Thank you.

Taylor Brown, Grade 5 – Jamie Schwartz, Garrison Elementary I am a 5th grader at Garrison Elementary. My teacher is Ms. Schwartz. She is one of the most amazing teachers I have had in my entire life. One reason why is because she goes to many different countries. After her trips she comes back she has tons of pictures to show us. She recently went to Mexico and she has let us see some of her picture and learn about the cultures of Mexico.

Another reason she rocks is because she will stay after school with us to help us with school work. She started an afterschool detention program so we can catch up with any missing homework. She also started the program to help us fix bad behavior. Some people in my class think she was doing it as a punishment but she really means to help us. I think this idea has really been helping our class.

The final reason Ms. Schwartz rocks is because she lets us help her with her Biology and Technology classes. She lets us take surverys for her research. Another project she did was she let my friends and I help her record a video for energy conservation. We had a lot of fun when she kept us for a little bit and we built a worm bin. That is the last reason why Ms. Schwartz rocks.

Andrea M. Watson, Grade 5 – Jamie Schwartz, Garrison Elementary I am writing about Miss Schwartz. Because she is a very good teacher. She is awesome in so many different ways. I was going through some hard times by switching to Garrison School and making new friends.

I knew then she was my friend. When I am sad she makes me happy. Also since I was new to Garrison Miss Schwartz made me feel welcome and that I was there. The second and third day I was at school she made me feel like home and I was happy to be there. When I needed help with a question she is always there to answer no matter if it’s a question about school work or at home, she ROCKS! I know she will be there until I go to seventh grade. She is the best teacher a student could ever ask for. She is very good understanding me. Miss Schwartz can get mean at times, but only when students don’t mind and do what there supposed to be doing. But mostly she’s a very nice teacher. She goes to a lot of places and takes pictures and let’s us see them.

Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 15 Miss Schwartz is a very good teacher and helper, through hard times and through good times. I think that Miss Schwartz is teaching us all kinds of right way to learn. I had eight teachers and I like Miss Schwartz the most and that is why I wrote about Miss Schwartz! She is the BEST! I will always remember Miss Schwartz. What kind of advice she gave to me, for at home or at school, too. I wonder if she will be a 6th grade teacher.

Rachel Weikart, Grade 6 – Jennifer Wesler, Garrison Elementary The teacher I’m writing about is Mrs. Jennifer Wesler. Even though I’m a sixth grader now, many of her first grade lessons stay with me. She rocks because she was not only a teacher but a coach in and out of the classroom.

One way she brings her coacing to the classroom is she doesn’t show favoritism. Even though she teaches 1st grade, she taught us skills that we will need even after college. Some of these character lessons were friendship and learning how to use your voice to speak out. Thanks to Mrs. Wesler I’m not afraid to write this today. In fact, I’m proud and glad to do so. She taught us that even though we were different, we still needed to get along.

Academically, I went from a bad reader to one of the best in my class. I went from a bad speller to getting to compete in our school spelling bee this year. She inspired me to keep trying.

With Mrs. Wesler there are no dull moments in class. She can even make a rotten orange seem interesting. Fridays were the most fun for learning. We would play WORDO to help us learn and do block drawings to help us in math. In many ways she can turn learning into a lifelong love. That’s why Jennifer Wesler rocks and truly is an awesome teacher. Keep rocking on in the way you do what you do Mrs. Jennifer Wesler.

Ashley Naylor, kindergarten – Kendra Wickemeyer-Beisner, Garrison Elementary My teacher rocks! I love my teacher because she’s nice. She also teaches us nice things like our alphabet and our numbers. From 1 to 100 all the way through. She lets us do all kinds of activities. Like Beach Day and all that stuff.

She also rocks because we get to take naps after lunch on our mats. We usually go outside for recess in the summer and spring. Mrs. Beisner lets us have holiday parties and birthday parties. I think Mrs. Beisner is the best teachor in the world.

Loren Naylor, Grade 2 – Pamela Cochran, Garrison Elementary My teacher is a great teacher and my teacher rocks. She also teaches us great things about different kinds of cool things. I be a great student when Ms. Cochran is a teacher to me. When I need help she helps me. I like when she is nice. I like to be a good student in class. If I be good five days a week. I get a prize at the end of the week. That is why Ms. Cochran rocks all around the clock.

Lauren Vatter, Grade 4 – Thomas Moore, Garrison Elementary My teacher, Mr. Moore, rocks because when I’m in class with him, I actually want to be at school learning and nowhere else. I love Mr. Moore as a teacher because he can turn something really boring into the most fun thing in the entire world. He is the best teacher; I wish he could be my teacher until I am in college.

Mr. Moore is the greatest because when I need help with anything, he finds a way to answer my question and doesn’t wait. Also, Mr. Moore is awesome because he is the smartest. For example, when someone in the class asks a question they don’t know, or the class doesn’t know, he explains it to everyone so we all can understand it. That is why my teacher rocks, and I like him a lot.

Carmen Lahman, Grade 5 – Jacquleen Cermak, Garrison Elementary My teacher Miss Cermak rocks because she helps me and my class learn. My classmates and I love being in Miss Cermak’s class. She makes learning fun. Miss Cermak encourages me and my classmates on a daily basis. For example, when I was in third grade I was a poor reader. Miss Cermak suggested me for the Third Grade Academy. Thanks to Miss Cermak and the Third Grade Academy teachers, I am now a better student, and enjoy reading. Miss Cermak is a very devoted teacher. She works with me and my classmates every day to ensure that we are growing into the best students we can be. I feel very fortunate to have had Miss Cermak for the past three years. She motivates us to do our best. She expects a lot out of her students.

But that’s because she cares so much. I know Miss Cermak believes in me and my classmates which makes us want to do our best. God bless Miss Cermak.

Lauren Mathews, Grade 4 – Paula Warfield, Centerville-Abington Elementary Every Friday I have a great day! I have Art Class! My art teacher’s name is Ms. Paula Warfield. She is very awesome to me. She had a pet Surger Glider but it died but she still is smiling every day, and she wears awesome clothes. She’s always in cool jeans and a T-shirt. She is also very creative with everything that she does. I love when she makes her own earrings because they are cool looking. Our school broke The World’s Largest God’s Eye thanks to her. It was huge! We all got to be a part of it! She gave my family a trampoline ....I thought that was awesome that she did that. We all just love her so much. She also is really funny. I always see her smile!

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16 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 Mikayla Mathews, Grade 6 – Diane Luken, Centerville-Abington Elementary

Fourth grade would have been a hard year for me, if I hadn’t had had Mrs. Luken as my teacher. Mrs. Luken is most definitely the best teacher you could have. 4th grade was my first year at Centerville. She definitely helped me through it!

Mrs. Luken always made sure that we understood the lesson. She always put some fun in her lessons, too. She wants us to know that we can do anything. So, of course she hates the word can’t. If you say can’t, she will hang you by your toes! (Not really!(: ) Mrs. Luken is a very motherly figure. So, if we didn’t understand, none of us was afraid to ask a question. She wouldn’t be mad; she would just explain it again.

Mrs. Luken puts so much effort into her teaching. She will stay really late after school just for her students. On top of that, she also does Drama Club. She directs the plays. She does a wonderful job!

She inspires me very much. I want to be a teacher, too. When I become a teacher, I want to be just like Mrs. Luken, and I want my students to look up to me, just as her students look up to her.

Overall, Mrs. Luken will always be there for me, and will always be my favorite teacher. She won’t let you think badly of yourself, or let you think you can’t do it. I love Mrs. Luken, and she absolutely, positively, rocks!

Christina Holt, Grade 5 – Carol Gable, Centerville-Abington Elementary I think my teacher, Mrs. Gable, rocks because she is a very inspiring teacher. I think she is inspiring because she is always encouraging us to do our best each and every day. Another reason why I think Mrs. Gable is inspiring is because she helps out at her church during the summer to help feed hungry kids for no cost. I think that this is a nice and selfless thing to do. Some other reasons why I think my teacher Mrs. Gable rocks is because she helps make learning fun and rewarding. For example, when my class did Junior Achievement Mrs. Gable let us play an educational board game to help us learn more about our topic that day instead of having us do written work. And another time my class studied Mars and did some fun experiments to go along with our lesson each day. We all worked hard and in return we got to go on a field trip to the Challenger Learning Center here we got to fly a computer simulated mission to Mars! We all worked hard but we had an awesome time anyway. The Mars mission wasn’t based at a fifth grade level, but an eighth grade level! Thanks to the help of Mrs. Gable we were able to achieve our mission. As you can see Mrs. Gable has helped us achieve our goals from helping us through science experiments to helping us land on Mars! This is why my teacher Mrs. Gable rocks!

Ashley Day, Grade 5 – Jacquleen Cermak, Garrison Elementary My teacher Ms. Cermak is a great teacher. She makes learning fun and interesting for me. My teacher never hardly has to yell at us unless we get in big trouble. In science we do lots of fun experiments and learn cool things. In social studies we learn fun and interesting facts about history and we have to dress up some times. In reading we do plays and learn about different genres and read fun and interesting stories. And in writing we write funny and serious stories and learn about how to make your story better by adding details.

At recess we usually go outside in the summertime. In winter we play fun board games in the classroom.

If we don’t understand something Ms. Cermak will explain it to us. Ms. Cermak always helps us when we need help.

We make different crafts for different holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and Christmas. We also have parties and we watch movies for our good behavior. Ms. Cermak always encourages us to do our best and tells us to keep on trying. She always gives us plenty of time to work and waits for everybody to get done. Ms. Cermak always makes sure we are ready for the next lesson or level and that everybody understands what we are doing. She never leaves anybody out unless they got in trouble or did not do what they were supposed to that day. Ms. Cermak is special!

Jason Aidukaitis, Grade 4 – Thomas Moore, Garrison Elementary Every morning after specials (gym, art, music ... etc.) we have to switch from social studies to math and science. Mr. Moore is my math and science teacher; and I love math and science! At the very beginning of the year we did an egg in the bottle experiment. It ROCKED. We also did a bone test. What we did with that was we got construction paper and made three rectangular prisms and three cylinders. Then we stacked science books on top. Most people voted for prisms but I voted for the cylinders. The cylinders won! They had a science book and 20 small books on top. The prisms just had a science book. And that’s why my teacher ROCKS! Emma Jade Allen, Grade 2 – Susan Hatcher-Miller, Garrison Elementary Mrs. Miller is a good teacher and a fun and nice teacher too. We do all kinds of fun stuff. When we read a book like the book Ribsy she makes voices and she acts it out. That’s one of the really fun things we do. In a way she makes everything fun. And I’ve never felt that way whith any other teacher before. And she even makes math fun and I usually don’t like math. She makes every day fun and every thing fun too. She makes everything fun that I don’t even want to go to spesheles. And I know that I will pass because of her help. And that’s why I know I will pass second grade. And were doing the fifty states were doing one or two states a day so that if we do sumthing on states will know the answer. And I think doing the fifty states is really fun.

Akhil Patel, Grade 6 – Kevin Schamel, Garrison Elementary Mr. Schamel is an awesome teacher in the 6th grade. Mr. Schamel is a really good teacher and he lets us have time to study on all subjects like math, social studies, and science.

When we are going some were like camping. Mr. Schamel all ways talks to us about it and tells us what we are going to do there. He even puts us into groups for cabin and lunch tables. Mr. Schamel is fun. I am a student from ean Gama it’s in India. I have lived in the United States for 2 years. Mr. Schamel is patient with me. He helps me to speak English better and understand and helps with spelling and grammar. He teaches me about the culture in this country and asks me questions about mine. I will remember Mr. Schamel and everything he has taught me for many many years. My teacher, Mr. Schamel, rocks.

Kayla Zaleski, Grade 3 – Sarah Vance, Garrison Elementary My teacher that rocks is my 3rd gread teacher Mrs. Vance. She rocks because right now she is teaching us the cycle of writing. She also rocks because she is teaching my class some asome math. The awesome math that she is teaching us is latec math. Her attitude is what makes her rock. That attitude that meaks her rock is alway smiling and happy.

Emily Carter, Grade 1 – Jennifer Wesler, Garrison Elementary My teacher is nice. She tells me what to do on papers. She reads books to us at carpet. She lets us play after we’re done working. Sometime she lets us do our math by ourselves. But at the end we check it together.

Joseph Schroeder, Grade 4 – Ryan Higgins, Garrison Elementary Mr. Higgins rocks! He rocks because he gets our exercise every day, and he let us pick our team. He doesn’t care if we win or lose; He says “It’s just about having fun.” His games our amazing and so is he. He makes my day shine even brighter. He encourages us to get a lot of exercise, eat healthy, and try new things.

He is extraordinary kind. He loves to make us happy. Last but not least he tells us the rules to the games so we can be safe. THAT’S WHY MR. HIGGINS ROCKS!!!

Mason Riggs – Garrison Elementary I think all of the teachers at Garrison Elementary rock!

Kara Mullins, kindergarten – Mary Robinson, Garrison Elementary My teacher rocks! My teacher teaches us. My teachers’ names are Mrs. Robinson and Mrs. Brittney. I like Mrs. Robinson. My teacher is nice. Mrs. Robinson is very nice. We love Mrs. Robinson. We also love are class! We also love Mrs. Brittney Mrs. Robinson Mrs. Agros.

Lauren Edelman, Grade 6 – Steven Surles, Garrison Elementary I think my Math, Science, and Social Studies teacher Mr. Surles should be chosen for the best teacher award. Every afternoon he’s always greeting our class. I always can depend on that great smile!!!! Mr. Surles is that teacher who you can depend on. Like for ISTEP this year I have never been so well prepared before this test. This time I think I got all pass plusses! This year I will remember him and his well preparing purpose. I always will remember him. Oh and I cannot forget he picks the best projects ever. I think he is by far the best teacher I have ever had out of all of them. Thanks to him I had a great time enjoying his reality, his fondness, and his enjoyment. I really think he should get chosen for the best teacher for his laid back appearance. I can’t wait to enjoy the 6th grade camping trip with him. He’ll make it a lot of fun!!!! Also he always messes around other students like the other day he said “Oh it’s cold out” and he moved in front of me so he didn’t have to face the wind. This is why Mr. Surles should get chosen the best teacher award. You rock Mr. Surles!!!!!!! He also gives you perseverance. Mr. Surles should get the best teacher award.

Tom Vatter, kindergarten – Ryan Higgins, Garrison Elementary Mr. Higgins, my Physical Education teacher, rocks because he always pushes my classmates and I to the limit. Mr. Higgins is also always keeping us on our feet and active. If we have any questions about one of the games we are playing, he always explains it and anything related to what we don’t understand. Mr. Higgins always has us working hard in gym class, but he prevents any injuries by having all of us stretch and run before we start really playing our game. He is also always prepared before a class walks in. When a gym class is in session his number one priority is all of the students. Even if you are “sitting out” of gym, Mr. Higgins makes it fun (for example -- running the scoreboard). If someone gets hurt, he always stops the game and takes care of the injured student. Mr. Higgins can make you laugh, when he makes a funny face.

But, he is serious about accomplishing things. He doesn’t waste time goofing around. Mr. Higgins has one of the hardest jobs, keeping kids focused on what he has planned for the class. Mr. Higgins is one of the best teachers and that’s why my teacher Mr. Higgins ROCKS!!!

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Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 17

Christian Dahs, kindergarten – Judy Redmyer, Garrison Elementary

Madison Lear, Grade 4 – Jeanne Key, Elizabeth Starr Academy

My teacher is nice when I am nice and if I am nice all the time I will get the good stuff instead of the bad stuff and I like her that way!

My favorite teacher is Mrs. Key. She is a very fun and caring teacher. I had Mrs. Key for the 2nd grade.

She was the best because she made learning fun. She had a different theme each year in the classroom.

Mrs. Key is a very fun teacher. She would play a silly CD that we could dance to. She has a leader of the day. Mrs. Key has a weather chart that you put how the weather is every morning. She was so much fun I didn’t want to even go on Christmas break that year.

Mrs. Key would do things differently in her class than other teachers. Mrs. Key used to always have a different theme in her room. When I was in her class, it was a camping trip theme. She had a fake fire pit in the reading area.

Mrs. Key is a caring person. When I was in her class, she cared about how I did in school. She still asks me how upstairs is going because I’m in the 4th grade now. She still cares about what is going on in my life.

Mrs. Key is the best teacher I ever had. I go to her room now on Wednesdays and Thursday to help out with her 2nd graders. I like to go visit her still. Mrs. Key rocks because she is an awesome teacher who made learning fun and cared about me.

Caitlin Eales, Grade 4 – Sally Barton, Garrison Elementary

I picked my teacher Ms. Barton. Why I had picked Ms. Barton is she brings in her dogs. She is awesome at her job (teaching). When we are studying for a social studies test she would let us play baseball you will pick single, double, triple, or home run after that she will ask you a question answer it right you go on. Ms. Barton also brings pictures in from dog shows some ribbons, and trophies. Ms. Barton always has soccers waiting for us. Ms. Barton is the best fourth grade teacher. That is why I picked Ms. Barton for the My Teacher Rocks essay.

Payton Udisky, Grade 1 – Denise Jones, Garrison Elementary

My teacher rocks because on the weekends she gives us more homework help us to do stuff to do. I love my teacher Ms. Jones.

David Wood, Grade 2 – Susan Hatcher-Miller, Garrison Elementary My teacher is a good teacher and she is a nice teacher. She does not yell at us if you get you cards pulled less then 3 times you will not be in the special lunch in the teacher will be sad that you are not in the lunch but the part of the class will go to the class to eat but you don’t go. If you talk the teacher will yell at you becuas she is talking the kids and I are good win the teacher is talking but the class is good.

Paige Wright, Grade 3 – Janice Frye, Garrison Elementary My teacher is the best teacher because Mrs. Frye rocks do you want to know why, okay, Mrs. Frye rocks because me and Mrs. Frye have been best friends since the first day we met in 2nd grade. And there’s never ever been a time when we have been mad at each other. And Mrs. Frye could use a lot of money for the school stuff for me, her, and the rest of the students. So that’s why I and Mrs. Frye and the rest of the class. I wish Mrs. Frye could move on with us to the 4th grade. Mrs Frye deserves it.

Kaylee Jones, Grade 3 – Pauline Stanton, Crestdale Elementary My teacher rocks because….

She is nice to kids. If we are good we get extra recess. My teacher gives us a lot of things to do. She has had 203 kids since she has been teaching. My teacher is my favorite teacher I ever had. I think Miss Stanton is my best teacher.

I like my teacher so much she is nice. She is a good teacher. She loves kids in her class. Everyone likes our teacher. I love my teacher. I like to play with my teacher. I think every body should be in her class. She gives us every thing. I really like my teacher very much. She gives us free time.

She has 3 children. She showed us how to plant a tree. She lets us play heads up stand up at the end of the day. We play charades too. Everybody loves Miss Stanton. Miss Stanton is helpful. My sister likes Miss Stanton.

She’s the best teacher ever. If you don’t pull a card till Monday you get a prize. I want to go home with her. Her house is probably has a big house. I would like to meet her family. She has three daughters and no boys at all.

She helps with homework. She likes to help kids. My mom likes my teacher. My dad likes her too. She has lots of animals. I like Mrs. Stanton. She likes to teach everybody that needs help.

Myna Rae Martin, Grade 1 – Beth Schauss & Cathy Stevenson, Rose Hamilton Elementary

My name is Myna Martin, and I’m in first grade at Rose Hamilton Elementary. I have two great teachers: Mrs. Stevenson and Mrs. Schauss.

Mrs. Stevenson challenges me in math. She lets me do multiplication! She also brings a lot of class pets in to my class so we can learn about life cycles. There have been Monarch butterflies, chicks, mealworms, and Painted Lady butterflies. The life cycle of a butterfly is egg, larva, pupa, and butterfly. The life cycle of a chick is egg, chick, and chicken. The life cycle of a mealworm is egg, larva, pupa and beetle. She is one of the nicest teachers in the world!

Mrs. Schauss reads lots of books to my class like The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.

Also, I love to write in my weekend writing journal because it really improves my writing. I wrote one sentence the first weekend. Now I write a whole page. Another thing that improves my writing is publishing books. She types the words on the computer, and we get to color pictures. I have published 5 books!

I also love to go on field trips. My favorite was Yogi Bear the movie. It cracked me up!!!! Another thing that I really like is that Mrs. Schauss gives us Smarties when we answer a question.

I love my teachers!!!! If they were my teachers forever that would be great!!!! I am so lucky. I don’t have one great teacher, I have two!!!

Haven Bopp, Grade 1 – Sandra Saylor, Fairview Elementary My teacher rocks because she is nice and she does nice things. She helps us make nice masks. She also makes reading and math fun by playing games. She is cool! I love my teacher.

Nolan Brown, Grade 1 – Carol Fannin, Hagerstown Elementary Mrs. Fannin rocks because she teaches us new things every day. She teaches us how to spell words and how to write stories and letters. She teaches us new words every day. She likes to give us new books. She reads to us in the morning and after lunch. Mrs. Fannin rocks because she helped us to read and we got up to new chapter books.

Mrs. Fannin rocks because she lets us play on the playground and in her room. And she lets us play with whatever she has in her room, like Connect 4, Guess Who?, and lots of puzzles.

Mrs. Fannin has a neat room. She gives us candy if we are really good. Mrs. Fannin is a fun teacher because she let us have a snowball fight (with paper), we went sledding, and had a pajama party.

Mrs. Fannin is a very fun teacher. She is the best.

Madison Squires, Grade 3 – Dana Reagan, Centerville-Abington Elementary Mrs. Reagan is my favorite teacher. She always challenges my classmates and me. She makes learning interesting and fun. We get to have Reading Clubs and do projects about books we read. When we do study guides in Social Studies, she helps us and goes through the answers without us knowing it. When we study Science, Mrs. Reagan lets us bring in and share things that go along with the subject. She rewards us when we get something right and if we get stuff wrong she encourages us. When we get a bad grade on a paper Mrs. Reagan dosen’t get mad, she helps us do better. Mrs. Reagan is funny. She tells jokes and stories to make us laugh. Mrs. Reagan greets us each morning with a smile. She ends each day with a H: hug, handshake or high five. Mrs. Reagan is my favorite teacher.

Alexis S. Baumer, Grade 2 – Melissa Dale, Vaile Elementary After my open heart surgery, my teacher came to visit me in the hospital. She helped me to get out of bed and start to walk again. Ms. Dale also came to my house once a week in the summer to help with my reading so I wouldn’t get behind. My teacher’s heart is like an unbosomed flower, you never know how beautiful it is until you see it open up. Thank you Ms. Dale for being there for me!

Emma Wright, Grade 2 – Amy Tudor, Northeastern Elementary My teacher rocks because she is awesome! She reads to us. Every day we learn something new! She helps us if we don’t understand. She cares about us. She is a really awesome teacher!

The end!

Tyrell Wright, Grade 3 – Pauline Stanton, Crestdale Elementary

My teacher rocks....because she gives us extra recess, & that is cool. She lets us play a game at the end of the day sometimes. My teacher also lets us write fiction stories, invitations, poems & personal narratives.

Also when we get ready for a spelling test, she lets us study befroe we do our test. Also if we don’t pull cards for a week, she lets us get a prize, when it’s Monday. My teacher is awesome! My teacher also lets us read what ever we want sometimes. Sometimes she gets a movie & we can watch it. Sometimes she helps a lot, on certain worksheets. In science, we were studying rocks, & she lets us bring in some rocks to study. Also, when we get ready for a math test, she lets us study before we start. Sometimes she lets us do our homework, when we are done with our worksheets. Also, she lets us pick what to get for the Christmas party. My teacher is awesome! Also my teacher has a job list & i like that. She also changes the people’s jobs on the list. Also, when it is one of our birthdays, she lets us pick one, of three gifts we want, which are, no homework, extra recess, or a game at the end of the day. Another thing is she puts the schedule on the chalkboard & i like that.

My teacher is awesome!

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Hannah Maiden, Grade 4 – Kim Morris, C.R. Richardson Elementary

Daniel Ward, Grade 3 – Tabitha Kelley, Randolph Southern Elementary

My teacher makes learning fun by adding games to our math lessons. She used bingo cards with multiplication facts to help us learn our math facts. Ms. Morris also gives us behavior charts and if you don’t miss more than two days she rewards us with a good behavior party after school once a month. She has taken us to several places like swimming, the Dairy Queen and we have had game day to.

Ms. Morris is an awesome teacher. She went back to college at night to achieve her master’s in education, and to me I think that makes her an excellent role model. This year when I was taking my ISTEP test I was so nervous I felt like i was going to have a breakdown. Ms. Morris came over to me and told me to try and calm down and she reassured me that I was going to do fine on the test. Without her there to support me I don’t know that I would of have done so well.

Ms. Morris goes above and beyond to make sure I am taught everything I need to know as a fourth grader and that I grow into a fifth grader. Thank you Ms. Morris for being such an awesome teacher.

The best teacher ever is Tabitha Kelley. She is not strict at all. This is her first year in a classroom. She even will let us extra recess. She even helped us kids on multiplication. She also has pets. She has one guinea pig and its name is Lucy. She has four dogs and there names are Stetson, Jazzi, Shiloh, and Sasha. She has 6 horses and their names are Mighty Mouse, Dan, Tagg, Buck, Darbee, and Charlie.

Her favorite hobby is riding horses. I have seen her at some of my horse shows and I talk to her. Another way I think she is a good teacher is because she makes things fun when she teaches. She makes funny noises. She will joke with us if we are finished with our work. She even lets us earn extra recess. She lets us have a piece of candy our of the candy basket if we get a 90 percent or better. If we get a 89 we can’t get a treat. On the computer we practice multiplication and if we pass a level then we get one piece of candy. Mrs. Kelley lets us have table points. If we get 200 points we earn a pop. My table has never gotten 200 points or the most. Now that school is almost over we are earning points by ourselves, so maybe I can get a pop this time.

Amiya Griffith, Grade 1 – Lori Fields, Highland Heights Elementary Mrs. Fields is smart and magnificent because she knows really much about everything. She helps kids learn math and reading and spelling. I like my teacher because she helps us read and helps us write and helps us make our work inspiring. Mrs. Fields makes learning fun by letting us color the stuff on our paper and makes our projects fun also. Mrs. Fields makes learning rewarding by giving us prizes out of the treasure box after we get five 100 percents in a row on our spelling tests. I have had Mrs. Fields for my teacher for kindergarden and first grade and I will miss her next year because she ROCKS!!!!

Jordan Saylor, Grade 3 – Tabitha Kelley, Randolph Southern Elementary This is why Mrs. Kelley is the best teacher. I want to tell you why she rocks. She rides horses and does funny things in class. She is funny and she has only taught one year. And she makes the class run smoothly.

And we have fun parties too. Mrs. Kelley teaches a lot subjects like science and math, also reading. And she makes those subjects fun for us. She does funny things with our learning. And that inspires me to work.

She has lots and lots of pets! She talks about them all the time. Mrs. Kelley even brings them to my baseball games. She might even bring one of them in. That is another reason I like her. She teaches the best grade, third grade. She makes third grade fun. And fun helps me learn. She runs the class excitedly and that makes the class run smoothly.

So, please pick Mrs. Kelley as the best teacher of the year. She makes learning fun and exciting. She teaches the best grade. And this is her first year teaching, she could use the supplies. I guess that is all I have, hope that you see why I chose Mrs. Kelley.

Arien Hatten, Grade 3 – Tabitha Kelley, Randolph Southern Elementary Hello my name is Arien Hatten and I am writing a paper about my teacher Mrs. Kelley. She has dark brown hair. Her shoes are black. She has diamond earrings. She has blue eyes. She teaches 3rd grade at Randolph Southern School. I like when she teaches 3rd grade. She took over as our teacher in the middle of this year. She is the best teacher ever! Mrs. Kelley has only taught for one year. I think that she is an AWESOME 1st year teacher. She is a good teacher because she I can depend on her every day. She is here to teach me every day. She explains things that I do not understand. Her favorite hobby is riding horses. Her hobby is pretty cool. Her horses names are Mighty Mouse, Dan, Tagg, Buck, Darbee, and Charlie. They are awesome horses. She has pictures of them in our class. Her children’s names are Logan and Bailey. They are awesome. Her daughter plays basketball and her son is in baseball. They are the best & so is Mrs. Kelley.

Brandon Smolko, Grade 3 – Tabitha Kelley, Randolph Southern Elementary Mrs. Kelley rocks because she lets us have free time. And she does give us much homework. She is 32 years old and she taught for 3 years. She gives us extra recess sometimes if we are quiet. She has six brown horses at her house and one guinea pig as a pet at school. She likes to ride her six brown horses. She lets us go to the candy bowl if we pass a test and sometimes she gives us snacks after ISTEP. I hope you see why I chose Mrs. Kelley.

Colton Fisher, Grade 3 – Tabitha Kelley, Randolph Southern Elementary My favorite teacher is Mrs. Kelley. She’s a 3rd grade teacher. She has short hair. She likes Funyuns.

Funyuns are chips that are like onion rings. My favorite teacher has two dogs they are named Stetson and Jazzi. Stetson is like a tiger. Jazzi only has three legs. She has taught school for 1 year. She is not strict at all.

She is nice. She is not a bad teacher. She is a rocking teacher! She likes reading. She especially likes Karen Kingsburry and Bill Wallace. She does all the things a Christian does like pray and worship GOD!!! She does not yell at us like other teachers do. She has a very good Christian family. She is taking care of a good family. Her favorite hobby is horseback riding. Her kids like it too. She also likes hiking. She also likes to watch her kids play sports. She even likes racing! She likes teaching kids at school and at 4-H. She will help you, teach you, and learn with you. I can think of a million ways to talk about my best teacher. But I can’t write on the whole page. She is greater than ever. She is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ethan Patterson, Grade 3 – Tabitha Kelley, Randolph Southern Elementary My favorite teacher is Mrs. Kelley. She teaches at Randolph Southern Elementary. The room she works in room 310. This is her first year in 3rd grade. She is very nice to us. She lets us earn pop and snacks. She said that if we work hard we will go outside for extra recess. But, we have not gotten to go out lately because it has not been nice out. I hope we get a nice day soon and go outside. She has been at our school for 3 years. But this is her first year teaching. She has six horses and four dogs. Her horses names are Darbee, Tagg, Buck, Charlie, Mighty Mouse, and Dan. Her dogs names are Stetson, Jazzie, Sasha, Shiloh. She talks about them and has pictures of them in our class. She really likes dolphins. She got to stay at the zoo and swim with them. She has a picture of her swimming with a dolphin. She never yells at us. She is a very nice teacher. She is nice because she lets us go online. Her name is Tabitha Kelley. I hope you get this teacher.

Evan Isenbarger, Grade 3 – Tabitha Kelley, Randolph Southern Elementary My 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Kelley is the best teacher I have ever had. Mrs. Kelley has blue eyes and dark brown hair. She is 32 years old. Her hobbies are horseback riding and playing with dogs. Mrs. Kelley has six horses named Darbee, Buck, Mighty Mouse, Tagg, Dan, and Charlie. She has four dogs named Stetson, Jazzi, Sasha, and Shiloh. Mrs. Kelley also has a guinea pig named Lucy. Lucy is our classroom pet.

She has three kids named Logan, Bailey, and Samantha. Logan is in 4th grade Bailey is in 2nd grade and Samantha is in 9th grade. She has a husband named Brad too. Mrs. Kelley has helped me get through multiplication. I liked that a lot. She doesn’t give us much homework either. She always helps kids when they need some help.

She teaches in room 310 which is a 3rd grade class. Mrs. Kelley has taught for three years. She teaches at Randolph Southern Elementary School. If we get a 100% on a test or something else really important she will let us go to the candy bowl. If we do something really nice for her she rewards us with big surprises.

Like some of the surprises she surprised us with were eating lunch in the room and watching a movie. If we get our assignment book signed which is a little booklet that needs signed by our parents every night, we will get points for our table. And if we write in our journals we get points for our table too. If we get 200 points we get a pop. As you can see, I think my teacher is the best. But she won’t be my teacher long because school is just about over. Next year I will be in a bigger grade, which will be 4th grade.

Gage Ison, Grade 3 – Tabitha Kelley, Randolph Southern Elementary My most favorite teacher in the school is Mrs. Kelley. Mrs. Kelley rocks because if we get 90% are above we a piece of candy on a math test. She lets us have free time. And too she lets us have extra recess.

Mrs. Kelley’s hobbies are horseback riding, watching sports, and dogs. One of her kids Logan plays baseball with me. And Logan plays basketball too. Her other child is Bailey and she plays basketball too. She also shows horses. One of Mrs. Kelley pets is Lucy is a guinea pig and our class pet. Mrs. Kelley has six horses.

They are Mighty Mouse, Dan, Tagg, Buck, Darbee, and Charlie. Mrs. Kelley too has four dogs named Stetson, Jazzi, Shiloh, and Sasha. Mrs. Kelley been in Randolph Southern Elementary for four years. Three of the years she’s been a paraprofessional and one year she’s been a teacher. She has seventeen kids in her third grade class. I could come up with a lot of ideas but I had to keep it short. She has many pets and she talks about them often. She has two kids that are close to my age. That’s why Mrs. Kelley ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Geneva Preston, Grade 3 – Peggy Moore, Randolph Southern Elementary My teacher, Mrs. Moore because she inspires me to be a good student and a great kid. If I get stuck on something she would always help me. She is always nice to everyone. She has taught for thirty-six years.

This is her last year teaching. She was the funniest teacher I ever had. She would joke with us and trust me her jokes were funny. She was excellent at teaching always. She was very stylish. She would work with kids all the time. She teaches 1st grade now. Since I’m in 3rd grade I miss her. She would do everything with us.

She encouraged me to do things I never did. She brought me to where I am now in third grade. Even though I miss her I will always miss the things she did. So one she was nice. Two she loved to teach. Three she encouraged me. That’s why I think Mrs. Moore Rocks!

www.pal-item.com Jade Hughes, Grade 3 – Tabitha Kelley, Randolph Southern Elementary

The teacher at Randolph Southern that rocks is Mrs. Kelley. She is my favorite teacher because she is nice and knows what is best for us. She has three kids Logan, Bailey, and Samantha. She has three six horses Darbee, Tagg, Buck, Charlie, Mighty ley. Mouse, and Dan. Mrs. Kelley is the best teacher I have ever had.

She is nice and understanding. She makes all of the holidays fun. She made us helping hands she makes every thing interesting and fun. She is the nicest teacher I will ever meet. She tries to make reading fun. We can earn extra recess. We love it. Algebra is a awesome thing to learn! Mrs. Kelley is awesome. She gives us a lot of Algebra and we are in third grade and we didn’t even know that we could learn Algebra! She is the best teacher I will ever have. She is always fun and talented I want to stay in third grade because of her. She is the best teacher I will ever have. Mrs. Kelley has a lot of animals like dogs and horses. She also likes dolphins. She is awesome! She is always nice. So I think it will be easy for you to see why I think my teacher rocks!

Stowe, Grade 3 – Christina Robinson, Randolph Southern Elementary

The reason Mrs. Robinson is my favorite teacher is because she is fun. She tries to be really funny. She also tries to be a good teacher. She will give you a treat if you are good. She teaches 2nd grade & she is good at it! She also loves her job. She likes her students. I really liked when she was my teacher. She loves to garden, read, & enjoys time with her family. Her favorite hobby is gardening. She spends an hour gardening. She has been teaching for 19 years. She looks like she is in her 20s! But she is a GRANDMA! Mrs. Robinson is my favorite teacher. She teaches 2nd grade. She loves gardening. She has taught for 19 years.

Joshua Good, Grade 3 – Tabitha Kelley, Randolph Southern Elementary My best teacher is Tabitha Kelley! She is the nicest teacher I have ever had. She encourages me with multiplication, especially when I first started learning it. Mrs. Kelley has black hair and blue eyes. She has peachy skin.

When Mrs. Kelley tells you that something is wrong on your paper, she will say it nicely so you don’t feel bad about yourself.

Mrs. Kelley gives you time to do the back of your math paper if you get the front side done. If you get 100% on a test you get a piece of candy. Mrs. Kelley gives you about 20-30 minutes of A.R. She has taught for 3 years. Three years as a classroom helper and 1 year as a teacher. This year is actually Mrs. Kelley’s first year as a teacher. Her hobbies are riding horses, playing with her dogs, going to dog shows and watching her kids play sports. Her most favorite hobby is riding horses.

Mrs. Kelley is teaching 3rd grade in Mrs. Turner’s old room. The room number is 310. Mrs. Kelley has three children. Their names are Samantha, Logan and Bailey. Samantha is Mrs. Kelley stepdaughter. Samantha is in 9th grade. Logan is in 4th grade and Bailey is in 2nd grade. Mrs. Kelley’s husband is Brad Kelley.

She has 17 pets, six cats, 6 horses, 4 dogs and 1 guinea pig.

That is why I chose Mrs. Kelley to be my most favorite teacher.

Kristopher Tapley, Grade 3 – Christina Robinson, Randolph Southern Elementary Mrs. Robinson was my 2nd grade teacher at Randolph Southern Elementary School.

She has been teaching for 19 years. Her hobbies are gardening, reading, and spending time with her family.

She is a second grade teacher. On Friday she lets us play bingo. She lets us have a popcorn party. If we got a 100% she would let us get candy .She didn’t give a lot of homework. When my family had a pass of my grandfather she came. It meant a lot to me. She came in and gave me a hugged me. My brother’s teacher came in too. I could not remember one time she was mean to me. I never had to stay in. At the beginning of school I did not like her. To change my behavior she let me see my brother who is in 6th grade. As you see, I think Mrs. Robinson Rocks. She cared about me when I came to this school, she gave us big rewards, and she supported my family. Hopefully you will pick her too.

Shelby Jeffers, Grade 3 – Tabitha Kelley, Randolph Southern Elementary Mrs. Kelley is my favorite teacher. She is a very nice teacher. She likes all of her students. She is not a mean teacher (unless she needs to be!).

Mrs. Tabitha Kelley’s husband is Brad Kelley. They got married in 2006. The have three children. Their names are Samantha, Logan, and Bailey. Samantha is her stepdaughter.

Her hobbies are horse riding, hiking at Brown County, watching her kids do sports, and watching NASCAR. Her favorite NASCAR driver is Ryan Newman.

Mrs. Kelley has six horses. Their names are Darbee, Tagg, Dan, Buck, Mighty Mouse and Charlie. She has four dogs. Their names are Steson, Jazzi, Shiloh, and Sasha. And one guinea pig named Lucy.

Mrs. Kelley is a very nice teacher. She is my most favorite teacher. She loves all of her students. She knows were like a family. And like I said Mrs. Kelley rocks!

Tristin Eley, Grade 3 – Tabitha Kelley, Randolph Southern Elementary I think my teacher is the best because she does not make us have a lot of homework. Mrs. Kelly teaches 3rd grade. She is one of the best teachers I have ever had. She has four dogs Stetson, Jazzi, Shiloh, Sasha.

And she has six horses Buck, Charlie, Mighty Mouse, Darbee, and Tagg. Her favorite hobby is riding horses.

She has taught for 1 year. She has 2 children named Logan and Bailey.

Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 19 She helps me whenever I need help spelling something. She will help me spell them for me. When it is really nice outside she will take us out for extra recess. You should pick her because she will give us tables points and the first one to get to two hundred points earn a prize. All you have to is get your assignments book signed and write in your journal. When you get to two hundred you would get a pop. I think you should pick her because she will not be mean to you if you make the right choices.

Kerie Brown, Grade 4 – Linda Arnold, Centerville-Abington Elementary My favorite teacher is Mrs. Arnold. She teaches me everything that I need to know. She is my favorite teacher because I help her out and I never get yelled at because I’m a pretty good student. She’s my favorite teacher of all! She will help you out when you’re stuck on a problem.

One time I got stuck on a math problem. She didn’t show me the answer, but she told me to read the example again. I asked how you did the problem and finally I got the right answer! It was just practice, then I moved on to the real paper. I had a little trouble, but I figured it out!

She could probably never be replaced, unless somebody could be better than her. I think nobody could be better, because she just treats everybody how she gets treated. She is a pretty good teacher. She can get mad, but she is still my favorite. If I had to pick I know I would pick Mrs. Arnold. She is just so wonderful, so I am sure she is the best teacher ever. You need to see how I can see that. I’m sure you’d agree. If you go deeper you will find some caring and loving soul. You will be glad you’re in her class. Just one experience with her will make your day. When I walk in the door I’m glad to be in there and I’m ready to learn.

Olivia Keesling, Grade 1 – Donna Girdley, Community Christian School Miss Girdley is a loving and kind teacher. She takes care of her mom who has cancer, and she’s really tired a lot because of that. But still she’s really fun and funny. She gives us funny surprises like ice cream parties when we are really good. She works really hard. She sometimes does really good things like having Bible time with us and teaching us how to read. We read lots and sing joyful songs like “Away in a Manger.”

Sometimes we get to write stories, and we get to read stories to her. She is an encouraging teacher. She has a strong faith in Jesus. She also has a sandwich named after her in a restaurant in Richmond. She likes flowers lots. She has lots of drawings of fairy tale stories in our classroom. She really likes books and loves to read. She even buys books for us with her own money. I think Miss Girdley should win the “My Teacher Rocks” contest because she’s the best first grade teacher on the planet. She could use the money to buy books and surprises for us. Miss Girdley is really cool!

Leah Keesling, Grade 3 – Heather Jackson, Community Christian School Mrs. Jackson is my favorite third grade teacher. She is very encouraging and has a strong faith in Jesus.

We play lots of learning games to help us learn science, history, spelling, and Bible. If you win, you will get a sucker with chocolate inside or sour taffy. Mrs. Jackson’s room has a sports theme. We always do cheers in the morning so that it can help us freshen our minds for the day. During the cheers, we do the three R’s and our Bible verse for the year. The three R’s are: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Ready. Our verse for the year is Psalm 51:12 which says “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey You.” She’s really funny but she cares about us too. We have a mission for our classroom that we support. We send food and soccer balls to the missionaries in Haiti so they can give it to the kids there. Mrs. Jackson is really loving because when someone is hurt she cares for them. She also has two daughters, and her husband helps us do experiments in science sometimes.She also keeps a bottle of Mountain Dew in her fridge. She is taller than some of my other teachers. I think she should win the “My Teacher Rocks” contest so that she can buy more books for our class. My teacher is the best third grade teacher ever because My Teacher Rocks!

Kayleigh Hampton, Grade 3 – Jane Monroe, Fairview Elementary My teacher ROCKS because she helps me when I need help. She buys me candy too. She bought me a stuffed animal when she went on vacation. My teacher gives me hugs if I need them. She also gives me peppermints when my belly hurts. Mrs. Monroe is the best teacher ever! She is the best because she helps me with my math. I get mad and cry sometimes during math and she tells me I can do it!

My teacher is an important person in my life. I do not like it when we have a sub. It is not the same when Mrs. Monroe is out for the day. My teacher showed us how to do four square writing. My teacher makes learning fun by helping us, talking to us, listening to us, and loving us. My teacher helps my class learn by making our work fun. She gave us Sweet Tarts to use for learning about graphs. I love when my teacher reads us stories. Sometimes she makes different voices while she is reading. And that is why my teacher ROCKS! Natalia Hampton, Grade 1 – Rachael Phillips, Fairview Elementary My teacher rocks because she is nice to her class. She lets us pick out of the treasure chest when we are good. My teacher believes that we can do good in school. My teacher makes learning fun by being funny.

She sings and dances. My teacher makes the best choices for us. Sometimes when we are working my teacher starts singing out of the blue. She says oooogahwha first grade has the power and says it a few times.

My teacher makes us smile. My teacher ROCKS because she helps us learn with funny poems. My classroom is never sad because my teacher is around. She helps us work out our problems and makes us giggle. If you met my teacher you would see that she Rocks in every way.

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Abby Suanne Chamberlain, Grade 1 – Erica Pearson, Charles Elementary

Emma Keesling, Grade 5 – Tina Locker, Community Christian School

Hello. My name is Abby Suanne Chamberlain. My teachers name is Mrs. Erica Pearson. She is my first grade teacher at Charles Elementary.

Mrs. Pearson rocks because she helps us make good choices. If we make good choices we get to put pennies in the cup. When the cup gets full we get an extra recess.

My favorite subject is math. Mrs. Pearson helps us learn fact power. Fact power is when you can do 100 pluses in ten minutes.

One day there were two friends who were arguing so Mrs. Pearson said she would stand on her head if they stopped arguing. And a couple of days later, she did! And that’s why Mrs. Pearson ROCKS!

My science teacher, Mrs. Tina Locker, is very nice! She is unique and has a strong faith in Christ! She has three words that describe her life: “I get to.” I think this is a great way to look at life. She says, “I get to.

I get to walk, I get to live, I get to feel pain …” She stands out from all the other teachers I’ve had in the past because she loves Jesus and Mrs. Locker loves us too. She does cool projects with us that educate us. She is awesome and spends her time working with my class! She uses her money to buy supplies for lab projects so we can learn about life around us. I have learned lots now that she is teaching me! Mrs. Locker teaches us how God created our bodies, rocks, minerals, the weather, and more! She really sticks that in our minds!

At the beginning of the year, we did an experiment on making rock crystals and they’re still in the process of hardening!

She is funny at times, too. We watch these videos on science and she bobs her head to the music crazily!

Mrs. Locker has a memory verse on the board, “Finishing is better than starting.”-Ephesians 7:8. She says it’s easy to start, but harder to finish. If something is discouraging her, she remembers “I get to…” Mrs. Locker deserves to win the 500 dollars for classroom supplies (for example: making rock crystals!) because MY TEACHER ROCKS!!!!!!

Cullen Browning, Grade 3 – Amy Wiley, Northeastern Elementary My teacher is Mrs. Wiley. She works at Northeastern Elementary School. She inspires me to work hard and get good grades. She rewards us for hard work. One time I read more books than I had to for one week and she rewarded me by giving me extra points. She even nominated me for student of the month.

She makes learning fun. She rewards good attendence with extra recess. We have a party and have a treat and play games when get good attendance.

She makes learning fun because she turns it into a game to play. We play a game called Sparkle. It is a game to help us with our spelling. It is a really fun game. That is how Mrs. Wiley rocks!

She is a awesome teacher. Learning with her is so awesome and cool. She is my favorite teacher. She gives us rewards like candy for getting our math right.

She inspires me to work hard at everything every day. I love being in her class. She gives us hard and easy work everyday. She never yells at us. She gives us extra recess. I think that rocks, too.

She has worked at Northeastern Elementary for 7 or 8 years. At the beginning of the year it was the funnest day. She said we would have a fun year and it is still the funnest.

I think she is the best teacher ever. I wish we still had more days. I love my classroom and school.

Terris Brown, Grade 6 – Kenny Marshall, Centerville-Abington Elementary My favorite teacher is Mr. Marshall. Mr. Marshall is my favorite teacher because he makes learning fun and exciting. He makes me want to learn, more than any teacher has ever done. If you do something wrong then he does punish, according to what you did. If you did something seriously wrong, then you’re going to get seriously punished. If it was not so serious, then you wouldn’t get severe punishment. He’s fair and if he gives you a punishment then you probably deserved it.

We have been reading Number the Stars in class. In the book, we are talking about the holocaust. He didn’t just talk about it, he made us get up and he gave a demonstration in words of how people talked to the Jews. It was fun. So when I walk in the room, I know that I’m going to learn something new every day.

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Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 21

Daeneisha Austin, Grade 4 – Melissa Jordan, Elizabeth Starr Academy

Shjuantial Deloney, Grade 3 – Randy Hollingsworth, Elizabeth Starr Academy

Mrs. Jordan is my favorite teacher because she makes me laugh all of the time. She is so funny! She will lick people or throw chalk at them. She also throws candy. She makes funny faces and does funny dances. She sings the “Jeopardy” song for us, too. She is silly.

Mrs. Jordan makes school fun. She does Fat Freddy in math. He is a big fat zero that helps us remember the zero when we multiply. We also sing the division song to remember the steps. When she reads books, Mrs. Jordan uses all sorts of funny voices. If we have a good day, we get to earn a magnet and earn parties.

Mrs. Jordan makes me feel good. If I am sad or grumpy, she will tickle me or tease me to make me laugh. She will do something crazy, too. She will also sit down and listen to my problems. Mrs. Jordan is my heart, and she is always there for me. That is why my teacher rocks.

My teacher rocks! His name is Mr. Hollingsworth. He goes bananas sometimes. Every time we switch he does a funky dance. Our class laughs like crazy. He also gives us extra recess and free time.

Mr. Hollingsworth rocks his clothes! He wears stripes a lot so my friend Aubrey and I call him Mr. Stripes. He never wears ties or tuxedoes to school.

Mr. Hollingsworth plays with us on the playground. One time Aubrey and I were talking and he snuck up on us and roared like a dinosaur. We screamed. I said “What are you, a dinosaur?” We all laughed and he told me that I was silly. Mr. Hollingsworth is really cool.

Eleigha Whichard, Grade 5 – Brittany Stewart, Fairview Elementary

The teacher I think that rocks is Miss Williams. I think she rocks because she knows when it is time to laugh and have fun and she knows when it is time to get on the serious train. The other reason I think that my teacher rocks, is when we need help on our homework or even classwork she helps us. One time she helped me on this reading page and she helped me in a fun way. That is why I came to the conclusion that Miss Williams is truly a rock star teacher, so Rock On, Miss Williams!

My teacher ROCKS! She is the reason that I love to go to school. She always lets us have fun when doing school work; she makes it fun for me. She always rewards us when we do the right thing every day by saying good job or keep up the good work. She is the best teacher ever. She lets us do a lot of fun and educational things in school. Like language arts board games, social studies word searches, puzzles, spelling games. She lets us read with partners, do packets of work with partners. We get to do stuff like social studies scavenger hunts. She lets us go on a bunch of field trips like to Connor Prairie. We got to do a state report, but not like a regular report we got to do a booklet and a big poster of our state. This is why my teacher ROCKS! Ashley Christine Mason, Grade 4 – Krista Falcone, Elizabeth Starr Academy Mrs. Falcone is awesome because she never is mean! She always is being sweet. I love her so much.

She acts so funny, sweet, and nice. I love her jokes. She is so funny! Her birthday is May 10th. Her favorite colors are blue and purple.

She has kids named Quinnie and Violet and Jacob. She is married to Chris. She is a reading teacher and she is very sweet and nice. Her clothes are very pretty. She is my role model. I love her to death. She is also the best reading teacher ever. I love her kids. They are adorable. I wish I could have her next year as my teacher. She is so silly, sweet, outstanding person. I know she is a sweet, awesome girl. She is a pretty person, too. I love her clothes. She has pretty hair. I love the room where she teaches. She has pretty things in that room. She also has cool games. She also has the comfiest chair. She also has so many cool books and she has a lamp and if you turn it on it will change all those colors. She has a cool room.

She is an outstanding, pretty person. This is my first year having her and I love her already. She also has so many hairstyles I can’t even do them with my hair. She is very good at reading. She loves to read.

If I could, I would go to the principal and tell them that she needs to be the principal, not you! She is very special to me. She is cool!

Brenton Whited, Grade 4 – Thomas Moore, Garrison Elementary

My teacher, Mr.Moore, rocks because he’s great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great and awesome. Did I mention great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great?

Cindy Lopez, Grade 6 – Sara Williams, Galileo Charter School

My teacher, Miss Williams, rocks because she is very funny and she makes the whole class laugh. She is very cool too. She is always nice and she is smiling all the time. Miss Williams is the best teacher ever because she says, “Nobody controls you, you control you.” Miss Williams makes the class laugh all the time.

Miss Williams rocks because one time the class asked her if we could go outside for reading and she said yes. We were really excited, and we read a story outside called “A Natural Force.” It was really fun when we went outside. That’s why she is the best teacher ever and she rocks. I always want to have her for every subject, she is the best.

Donaleya Rogers, Grade 6 – Sara Williams, Galileo Charter School

Jason Julian-Cruz, Grade 6 – Kendra Biava, Galileo Charter School My teacher, Mrs. Biava, ROCKS because she has been teaching me a lot of things. She teaches math, and she taught me coordinates, fractions and more. She always makes sure that all of my classmates and I finish our work and turn it in on time. Sometimes she is so funny and nice. If I didn’t have Mrs. Biava as my teacher I wouldn’t have learned all this stuff that I know now. She is mean sometimes, but not because she wantsto, it was just because my classmates and I didn’t know how to behave. She is the best teacher I ever had in my life. I will never forget Mrs. Biava.

Luke Hays, Grade 4 – Stephanie Talbot, Elizabeth Starr Academy My teacher rocks. She would always do stuff with other teachers, like Mrs. Ross. Also, she is cool, fun, funny, nice, and helpful. One more thing -- she does not give much homework.

Mrs. Talbot makes learning fun. We used to play hangman on this one marker board. Another thing is playing games like word games. There are a bunch of games. We used to do strikes if we were bad. I never had to pull a strike. She was super nice! She makes me feel special. She is nicer to me every time we talk. Even though I had her in the first grade, she was the best teacher ever. I wish I could have her again.

It was like I had her in kindergarten since she does all of her stuff with Mrs. Ross. It’s like Mrs. Ross and Mrs. Talbot are best friends. Mrs. Talbot has blondish brown hair like streaks of brown hair. She is also skinny. The one thing I didn’t like is that we had to sing the “A-B-C” song every day and we also had to sing the days of the week. She had a hole in the wall between Mrs. Talbot and Mrs. Ross’s classes. We always used to watch movies, but they were cartoons. That’s what I didn’t like, too.

Mrs. Talbot is the best, and I mean the best, teacher ever!

Brisa ‘Cassie’ Calderon, Grade 4 – Melissa Jordan, Elizabeth Starr Academy My teacher, Mrs. Jordan, is phenomenal! Mrs. Jordan is demanding of everyone is the classroom, but she adores all of us! In fact, she adores all of the kids she has as students, even after they go on to other grades. We know she cares about us because when we get into trouble, she doesn’t yell or be too hard on us.

She talks and listens to us. Even former students are sent to her to talk when they get in trouble. Students listen to her. That is one reason why my teacher is so special.

I love to learn in Mrs. Jordan’s class. It’s enjoyable to hear her sing and dance out her learning songs.

She does learning the right way with kids. She makes me feel happy and excited to learn. I want Mrs. Jordan to teach me in all my grades. She is awesome and always will be. She is special because she makes learning fun!

Mrs. Jordan makes me feel so special, too. She pets me on the head and hugs me when I am not looking.

She makes me feel happy in class when I am feeling gloomy. Mrs. Jordan never lets me down and helps me whenever I need help. She makes me feel like the most special person ever. She makes EVERYONE feel like they are the most important person in her class. She is the perfect teacher for fourth grade. She makes everyone feel special. That’s why my teacher rocks!

Taylor Newton, Grade 6 – Tiffany Climer, Highland Heights Elementary My teacher Mrs. Tiffany Climer rocks in various ways. I’m Taylor Newton a 6th grader at Highland Heights Elementary. I have had Mrs. Climer for two straight years. It’s been some of the funnest most educational years in my school years and I will miss her next year.

Mrs. Climer is a really cool teacher! Last year she made two rap songs to help us get motivated for ISTEP which we all get nervous for. She took the song “Bust A Move” for the first song and changed it to “Bust The Test” and made new lyrics for it and rapped it. For the second she used “Welcome To The SpaceJam” and changed it to “Welcome To The ISTEP.” This year she made a third. It is such a fun thing to do and it really helps make me think that I could do it.

Another thing, Mrs. Climer has fun ways to teach us. For spelling sometimes we have competitions. We keep score and whoever wins gets a little prize. We are always motivated with her because she is always so

22 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 supportive and helps us on our path. She encourages us to follow our dreams. She helps us get the experiences that will stick with us for our whole life.

Mrs. Climer is an exceptional teacher who cares for everyone of her students. She throws parties for good kids and the people that have positive behavior. She is so fun, smart, funny, and very cool. She really rocks!

Megan Quinn, Grade 4 – Melissa Jordan, Elizabeth Starr Academy

Dear Mrs. Jordan, You are my favorite teacher ever! You make me feel special, like I am the best student, even though I am not! You are special because certain children who don’t like school like being in your class with you at school. You are sweet and kind to your co-workers and students. Even when I come to see you after school, you are so animated. I love to be with you every day!

I love to see the way you make learning fun. I like your songs, the way you read to us, and your poems.

The way you act and mess with kids is so funny! I also love the stories you tell to make us learn. I can remember all kinds of things because of the way you teach them.

My favorite thing about you is that you have a caring heart. You know that we can do it, so we know we can do it. I love the way you treat special kids the same as other kids. Everyone in your class is equal. You try really hard to be fair and honest. It is okay to be yourself in your class. I love that.

I love you, Mrs. Jordan!

Your student, Megan Quinn Thomas Martin, Grade 5 – Kendra Brown, Vaile Elementary

Every time I pass through addition to division math fact tests, she buys us fast food for lunch. If she gives us homework, we are allowed to work on it in class. If we don’t think we like the snack we get in the afternoon, she will try it first. We go on walking field trips to McDonald’s and she bought the entire class ice cream.

We do cool experiments and models. We did one where she poured water in a box and it just sat there then it leaked out and we had to guess why. We built cars out of parts she gave us and it had to at least roll down the ramp.

She’s always been calm about mistakes or just needing to cool down. She’s the best teacher I’ve ever had and has a really low temper. When it comes to reputation, she has it with everyone. If I forget to turn in homework she says it’s OK because I always turn in everything.

www.pal-item.com Kylee Luce, Grade 4 – Thomas Moore, Garrison Elementary I picked my teacher Mr. Moore to be recognized for this honor for several reasons. Some of those reasons are his is dependable, patient, nice, fun, and polite. Also, he is an awesome teacher. What I mean by dependable is he is at school mostly every day. Also, what I mean by dependable is he’s trustworthy. He keeps his word. For example, if he says 5 minutes of recess, he means 5 minutes of recess. What I mean by patient is if we are having trouble with a problem he helps us through it. Also, I mean he is very calm. That is what I mean by that. Now what I mean by nice is people in our class get in trouble but rarely. If so, Mr. Moore says, “Put your head down” or “Write sentences.” He usually does not send office referrals. Also, we don’t get in trouble unless we are really acting up. How Mr. Moore is fun is for Friday activities he teaches us how to draw. He is a very gifted artist. He taught us how to draw horses and cartoon animals. The class loves that. Mr. Moore is polite because he never lets other kids talk when someone was talking first. He also always lets ladies go first. So, that shows that he is polite and a gentleman. There are many other reasons that Mr. Moore rocks but those are the most important.

Morgan Kimble, Grade 3 – Janice Frye, Garrison Elementary My teacher is the best teacher ever because when someone falls down she help them up. She comes over when someone is stuck on a problem and tells us what to do. She says when ever someone talking you listen when she doesn’t get it right. Then you can raise your hand but don’t shout out loud. Mrs. Frye writes down on the board sometimes so we know what we are doing. She always has fun activities. She laugh at everything. She is so wonderful I hope she can move on to the fourth grade because I want her forever. I would be sad if she doesn’t. She is my No. 1 teacher. She rocks at everything. She is so excited when field trip time comes. She is so kind and generous. Mrs. Frye is fun to have for math. I thinks she has a soft voice and she is very, very, very sweet to us. She is very good at teaching. and being a good teacher. Mrs. Frye is the best teacher ever. She is so wonderful. She could be one of the world’s most sweetest girls in America.

She is so sweet we love her to death. She always looks nice. She comes in with the prettiest blonde curly hair. Everybody likes her hair that way because she rocks. She is kind with people. Mrs. Frye is so cool she could be with us every year if you would allow her to. She can do any thing with us -- projects, games, math problems, and others. We love her so much! She loves us too because she told us! We asked her for a pencil she gives us one and gets another one. She can tell us what is going on THAT’S WHY SHE ROCKS! She is the best! THE BEST TEACHER EVER, MRS. FRYE! Macey Shay Manlove, Grade 1 – Barbara Bauman, National Trail Elementary

Mrs. Miller is very nice, happy, sweet, understanding and gives us a good amount of recesses. I love the 2nd grade. It is full of fun and new things to do. Like math, spelling, since and a lot of other great things. But one of the things I like about her is she is I think one of the best teachers I ever had and, trust me, that is hard to do. You know this is really hard. 250 words in all you know but I can do it because I hae a lot of good things to say aobut my teacher. I love every thing about school. The nice teachers. The fun work and, well, everything. I wish I could stay in 2nd grade forever. Back to Mrs. Miller. She never gives us too much work.

I mean it could be 1,000 pieces of work every day. I hope we never have to do that. Well, I really really really like my teacher. It is awesome being in 2nd grade. I hope the year never ends. Really good teacher.

Really good teacher.

Mrs. Bauman rocks because she is stern but nice. Her beautifulness is the way God made her. She has taught us math, how to make 3D shapes, Kleenex straw flowers, paint, and ins and outs. I can tell time now because of her and how to make a phone out of paper. We play games, make stories, put together puzzles, draw pictures, color, and read books together sometimes. She has talked to me when I have lost things or have done bad things but she lets me know she still loves me! I feel happy to know she forgives me, even to the point of crying. Mrs. Bauman is very sweet. She gives us hugs and cookies. We get extra recess sometimes when we are good so we run around a second time. Once we put a seed in the ground and covered it with dirt. We put water on it and it soon starting growing. The class kept putting water on it and a pumpkin grew out of it. It rocked that we got to grow a pumpkin with her showing us how to do it and keep it alive!

I want to be a teacher like Mrs. Bauman when I grow up. To be nice is very important to me. She is a good example for me and very important to me. When she is not at school I miss her and we have made cards for her to tell her how much we care. I want to be like Mrs. Bauman and rock!

Dakoda Beseclher, Grade 4 – Thomas Moore, Garrison Elementary

Hunter Delk, Grade 6 – Diana King, Community Christian School

Hi my name is Dakoda. I’m doing the My Teacher Rocks contest cause I think my teacher Mr. Moore is the best teacher ever! Mr. Moore is a very good teacher, because he does a good job teaching, he also does an awesome job working and cooperating with us. If we do any kind of problem he will say, “I don’t care about the answer I care about how you got the answer.” I also think Mr. Moore is a good teacher cause he barely gives us homework and I like that. Sometimes I want homework. He played vollyball with us on our last game. He makes me feel comforlabel enough to ask for help. He helps me with a lot with my math, science, and social studies. I wish Mr. Moore was my teacher all through elementary school. We do a lot of activities together. How ever old I get I will always remember Mr. Moore, cause he is the best teacher ever! I think Mr. Moore and Garrison Elementary school are the best ever! I hope you liked my contest paper. Thank you!

My favorite teacher is Mrs. King. Mrs. King teaches Bible at Community Christian School. Mrs. King rocks because she is a very Christian-like lady and loves to teach us younger children more and more about God. She greatly loves the job in which she has and loves me and all of the other classmates that are in the classroom like a nice big happy family. Mrs. King is very kind, loving, cheerful, cool, fun, and a very intelligent Christian lady. I love this very one thing the most about her and that is that she says not only do I teach you guys and girls, but you guys and girls teach me as well. She always corrects the class in a nice way and as Christian-like as she can. Then she always says that not only we do wrong things, but also that she does wrong to and that we need to pray about it and that we need to work at it. I like that on Monday we get to do prayer request on things that are tough in our life. I love and my classmates love that Mrs. King is always willing enough to pray for the prayer requests that we ask to be prayed for. Mrs. King always is trying to make us stronger and stronger in the word of God. I think that Mrs. King takes an ample amount of time in trying to make us understand the word of God. Everyone at the school including all of the teachers loves Mrs. King and has a strong spiritual friendship with Mrs. King. When I wasn’t in Mrs. King Bible class there were other kids that were in her class that said “Mrs. King is the best teacher I have ever had in my life.” I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love her as a teacher. I also like Mrs. King because she does a very fun and extraordinary game called Memory Verse Sparkle. In Memory Verse Sparkle you do one word and then you keep on going to the next person, then when you are done with it then you say sparkle, then the next person is out. You keep doing that until you are the last person. I love that Mrs. King gives the winner a piece of candy. I hope to grow up to be like Mrs. King because she is so awesome and cool. It is hard to not love her because she is so caring of people. This is what I love about Mrs. King and this is why my teacher rocks!

Alyssa Haller, Grade 2 – Susan Hatcher-Miller, Garrison Elementary

Derick Casiano. Grade 5 – Jeanne Hendricks, Garrison Elementary

Six a.m. Time to wake up and get ready for school. Out the door and I go, onto the bus. I find a seat and a few minutes later we arrive at school. Off to the classroom we go and I see the greatest teacher, Mrs. Hendricks. When I see Mrs. Hendricks I know I am going to have a good day. Mrs. Hendricks is the funniest, most intelligent, and is the most fun teacher. Every day, during math class my friends and I have a great time. Mrs. Hendricks is always making class work and homework fun and exciting. Also she will bring in fun things like food models that represent things so that my class and I understand better. She also lets us express our thinking in a way that allows us to learn better. Such as thinking out loud or using the methods that works best for yourself. Two-thirty p.m. Time to leave school and I am so bummed out that I won’t be able to see Mrs. Hendricks till tomorrow afternoon, during math class. That is why my teacher Mrs. Hendricks is the greatest teacher ever.

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Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 23 Abigail Irwin

Rebecca Bailey, Grade 4 – Terri Kinsey, Westview Elementary

My teacher rocks because she is always there for you. If someone is mean to you, she will get to the bottom of it and make sure you feel better. One other reason why my teacher rocks, is that she is always proud of you. If you win something, she will give you a big smile. That is why I think that my teacher rocks!

My name is Rebecca Bailey and I am in the 4th grade at Westview. My teacher is Mrs. Kinsey. There are several reasons why she is my favorite teacher. She plays educational games like Survivor and Around the World. Mrs. Kinsey gives us candy and extra recess as a reward for good behavior. When she went to Belize for spring break, she brought back wrestlers and dolls as souvenirs. She gave each student two. All except two wrestlers went to the boys. The other two went to me and another girl named Ally Staton. We got a doll and a wrestler. The rest of the girls got two dolls. When we are doing a lesson, she keeps reviewing things until everyone understands it. She does not allow name calling or anything rude or anything inappropriate.

She lets us have snacks in class. Sometimes, a student will bring in a bag of chips or crackers. Sometimes, when someone doesn’t have a snack, Mrs. Kinsey will bring one for you. When someone is misbehaving, she doesn’t take recess from the entire class. She writes their name on the chalkboard and each time that they misbehave, she puts another check next to their name, or has a student do it. Mrs. Kinsey reads a short book after daily bite, and throughout the day, she will continue reading the chapter book that she picks out.

She has read many books. Right now she is reading “Mick Harte Was Here.” Mrs. Kinsey loves all of the students a lot. That is why Mrs. Kinsey is my favorite teacher!

Courtney Mullins, Grade 2 – Aubrey Wildey, Garrison Elementary

My teacher lets us have extra recess when we are good. My teacher lets us have parties on birthdays.

She lets us get in her prize box when we are good.

Nia Wright, Grade 5 – Jamie Schwartz, Garrison Elementary

My teacher Miss. Schwartz rocks. Do you want to know why? Okay, I’ll tell you why. Miss Schwartz is so nice. Yeah of course she yells at us and gets mad at us but I usally dont get offended by it. She gives some of us after school detention. I had detention once because I forgot my homework at home. But it was OK. I should have been more responsible with my homework. Other than that Miss Schwartz is awesome. She lets us watch movies. She lets us have extra recess. She lets us have snacks. She taught me how to stand up to bullies, and now I’m not affaid to talk back to bullies anymore. Well some times I might whisper it, and they won’t hear it. To be honest I feel like Miss Schwartz has turned my life around. That’s why my teacher Miss Schwartz rocks.

Jordan Stolle, Grade 4 – Terri Kinsey, Westview Elementary

My name is Jordan Stolle and I am in the fourth grade at Westview School. My teacher Mrs. Kinsey is the best teacher ever! There are several reasons why I would like to nominate my teacher. I like Mrs. Kinsey because she reads us a book every day. Another one of them is she teaches us stuff to where we can understand it and learn it. She plays a spelling game with us and it is called Survivor. One time she went to Honduras and Belize and gave the girls dolls and boys old wrestlers. They were awesome. She is funny, goofy, and awesome. SHE IS THE BEST EVER! Jamie Lear, Grade 4 – Terri Kinsey, Westview Elementary

My favorite teacher Mrs.Kinsey because she gives out candy every day. Also because on Fridays she lets us get on coolmath.com when we go to the computer lab. And on Friday I’m not sad when we leave because I know I’ll be coming back on Monday. Why I picked her is because I really like her a lot. But what I really like about her is that she plays this game with us that’s called Survivor, and she helps us learn our spelling words by playing that game with us.I her because I really get along with her.I know that we sometimes get in arguments. Also I like her because when she goes on trips she always brings back some kind of toy that was made where she went.

Ally Staton, Grade 4 – Terri Kinsey, Westview Elementary

My name is Ally Staton and I am in the 4th grade at Westview. My teacher Mrs. Kinsey is the best teacher! Some reasons why she is, is because she makes learning fun by teaching it so we understand. She also plays educational games so we can learn our spelling words or math facts. She also rewards us with a small piece of candy. Almost every morning she will read a storybook to us. She will also read a few pages in a chapter book through out the day and before lunch. Some more reasons she’s the best is she once went to Belize for spring break and she brought souvenirs back for us. She brought dolls back for the girls and wrestlers back for the boys. She will also bring Sprite and a small snack. Like cheese balls or potato chips.

Two more reasons why she’s the best is that she says exaggerations all the time like “You’re burnin’ my buttons” or “We should’ve all stayed in bed.” She will also teach us one-on-one if we have a problem with one of the lessons. Mrs. Kinsey picks out fun movies for weather class. She also picks out really cool projects for each class. The project we are doing now is that we’re making a book report with a cereal box. Now Mrs. Kinsey is the best teacher and she’s really awesome, too!

Courtney Clever, Grade 4 – Susan Tinkle, Westview Elementary

Hi. My name is Courtney Clever and I attend Westview school and I am in the fourth grade. My favorite teacher is Mrs. Tinkle and in some ways she’s my favorite is she’s nice, helps us learn, plays educational games, never yells at kids. During learning time she actually let us play, reads fun stories and makes us want to come to school. Sometimes she gets stressed but I still like her. I came to school because of her and my mom. She gives us extra recess and one time we even got to cook in the room. Tthroughout my life I’ve had a lot of teachers but Mrs. Tinkle she’s the best and my friend too. There is nobody as good as her. I just still wish she still worked here but I can still call her and she can call me. Most of the time we have great conversations and they’re fun. If she was still here I would talk to her every day. It would be amazing. I’ve known Mrs. Tinkle for a long time. ... I even remember my kindergarten years. Yes, Mrs. Tinkle was just like me. I just wish she was here.

Clayton McFarland, Grade 4 – Terri Kinsey, Westview Elementary My name is Clayton McFarland I am in the 4th grade. My teacher’s name is Mrs. Kinsey. She is the best.

There six good things about her . She makes learning fun , she gives us candy, plays games we can learn, gets angry but still knows she loves me, she helps us, takes us on field trips. She is the best teacher ever . Mrs. Kinsey rocks! When we have to do school work she makes it fun. I learn my math facts by playing “BUZZ” and learn vocabulary and spelling words by playing Survivor. I have learned a lot and I think she is good and likes us.

Raven Helms, Grade 4 – Terri Kinsey, Westview Elementary Hi. My name is Raven Helms. I am in the 4th grade. I picked Mrs. Kinsey for My Teacher Rocks because she makes work fun and she gives us treats if were good. Another reason she’s my favorite teacher is we play Survivor. I love her. She doesn’t yell that much. I wish she was my teacher next year. She’s nice, helpful and the best. Out of all them I’ve had she’s the best one. I have only known her for two years. If anyone’s sad or mad she takes care of us. She does fun things with us. When we play games she gives us candy if we win. I will always love her Alonso Claiborne, Grade 4 – Terri Kinsey, Westview Elementary Hi. My name is Alonso and I’m in the 4th grade and I picked Mrs. Kinsey for My Teacher Rocks because she makes work fun and she helps us do math because she turns it in to a game. It’s really fun and we understand stuff better. I’ll pass to the fifth grade with her. All my sisters and brothers had her and they never failed. They all said it was fun being her student. Mrs. Kinsey is never mean. She doesn’t yell. She’s hopeful we will pass. We are nice to her. She loves us all. She cares about us. We’re happy, secure, safe and never sad. She takes care of problems very well.

Lainey Barker, Grade 4 – Terri Kinsey, Westview Elementary My name is Lainey Barker and I’m in the fourth grade at Westview. My teacher, Mrs. Kinsey, is the best teacher in the whole state of Indiana in my opinion. That is why I’d like to nominate Mrs. Kinsey in the My Teacher Rocks contest. I’d like to tell you twelve reasons why I think she’s the best teacher.

-- She makes up games to help us learn. Like she made a game up called Survivor to help us learn our spelling words.

-- She hands out candy after spelling tests. But not too much candy.

-- She brings all of us souvenirs from her vacations and trips. Like when she went to Belize and brought back mini dolls.

-- Mrs. Kinsey lets us bring a snack that we get to eat after either art, library, gym, and music. She also lets us bring water bottles.

-- She will read us cool chapter books. Like “The Pinballs” and “Wayside School is Falling Down.”

-- She says funny exaggerations. She says “You are burning my buttons.”

-- She lets us bring movies to watch but only if they are school appropriate. So far we have watched “Megamind”, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, “Madagascar”, and “Matilda”.

-- Mrs. Kinsey does not allow any name calling in our class at school.

-- She lets us have sharing time.

-- Mrs. Kinsey deals with drama great.

-- She wears funny pajamas for pajama day.

-- Mrs. Kinsey is the nicest teacher I ever had.

I would be glad if she won.

www.pal-item.com

24 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 Camryn Braughton, Grade 4 – Terri Kinsey, Westview Elementary

Paul Harris, Grade 12 – Angela Witham, Richmond High School

My teacher rocks because she makes learning fun. We play fun games, and when we get a really hard question right , she rewards us by giving us candy. Sometimes we even get extra recess. I like Around the World, but my favorite is called Math Sheets. She works with us by going step-by-step showing us easier ways to finish what we are doing. She understands if we don’t get it and works with us until we do. We also play a cool spelling game called Survivor. I like it because it challenges us to be competitive and is SO MUCH FUN TO PLAY!She is silly, goofy, and funny. She even acts like a kid sometimes. She is serious when we need her to be and we thank her for that. She makes me feel good when I get good grades and that makes me want to work harder and to do my best. I like it when she is proud of me! Her name is Mrs. Kinsey! She is the best teacher in the world. Sometimes when I am sad she doesn’t act like my teacher, she is my friend. I like her a lot, but I will like her lots more if she is my teacher next year.

Mrs. Witham is one of the best teachers at RHS. She is always in a good mood, and she always is willing to help you, no matter what. I have had Mrs. Witham as a teacher for three years now, and she has always encouraged me to go for my dreams and do anything it takes to get there. She always tells us that we can do anything we set our minds to, and I think Richmond Community Schools is blessed to have a teacher like her. She is always encouraging students and always helping someone in some way. Mrs. Witham and I are always talking about college, and she is always helping students find out about ways to help them get started with college, such as teaching dual credit courses and having colleges come speak to our classes. Along with teaching, she is an adviser for the Business Professionals of America Club at RHS, and she is always trying to get new people into our club and is always thinking of new, innovative ways to raise money for our club.

She goes out of her way to help us in this club, and she helps us get the things that we need. She is always smiling and is such an inspiration for students and she is one of the hardest-working people I know. I think she is one of the best teachers at RHS, and she deserves to win the $500 dollars in school supplies for her classroom.

Michaela Stough, Grade 4 – Terri Kinsey, Westview Elementary My name is Michaela Stough. I go to Westview and, I am in the fourth grade. The teacher I am writing on is Mrs. Kinsey. My teacher is the best of the best. But that’s my opinion. There are several reasons. One she makes learning fun like using cereal boxes. She plays educational games like Survivor, a spelling game.

Sometimes she gets angry, but I still know she likes me. She is nice to everyone. She once let us have a pet praying mantis. Sometimes she gives us candy or a stinger card. That is why I chose Mrs. Kinsey Morgan Armstrong, Grade 4 – Terri Kinsey, Westview Elementary Hi. My name is Morgan. I am in the fourth grade at Westview Elementary. My favorite teacher is Terri Kinsey. There are several reasons why I like her. First she’s sweet, nice and caring. She also makes learning fun. We play educational games. She gets angry sometimes but she is still a very nice person. My teacher will give me treats if I’m doing good. I love coming to school when she’s here. Even if she’s not she’s still my favorite. My teacher is the best . If I were voting In the election and she was running I would choose her.

My teacher has a kind heart. She will always be around In a problem. If I misspell a word Mrs.Kinsey will help me That’s why Mrs. Kinsey is my favorite. My teacher rocks.

Mallory Williams, Grade 4 – Terri Kinsey, Westview Elementary Hi. My name is Mallory Louise Williams. I go to Westveiw elementary. I am in the fourth grade in Mrs. Kinsey’s class. She is my favorite teacher in the world. Here are some reasons why.

She makes learning fun.

Rewards us for being good.

Makes us want to come to school.

Takes us on field trips.

One more thing: Mrs. Kinsey never says no.

7-12 Essays

7-12 Essays Kate Knight, Grade 10 – Ann Herrman, Richmond High School

Ann Herrman, the publications advisor at Richmond High School, is the best of the best. She is supportive of her students, challenges them to do their best, all while making Pierian and Register fun. Though this is her last year, she is definitely deserving of this reward for pushing the Publications Department to higher standards year after year, for the past 25 years.

Hannah Wambo, Grade 10 – Jeremy Hill, Richmond High School He helps his students whenever they need it. He cares about his students. He is a great teacher!

Karissa Tudor, Grade 12 – Angela Witham, Richmond High School Mrs. Witham rocks! That’s all there is to it. She provides a comforting classroom environment and treats every student the same, regardless of race, color, sex or religion. I couldn’t imagine my senior year without her. Any time I feel the need to ask what I consider “a dumb question,” Mrs. Witham is always the first one to say “no question is a dumb question.” Mrs. Witham has taught me several convenient tips that I will benefit from in college, I couldn’t ask for more. I feel as if Mrs. Witham is the most deserving teacher because in her class, she strives to teach us to the very best of her ability though the computers don’t always cooperate. The computers in her class aren’t very updated and sometimes make us seniors quite aggravated. Mrs. Witham always says, “Just wait it out. They’ll start working again sooner or later.” She teaches me not only computer qualities but personal qualities as well. I have learned patience, responsibility and a great amount of knowledge in her class. I appreciate all that Mrs. Witham has done for me and all of her other students.

She has made this an awesome senior year. This is why Mrs. Angela Witham rocks!

Erika Jo Williams, Grade 12 – Keith Ziolkowski, Richmond High School Mr. Ziolkowski will be a rock legend! In the past six years, RHS has gone through five orchestra teachers. While each one brought their own style, they also left RHS with a deficit. Mr. Ziolkowski is a first-year orchestra teacher, newly graduated who has within one year been able to incorporate all of the previous teachers’ skills and enrich the program throughout his outstanding dedication. So far this year, Mr. Ziolkowski has organized the entire orchestra system, he is constantly working hard to get the orchestra more instruments as well as uniform concert attire, taken inventory of the many broken, neglected, and hidden instruments at RHS and worked diligently to repair them. He has incorporated the orchestra into a successful school musical, as well as honors programs, which has provided the students with opportunities to showcase their skills to the public. He brings new music into the classroom so the students can interact better and relate to the music. We know he is just beginning to transform the orchestra, and this award will enable him to create more opportunities in musicianship. Mr. Ziolkowski is a young teacher that will get any student’s attention with his enthusiasm and teaching style. RHS was the first high school to have an orchestra program, and to carry that history, RHS needs a great leader and rock star like Mr. Ziolkowski.

Kameron Lucas Grice, Grade 7 – Gary Cole, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High He is fun and creative. He has a good sense of humor. He rewards us when we do well at something. He even makes us brownies!

Blythe Luce, Grade 10 – David Andrews, Richmond High School Dave Andrews was my ninth-grade math teacher. He was the most amazing teacher I have ever met.

Most students didn’t really like him, but he made me understand math a lot better than any other teacher. He actually worked with students instead of just handing them papers and telling them to do them. He brought laughter to the class and made it a very good environment.

Lauren Bane, Grade 9 – Maggie Price, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School At the beginning of my freshman year, I knew who the majority of the teachers on my schedule were.

Only two of the names on my schedule stood out. One of them was Maggie Price.

I didn’t think I would stand out in the art class. I had figured I would always be an admiring viewer of art and never an artist. A special teacher was able to prove me wrong. Slowly I began to see improvement in what I did in her class. Throughout my progress, I began to catch myself daydreaming about what to paint or draw next, and I began doing simple artwork outside of class. I grew passionate for it, and I credited all to Mrs. Price. She made me proud of everything I did but never failed to criticize me.

By the second semester of the school year, I still wasn’t entirely comfortable in my artist skin. I was a step away, and Mrs. Price helped me take that last step. Mrs. Price took my charcoal drawing I named “George” and submitted it to the Richmond Art Show of April. I waited nervously to see if it would be accepted. After what seemed like weeks, the news was delivered. With the largest grin on her face, Mrs. Price handed me my invitation to the art show. My charcoal had been accepted.

Sunday, April 17th of 2011, I stood in the Richmond High School’s art museum examining my piece. I was proud, not only for myself, but for Mrs. Price, too.

Taiylor McDonough (Dishmond), Grade 7 Susan Graham, Union County Middle School My favorite teach this year is Mrs. Graham. She is the seventh-grade math teacher at my school, which is Union County Middle School. Math is my favorite subject. I look forward to going to math class every day. Mrs. Graham is my favorite teacher for a lot of reasons. The first reason is because she is very nice and fun to be around. The second reason is because she has a lot of fun activities to do to help us get the concept of things that we are learning. The third reason is because she teaches in the way that I need to be taught so I understand what we are learning. These are only three of the enormous amounts of reason that Mrs. Graham is my favorite teacher. Mrs. Graham will do anything to help anyone, no matter if she likes them or not. Mrs.

www.pal-item.com Graham has bad days where she doesn’t feel good, but she still teaches us and helps us learn. She is the best math teacher I have ever had. She puts a lot of time and effort into her work, and I greatly appreciate that!

She is an amaz amazing teacher. I could talk to her about anything and she would listen and help. Mrs. Graham is nice, amazing, cool, funny, and an overall great person. I am very thankful to have such a great math teacher. also knows a lot about math. I can honestly say Mrs. Graham really does rock!

Mrs. Graham al Nicole Buckner, Grade 8 – Kelley McDermott, Dennis Middle School There are numerous reasons why my social studies teacher, Ms. McDermott rocks. Honestly, social studies is not my favorite subject, but Ms. McDermott makes it fun and educational at the same time. She tells jokes, and we can get into deep, interesting conversations. But she makes sure we learn what we are supposed to be learning. If I have a question, I have no doubt in asking her because she gives me the best answer she can give me and breaks it down if I don’t understand it. She also gives her honest opinion about things we ask. Ms. McDermott explains everything she teaches thoroughly and makes sure we all understand before we move on. One thing I especially like about her is that she treats all her students like young, mature adults. Ms. McDermott is very kind, respectful, and talkative. I love the fact that she is talkative because our class gets into great discussions. She isn’t strict, but she won’t tolerate kids not behaving. I like that because it keeps me focused in her class. I would not like social studies as much as I do now if Ms. McDermott was not my teacher. I strongly appreciate her, and the time she puts in for all her students.

Cierra Shroyer, Grade 11 – Josh Amyx, Richmond High School

My favorite teacher of all times would have to be Mr. Amyx from Richmond High School. He was my ninth-grade English teacher and probably the biggest influence on my life so far. He was supportive of me and encouraged me to strive for the best. He always knew exactly what to say to make me want to achieve the best I could do.

While I was in his class, he showed me that I have a talent for writing. His kind words and supportive nature have caused me to want to write for fun. It very quickly became a hobby of mine and is one of the few that actually stuck with me this far. Even through the hard times almost every teenager faces, I could remember his excitement about my work and I used that as a release for emotions and a boost of confidence.

Without him, I may have never discovered this and life would be very different. I know that he was not only trying to give me more confidence but was also trying to help me succeed in life.

I know that he has and will continue to make a difference in students’ lives for as long as he is teaching.

He’s a great influence, a wonderful teacher and without a doubt, the best teacher the school will ever be lucky enough to have. With his help, students will gain a whole new outlook of life and reach a whole new level of potential.

Eric Mills, Grade 10 – Autumn Sheward, Richmond High School Mrs. Sheward rocks because she will take that extra mile to help a student out. When she is at work, it is not just a job to her. She cares about her students. She has helped me a lot this year.

Michial Crockett, Grade 10 – Cory Irwin, Richmond High School My teacher rocks because he is a really good man. He is a dedicated man willing to do anything for his students. He allows the students to make decisions, and he is letting us become the adult that he knows that we can be. Without him, I wouldn’t be who I am today, and he isn’t just my teacher, he is my role model and he is my friend.

Cierra Ammerman, Grade 9 – Heidi Thurston, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School

I’ve had this teacher since my seventh-grade year. She is an amazing band/SRT teacher. I have never had a bad day because of her. No matter how mad/frustrated she gets with us in band she always has a smile on her face. She loves giving her students a hard time and loves to see them smile. She is also a great FCA teacher. In FCA, we learn about God, and if you ever have a problem, she is there and can talk to you about anything and she never says the wrong thing. In FCA, students go up to her and ask for prayer. They ask to talk in front of the whole school. They talk about how they were in the wrong and now that they’ve found God, they are not in the wrong anymore and love to be able to turn to God. I love Mrs. Thurston because she is not only a great teacher but a wonderful person.

Mikaela Cotton, Grade 9 – Mrs. Frye, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School Mrs. Frye was an amazing teacher. She read to us, let us have free time, brought in snacks almost everyday. She had discipline for us but only when she needed to use it. She was the best first-grade teacher I ever had. I mean, I was only in first grade once, but compared to the other ones, she was great. My favorite book she ever read to us was the Junie B. Jones book series after first grade. I loved those books up until my fifth-grade year. I don’t know if she still works there, but I know when I attended elementary school she still was there and I went to her classroom everyday before school started. I still see her around at Walmart or Meijer, but it’s not the same. I’d really like to see her again besides Walmart or Meijer. She’s a great teacher in my opinion. I miss her and some of my previous teachers. They were all great, but Mrs. Frye is definitely my favorite still.

Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 25 Zakk Wolf, Grade 8 – Chad Wilson, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School Mr. Wilson was my eighth-grade pre-algebra teacher. For years, I’ve always struggled with math, but that year everything was simple for me in math with his help. Mr. Wilson is the best math teacher here at Northeastern High. I hope he wins this award.

Anna Berry, Grade 7 – Gary Cole, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School When I entered middle school, I was told the classes are going to be worse than elementary. The person who told me that was wrong. Mr. Cole’s class was inspiring, fun, and definitely rewarding. Mr. Cole rocks!

In Mr. Cole’s class, I was inspired to do something different. I was inspired to use all of my creative thinking skills. He inspired me to make my work unique, and eventually inspired me to be unique. Mr. Cole’s geography class is rewarding and fun. His class was fun. The class mostly did projects. We made Bingo cards, hats, masks, and a lot more. One of my favorite projects was making food from different cultures. His class is rewarding because we got to learn about the things we needed to know while we messed with glitter, stickers, paint, and food! My favorite things Mr. Cole taught us was the cultures people lived in. The languages are different, the food is different, and most of the atmospheres are different. Mr. Cole is, in my eyes, a teacher that rocks. People are eager to get into his class because of the projects.

Kylie King, Grade 9 – Traci Ross, Northeastern Jr./ Sr. High School The Damsel director at Northeastern Junior/Senior High School rocks. Mrs. Traci Ross works with around 28 girls a year to train them in the performing arts. Traci writes drill and work for the color guard, cleans it and gets the team ready for performances. Traci teaches the first-hour color guard class and then goes to work. She is often at school after classes for practices and comes in on weekends to work, too. Traci has a personal connection to every girl in the guard. She is like our second mom. She works so hard to bring us together as a team and to make our performances spotless. We have one of the best guards around because of all of the time and effort put in by Traci Ross. Traci inspires us to be the best that we can be, and teaches us to never settle for less than the best in ourselves and in our performance.

Ashley Russell, Grade 9 – Heidi Thurston, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School I was always afraid to express myself. In junior high, I kept my personality hidden from everyone. I didn’t want people to see the real me because I was afraid of getting judged. I had few friends and never really trusted anyone. I come from a dysfunctional family. My 20-year-old brother has been to jail two times, been in a psychiatric ward for months, and has done countless illegal things. My 19-year-old sister has done many illegal things as well. She has attempted suicide and has been to multiple correction centers. She is mentally bipolar. My younger sister is also bipolar and on medication. The bottom line is, about a year ago, I would never tell anyone any of this.

It was the end of my eighth-grade year, I had attempted suicide by overdose. The first person that came to me seeming the most concerned was Heidi Thurston, my percussion teacher. Since that day I’ve been told, “You’re worth more than you realize.” Heidi would speak to me about God and about love. She told me I’m perfect just the way I am ... no matter what anyone may think or say about me.

Mrs. Thurston means the world to me. She gives me advice when I’m feeling down. She makes me smile when I start to frown. But most importantly, she showed me God. She showed me love. I can now live my life unashamed of my past. I can embrace who I am.

Symone’ Perkins, Grade 10 – Tomi Amburgey, Richmond High School My teacher rocks! I know you’re wondering why of course, so I’m going to tell you. She’s really strict about the dress code, and even though I don’t like it, she follows the rules no matter what, which I think really shows us that she’s a good teacher. Also, she cares about people a lot and really helps you out. She’s such an amazing person. She volunteers at the hospital and tutors at the jail. She knows how to make you laugh, and she’s really funny! She deserves to have $500 worth of new supplies in her classroom :) Morgan Stirn, Grade 7 – Susan Graham, Union County Middle School

Mrs. Graham rocks because she makes learning fun for a change. It always seemed that as I was growing up, teachers just got more boring each year. It felt like they just didn’t like you or had a strange vibe about you. But as I progressed through the seventh grade, I learned that Mrs. Graham would be my favorite teacher. When I was little, I wasn’t the biggest fan of math, but when I reached middle school, I loved math because of Mrs. Graham. It seems that some teachers just hand you along to get rid of you, but with her, she enjoys having you and helping you reach higher and higher goals in your life. I know that its not just me who feels this way about this one teacher but I have never heard a bad thing ... ever. She is probably my favorite teacher ever. Thanks, Mrs. Graham.

26 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 Kristin Elmore, Grade 7 – Mr. Briggs, Union County Middle School

I have the most amazing science teacher in the whole entire universe! I think he is a good teacher because he is not too strict on us. Also, he’s not like Mr. Nice Guy either. I think he is one of the most outstanding teachers in the world. Throughout all the schools I’ve went to, he is my favorite teacher. I think he is in his mid 30s. He has a wife, and I’m pretty sure three kids. He always tells his students they are reasonable for their own actions. He gives us three passes out of class every week. Please pick my story thanks for reading it!

Madeline Fulton, Grade 7 – Tonia Severance, Union County Middle School

My teacher, Miss Severance, rocks for so many reasons! First of all, she’s beautiful and all inspiring.

She helps me -- as well as everyone -- conquer and overcome challenges, in school and in the real world!

Not just an amazing inspiration, but an amazing teacher who has her mind and heart set on being the best teacher she can be (which is truly amazing). Miss Severance just about knows every word in the dictionary!

Miss Severance works extra hard to teach us everything she knows (which is a lot). Sometimes, I don’t know how she pulls things off! She’s either magic or a miracle worker. Miss Severance is very dedicated to her work, which rubs off on us as well. She’s always prepared and ready to teach. Even when things go wrong she always has a plan B! I have had a lot of teachers in the past (don’t get me wrong, they’re all great), but I find myself to be most like Miss Severance! Miss Severance is the most knowledgeable and involved teacher. I’m very lucky to have a teacher as diligent and inspiring as her. Miss Severance has put her heart and mind into teaching and helping kids learn and soak up knowledge.

No matter what, you can always count on Miss Severance to be there for you! Miss Severance helps kids achieve their goals every day. Whether it’s big or small, she helps us inch along toward our dreams every day! My teacher, Miss Severance rocks!

Gayle Adams, Grade 9 – Scott Johnson, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School

Mr. Johnson rocks because he has all the qualities I think the perfect teacher should have. He is caring and funny. At the same time though, he is tough and will try and push you to see your full potential.

When he taught health class, he made the most awkward subjects entertaining. He was even fun in gym class, which is my least favorite subject ever. He understood that not every student was a professional athlete. As long as you tried, he was appreciative.

He’s pretty mellow. He’s not one of those teachers that is always yelling at their students. He always has everyone laughing. Whenever I had a problem, he would talk to me about it and help me out. Whether it was family problems or problems with friends, he did his best to make it at least a little bit better. I think he just understands students better than most teachers.

Kelsey Cupp, Grade 8 – Tim Skillman, Lincoln Middle School

My history teacher, Mr. Skillman, wants his students to succeed. I can tell he enjoys American history and wants to share his knowledge with his students. I love the way he is organized. He teaches us what is in the textbook, as well as some interesting stories that catch my attention and make me want to learn more.

Mr. Skillman, thank you for giving me a class to look forward to.

Courtney Piotrowski, Grade 10 – Nancy Kramer, Richmond High School

I am a student who came from a school where my graduating class had less people than there have been presidents, and moving here has been a tremendous adjustment. Not to mention most teenagers dread school. My world history teacher has made my transition to Richmond High unbelievable. Her style of teaching is funky yet fun and still meets all requirements the state has arranged. She creates projects that get her students engaged, and it makes learning keen. One project us students took part in was the Greek project.

In this project, we learned about the Greeks, and at the end of our unit, she took a twist and we had our own Olympic events, only Kramer style. Mrs. Kramer is also a very sincere teacher. If any student has a problem or question, she will resolve the issue. Her wisdom and imagination connects with her students, and that is why she rocks!

Connor Silvers, Grade 9 – Theresa Scruggs, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School

Mrs. Scruggs is the best computer teacher we have. She lets us have fun during our class period, and she teaches at the same time. She is constantly helping a student in our class, and I could not ask for a more helpful teacher than I already have. Mrs. Scruggs is a fun teacher to be around, and I enjoy being in her class a lot. I appreciate Mrs. Scruggs and the way she treats our students. She is a very helpful, loving teacher, and whenever you have a question, she is always there to answer. That’s why I chose Mrs. Scruggs.

www.pal-item.com Chelsey Downing, Grade 12 – Chris Evrard, Centerville Senior High School It’s hard to sum up why my art teacher rocks in just a meager 250 words, but I feel that my teacher, Mr. Evrard, seriously does rock. Not only has he taught me some great things that I will use the rest of my life, but the two of us have formed this awesome student-teacher bond. He puts up with so much with me in class. I am all the time asking questions, accidentally messing up one of the computers or injuring myself.

Needless to say, I’m somewhat of a klutz (and I’m sure he would agree). Mr. Evrard just smiles and laughs it off with me.

He is so dedicated to his students. He’s stayed after school countless times to help me with projects, along with helping improve my work. He’s given me a reason to come to school and better my artistic ability and has also inspired me to broaden my horizons. Before his classes, I was strictly interested in only the drawing classes, but after taking every art class he offers, I’ve realized how much I enjoy all of it.

Mr. Evrard is my educator and has become not only an inspiration to me but also my favorite teacher at Centerville Sr. High. When I graduate this year, it will be his classes and him that I will miss the most from school. I can only hope that he won’t enjoy his quieter classroom and extra hours at home too much when I’m finally gone.

Samantha Strunk, Grade 10 – Andrew Brenann, Richmond High School

Why does my teacher rock? My English teacher, Andrew Brennan rocks because he always makes a bad situation, good. My name is Sami Strunk, and I am a sophomore at Richmond High School. I had chosen Mr. Brennan because I go to his class Monday through Friday every week during second period for English class. Mr. Brennan is a funny, understanding, and smart person. I can definitely say that he is my favorite teacher ever.

To start off with, my English class is the best class I have. I love coming to Mr. Brennan’s class, even though we do a lot of work. Mr. Brennan can make any old boring writing subject fun. He tries to get us to think in different ways and to express ourselves. My favorite thing is when Mr. Brennan starts to crack jokes with some of the students. He is the type of teacher that makes school a good experience for students.

Andrew Brennan has to be one of the funniest people I know. In my opinion, Mr. Brennan is a really understanding person. He can really connect with the students. I also think it’s because he is closer to our age than most teachers at our school. Mr. Brennan is an intelligent yet amusing person. His jokes are so funny and make the class a lot of fun. I feel that I am learning a lot from him, and I am excelling in his class. That’s why I chose Mr. Brennan.

Carly Gay, Grade 10 – Mrs. Ball, Richmond High School I think that my teacher, Mrs. Ball, rocks. As a freshman last year, she was my English teacher, club teacher, and also my homeroom teacher. She was super nice and actually cared about her students. She actually taught me things and was a good teacher.

She was a good English teacher. I actually learned things in that class. At the beginning of the year, our class was a mess. Toward the end though, she made it to where we felt like everyone in there was our family.

Mrs. Ball was also my club teacher, and our club was crocheting. It sounds lame, but crocheting is pretty cool, and I wouldn’t have learned how to do it without her help. Not only did I learn how to crochet, I also learned how to do a new pattern.

Along with my English and club teacher, Mrs. Ball was also my homeroom teacher. At the beginning of the year last year, when I first started off as a freshman, I was completely lost. I recall asking Mrs. Ball for directions to classrooms and helping me open my locker that I never once opened.

Overall, she was a pretty great teacher. Too bad she doesn’t teach here anymore. I would have loved to walk up to the third floor every now and then to visit her.

Shelbi Purcell, Grade 10 – Ann Herrman, Richmond High School My teacher, Mrs. Herrman, rocks! She is trustworthy, helpful, and very laid back. She makes school fun and entertaining. She teaches us in a way that we will understand and be interested in.

Mrs. Herrman gives you her trust from day one. Her policy is that she will give you her trust even if we haven’t done anything to earn it. We have her trust until we do something to get it taken away. She makes us feel worthy of her trust, and it miraculously makes us trust her just the same.

She is the most helpful teacher that I have. She is just one of those teachers that you aren’t scared to talk to when you need help or don’t understand something. She never looks at us like we are stupid, even when the question we ask may be obvious.

The most amazing thing about her is how laid back she is. She lets us listen to music on the computer as long as we are doing our work. If we are goofing off, she starts to get mad and tells us to turn it off. Also, she jokes around with us. She makes sure we get our work done, but she also tries to lighten the mood when everyone is stressed over the work load.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Herrman is retiring this year. We all will miss her, and our class will never be the same. I will never forget her because she seriously rocks!

www.pal-item.com Josh Rogan, Grade 10 – Matthew Amos, Richmond High School

Choosing which teacher I wanted to do was somewhat of a difficult task. Over the years, I have had many great teachers. One stood out better than all the rest. Although this year is my first time meeting this teacher, he has easily blown all the others away by a long shot. He has his easy-going moods that make it easy to talk to him whenever we need help with a project, not to mention he is hilarious. I chose the machine tool teacher Mr. Amos.

When I first started the class, I wasn’t sure if it was all it was cracked up to be. Soon enough, a week or two went by and it became by far the best class I had ever taken. Mr. Amos did a great job of getting me to want to do work and get going learning how to do things. He never got frustrated with things at the start.

When we started to do the same mistakes over and over again, he got a little uptight but it was no big deal to us. He had the right to. He is an awesome teacher, and I’m sure any other student would say the same thing about him. He seems to be the teacher that will stay in the lead in my rankings for number one teacher until I graduate. He has inspired and pushed me toward what I want to make into my career more than any teacher has before.

Hayley Thornburg, Grade 10 – Keith Morey, Dennis Middle School

Mr. Morey, a teacher at Dennis Middle School, is the best teacher ever! He teaches eighth-grade science, and he coaches track. Other teachers are awesome, but Mr. Morey rocks! He has all the best teacher qualities, and he knows how to make you feel better about yourself.

I learned more things in his class one trimester than I have learned in year-long classes. The way he teaches makes it almost impossible to not learn in his class. Also, he isn’t the type of teacher to work straight out of the book all the time. He had us do fun learning activities. He was always rewarding us. We had a sushi party for being good at the end of the year. My eighth-grade year, he was my homeroom teacher. We had to write once a week in our journal, and he always read them. One time I just vented in it, and he actually talked to me about everything and helped me work through it all.

He will be my favorite teacher always. I’m grateful that he taught me not only science skills but life skills as well.

Ashley Luker, Grade 11 – Jay Lee, Richmond High School Mr. Lee is the coolest teacher ever! If your having a bad day, he always knows how to make you smile.

Some think school is boring, well if you have a cool teacher like Mr. Lee, it’s not. Mr. Lee inspires me to do my best even when things are hard. He jokes around a lot, but he’s also serious when it comes to doing your work. He makes learning fun by teaching you what you need to know and also showing it to you whether it’s in a movie or even hands on. Mr. Lee is a teacher I will never forget.

Abby Crawford, Grade 12 – Mandi Hensley, Union County High School In my eyes, a teacher isn’t just there to teach. They are there to give guidance, inspire, and be a friend.

Through all my years of school, one teacher has always been there to support me and be a guiding friend.

Mandi Hensley, art teacher at Union County High School, doesn’t just teach thought-inducing art projects, she digs deep into each student’s mind to push them to create artwork at their full potential. Since my freshman year, Mandi has been a friend and an adult I could go to for anything. Not only has she been the most rocking teacher, she has inspired me to become an art teacher myself. Through all the difficulties of my senior year, she has been there to lend a helping hand and assist me in becoming the artist I’ve strived to be.

I know I’m not the only student at my school that feels this way. She has this certain charm that makes her a favorite to all. Her lively and energetic outlook on life inspires me, and others, to create artwork fit for the fine arts show (which Mandi puts together herself). Although I’ve only known her for four years, our friendship will continue on well past high school. I always know that I can ask her for her opinion on things from art to issues in my life. A teacher should care about their subject, their students, and how they affect students’ lives. Mandi does all that, which is why she rocks!

Traykia Walton, Grade 7 – Cassandra Maule, Test Middle School My teacher ROCKS because she is very good at instructing her students to do the right thing. You can go to her for anything school or not. She’s an enormous influence.

David Noe, Grade 10 – Brandon Hilbert, Richmond High School I think Mr. Hilbert rocks at being a teacher. He makes class very entertaining and fun with hands-on activities and working on the computer.

Mr. Hilbert has a lot of hands-on activities and is really fun. He joins in with the activities and does his own to help us out. When he helps you on something, he explains it very well and tries to connect with us to make it easy.

He makes it fun by making jokes and laughing while explaining and makes it more interesting. He is really good at connecting with us on things. Most of engineering I don’t get, but he helped me and connected with me and didn’t give up until I got the right answer. When we get something wrong or he notices everyone is having a problem, he explains it, but if you don’t get it, he will keep going until you get it right even if it takes all period or even extra time.

Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 27 Mr. Hilbert is my favorite teacher after my 11 years of school. He has helped me so much with engineering and even out-of-school problems. Not only has he helped with out-of-school things, he has helped me with other classes and gets on my case about passing, especially about sports since you have to be passing four classes. He cares about his students a lot, and that’s why he is my favorite teacher.

Jonathan Eadler, Grade 10 – Cory Irwin, Richmond High School I’ve had many teachers during my time in the RCS system, but by far, Mr. Irwin has been my favorite of them all. Not saying I didn’t dislike any of my other teachers, it’s just that he had the funniest and most knowledgeable classes.

He always had some interesting and some weird way to describe something, making it easier to learn.

Even when class was being disruptive, he had some way to break it to a silence with a joke or a story.

The stories, on a separate note, were by far the funniest or most informative I’ve ever heard. Never something he got too carried away with, but always something you would remember.

I just really feel that he was a great teacher and a great guy to just get to know. The only bad thing is, he only teaches freshmen, so I won’t be getting him as a teacher again.

Scott Miller, Grade 10 – Nathan Rigsby, Richmond High School The teacher that rocks to me is Mr. Rigsby. Mr. Rigsby is one of my present music teachers. I believe he deserves this title.

Mr. Rigsby over time has inspired me in many different ways. He’s told us that our choices make us who we are. Those choices can make you a good person, but the wrong choices can lead to many consequences. He recently has said, “Osama, who has just died recently, had so much. He came from a rich, famous family. Although he used that power for hate and evil. These choices made him the most hated person on the Earth. Our choices make a big change on how people view you. This should set a good example for us to make the right choices”.

Learning from Mr. Rigsby is the best. He’s always trying to make his students play, practice, and participate more with the music department. Like his students, he was once a former band geek. He uses his knowledge and love for music to teach his students weekly and through the hot, marching summers. He’s also finding new ways to tell us how we are outstanding students and why he loves his job. I feel that Mr. Rigsby connects with his students more than any other students.

This summary of Mr. Rigsby really explains why he’s my favorite teacher. His way of understanding with students is great. He’s inspired me deeply and many other students. In conclusion, I believe Mr. Rigsby rocks.

28 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 Quinntell Lewis, Grade 11 – Andrew Brennan, Richmond High School Humor, fun, and creativity make a teacher cool, but when a teacher has faith in you, that makes him great. Mr. Brennan is the epitome of great teachers. He is by far my favorite teacher that I’ve ever had. His classroom is always filled with fun vibes and laughter. Possibly the only class I’ve never slept in.

If I were to feel completely down on myself and had no more hope in passing classes or achieving any goals, he’d always be there to serve you some useful words of wisdom. Usually, the words of wisdom will be followed by a joke or a phrase that could have you exploding with laughter in seconds. Also, whenever I needed to get something off my chest no matter how personal or difficult it was to tell, I knew for a fact his room would be the place to do that. He actually listens and cares about what you’re saying. It’s not all about the paycheck with Brennan.

I remember this one assignment where we all had to pick a person we didn’t know out of our classmates to interview and present the interview information in front of the entire class. It was so cool learning about all my classmates’ hobbies, favorite foods, personal lives and embarrassing moments. That’s one of his best qualities -- coming up with the best assignments. It makes class more entertaining.

Having Mr. Brennan as a teacher is an honor. Thanks, Brennan!

Whitney Mize, Grade 10 – Andrew Brennan, Richmond High School The reason my teacher rocks is because he’s not like most people. His odd ways and sometime unusual lessons really pay off. Andrew Brennan isn’t just a teacher that rocks, he is a teacher that really cares. Unlike most teachers who worry about the money, he really proves he cares. Every day in his classroom is a learning experience. Because of this man, I can’t wait to expand my learning. He modernizes lessons and puts in real-life situations and guides us to finding a positive solution.

Most teens feel uncomfortable asking questions or expressing themselves, and in his classroom, I know each and every thing about my fellow classmates. We sometimes aren’t just a class, we’re a mixed-matched family. You hear about these great inspiring teachers in movies who change the lives of most children and it seems like that only stays in the movies, but that’s not how this situation is. He honestly has the best energy, and we all just feed off of it. For him being so close in age to us, he can really relate to some of the same things that we do. Because of this, he is so much more understanding than most teachers. For being just 25, he is so wise beyond his years. I may only have him as my teacher for a short time. I’m glad I have gotten the chance to be his student.

Jackie Burns, Grade 10 – Andrew Brennan, Richmond High School Mr. Brennan makes learning English fun and easy, while we are working. He never makes class boring or lame. He always has some sort of activity planned for his students to do. He jokes around just like his students. He is more of a teenager than the students he is teaching.

He rocks as a teacher because of all of the reasons I have listed above. He is just a great teacher and person. Not to mention that he isn’t afraid to make jokes and laugh during class. He even laughs at himself or with his students. That is why I say he rocks as a teacher.

I wish all of the teachers at my school were like him. He has a great sense of humor and likes to keep his students entertained. He also makes sure his students are following rules, too. As should all teachers. Even though some of them do.

What I like most about this teacher is he gives out mints to his students. He also brings in little snacks like cookies or something sweet. He is also the most active teacher in the entire school. He likes to get his students active, too. That is exactly why he is my favorite teacher of all time.

Danielle Hittle, Grade 10 – Andrew Brennan, Richmond High School I’ve always done well in school, but not until my sophomore year did I actually find a teacher who inspired me. Mr. Brennan, my English teacher, changed my point of view about school and the faculty around me. He’s made me realize how some teachers’ teach because of their job and others help.

Mr. Brennan’s sense of humor makes his classroom worth going to everyday. He helps his students learn by the jokes he says. Mr. Brennan actually connects with all his students. Even outside of the classroom he still talks to you like you are his student. He does activities that we don’t necessarily enjoy but makes them fun by the way he teaches it. He brings his bright personality into the classroom that warms everyone up.

Teachers always help you when you need it. That is their job. But Mr. Brennan makes sure you actually understand it. He gives you real-life examples and even breaks things down to simpler levels so each of us get it. He is a lot more patient than most teachers and understands that we are all personally different and helps us the way we need to be helped.

Mr. Brennan, I think, personally “rocks” because he changed my point of view about school and education. He has made me realize that there are teachers that actually try and understand how you are. He incorporates fun activities and his fun personality into our work. He pushes you to succeed, and he doesn’t give up.

Traykia Walton, Grade 7 – Cassandra Maule, Test Middle School My teacher ROCKS because she is very good at instructing her students do the right thing. She is extremely caring, calm, patient and rarely has to raise her voice. All students that have her have much respect for her. I can go to her for anything school related or not. She is an enormous influence, for me as well as

www.pal-item.com others, to do well in school and graduate on time. She has really helped me improve on my reading, spelling, writing, and speech. She is the best teacher ever. Even though it’s not her place, she also helps with my attitude and the way I talk to people. Mrs. Maule has a wonderful personality and makes many students laugh.

For example, Mrs. Maule knows when I’m having a bad day by the look on my face. She can always cheer me up. She treats everybody in her class like one of her own. I always look forward to going to my fourth and fifth period reading class, all because of her. Paying out of her own pocket is a very special way she shows her love for her children. We get rewarded with candy, for showing our school motto, which is roar.

Roar is RESPECT, ORGANIZATION. ACCEPTING, and being RESPONSIBLE for your own actions.

Cody Runyon, Grade 10 – Dean Knapp, Richmond High School

If I was asked who my favorite teacher was, honestly, I’d say Mr. Knapp. He always understands his students. He also doesn’t have any favorites, so he helps everyone evenly.

Mr. Knapp does the work he gives us, because he wants us to see how the finish product should turn out.

Mr. Knapp also likes to joke around with his students. If he is in a good mood, he might tell a joke. Even if he is in a bad mood, what he says is funny. He also helps all his students succeed in his class. He will never give up on anyone, as long as they try to do their best.

So, why do I think Mr. Knapp is my favorite teacher? He is a do-it-yourself kind of man. He tries his best to help anyone that asks. He is on an understanding basis and never favors, or lets down, his students. To me, he is the best teacher I’ve ever had.

Mychala Delk, Grade 10 – Andrea Van Meter, Richmond High School Mrs. Van Meter rocks! She made me enjoy science a lot more than I had ever anticipated. One thing that makes me admire her is that she builds relationships with students. She doesn’t just teach her students to get her job completed, but she also gets to know them.

I had Mrs. Van Meter for Earth Space Science my freshman year. She helped me become acquainted with the high school very easily. I connected with her very quickly. She’s very easy to talk to and cares about what you have to say. She will always make time for you and help you out.

I still interact with her on a regular basis. I talk with her almost every day. I’m actually on the council for the KOM program here at the high school because of her. She asked me to sign up for it, and she ended up picking me to be her council member in her class.

I will definitely be able to always remember Mrs. Van Meter. She’s one of those teachers that you aren’t able to forget. She’s caring, considerate, helpful, and humorous. I will always remember her. She made a big impact on me and my high school career.

Jacob Brockman, Grade 10 – Andrew Brennan, Richmond High School My favorite teacher so far is Mr. Brennan. He is my English teacher. He is the one who rocks. He is very different from others teachers even though the work is the same. Really he’s like a big kid with good vocabulary. But when it comes to doing work, he is very serious.

He is so different because he likes to joke around a whole lot. And he always has a different story every day I go to his class, which makes the class fun. Because who wants to sit in a class and not have a little laughter? When it comes to doing work, he will help out anyone who is having trouble.

Mr. Brennan isn’t like other teachers where you walk in a class and they’re like, “here is some work on the table for you, come get it.” He’s the type of teacher who will tell you what you’re doing and if you need help, ask.

This is why I think Mr. Brennan rocks.

Keaton Alvey, Grade 10 – Andrew Brennan, Richmond High School The teacher to me that rocks the most out of all teachers in Richmond High School is Mr. Brennan. He is the first English teacher I have had at Richmond High School. It is my first year here at Richmond, and it has been such a wonderful and exciting experience having him as an English teacher. Mr. Brennan is by far the greatest teacher I have had from the beginning of my schooling to now.

I can relate to Mr. Brennan in many different ways. Being a young teacher in these days is good for us students to have because they know how to keep our attention and keep us on task. Being younger helps me connect to him much more. He can really understand how we communicate. Having good communication toward us will help us kids in class accomplish our duties on doing work in the classroom.

The way Mr. Brennan teaches like no other teacher is that he makes it more fun and in an interesting way. When we don’t know how to do something, he sits down with us side by side and walks us through each problem we have until we have figured the question out. Which that helps out with a lot of people who are visual and hands-on learners.

In my conclusion, Mr. Brennan is my favorite teacher who rocks. With all respect, I have no doubt that more than one person will vote for him in this competition.

www.pal-item.com Rebekah Bumbalough, Grade 10 – Tom Bartel, Richmond High School My art teacher, Mr. Tom Bartel, rocks. His enthusiastic attitude inspires me to do my best in his class.

Mr. Bartel is always willing, and eager, to help any of his students when his help is needed. He makes art class fun for everyone and brings a certain zest to our artwork. Mr. Bartel is fun-loving, creative, and a hard worker.

Mr. Bartel’s fun-loving attitude never makes his class boring. He is always joking and causing us to laugh. He can always find the humor in any situation.

Mr. Bartel is also creative. While we do our art work, he does his own. He is always thinking of something new to make as soon as he is done with the project he has finished.

Mr. Bartel is a hard-working teacher, too. He always makes sure we do our work and helps anyone who needs his help. He is never idle and is always helping us students. This makes him an awesome teacher.

Mr. Bartel makes art class fun and rewarding by showing us students how to use our imaginations. Without him in our classroom, it is not as rewarding as it could be. His perseverance in teaching us all that he can should not go unnoticed.

Austin Steck, Grade 10 – Dean Knapp, Richmond High School My teacher rocks because he is a great, he makes class fun, and he is always polite.

Mr. Knapp is a great teacher because he is very knowledgeable, he is always there, and has a great sense of humor. A lot of the teachers do not know what they are talking about, but Mr. Knapp, on the other hand, knows almost everything there is to know about technical drafting and mechanical engineering. Mr. Knapp is just like a counselor or like a good friend. He is always there to answer or help you with your questions or problems. Most teachers do not have a great or even a good sense of humor, however Mr. Knapp has a great sense of humor but he never takes it too far. In essence, Mr. Knapp is a great teacher.

Mr. Knapp makes class fun because there is always something to do, the non-hostile environment, and the peaceful environment. In Mr. Knapp’s class there is always something to do, not just busy work, but work that is fun and cool. In his room, there is a non-hostile environment. We can talk about anything without judgment or ridicule. Also there is a peaceful environment as well. While we are working, it is quiet but there is music playing that is very tranquil. After all, that is how Mr. Knapp makes class fun.

Mr. Knapp is always polite because he always helps with questions, he never puts down others, and is always very helpful. Mr. Knapp always helps with questions. If a student has a question, whether it be work-related or not, he tries his best to solve it. He never puts down others. If a student is feeling upset he will not put them down, but on the contrary, he will tell them what makes them unique. He is always helpful.

If someone needs his help with math, or whatever it may be, he will try his very hardest to help. As a result, this makes Mr. Knapp very polite.

All in all, Mr. Knapp rocks. Mr. Knapp is a great teacher because he is very knowledgeable, he is always there, and has a great sense of humor. Mr. Knapp makes class fun because there is always something to do, the non-hostile environment, and the peaceful environment. Lastly, Mr. Knapp is always polite because he always helps with questions, he never puts down others, and is always helpful. I think that is what makes Mr. Knapp rock.

Sarah Stelle, Grade 8 – Marianne Mustin, Centerville Junior High School My teacher rocks because she always has a positive attitude toward everything. She is always helpful.

She’s someone I can go to when I need help. She’s always nice and willing to try new things. She also rocks because she does a lot of hands-on things instead of just sitting in class and reading out of a book. Miss Mustin is a one-of-a-kind teacher and knows how to make class interesting. She’s the greatest health teacher ever!

Adrion Burns, Grade 7 – David Murray, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher is my technology teacher, Mr. Murray. Mr. Murray is my favorite teacher because he is intelligent, nice, and helpful. He inspires me to want to become a teacher when I get older. Mr. Murray inspires me to try my hardest to be great in everything I do in and out of school. He inspires me to get my work done and try to do my best. Before I met Mr. Murray, I wasn’t dreaming of going to college and I was barely getting by in classes, but once I got into his class, he showed me all of the things I could do if I graduated from a good college, like become a lawyer or doctor. Now I am trying my hardest in all my classes, and my grades have improved.

In Mr. Murray’s class, we do things that will help us learn but are also fun. The things I have been taught in his class have helped me in other classes. Mr. Murray encourages me to try to read out of school 15 minutes a day, and since then, I can read books that are a lot more challenging. I always know that I can count on Mr. Murray to help me whenever I need him, and these are the reasons that Mr. Murray is my favorite teacher.

Cheyenne Turner, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School When you ask me who my favorite teacher is and why, I would say my English, math teacher. The reason why is because she inspires, motivates, cares, and makes learning fun. If you continue to read, you will see why I think Mrs. Brown rocks.

Mrs. Brown inspires me because she is so intelligent and young. Since she is young, she understands

Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 29 what we have or what we are going through. She motivates me by telling me I can when I say I can’t. She makes me keep trying until I succeed. She doesn’t let us say we can’t because she expects us to go far.

My most favorite thing about Mrs. Brown is she cares. Most teachers talk but don’t listen. Mrs. Brown does both. If we have a problem, she does what she can to fix it. She cares if we have bad grades, not because of pay but because she wants us to go all the way to the top. She cares if we are having a bad day. She knows if there is something wrong. She will pull us aside and talk us through it.

Mrs. Brown makes learning fun by not doing work straight from a book. She adds cooperative ideas, contact activities, so we learn but we aren’t bored.

Hopefully, now you understand why Mrs. Brown is so awesome. If anyone else had her as a teacher, she would inspire, motivate, care, and make learning fun. So if you ask me, Mrs. Brown rocks!

Garrett Byrd, Grade 7 – David Murray, Dennis Middle School Mr. Murray is my favorite teacher because he believes in his students. He is very nice and smiles all the time. He makes learning fun and interactive. We made paper glides and raced them for a measuring activity.

We had to have the right measurement for it to work right. It was a fun activity, and it helped me learn more about measuring than a worksheet assignment would have done. He comes to school every day with a smile on his face even if he doesn’t feel well. If anybody deserves this award, he does for the dedication of the success of his students.

Kaitlyn Bullock, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School Mrs. Brown is my favorite teacher ever! She teaches language arts for my seventh-grade school year.

Mrs. Brown cares about me and takes the time to listen to what I have to say. She rewards us for doing good and listening. When we work on projects, she lets us have partners or work as a group. Language arts used to be boring. Now that we have Mrs. Brown, it is more enjoyable.

Mrs. Brown encourages me to my very best all the time. She knows what I am capable of doing so she expects me to do very well in my work. I am inspired by her because when I grow up, I want to be an understanding and helping person. I want children to rely on me if they need someone to talk to. This is why Mrs. Brown rocks!

Xavier O’Brien, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher in all of Early College is Mrs. Brown. She really enlivens the learning experience by incorporating games and treats into it. She encourages the class to do all their work by explaining the positives and negatives of doing school. Also, she is probably the funniest teacher in Dennis Middle School. She rarely ever makes us read from a textbook and takes us outside to do our work if the weather is permitting.

But even though she is fun, she still takes her class seriously. That is what makes her such a cool teacher.

If you fool around in her class, you’d better expect to get chewed out. She really gets her point across when she has to get on someone about messing around, verbally of course. She has really increased my interests in language arts and writing. She made us write a scary story for Halloween, and I have to say, it’s officially probably the best story I’ve ever written.

Even though she does get on you sometimes she is still very understanding. If you are feeling sick, she lets you get a drink or go to the nurse. If you’re looking down, she will ask you what’s wrong. She is a very caring teacher who cares a lot about her students. This is why I chose her for my essay.

Tabitha Johnson, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School The teacher I picked for this contest in my English teacher, Mrs. Brown. She is very easy to relate to.

She encourages me to learn by doing fun activities that help me understand the topic better. She makes learning pretty easy but gives us challenges to put our knowledge to the test. She also makes my learning experience more exciting by letting us work in groups, which is a good way to practice social skills.

Mrs. Brown is a lot nicer than most teachers, and it’s a lot easier to get along with nice teachers than strict ones. She understands kids well and knows how to handle things in a professional way. She is also humorous and lets us have fun while learning.

Before being in her class, I liked writing a little bit, but she helped me to enjoy it more and to learn a lot of new techniques. She makes writing fun by picking interesting topics. Another thing I like about her is that if we do what we’re supposed to do in class, and manage good grades, we get a reward for our hard work.

This encourages me to do good in all of my classes.

Natalie Nicholson, Grade 7 – David Murray, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher is Mr. Murray. He is nice. Also, he is an interactive teacher. He helps us with our projects. Like when we made parachutes, he helped us cut the paper and tie the strings. Mr. Murray is also very respectful, and he smells good.

I think he is the best teacher ever. He is very inspirational. Some of my friends who have had him years ago say they like technology more because of him. I believe he is an amazing teacher, and I would like to have him again. Mr. Murray makes learning fun and interesting. He does this by doing the assignments and the projects with us.

He doesn’t just tell us how to do it and then sit and watch us. This is unlike some of my other teachers. He has a lot of respect for people around him and the students he teaches. Mr. Murray gave me a bigger drive to want to go to college. He is a very good teacher and very inspirational. I hope I can have him in later years.

30 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 Tyler O’Brien, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School

My favorite teacher is Mrs. Brown. She teaches me at Dennis Middle School. She is the best teacher because she interacts with all of us. She gets involved and shows us how fun learning really can be. When we have class discussions, she really makes us think deeper. One time, we did a group work and she came around to each group and said things like, “Well, what if you look at it from this prospective?” or “Can you think a little deeper on that?”

She is the teacher that really inspires me and helps me work. She makes learning fun and interactive.

She doesn’t just give us a book and say get pages 51-60 done. She gets in and learns right along with us. I have seen a lot of improvement in the class in our English and math skills. That is because she knows us well enough that she can teach us in the right way.

This teacher rocks a whole lot. Although I have only had her this school year, she rocks the most. I enjoy coming to her class every day and learning. She has really spent time interacting and getting deeper in not only her own teaching thoughts but she helps us get deeper in our train of thought in her class. I noticed my grade has improved this year in her class. This teacher is the one that defiantly rocks the most.

Summer Brown, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher is my English/math teacher, Mrs. Brown. She always tries to make learning fun. She is a funny teacher who is always trying to get kids to work and to do their best on their work. She inspires me because she works so hard and does her best to get all us kids to high school or college. She doesn’t like to scream or yell like some other teachers do. She gives us all the same amount of attention and doesn’t pick favorites.

Mrs. Brown loves to make learning fun. She takes us outside if the weather’s nice enough. She plays flash-card games with us. She plays awesome games with us, and sometimes, if we’re good, we get to play games on the computers. She is the nicest, funniest teacher I’ve ever had.

She encourages every student she has. She helps us all in every way possible. She also encourages us to do our best on ISTEP, other tests, and on our work. She inspires me because she is a hard worker and has been through college and she is helping us through middle school and probably high school and college. She is a splendid teacher who does her best on everything and listens to what kids have to say.

Travis Young, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School My teacher that inspires me is my English teacher, Mrs. Brown. She teaches me and my seventh-grade class. She also teaches me in math class, too. She is my favorite teacher because she is always making work at school fun for me. Even when I am not in her class, she still encourages me to do my best. She is always nice and barely ever yells at anyone. She encourages me by not yelling and always talking to me calmly when I need help. An examples of her helping is one time in math class I didn’t know how to solve a problem, and instead of her saying leave me alone like other teachers would have done, she was nice and helped me out.

Victor Hughes, Grade 7 – David Murray, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher is Mr. Murray. He is my favorite teacher because he makes learning very fun and exciting. He comes to class with a smile on his face and is ready for the day. He also likes to learn from us, too. Mr. Murray inspires me to do better in life and in school. That is why my teacher rocks.

Taylor Roman, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School The teacher I choose is my language arts teacher, Mrs. Brown. She inspires, encourages, and makes learning fun for me. The thing that Mrs. Brown showed me the most was we all make mistakes and nobody is perfect. It only matters if we learn from our mistakes and try to not do it again. So I am here to tell you why I choose her for the my teacher rocks essay, She encourages me by telling me to never give up and to keep pushing for bigger and better things. She wants us to do our best and strive for success. She also encourages me to be kind to others. She also makes me feel important unlike other teachers and listens to me. This is how she encourages me!

She inspires in many ways. She’s going back to school to get a higher degree. Even though she already has a job, she’s seeking a higher education. That inspires me because you can always do better. She inspires me to be kind, responsible, and respectable. Also to listen to people’s personal problems and helps us get through the things we need help on.

She makes learning fun because now I actually like going to language arts. I like language arts because we just don’t read books and learn new words. She switches learning about grammar up, and that’s why I truly love her class, and this is why I chose her for My Teacher Rocks.

Kobe Walker, Grade 7 – David Murray, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher is Mr. Murray. He inspires me because I like things we do in his class. We get on the computer and teach all the important things about technology and science. Also, he teaches us how to use certain programs on the computer to build dimensions on cubes and cones. Also, he helps us with measuring figures to make objects work right. It’s great that there is a certain teacher who can inspire me in many ways.

He encourages me to keep up on my work. He tells me to push myself harder in life. His ways of helping learning new things might help me in life later. He helps me get better grades in school in different classes.

Mr. Murray rocks because he’s the nicest and funniest teacher I have ever known. If you were me, you could understand why he rocks as a teacher.

www.pal-item.com Maelisha McGathey, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School Mrs. Brown is my teacher, and she rocks. She teaches seventh grade at ECPA. She rocks for many reasons. She is very inspiring to me and others. This is the reason why she rocks.

She is very humorous. Mrs. Brown makes learning very fun. We watch educational videos with notes while we learn about the topic and how it relates to our every day lives. We joke with each other. She disciplines though. She knows when it is time to get serious. Safety and cleanness is very important to her. She is the best teacher at Early College.

Mrs. Brown is a role model to all her students. Even the kids out in the Dennis population admire her.

She is very successful. The teacher you can go to for advice or help is Mrs. Brown. She encourages you to work and to do your best.

She is always inspiring us. When she tells us stories about her life and past, it makes us want to be good like her. She is only in her early 20s, and she has a house and a husband. Mrs. Brown is trying, to lead us into the right path. This is the way she is inspiring to me. That’s why I want to get a good education and go to college.

Mrs. Brown is an encouraging, inspiring, and active teacher I have. I love her very much. She is my teacher that rocks.

Hunter Hammer, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School For this essay I chose to write about Mrs. Brown. She is my second-period English teacher at Dennis Middle School. I enjoy her class because she does activities that are fun but yet informational and resourceful. She also helps me solve my problems, and if she cannot help me, she makes sure she finds someone or something that can. I do feel that she is sometimes underestimated because her age and lack of years as a teacher, but she is far from below standards. She has by far taught me the most life and social skills that I will actually need when it comes time to enter the real world. Mrs. Brown is my favorite teacher.

Mrs. Brown is my biggest motivation when it comes to school and perseverance. She has pushed me to my limits sometimes, but in the end, I realize that without her I would have given up. Mrs. Brown also inspires me to one day become an educated teacher and learner like she is now. Before I met her, I had wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement, but since meeting her, I feel that becoming a teacher could help others and also broaden my horizon. She is one of my biggest motivations.

Since, I joined Early College, work has become more invigorating and studious. Mrs. Brown makes this work more enjoyable than I ever thought it could be.

MRS. BROWN ROCKS! Morgan Mack, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher is Mrs. Brown. She is an awesome English teacher. Unlike all of my other teachers, she is fun to be around. Also, Mrs. Brown goes to college so she kind of gets the stress and peer pressure of everyday life in school. She is also successful even at a young age. When I was little, I thought success just happened when you turn a certain age. Yet in reality, you don’t have to be 21 or 30 years old. For example, Ryan White was given AIDS, and his school didn’t want him to be there (for the sake of the other students).

So he fought in court for the right to learn and go to school although he had a deadly disease. This inspired and educated many people about AIDS. He became a successful and well-known person. Mrs. Brown taught me that success will not come by age but by determination. She also makes learning interesting like making fun projects and going outside to learn. Honestly, and you might agree with me, I hate it when a teacher doesn’t interactively teach, teachers that tell us to read chapter whatever and then go back to his/her desk and wait until we’re done. It annoys me! But Mrs. Brown doesn’t do that at all. The class is always up and running like a well-oiled machine. This why I chose this teacher. She is a truly awesome teacher. This is why my teacher, Mrs. Brown, rocks!

Mitchell O’Brien, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School The teacher who inspires me, encourages me, and enlivens me is my English teacher, Mrs. Brown.

She inspires me by believing in me. She also gives the class inspiring speeches. Mrs. Brown is the teacher I picked who rocks! She encourages me by telling me to do my best. Not just telling me we can but also showing us through examples. When kids in my class say they cannot do something, she says, “yes you can.” She wants me to be the best we can no matter how hard it is. Not only does Mrs. Brown inspire and encourage me, but she also enlivens me. She makes learning fun through hands-on activities. Another way she makes it fun is she tells us stories of her own experience that have to do with the subject. Mrs. Brown is also an up-todate teacher who knows what is going on in the world. That helps her relate to me when she knows what it going on now. She is the teacher I pick who rocks!

www.pal-item.com Rebecca Vivanco, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School

My seventh-grade English teacher, Mrs. Brown, is the best teacher. She does many things in class to inspire, encourage, and enliven our learning experience. Well, you may not know this, but she is one of my youngest teachers. Mrs. Brown doesn’t only teach us about school things. She talks to us about her past experiences and things that we should get ready for in the future. Mrs. Brown encourages me and my peers to do our best. Even if we don’t know what to do, she tells us to do our best and do what we believe is right.

She is kind, pleasurable, exhilarating, and always tries to make things fun and motivating. Mrs. Brown always makes us think about what we are going to say prior to us saying it. She addresses new issues and current events such as global warming and contamination. I also believe that she inspires my peers and me to really think about finishing school and going to college. That is why I think my teacher rocks!

Dayanara Williams, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School If other teachers “rock”, then my teacher “mountains”. The teacher who encourages me the most is my seventh-grade English teacher, Mrs. Brown. Even though she is the newest and youngest teacher, she has influenced me greatly. Thanks to her, I have started writing again, a pasttime I love but quit following 5th grade. She is kind and encourages my classmates and I to do our best no matter what happens. Mrs. Brown, to me, treats us like we’re adults. She makes learning fun and exciting by talking about present issues. We talk about global warming, pollution, what we can do to change the world for the better. She even shares what she has learned in the past with us, so we will be better prepared for our future. There is a lot more I could say about her, but it probably wouldn’t fit in this essay. So, I will finish my essay with this: I am very grateful to have her as my teacher and hope others will get a chance to be taught by her.

Brittany Timmerman, Grade 7 – Keith Ziolkowski, Dennis Middle School I play the violin in the Dennis Middle School orchestra where orchestra is held on the stage in the auditorium. Orchestra is my favorite class. My favorite teacher is my orchestra teacher, Mr. Ziolkowski. I call him Mr. Z for short. He teaches 6th-12th grades. Mr. Ziolkowski teaches at two middle schools (Dennis and Test) and Richmond High School. He also teaches sixth-graders (Beginning Orchestra) before school at Dennis Middle School.

Mr. Ziolkowski inspires me to work hard and be successful. Mr. Ziolkowski makes class fun by telling jokes and coming up with fun ways to learn. For example, one day Mr. Ziolkowski brought a big mirror into the classroom. He took the mirror around to each of us and had us watch our reflections while we played. We noticed the errors we had with our posture and worked to get rid of the bad habits we had.

Mr. Ziolkowski always finds ways to make learning fun. Today, he danced and sang, making us laugh and have a good time. Mr. Ziolkowski encourages me to work hard and not to give up. Sometimes we get frustrated with our music, but he encourages us and has us try again. He helps us to understand the hard parts and try again and again until we get it right. Especially since our concert is in a few days (May 10th).

Mr. Ziolkowski is creative, fun, encouraging, and a hard worker. I enjoy learning to play the violin and learning to read music in his class. This is why Mr. Ziolkowski rocks.

Alexis J. Wiliams, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School Mrs. Brown is my favorite teacher because she doesn’t just care about teaching us and then having a break, she actually cares about us! She wants us to go to college, get a good job and live our life right! She is always nice and respectful, even if we aren’t to her. I learn way more in language than any other subject because we aren’t up to our heads in homework and she does things that are interactive. We have a notebook that we write in almost every day. We write about things like predictions about books we are reading and what we would do if we were the principal. Mrs. Brown, as you can see, is my English teacher, which I really wasn’t interested in at all until she started teaching. I actually have an A in English now. She has a really good attitude, and she is always perky. She has helped everyone with work and any questions we can think of! Mrs. Brown is my favorite teacher because she actually cares! That is why she rocks!

Daniel Musselwhite, Grade 7 – Jie Li, Dennis Middle School Hi, I’m Danny Musselwhite from Dennis Middle School. One teacher I have that inspires me in ways is our Chinese culture and language teacher, Mrs. Li. She came from across the world in China, left her friends, family, home, and culture, just to teach us about it. Even though some kids have different opinions of thought on why we have Chinese class, she still goes on and teaches the ones who would like to learn. She makes her classes interesting, fun, and different than any other class. She inspires me to learn more than what I believe I can. I say that because if she has the desire to teach children across the country about where she is from, I feel it would be pretty selfish to not listen and pay attention. In her class, you feel different. She’s a big example of someone with desire to learn from and teach other people. Not just does she teach us about her culture, language, and home, we teach her about ours. Almost every day in her class we all learn something new. I think it’s great that we have this opportunity to learn about a country on the other side of the world. I use to think it was dumb and pointless until I realized the sacrifice and things she gave up to teach us. I am glad we have her, and I hope for a future with this class.

Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 31 Deanna Schwab, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher is Mrs. Brown. She is my seventh-grade English teacher. Mrs. Brown is a really fun teacher to be around and for me, she makes learning fun. She inspires me to read and write more. Ever since I had her as a teacher I have noticed my English grade improving and I want to read more. Mrs. Brown rocks for all of this!

How Mrs. Brown inspires me is that she teaches the lessons and what we need to learn but she makes it fun. Sometime she turns lessons into a game. She is very smart and understands if we are going through problems or have gone through some problems. She inspires me to do my best and shoot for the star! She motivates me more than any of my other teachers. I have always wanted to go to college but having her as a teacher she encourages me to go for my dreams and go to college. She listens to what my classmates and I have to say. If we have a problem, she helps, and if we are sharing a story, she listens and laughs along right with everyone! She rocks for all of this, and I hope I can have her as a teacher for a long time!

Alexander Rogers, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher is Mrs. Brown. She inspires me in many different ways. One very important way is that she shows me that just because that you can’t do it doesn’t mean that you can’t try. She always tells me “don’t give up on math because if you give up on math, then you are giving up on me. I want you to do your best so that you can succeed.’’

She makes math such an adventure. She still focuses on the work but she does it with so much enthusiasm in her teaching. She also powerfully believes in discipline, but in her class we don’t even get in trouble in her class because of how enjoyable she is. We always have plenty of choices to choose from and they are always fun. So that is why my teacher rocks.

Ryler Roberts, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher is my teacher, Mrs. Brown. She’s my favorite because she’s nice and she understands better than any other teacher I have. She is a really good teacher. I have learned more from her than any other teacher also. My teacher, Mrs. Brown, is also a good motivator. Mrs. Brown inspires me to want to read and write and I don’t really like to read and write on my free time. Every day, Mrs. Brown teaches me something new and she teaches the rest of the class something new too. When she makes us do projects she makes them fun most of the time. Our teacher always tries to make the school day a lot funnier than it would be. She encourages the whole class to do their best and make it to the top. That’s why my teacher, Mrs. Brown, is my most favorite teacher that I’ve ever had.

Ciara Brown, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher in Early College is Mrs. Brown. I say her because she always keeps a smile and makes my day fun. She makes learning fun by finding humor in things. Like always making sure we are listening. Also, she is always mostly happy. Even when we get in trouble she knows how to talk to us. She knows when to yell or talk to us when we are in the wrong.

She inspires me in many different ways one being learning. She helps us when we need it and is always there. Also, when we need help we don’t have to ask because she already knows. Also, she helps the girls feel confident about theirselves. She is always dressed up, and of course, she is beautiful!

She encourages me by making it fun. This teacher rocks because she is great with kids. And she is the coolest. If you need anything, you can always count on Mrs. Brown for anything.

By the way, and yes, she ROCKS!!!!

Chase Linville, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School

I think my teacher rocks because she gives us the freedom to have fun while we work. She gives us fun math sheets to do other than a boring book, paper, and a pencil. If we’re good, she lets us have Friday off as an encouragement to be behaved. Mrs. Brown gives us chances to calm down on an exciting or loud day.

She sends us home with homework that can easily be done, but I still have to think about the paper. She’s nice, always happy, fun and flexible to what is happening that day, schedule or not. She gives us breaks in the middle of class for water or restroom. Bookwork is a challenge for me. I can’t sit there a whole class writing what I think is the correct answers. That’s why I think she’s the best teacher. She gives us packets and other things like the bell work we do, and when we do have to do book work, she goes over it with us. Sometimes it gets hot in our classroom and she lets us go outsid, or in the hallway to do our work. I think she’d be good for elementary. But I want to keep her as my math and English teacher. This is why my teacher rocks.

Brenden Vanlandingham, Grade 7 – Samantha Brown, Dennis Middle School Mrs. Brown is a great English and math teacher who works at Dennis Middle School.

Mrs. Brown inspires her students by answering our every question. If a student needs anything, they can come to Mrs. Brown and get some help. I enjoy learning in her class because she is very helpful when I don’t understand something.

Mrs. Brown also encourages her students to attempt new things. For example, she gave all of her students 2011 NCAA men’s brackets this year and some students have never attempted to fill out one of these before, but we all enjoyed that experience.

32 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011

Mrs. Brown is also concerned about how our class works sometimes because she not only wants to let us have fun but she is really serious when it comes down to getting work done. Every day we come into Mrs. Brown’s class she is very organized and has a lesson planned for us to work on. This class is unlike any other because we don’t just do boring bookwork we practice math on computers, do worksheets on the overhead and have a little bit of free time on Free Fridays.

My learning experience in Mrs. Brown’s classes has been fantastic because she not only wants us to learn but to also have fun at the same time.

Jerry Gilkey, Grade 12 – Ms. Axtell, Union County High School At Union County High School, I find most of the teachers to be quite impressive. Choosing a favorite teacher is quite difficult, but based on my scholastic interests, I’m able to choose Ms. Axtell. Unseemly, I’ve only taken part in one of her classes, which I’m currently in. These few months, though, have been enough time for my affection and propensity toward her to considerably grow. I find Ms. Axtell to be, in a way, significantly different than my other teachers. My appreciation for literature and grammar, as well as my love for writing, has caused Ms. Axtell’s class to be quite enjoyable. With Ms. Axtell teaching, I currently attend World Literature, and because of her unique project choices, she is able to capture and withhold my attention. Her friendliness and understanding is reflected from her teaching methods, and those methods, I highly acknowledge.

Jessica Jewett, Grade 12 – Angela Witham, Richmond High School

I once saw this quote from Dan Rather that instantly reminded me of my favorite teacher, it said, “The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called ‘truth.’” Mrs. Witham has always been the one teacher that I know truly believes in me and will never let me let myself down. She first had me when I was a freshman and “too cool for school,” and rather than being discouraged and letting me slack off, she pushed me harder than everyone else. She saw something in me that I didn’t even know was there, and she refused to let it go to waste.

She was always so patient and never got openly frustrated with me even when I got off track and did stupid things. She embraced all my quirks and idiosyncrasies and made them work for me. She gave me the confidence to believe in myself, and because of her, I started challenging myself and doing things I never thought I could. She’s made me a better student and a better person, and I will never be able to thank her enough for that.

Taylor Hitson, Grade 10 – Heidi Hisrich, Richmond High School

Few words can sum up what truly defines a student’s “favorite teacher”, and sadly, few teachers can be described in those words. Though it is easy to leave impressions on teachers, it is very difficult for teachers to have the same prolific effect on students. I can honestly say that not all teachers try to reach out to each individual student, and I can understand why, but it takes a special kind of person to devote his/her own time to better a student’s education. That is why Mrs. Hisrich is without doubt my favorite teacher.

Let’s face it. School isn’t always fun. It is six to eight hours of your day spent sitting in a chair listening to someone try to explain something that they know and you don’t. Conveying information is a form of art to a teacher. Not only are there no lines to paint inside of, but they have an endless plethora of students’ confusion and frustration to use as their palette. Mrs. Hisrich was really the only teacher who knew how to work with the student’s individual potential instead of making them conquer it themselves. And this is truly the best way a teacher can do their job.

Mrs. Hisrich really made an impression on both my school days and what I was learning in her class.

She made it so that I looked forward to learn new things by letting me aspire to my true potential. No other teacher has ever done that for me.

Renee Ryan, Grade 9 – Kevin Van Note, Test Middle School I am now a ninth-grader at Richmond High, but the two years I spent at Test were the best two years I have had at school. Mr. Van Note was a great teacher and friend to every student. He was one of the only teachers to actually make school fun and who you could tell was there because he liked what he did. If you needed advice, he was there, or if you were just having a bad day, the moment you talked to him you wouldn’t be mad anymore. Van Note is the all around best teacher I have met.

Jason Comiso, Grade 12 – Jama Crowe, Richmond High School My teacher rocks because she helps her students. She is really nice and respectful.

Terrance Deloney – Chris Rodal, Test Middle School My teacher is the best because Mr. Rodal helps any student in need. He never complains, and he always has a smile on his face. Mr. Rodal saw that I was struggling in math, and he took extra measures to see that I got the help I needed. After several weeks of tutoring, my math grade and understanding of math improved.

Sometimes I feel like some teachers are just there because its a paycheck, but not Mr. Rodal, he really cares about his students. He also has been with RCS for a while. I have him, my sister has had him and my brother and mother. So that lets me know he enjoys what he does.

www.pal-item.com Natasha Bauer, Grade 10 – Carla Bryant, Centerville Senior High School She gets along with everybody. She’s there when you need somebody to talk to. She always knows the right thing to say if you’re down.

Dale Robbins, Grade 10 – Matthew Amos, Richmond High School I think Mr. Amos rocks. He is a very cool teacher. He is the best teacher in the whole world. I am going to tell you why he rocks, why is he inspiring, and how he makes learning fun and rewarding.

Mr. Amos rocks because we get to watch videos in his class that are funny but they have to do with the class. We get to do a lot of fun things in his class like working on stuff that people bring in to get fixed or making something of our own. When we get things done sometimes he will bring in pop and chips for us to snack on.

Why is Mr. Amos inspiring to his students? He is inspiring because when we do something wrong he will tell us to try again and not to give up. When he treats us to snacks that will inspire us to do better next time so that we get snacks again.

How does he make learning fun and rewarding? Mr. Amos makes learning fun because when do something right he rewards us with treats. He is almost like a person that has a dog when the dog does what he wants it to do he gives it a treat. I think that Mr. Amos rocks so much because of the way he treats all of his students. That is why he should get the $500 for the classroom so that he can keep inspiring his students.

Breanna Welbaum, Grade 10 – Sarah Masters, Lincoln High School

My teacher, Mrs. Masters, rocks because last year she had a baby and this year she only works part time so that she can stay home and raise her child. She comes in and works with her students as much as possible and puts forth as much effort as the students. She is always willing to stay after school to help her students catch up on late work or missing assignments. She explains work in several different ways so that each student can understand it in their own way. Mrs. Masters understands that each student has a very individual sense of learning and therefore she teaches things in several ways so each student can choose the way best fit for them. She gives us an acceptable amount of time to work on assignments, and she also gives us chances to re-take tests if we didn’t understand something. She is one of the most understanding teachers I know here at Lincoln High School, and I couldn’t be more thankful for her. She is truly an outstanding woman. She puts up with more harsh and foul behavior than most teachers I know. She is very understanding when it comes to something we don’t know or understand. If something challenges us, she makes time for us to come to her and she explains it until she is sure that we understand it fully. She truly is the best, and she deserves to win this contest.

Brendan Linville, Grade 7 – Cassandra Maule, Test Middle School Mrs. Maule rocks because she is funny and she buys stuff for us out of her own pocket. She lets us listen to our iPods and eat snacks before class. She gives me more help than any other teacher. She is very lenient with her students. I have never heard her yell. Being a very calm person is what she is. Having this money would help her out a lot because she always buys us stuff and she needs this money. She is my favorite teacher in this school. I really want to see Mrs. Maule get this money. It would make her and I very happy, and she deserves it. She does anything to help her kids learn. She will help kids one on one until they get it.

We do a lot of group projects cause she says it helps us learn better and it does. I am VERY glad I have Mrs. Maule for a teacher. She helps me a lot.

Summer Strunk, Grade 7 – Bill Lewis, Centerville Junior High School My teacher, Mr. Lewis, rocks because he makes learning fun and enjoyable. He is my favorite teacher.

He has so many ways to make learning easy, like for example, we have a board with PP points. This way makes learning exciting.

Kagan Todd, Grade 10 – Gary Geyer, Lincoln High School I’ve been asked many times on which teacher I think rocks. My favorite teacher definitely has to be Mr. Geyer because he really gets into the lessons he teaches. Mr. Geyer knows very well on what he is doing to make the class a better environment for learning. Here are some reasons on why Mr. Geyer is an amazing teacher: He gets students involved in activities, he gives us a challenge to do better, and he gets us ready to graduate. In the beginning, I didn’t think I was going to enjoy his English class because I just moved from a different school that I had liked so well, but after that day, I knew I would enjoy it. He always encouraged us to participate in readings and plays on his classroom stage. Every time he needs somebody to get on stage to read a line in a play, my hand goes up. Second, he gives us a challenge to do better and want to learn. If we participate and attempt to answer a question, he will give us a three-minute break to talk. Finally, he prepares us to graduate. There is a website called StudyIsland that we go to every day for 30 minutes before we start class. I feel this website has greatly helped my learning in English. Since I had an A in Mr. Geyer’s class all year, I will be able to join Honors English next year. He is amazing, and I hope I explained him well.

www.pal-item.com Destiny Driskill, Grade 12 – Gregory Schroeder, Richmond High School My teacher rocks because he is a very caring teacher. He is very serious about helping all his students succeed and graduate. He has helped me a lot the past two years with math. He even would take his prep period just to help one of his students. He likes to make a lot of jokes to make everyone laugh. I have really admired this teacher since day one. He is very helpful and he is the reason I am graduating on time! He has taught me a lot, and I am thankful to have him as a teacher!

Sarah Nicole Schwartzel, Grade 7 – Linda Walker, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School

Even though she is retired, Mrs. Linda Walker was an amazing teacher. She taught us our lessons but made it fun. For example, when she would give us spelling tests, she would put our words into a funny story.

For one of our tests, I remember she had shrimp and bubbles shooting out of one of my classmate’s ears.

She was also very musical. Her husband, Mr. Tom Walker, was our music teacher. Whenever one of us had a question about our school work, she would sing us a little chant. She would say, “Work it, work it, work that problem out!” to us while hopping around the room. Her birthday was during our school year, so she would bring us homemade fudge, Twizzlers, mini-candy bars, and soda. She makes really good fudge. She also always knew how to make field trips fun. I remember when we went camping in fifth grade, she would wake us up in goofy ways. (I was in her cabin.) We got her first in fourth grade, then she moved up to fifth grade with us, and then she moved up to sixth grade with us last year. Mr. and Mrs. Walker both retired last year, and all of us miss them so much. We talk about them all of the time.

Matthew Marshall, Grade 7 – Marc Johnson, Dennis Middle School

My favorite is my reading enrichment teacher, Mr. Johnson. Every day he has a riddle and he gives us a minute to try to figure it out, then we go on to work on whatever we are going to work on. The book we were reading, “War of Worlds,” was made into a movie sometime, and today (5-6-2011) our whole class is going to watch it. Mr. Johnson is my favorite teacher because he tries to mix some work with some fun stuff. Our class would read an adapted version of a book and then we would watch a movie about it or listen to a radio show about it. There are other reasons that my favorite is Mr. Johnson. He lets us do research and then do a paper about it but not the boring kind of research. He lets us pick whatever we want that is appropriate. He also lets us do free time when we get all of our work done. He also has time for discipline so whenever we do something wrong we get punished. He is also my favorite teacher because he is nice and doesn’t yell all the time like some other teachers. I hope he works with eighth grade next year. If I didn’t have Mr. Johnson as a reading enrichment teacher, I would probably be reading funny. Those are the reasons Mr. Johnson is my favorite teacher.

Krisann Hittle, Grade 9 – Mrs. Nicholson, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School

My fifth-grade teacher at Northeastern Elementary was amazing, nice, and always helped out. She was a little old lady that could teach you anything and would help you however she could. She was an angel without her wings then, but now she has her wings in Heaven. Her name was Mrs. Nicholson.

My fifth grade started normally, then we had a substitute for almost two weeks before we got the news.

Mrs. Nicholson had breast cancer in the past. The cancer had come back, and it had spread. The whole class sat in the classroom while Mrs. Pointis told us that we were getting a new teacher and that our teacher had cancer. None of us knew what to do. All the girls lost it. What are you supposed to do when you find out the person you look up to could die any second?

After a couple weeks, we got a new teacher. Life kept going, but it was like something was missing. Then one day we got to see Mrs. Nicholson. She came to school and brought us ice cream. When she had to leave we all cried. We gave her a hug, and she left. That was the last time we saw her because two weeks later she died.

I will never forget Mrs. Nicholson, and anytime I hear a song about cancer, I think of her. She taught me so much more than reading, writing, and math. She taught me how to live.

Jonas Smith, Grade 8 – Chad Wilson, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School

My math teacher, Mr. Wilson, rocks because he cares about each and every student. He shows you that he cares by giving everyone in the class a chance to ask questions about our lessons. If we don’t understand something, he explains it step by step until we do. He understands that some people might be embarrassed so he allows them to come to him personally outside of class. If you are showing problems in his class, he will offer you extra help. Mr. Wilson has made math interesting to me and I would like it to be a big part of my future. Mr. Wilson rocks because he loves to teach those with the will to learn and makes you feel like the only student in the classroom. He makes learning fun.

Andrew Hoover, Grade 9 – Michelle Holliday, Richmond High School

Why my teacher rocks! The teacher I picked was freshman English teacher Michelle Holliday of Richmond High School. As a freshman I came into RHS, but I found out that Mrs. Holliday was brand new to Richmond too.

She has taught at Hagerstown for several years. But she made me feel welcome in this school. She also makes learning so fun. She always includes clips of songs when showing something about poetry. When reading books that have a movie, you can bet we’ll watch the movie.

I also feel that Mrs. Holliday cares about me. She always pushes her students to the limit and beyond. In

Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 33 her class you can’t miss an assignment. She will hunt you down until you turn it in! She also inspires me to follow my dreams to go to Ball State and become a journalist and radio disk jockey.

Mrs. Holliday also has a crazy personality! She really connects to her students. She is younger and always makes jokes and makes us feel like her friend. But she also knows how to get down to business. She always can make me laugh but also makes sure our work is done while we have fun.

She makes me love English so much more. I think her class is what made me want to be in journalistic writhing this year and be on the school newspaper next year. She always tells me how great I will be as a writer on the Register. I really think Mrs. Holliday rocks!

Dezmon Walker, Grade 8 – Eric Burkhardt, Test Middle School Eric Burkhardt rocks because he is a teacher that cares. He wants students to learn and become successful in life. He helps students with any problems they have. Best of all he is there for all of his students.

Cheyenne Brush, Grade 10 – Cherie Dolehanty, Richmond High I feel that my teacher rocks because she taught me a lot while I was in her class. She is a very caring person and is never scared to interact with her students in a way that they know that she cares about them. I wanted to participate in her class and I wanted to learn everything that she wanted to teach me. Mrs. Cherie Dolehanty is a very inspiring person and she is also very sucessful! She is a runner and she makes me want to take care of myself just as well as get to know others. When I started in her class, I was pregnant and I thought that it was going to be a big deal to her that I was in high school and I was pregnant. When we started the class, I told her that I did not want her to treat me any different than anyone else so she told me that she would not and she kept her word. I am very thankful for Mrs. Dolehanty because even though she does not know it, she is someone that has taught me a lot about life and learning. She is a sucessful person and I would love to be like her, but at the same time she taught me to be my own person and express myself as different than others. Thank you Mrs. Dolehanty!

Kierra Payne, Class 12 – Rita Lickliter, Richmond High School I believe that my economics teacher rocks because she teaches us, but she also helps us to enjoy learning. Mrs. Lickliter gets down to the point of work and she doesn’t let you slack or she will help you to catch up when you fall behind. I also believe that she rocks because when you are a senior you really are just ready to graduate and you focus but you are so excited. She teaches in a way that makes you want to learn and we try a lot of different things. She is a very understanding teacher and she knows her place as a person and where to drawn the line of also being a friend to us. To a lot of kids economics is not a very fun subject, but Mrs. Lickliter is a really good teacher and I enjoy going to her class every day.

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Eli Beckley, Grade 12 – Gregory Schroeder, Richmond High School

Craig Bolin, Grade 12 – Victoria Chamness, Dennis Middle School

I nominate Mr. Schroeder for the $500 toward class supplies. I believe he should get it because he makes learning fun, enjoyable, and in my opinion he is a genius. He went to Ball State and to Purdue and got degrees in both science and arts. He cares about his students. He always asks “how are you?” when we walk into class. Mr. Schroeder cares so much that he drives an hour to get here to teach and then an hour back home. We can ask him any question and he will help with what he can. If you do not understand a problem, then he will show you different examples and will explain in different terms until you understand it. He tells us what we can expect on tests and then teaches it so fully that it becomes second nature to us. He asks students how we learn best and will make lessons around what we say. We once made a graph out of Twizzlers and Hershey kisses. He is always telling us that we can do it and that we can pass any test. In many ways Mr. Schroeder is a father figure to me. He is the type of person I wish to be when I get older. Mr. Schroeder is one of the best and nicest people I have ever met. I am proud to say that I am his student and that he is my teacher.

One time Mrs. Chamness was so nice. She would help with everything we needed helped with. She would help you when you were down. She would not give up on you if you felt like giving up. When you did something good she would bring in candy. She would understand if you were not in a good mood. She would try to help you get in a good mood. She would help you if you were having a hard time on a project or assignment.

Karleigh DeLong, Grade 12 – Karrianne Polk-Meek, Richmond High School When I walked through the door of my AP U.S. History class my junior year I was really dreading the hard year ahead of me. Mrs. Polk-Meek followed behind me and she immediately made all of us calm down and told us that we were her “APUSH babies”. She made me feel very welcomed, and she has always helped me even now that I’m in her economics class she still helps me. She deserves to win this contest because she really does rock. She loves her students unconditionally and she always is pushing down the doors to further our education. I can name so many things that I wouldn’t know if it wasn’t for her. She has always helped me through some of the hardest moments in my high school career, and she continued to motivate me to not give up. She even looks at my grades and tells me that I can do better. I don’t want to graduate because I will miss my periods with Mrs. Polk-Meek and my long inspiring talks with her.

Mrs. Polk-Meek rocks more than any teacher in Richmond, Indiana and deserves to win $500 for her classroom. She can help so many more people in her classes if you were to give her this money. She always puts her students first and wants them to get good grades and graduate from Richmond High School.

Korey Elliott, Grade 12 – Emily Philpot, Richmond High School My teacher rocks because she is one of the best teachers at Richmond High School! Every day I come to school I look forward to going to her class. I have always had those classes where they are kind of boring and not much really goes on but Mrs. Philpot’s class is the complete opposite of those boring classes. Mrs. Philpot always finds ways to make class time fun and exciting. When I get to her third period mystery class I am always anxious to see what she has in store for us that day. Whether it is the different mystery movies and books we read to just making jokes with the students in the class, we always find ourselves having a great time. Mrs. Philpot makes sure that everyone in the class participates and they all have a good understanding of what we are doing so that nobody gets left behind. I never have to worry about falling behind in class because I know that she will be there to help me out in whatever it is that I need. When I walk into my 3rd period and see Mrs. Philpot’s vibrant smile and her amazing helper, Mr. Cook, I know that I am going to have an awesome time in class! If I had to pick one teacher in my high school that I say really rocks, it would definitely be Mrs. Philpot!

Crystal Wombold, Grade 12 – Nathan Rigsby, Richmond High School Mr. Rigsby rocks because he is so understanding. If you want to talk to him about anything, he will sit down and talk to you. He is so strict but so nice at the same time. He also rocks because he knows everybody’s name in band, even if you have done band for 1 year he knows your name and he knows it for a while after that. He can tell if somebody has had a bad day. If you have changed your hair color or cut it, he notices it. He knows how to make somebody laugh.

Dalton Johnson, Grade 12 – Gregory Schroeder, Richmond High School

“Hint, hint, subtle hint, wink, wink, wink…” he says. Just one of the many funny statements Mr. Schroeder makes to help us know when something is important on a test.

From his stories of his days in German Class, to his dislike of the Super Mario game, to his general concern for the students in his class, Mr. Schroeder really understands what it takes to promote a great learning environment.

Mr. Schroeder, in one week, reviewed everything I had learned in pre-calculus, and successfully helped me learn all of what I formerly didn’t understand. So, I really must thank him for that. He is a brilliant teacher, who puts more effort into having us understand how to do the math than just giving us the equations and hoping we figure it out on our own. Of course, that’s not to say his class is easy. It’s far from it, in fact.

He chooses people randomly as we go through work and asks us how we complete certain problems and, more importantly, why a certain answer is what it is. This not only is a more interactive method than just lecturing, but it also provides us the chance to test our knowledge and commit the information to memory.

Again, I really must thank Mr. Schroeder for helping me so much, and giving me the confidence to believe that with a bit of detailed thinking I can understand and obtain the answers and knowledge I strive to obtain every day.

Kaitlyn Taylor, Grade 12 – Gary Wier, Richmond High School I never thought that I would actually enjoy a government class, but Mr. Wier opened my eyes to new things that I never thought about and that I never even knew about. I always hated politics and things about the government system but Mr. Wier taught it with humor, and ways that actually made you want to listen.

He definitely keeps humor in the classroom no matter what we were doing. Even watching the boring movies, he still had ways to make it fun for us and make us laugh. I only had him in class for one trimester, but he taught me more than any other teacher ever has. I learned so much in that class because he taught the material in ways that he knew we would understand. The reason I am nominating Mr. Wier for my favorite teacher is because he truly cares about his students and their education.

Megan Caudill, Grade 12 – Jesse Killen, Dennis Middle School Growing up I have had many teachers, some were great and some not so great, but one of them stood out beyond the rest. Mr. Jesse Killen has been my inspiration for many of years now. In class he would always bring joy and humor to all the children’s faces. He also taught in a way that no one could forget. Here I am now a senior in high school and can still remember things that he taught me in seventh grade. He wasn’t only a teacher in the class room, but also in life. Mr. Killen was paralyzed from the waist down and has been confined to a wheel chair. He is independent and never lets anyone do anything for him. He was recently diagnosed with a disease that eats his flesh away. He was confined to bed rest and hasn’t been allowed around his students. Being around kids makes or breaks his life. Still to this day he will not let anyone do anything for him. He undergoes surgery sometime very soon and plans to be back to see his kids around the beginning of next year. He was on bed rest and was still trying to provide for his kids. I am nominating Mr. Jesse Killen for my favorite teacher because despite what he has been through he still puts everyone before himself.

Murakami Deloney, Grade 12 – Heidi Hisrich, Richmond High School She rocks because she made a cool, relaxed learning environment and even though we were learning it was always just like second nature, it came easily. I also liked how she brought in cookies for us during the week before Christmas break, and played Christmas music and let us watch “Elf.” She rocks!

Gabriel Reyes, Grade 12 – Matthew Amos, Richmond High School The teacher I chose for “My Teacher Rocks” was my machine tool shop teacher Mr. Amos. I chose him because he inspires me and my class to be better at what we do and be the best we can be and never talks down like this strict teacher/student relationship barrier we have in schools. He teaches in a friend/friend relationship so that we can better know what we are doing and he does this to not only teach us better but to better understand us as a friend not a student. He helps me understand better than any teacher I have ever had and will continue to help me until I understand no matter how long it takes or how hard it is because I am very stubborn sometimes. He goes beyond his own class to get me passing my other classes and inspires me to do so. Because of Mr. Amos I feel good about coming to Richmond High School especially to his class. Mr. Amos not only is my teacher but he is my friend and my hero. Mr. Amos definitely rocks and is an excellent example of a great teacher.

Joseph Drew, Grade 12 – Emily Philpot, Richmond High School Mrs. Philpot rocks because she is always in a chipper and happy mood, has the best jokes, She is always ready to teach us in a cool and interesting way, She always comes up with jokes about the subject she is teaching for the day. And she has a interesting way of making you think about things. She certainly does rocks.

Andrew Reed, Grade 12 – Emily Philpot, Richmond High School Every day that I walk into my fourth period I feel relaxed. Especially right now, the weather is just right and the class feels great. Mrs. Philpot is awesome because most things that we discuss are of everyday topics. She is always laughing at something that may not even be funny, but it is something that she does that seems to make the class go smoothly. The first thing that caught my mind from her was when she brought in the sweetest cookies. After the cookies I enjoyed participating in those these odd seminars we have at the beginning of class. Mrs. Philot rocks because she acts just like a teenager.

Paige Kelly, Grade 12 – Emily Philpot, Richmond High School I have only been graced by Emily Philpot’s presence for 12 weeks, and she has already become one of my favorite teachers. Not only does she create an exciting learning environment through Socratic seminars, educational readings, and well, let’s be honest ... cookies, but she has also opened my eyes about diversity in this place we like to call Earth. Not to mention, I cannot recall a day in the past 12 weeks when she has not

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smiled, which helps us “school fans” get through our long day of education. It is clear that her 11 years of teaching has paid off, and I can honestly say that it will continue forever, through the hearts of her students she has grown to love. Thank you for everything Emily Philpot.

Joshua Sprague, Grade 12 – Emily Philpot, Richmond High School

Mrs. Philpot is the most caring person in the world and she tries to make our lives very successful. She actually cares about our future as college students and eventually employees/employer. She makes us do the most stupid assignments ever, but it just goes to show you that she cares and she tries to push us to our best of our abilities. She also brings us food once in awhile where most teachers do not even think about bringing us food at all. Mrs. Philpot tries to get us out our comfort zone so we could interact with each other without being nervous and feeling stupid. We now feel like a family in a small square room. She also made Randy bring in cookies one time because Randy works at a grocery store and he did something that made Mrs. Philpot to have an idea to have him bring cookies. IT WAS AWESOME! Mrs. Philpot is one of the most fashionable people I ever met. Every day she looks very gorgeous at what she wears and everyone would benefit by learning her fashion sense. Any student would be very lucky to have her as a teacher. They should be at awe at her presence.

Ashley Mcculley, Grade 12 – Tom Bartel, Richmond High School Never in my life have I ever met a teacher who pushed me so hard to succeed in the one thing I was good at. When you first meet Mr. Bartel he gives off a very friendly vibe. I know my first impression was that he would put me to sleep. I was very wrong. He ended up making the biggest impression on me. Before I took his art classes I admit I didn’t know anything about art. I wasn’t even that good at it. One of the main things I had learned from him is that there isn’t a right or wrong when it comes to art. It’s emotions, ideas. Art can be anything you want it to be. He taught me to put my feelings into my work to make it better. I’ve learned about symmetry, shading, how to cut metal and which metals can be put together to look good. I’ve learned how to work with wood and clay. I’ve taken most of Bartel’s classes -- 2d drawing, 3d drawing, jewelry and some others. Never once did I ever feel ignored and every time I thought I was done and ready to give up he would push me. He would always give me ideas and help me when I was stuck. Mr. Bartel is probably one of the easiest teachers to have a conversation with. I’ve seen some of his work and I think it’s fascinating. As a person, as an artist, as a father, an as a teacher Mr. Bartel is by far the most inspiring teacher I’ve ever met.

Keirstan Jackson, Grade 9 – Chad Wilson, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School

My eighth-grade year at Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School was the most inspirational year for me. This is because of my math teacher, Mr. Wilson. At first I thought Mr. Wilson was going to be just like any other teacher I’d had in the past, dull and bromidic, but by the end of that year I’d realized that Mr. Wilson was nothing like my stereotype.

The best thing about Mr. Wilson is that, not only is he an amazing teacher who could explain anything in a way that is easy to understand. He also actually cared about every student he has. That year I was in Mr. Wilson’s first-hour class and S.R.T. Almost everyday in S.R.T. he had students, not even from his classes, coming in for help. He didn’t care what class you were in, Mr. Wilson would always explain any questions you had.

Not only is Mr. Wilson a teacher at our school, he is also the mathematics academic team coach. Last year, Mr. Wilson led his team to the state competition. I wasn’t on the team that year, and if it weren’t for Mr. Wilson, I most likely wouldn’t be on the team this year.

In the end, Mr. Wilson has been one of my greatest inspirations throughout life in general. He has helped me through some difficult times by just letting me know that he is there. I will always appreciate what Mr. Wilson has done, and I know many others feel the same way.

Shawna Shields, Grade 7 – Kara Woofter, Dennis Middle School My absolute favorite teacher is Ms. Woofter from Dennis Middle School. Not only does she have high expectations of all of her students, but she also gives us time to work with and interact with our peers. These are just a couple of the many reasons this teacher rocks.

She’s really sweet and she interacts with all of her students. To me, she is like my second mother. Like a mother, she keeps her room clean, organized, and safe for us. She always has a way to brighten up my day when I’m feeling melancholy. I really love her class. She gives her students one-on-one help when we need it. Her patience is what I love most about her along with her cooperation with the class.

It’s amazing how she makes class fun and really exciting. For example, we play mad libs and when someone wins they get a prize. We all have fun with her. She’s a wonderful teacher with a really big heart.

Technology in the classroom is emphasized, along with creative activities such as writing our own short stories, which keeps us engaged in our assignments. Also, she can be funny when she wants to be, which keeps us interested as well.

Unfortunately, the school year is almost over, and I will not have this teacher anymore. School was made much more enjoyable thanks to Ms. Woofter. I will miss this teacher who “rocked” the seventh grade.

Hannah Jackson, Grade 7 – Kate Wogoman, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School Mrs. Wogoman ... she is the best choir teacher that anybody could ever have. A reason why I think Mrs. Wogoman rocks is the way she treats everybody. She treats everybody fairly. Secondly, she always has a smile on her face! I love hearing the stories that she tells us when I am in her classroom. I will never forget

Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 35 the story she told us from back when she used to work in a plastic surgeon’s office. Everyday, I look forward to going to choir. I walk out of the classroom smiling every day! Also, another reason, is because she is EXCELLENT at playing the piano! I would love to be able to play like her. I also admire that after school, every Tuesday and Thursday, she gives piano lessons to students who would like to play the piano. Instead of going home and relaxing, she stays after school and gives the students a chance to have their own special talent like her own. Mrs. Wogoman chooses fun songs for us to sing! She gets the biggest smile on her face when we sing a note right. Mrs. Wogoman encourages not just me, but all her students to not let anyone stop you from following your dreams and to excel! Because of Mrs. Wogoman, I now believe in myself and I can follow my dreams, not caring what anyone else thinks about them! I am honored to have Katy Wogoman as not only a teacher, but a very special friend.

Mariah Mason, Grade 12 – Chris Evrard, Centerville High School Art has always been my favorite subject in school. It is my relief from the pressures of my other class work, my job, and from the pressures of daily life. Before high school, I enjoyed it, but mostly created art only in school. Since I entered high school, Mr. Evrard has taught me to sincerely love creating art inside and outside of the classroom. I have taken all of the art classes taught by him at my school, and he has inspired me to learn about all forms of art, including film. I had never even thought about making movies before I took his class on the subject, and now I plan to go to college for film editing and directing. He has put up with more questions and misunderstandings from me than any other student in school, and I truly thank him for that. Mr. Evrard is always eager to help all of his students when problems arise, and he gives constructive criticism to help his students develop their skills and ideas. If not for him, I would have quit making works of art by now because I wouldn’t have had a reason to keep doing it, and because he taught me to love all forms of art so much I know I will be creating for the rest of my life.

Jordan Coleman, Grade 11 – Hiedi Hisrich, Richmond High School I think my teacher is the best because she believes in us and helps us every step of the way. She makes learning fun through labs, projects, and experience. We pick the topics we learn about, have lots of interesting projects, and even have a chance for extra credit, mole bucks. (Three extra credit points each.) She rewards us with praise and a loving smile. My teacher makes my day better when it seems down right terrible. She helps with anything we need her for, giving us advice and such. She listens to our feedback to help improve her teaching skills, showing that her students’ opinions actually matter to her. I like that she cares about us and tries to teach us in the way we learn, since everyone learns differently. I like her so much, that I keep taking her classes just to have her as my teacher.

Kuljit Gill, Grade 8 – Mary Terkoski, Test Middle School My teacher seriously ROCKS! You know how most teachers tell you to just read the book and answer the questions. Well, you see, my teacher is different. Ms. Terkoski doesn’t do any of that. What she does is make learning fun by playing lots and lots of games. Almost of all the games she lets us play are not only fun, but also educational. We get tickets which we can cash in for rewards by winning a game or by just being plain old polite. Because of that, every student attempts to become better and we have more success in that class. Most of the amazing prizes she gives students are CANDIES mostly because we enjoy eating that but we have to EARN it OURSELVES! The one thing that makes her stand out from other teachers is her enthusiasm to just see us learners every day. Also, the fact she actually goes out of her own way just to get us rewards is just amazing! She has really inspired me to go out to schools when I’m older and make children’s education and life fun like she has done for me and many other students. Practically, no one ever acknowledges her for all of her hard work, but I hope that by writing this people will do that and thank her.

My teacher definitely ROCKS, and she does more than any of yours!

Rachelle Hall, Grade 7 – Michele Gaddis, Dennis Middle School Mrs. Gaddis rocks because she is always there to have fun in class but if you have to work I would work.

Mrs. Gaddis is not a mean teacher. She is different from any other teacher. She is the type of teacher that if you need help she’ll be there with whatever you need. She is an English teacher but is the best that I ever had.

How is Mrs. Gaddis inspiring? She is inspiring because she can help you with anything you need or any class work. She inspires me so much that I want to have her for my eighth-grade English teacher. I think she is inspiring to other kids. Most kids in my English class will want to have her next year.

How does Mrs. Gaddis make learning fun and rewarding? First, she makes learning fun because there are a couple of learning games. One is where you have to be in one of three different groups then go up to the chalkboard. She makes it rewarding because sometimes we have to work on school work but other times we get to do fun stuff.

I picked Mrs. Gaddis because she is the best and she rocks at what she is doing. She will always be the best English teacher, and she will always rock.

Paige Mason, Grade 7 – Kelley McDermott, Dennis Middle School My teacher, Miss McDermott, rocks because she has taught us not to judge people on race, religion, or even the way they look. She has taught me to look past the way people act. Her class has taught me that the world isn’t perfect, but that we can try and make it better.

Miss McDermott makes learning fun because she puts questions on her door every day, and people

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race to get the question right. If you do get it right, you get a sucker. We watch movies that show us what it was like to live during different time periods throughout the world. Her class is also fun when she reads and explains stuff that we may not understand.

She makes learning rewarding by giving out candy if you get certain questions right. She lets us play games if we get everything done. Miss McDermott can make it rewarding when we’re good.

Miss McDermott can talk a lot but she is a great teacher, and I also respect her. I would like to have her next year again for geography.

Shelby Kelly, Grade 7 – Jesse Killen, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher is Mr. Killen. I chose this teacher for several reasons. Here are the reasons why I chose Mr. Killen.

Mr. Killen makes learning fun by making funny jokes in class to make the kids laugh about what we’re learning in that time. Also, he gives funny assignments to us to make us want to learn in his class. One is What is Your Favorite Candy and Why; another thing is to share about your heritage. He also tells us good job on a test or in general. Mr. Killen will blurt out answers on a quiz, but you have to pay attention to what he says to get it.

Here are more reasons why he is an awesome teacher. Mr. Killen is funny, smart, caring toward his class, loud, and he can make the whole class burst out laughing over something silly in our text book. He also plays the guitar when we get finished early on something. He makes the whole class want to stay in his class when the period is over.

So, you see now why I chose Mr. Killen as my favorite teacher. We all miss him and want him back safely to make more kids laugh like how we did before he left. Thank you.

Danielle Hill, Grade 7 – Tonia Severance, Union County Middle School What does a favorite teacher mean to you? To me, they are a role model, a mentor, an outstanding educator, and all around a great person. My favorite teacher, Miss Tonia Severance, beholds those characteristics.

When I walk into her classroom, I know then I will be taught something which has meaning in my life.

Every day that she teaches I learn something new. When Miss Severance teaches the class, she teaches with such passion. I know that teaching isn’t just an occupation for her. Teaching truly is something that she enjoys.

I look up to her as a role model. She has helped me with so many struggles that I have faced this past year. She helped me with my fear of giving a speech or a book report in front of the class. She did so by assigning book reports and speeches that all students had to present. For doing that I appreciate Miss Severance very much.

Miss Severance has inspired me to be a better student. She motivates me, as well as other students, to work hard and try our best in school. She has pushed me to accomplish many goals. She truly is an inspiration to many students.

As previously mentioned, Miss Severance is a role model, a mentor, an outstanding educator, and all around a great person. She is not just a good teacher, she is a tremendous teacher. I am astonished by who she is as a person. She is unquestionably my favorite teacher.

Brittany Defibaugh, Grade 10 – Keith Ziolkowski, Richmond High School I think that Mr. Keith Ziolkowski, my orchestra teacher at Richmond High School, rocks! He has dedicated a lot of his time and effort into improving our orchestra. I applaud him for being able to handle teaching strings from grades 6-12. It means a lot to me that Mr. Ziolkowski gives his free time to our orchestra.

Recently, Mr. Ziolkowski gave us an opportunity to play music for Richmond High School’s play “The Sound of Music.” Doing this took many hours of after-school time each week to prepare. We also have afterschool practices to practice symphonic pieces to play with the Richmond High School band at our concerts.

I am grateful Mr. Ziolkowski chooses to do these extra things to draw more attention to our orchestra. I will also be forever grateful that he cares about kids and teenagers learning music. It’s an honor to be in orchestra learning under Mr. Ziolkowski. He rocks!

Patrick Marsee, Grade 8 – Amber Scherschel, Seton Catholic High School

Mrs. Scherschel, my eighth-grade English teacher, is one special teacher. Her unusual sense of humor can lighten up any classroom, even one where English is taught. She keeps an urn on her desk for the ashes of students who misbehave. No one wants to run the risk of testing her. Even though she doesn’t always get my jokes, she respects my attempts at humor. She cares about all her students and has an excellent relationship with them.

Even though this all sounds fun, she is an English teacher. She has great control over her class without being stern or intimidating. Mrs. Scherschel maintains a full business attitude that makes her class the most well-managed class of my day. She encourages the best effort from her students and encourages them to think beyond the “right” answer. Through her guidance, the class always becomes engaged in discussion, and you feel safe to speak your mind.

It is easy to learn in Mrs. Scherschel’s class because she has such enthusiasm for her subject. I have learned a lot about reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary in her seventh and eighth-grade English classes, but the most important thing that she has taught me is how to think. That is why my teacher rocks.

Daniel Marsee, Grade 11 – Daniel Reichley, Seton Catholic High School Teachers who rock have special characteristics that make them memorable for life. These teachers have control over their classroom, instruct in a way that makes it easy for all students to understand the lesson,

www.pal-item.com and relate to their students well. For me, Mr. Daniel Reichley is one of these teachers.

Mr. Reichley teaches six subjects at Seton Catholic High School. In doing this, he voluntarily overloads his schedule to make sure he gives all of his students his best effort every day. He, in fact, teaches more classes in a day than can technically fit into the schedule. He has been known to have to eat his lunch during his fourth-period class to make sure all his classes get covered.

I know Mr. Reichley best as my chemistry teacher. As with every other subject, he truly immerses himself in chemistry. I can be absolutely sure that he is very knowledgeable in this area, as he has experience within the scientific community, working for DuPont and Adsorption Research Incorporated. This allows him to prove to his students the applicability of the lessons.

In Mr. Reichley’s class, we conduct lab experiments where we record data that we observe, then present our findings in lab reports which prepares us for college chemistry class experiences. Students are never restricted in creativity, as we are allowed to vary our lab procedures if we so wish.

Mr. Reichley’s humor, experience, encouragement, and knowledge makes me confident in saying that Daniel Reichley rocks!

Allison Hester, Grade 12 – Martha Wilson, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School My Spanish teacher, Senora Wilson, rocks! She is kind and encouraging while she pushes all of us students to do our best both in the classroom and out. Mrs. Wilson challenges freshman students to begin speaking only Spanish while they are in her class, and that strategy produces phenomenal results. Students often leave Northeastern with the ability to speak fluent Spanish! This is extraordinary because many teachers believe high school Spanish should be easier than real-world Spanish. However, Mrs. Wilson believes that we are capable of learning real Spanish, and we are driven to reach our full potential by this belief and by the fun we have in her classes. Many of us cannot wait for Spanish class and are not only willing, but eager, to concentrate every day. Mrs. Wilson uses brilliant and effective techniques to encourage us to speak Spanish, such as asking us to describe our weekend activities in Spanish and giving us rewards, such as Hershey Kisses, for having the courage to try. She also takes us on field trips, meets with us to practice outside of school, and never laughs at us when we make errors in class. Instead, she thanks us when we make mistakes, reminding us that every error is another opportunity to learn. Attending her class is a gift and a pleasure that I will dearly miss after graduation. Senora Wilson is a rare and wonderful educator and a brilliant individual and it has been a privilege to learn from her.

Austin Ross, Grade 7 – Kara Woofter, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher is Miss Woofter. She is so fun and explains stuff so well that almost everyone understands. She also is really good at slowing down if you’re not with everyone else to help you get caught up. I love her and she is the best teacher ever. She helps me understand things that I couldn’t. She comes up with fun assignments like the MySpace Pages to get to know you better at the beginning of the year.

She is the most inspiring teacher you will ever meet. She’s strong and competitive and cares a lot about kids and really loves her job. I’m sure everyone loves her. I know I do and I always will. I will remember her for the rest of my life. I will also remember the fun ways she taught us the assignments especially the assignment about discrimination. I loved that because the fun ways she taught us about it and the stories that she told us about her being discriminated against.

One of the things I’ve learned from that subject was that everyone in the world has discriminated against someone. Whenever she is absent, I get mad because without her my day is horrible and I don’t get anything in that class. The first time I heard she was getting married I was so happy for her and I knew she was happy to. Her class is the best out of anybody else’s in the school. Nobody’s is better.

Kayla Lacy, Grade 8 – Kevin Van Note, Test Middle School Awesome, that’s the only word you need to describe Kevin Van Note, my Drum Ensemble and music teacher. He’s the nicest guy you could ever meet. He takes time out if his day to ask, “How are you?” and give you a high five.

Mr. Van Note has inspired me to come out of my shell. I used to be shy when I had him in seventh grade, but now I’m really social. He’s inspired me to love all different genres of music. He also inspired me to join Drum Ensemble because he made it seem so fun. I thank him for that. Therefore my eighth-grade year wouldn’t have been so fun.

Mr. Van Note makes learning so fun and rewarding! He makes it rewarding by giving us rocks that say, “You rock!” and he buys us soda from the teacher’s lounge. At the end of each trimester he takes all his general music students to McDonald’s. He makes it fun by playing music trivia games and the winner gets a soda. Also, we watch many movies that have a lot of music in them. The most famously known movie he plays is “Drumline.”

Mr. V, I will forever be grateful and inspired by all the things you’ve taught me and I’ll carry them throughout the rest of my life.

Bradly Leverette, Grade 7 – Lisa Wagner, Dennis Middle School Hi, I’m Bradly Leverette, and I’m here to tell you how my teacher is inspiring to me and how she makes learning fun. First of all, Mrs. Wagner is the best teacher there is because she is funny and she is not afraid to talk to us if we need it. Most of all she makes learning as fun as can be by sometimes making it fun by playing jokes. She is not just an ordinary teacher, she is my favorite teacher.

The way she inspires me is by making us learn different things. I’m not going to lie when I say the first

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trimester I didn’t like the class. Now I love it because I’ve learned a lot. She is so fun and hilarious. Mrs. Wagner inspires me by teaching us different lessons instead of the same ones over and over. Mrs. Wagner really knows how to let us learn by never giving up on us. If I had to pick any teacher, it would be her.

Dallas Sester, Grade 7 – Damion Bruns, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher is Mr. Bruns. He teaches English. I have him for my first-period class. The first reason is that he is easy to get along with, but if you make him mad he doesn’t give any second chances. When he is teaching something we don’t know, he makes sure that every student learns it.

When it comes to ISTEP, he does a good job of making sure you know what you need to know. He doesn’t go too hard on us that week of ISTEP, but I was told that he has the best ISTEP scores in this school.

He makes it fun to learn in his class. We joke around at times, but when it is time to start teaching he lets us know, and we stop and listen to him. He lets us work with someone if we want to. He doesn’t make it hard to learn is his room. I have fun in his class every day.

He makes it easy to learn in his classroom. I learned a lot in his class this year. I really hope I have him next year for English. He is a good teacher to have.

Brandon Browder, Grade 7 – Lisa Wagner, Dennis Middle School I like Mrs. Wagner because she’s funny and nice. She’s not like any old teacher. She loves to help her students and faculty. Her students help other students also. In her class, when you do something and if it’s all right she has some Jolly Ranchers in this alien head. Once I said “Look everybody, Jolly Ranchers are the alien’s brain!” and it was very funny so everybody started to laugh and giggle. Mrs. Wagner is really inspiring because she’s not my first period so I’m happy! Over in Indianapolis I wasn’t doing so well and my grades were all Fs, but now I have four As and two Bs. This school is better because it’s going slower for me.

Mrs. Wagner is real inspiring because she’s always nice to people and wanting people to get a good education for their life. Sometimes she will go fast but sometimes she won’t. I think she has been teaching for five years or something like that.

Shaylinn Lamb, Grade 7 – Randy Stolle, Dennis Middle School Mr. Stolle is my favorite teacher. He is the coolest teacher in the entire world because he teaches us new things and lets us listen to our MP3 players while we work. Mr. Stolle really is a great teacher because he supports us in everything we do. He’s just like a kid, and he goofs off and plays on his phone just like a kid would.

Mr. Stolle likes to listen to music and play jokes on some of us, but we don’t mind it. We think it’s funny.

Before I came to Mr. Stolle’s class, I didn’t know a thing about art, but Mr. Stolle really knows his art.

He knows everything about art. He knows how to make almost anything from scratch so he taught me to make anything from scratch, just like him. One time when my paper mache caved in, Mr. Stolle used half of an old ruler to stand it back up. Another time was when someone put paint all over my friend Chrissie’s painting, but Mr. Stolle used white out to cover the mistakes and personally fixed her painting for her. Mr. Stolle really inspired me to try to become an artist myself. I hope that when I get older I will be just like Mr. Stolle, but first I have to finish school and get a college degree. Hopefully, then I can become an art teacher and teach students just like Mr. Stolle does now.

Karissa Saylor, Grade 7 – Tony Ballin, Dennis Middle School

My favorite teacher in the whole school is Mr. Ballin. He has been my favorite choir teacher since third grade!

He always believes in us. He helps us accomplish our goals and get to where we want to go. He tells us we can do anything if we really try, and we put our minds to it and work really hard at it.

He lets us put the singing in our own words so we can feel how we should when we sing the song. He believes in everybody when it comes to singing. He says everyone can sing if they look deep and hard enough.

When we try out for solos and we don’t get it, he always gives us a big lecture about how good we are, and he tries to make it sound really sweet when he says that the solo just wasn’t made for us. I also like him because he is always fair and equal. For example, whenever someone tries out for a solo and doesn’t get it, he says that by the end of the year everyone who wants a solo will get one.

I love this teacher the most because he is not like any other choir teacher I’ve ever had. The way he is different is because he makes us practice, but he makes it really fun to practice.

These are all the reasons why this teacher inspires me. I hope these things inspire you as well!

Juana Yareli Vazquez, Grade 7 – Marc Johnson, Dennis Middle School My favorite teacher at Dennis is Mr. Johnson because it is really fun in his class. I learn new things and I can tell him things that happened to me like if there is a problem. He is always there and his class is really cool and fun. Mr. Johnson is a super funny teacher. He teaches me new things that I don’t know. He helps me with words that I don’t know and he reads them to me and it helps me. The best thing about Mr. Johnson is that he gives us food and lets us watch movies sometimes.

When I need to tell him something he says yeah and I like that about him. He lets me speak Spanish because some words I don’t know what they mean and it is hard to understand. When I don’t know a word I go to him and ask him what this word means. He is the best teacher I have in my life. I want him for eightth grade because he helps me when I don’t understand. I hope I have him for next year. When I need help, I could go and ask him.

Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 37 Michael Osborne, Grade 7 – Randy Stolle, Dennis Middle School Mr. Stolle rocks because he is really funny. When you are sad, he cheers you up. He makes funny jokes.

When he tells one to us, I laugh. He is our art teacher. He helps everyone who needs help.

The reason he is funny is that he wants to make everyone laugh. He likes when people laugh. He is the funniest teacher at our school. He even tells jokes. He makes learning fun because he helps us on everything.

Kaylin Hollingsworth, Grade 7 – Jesse Killen, Dennis Middle School The teacher I admire most is Mr. Killen because he’s a good teacher. He cares about your work and what you do in life. He’s really sick and he has not been here for a long time, but he should be back in August. We helped to raise money for him because he has to have a stand-up wheel chair because he got in a car wreck and is paralyzed from the waist down and can’t walk. He made his car where he could use his hands to drive on the steering wheel. He has buttons he can press to drive. Since he has been sick, he has a teacher named Miss Bridgeforth that teaches his class since he’s been gone. I had a class with him before he had to leave and he was a good teacher. He told us he lives on a farm and he has two kids. He has to have a stand-up wheel chair because the doctors told him that his blood needs to go down to his feet. I admire him because he is a good father, takes care of a farm, and is an awesome teacher.

John Kenney, Grade 7 – Randy Stolle, Dennis Middle School Mr. Stolle is my favorite teacher and he rocks. He is a great teacher because he’s helped me a lot with work I missed and kept me on track. He also makes sure everyone gets their work done. Sometimes if or when I get out of hand, he will just call my mom. Then I don’t get mad because I put it on myself to be bad in front of all my so-called friends.

Let’s talk about him in art class. He helps everyone with their work like when I need help on my huge paper mache project. He knows I might not make the deadline so he tries to help me a lot.

He inspires me because he is an art teacher. I like to draw when I have free time. It’s fun. You just draw whatever comes in your head. I love to draw cars, rockets and anything mobile. I think he should have been an artist because he can draw very well.

Jonathan Rodriguez-Rivera, Grade 7 – Nathan Rigsby, Dennis Middle School Hi, my name is Jonathan Rodriguez Rivera. My favorite teacher is my band teacher, Mr. Rigsby, because he is a good person. I want to be like him when I grow up. I also like the music that he picks for us to play. He is a fair and nice teacher. He can play a lot of instruments and is very good. He taught me a lot so now I can play really good too. The other reason I picked him is because he inspires me and I will always remember him for as long as I live. If you are looking for a music or band director, he is the person you want. We have a concert on May 21, 2011, at King’s Island.

Catera Colvin, Grade 7 – Tony Ballin, Dennis Middle School Mr. Ballin is my favorite teacher because he loves music, and I love music too. I have him for fourth period. We do all kinds of stuff like music word search on music notes and music icons like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Ludwig van Beethoven, and other great composers.

I admire Mr. Ballin because he taught me about different composers that I didn’t really know about. He told us how they lived and how they died. Now I am influenced by the composers he taught us about. I now know how to play two different songs on an electric keyboard.

The things he does to make music fun is when we use Brain Pop then do a quiz on the back. If you get 10/10, you get a piece of candy.

This is why he is my favorite teacher.

Sierra Mitchell, Grade 7 – Victoria Chamness, Dennis Middle School Hello, my name is Sierra Mitchell and my favorite teacher is Mrs. Chamness because she is very caring.

Every time something was wrong with me or another student she would ask what was wrong. She is there for us. She is a teacher here at Dennis Middle School who teaches Read 180. It is a really good program to help some kids. Any time I need help with my work from her class or another class, she helps me after school.

Whenever she is out sick, I tell her how the class behaved. Sometimes she lets me eat lunch with her. Whenever the class does something good or gets a good grade on something like a test, she has bought us pizza. She is a very nice lady. I help her when she needs it. Whenever we are all done with our work, she lets us talk to one another. If you ever met her, I think that you would like her. She is all about her students. She has been to a lot of different places. She went to the Grand Canyon, got ashes from the St. Helen’s volcano, and she has a lot of cool things. She tries to makes kids smile every day even when they are down and depressed. She has been a teacher for 15 years and that is a long time. She has a husband and son. That is why she is my favorite teacher.

Sydney Eaton, Grade 7 – Randy Stolle, Dennis Middle School The teacher that I think rocks the most is Mr. Stolle. I like him because he’s a cool guy. He teaches art and I was in his class first trimester. We were always doing some crazy things. He gave us homework. Wired for art? I know right. We were always listening to music. I liked Mr. Stolle. The thing I miss the most was

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when he had us doing all types of different projects. We did paper mache and it was so fun. I made a blue guitar, and it was very pretty. It was really hectic. He was quite strict at times, like when we did painting he made us put down newspaper. I know why now because it was a pain getting it off the tables. These are just some of the many reasons that I liked having Mr. Stolle as a teacher.

Trevon May, Grade 7 – Lisa Wagner, Dennis Middle School

Hello, my name is Trevon May. My favorite teacher is the best because she’s funny, cool and always does fun things in class. Whenever we do well on Apangea, she gives us candy. Her name is Mrs. Wagner, and she is one of the math teachers here at Dennis Middle School. Mrs. Wagner tries to make everybody smile and sometimes she does. I like Mrs. Wagner a lot because she cares for me and makes sure I leave her class with knowledge. She wants us kids to grow up to be something in life and not end up on the streets.

Kobe Murphy, Grade 7 – Randy Stolle, Dennis Middle School

My favorite teacher at Dennis Middle School is Mr. Stolle. Mr. Stolle is one of the best teachers at the school. He inspires me because he draws well and I like drawing in my spare time. He taught me some things in drawing when I was in his class for second trimester. He taught me how to shade really well. He also taught me how to make the color in the painting go from dark to light then back to dark. Mr. Stolle won’t be coming back to Dennis because he will be the gym teacher at Test. Next year Mr. Stolle is going to Test for good, so he will be missed!

Jayna Koons, Grade 7 – Jesse Killen, Dennis Middle School Hi, my name is Jayna Koons and my favorite teacher at Dennis Middle School is Mr. Killen.

The reason I picked Mr. Killen is because he helps teach people. If any students have any problems at home or anywhere, he talks to you about your problems. He is my favorite teacher ever!

He is a social studies teacher. Other reasons why he is my favorite teacher is he makes learning fun like when he plays Jeopardy. Sometimes he lets us work in groups. It is really fun in his classroom.

Sometimes he gets mad at us but he always stops getting mad as soon as he starts because how can a funny, jolly guy stay mad at a bunch of teens? He is hilarious like how he uses little nicknames for some of us.

But then he started having sick days and we would have a sub for three days in a row and then the next day he would come back but just like that he would be gone again. We kept asking the subs what was wrong with him, but they said only he could tell us what was wrong with him. Then Ms. Bridgeforth took over and he was in the newspaper. Now we know what’s wrong with him and we hope that he will be just fine.

Mr. Killen is my favorite teacher ever!

Catherine Riley, Grade 9 – Andrea Van Meter, Richmond High School My teacher helped me through boy problems at school. She did one-on-one tutoring with me, and helped me through more than I asked her for. She’s like my best friend because I know what she goes through every day. She has seen me through my mistakes, and she’s helped me through them. I always get my work done in class. She makes science fun for me because she does a lot of labs and games with us. One time when we were doing a booklet about planets she dressed up as a planet, and named herself Mercury for a day. She puts her students forward before anybody else. She helps them with the work to help them understand instead of giving them tons of worksheets a day. She loves her students as her kids, and she always will. That’s why she’s my favorite teacher, and she rocks.

Quinten Crouch, Grade 9 – Michelle Holliday, Richmond High School Innovative and inspirational teachers, who give their all to make education an enjoyable and worthwhile experience, are a rare and impressive sight. This is why my teacher, Michelle Holliday, rocks! My teacher always encourages me to do my best -- regardless of how unattainable the objective may seem. If anyone deserves appreciation, it is my teacher.

Mrs. Holliday is a ninth-grade English teacher who came to Richmond High School this year. Although she was at a new school, she never skipped a beat and began the school year with enthusiasm. From day one, I felt a trust for my teacher, who despite the massive change in her environment, never stopped giving.

Coming into ninth-grade is a daunting thing to do, and Mrs. Holliday gave me an additional sense of security by open-heartedly reaching out to her students. She introduced us not only to a new teacher, but also to a lifelong friend whom we may come to with dilemmas in and out of school and never feel discriminated against.

My teacher has revived me from a difficult writing class last year and has reminded me that writing can always be pleasurable. Mrs. Holliday has thought of creative ways to engage us in our English lessons, like dressing up and performing roles in “Romeo and Juliet.”

Mrs. Holliday has brought my interest back into writing, and with every supportive word, she has motivated me to push my limits. Without doubt, I can honorably declare that Mrs. Holliday rocks!

Katie Koschnick, Grade 10 – Kate Wogoman, Northeastern Jr./Sr. High School

Mrs. Wogoman is, by far, the best teacher I have ever taken a class for. She is my concert choir teacher and always pushes my to do my best. In January I went to ISSMA singing a solo in German. It was my first year singing in a foreign language and my second year entering division one. With Mrs. Wogoman’s help and guidance, we made it through to state finals and won a gold. She never failed to help me and push me farther than I thought possible. My teacher, Mrs. Wogoman, rocks without a doubt! :)

www.pal-item.com Miranda Sams, Grade 7 – Bill Lewis, Centerville Junior High School The best teacher in the world is my science teacher, Mr. Lewis! Mr. Lewis should be recognized for what a great job he does. I have learned much more in science this year, than any year ever.

Mr. Lewis, to me, rocks because of many reasons, but mainly because he wants his students to succeed.

He helps us when we need help. If we are absent and miss a project or assignment, he will stay after school and help us with the project or assignment. Our learning is more important to him than his own time. Another reason why he rocks is because he makes studying really fun. Sometimes we have tests and other times we have challenges. A challenge is when we memorize plants and other organisms. He helps make studying fun by showing us different ways to study, so that what we learn sticks with us long term. On top of all that, he rewards us when we do a good job in class. For example, if we do a challenge and get all of the organisms right, we get candy and an A+ on the test.

Mr. Lewis inspires me to do my absolute best in school, so that I can get a college degree and get the job I want most. He also shows me that if I work hard at something, I can do anything I want to do.

Madeline Mopps, Grade 7 – Keith Ziolkowski, Test Middle School I go into class, take out my cello, and begin to practice songs before the bell rings. The teacher walks in and the lesson begins. Three days a week I go and learn from an amazing teacher. Mr. Z has just started his job as being the RCS orchestra director.

I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy orchestra. I had just started cello and didn’t know the teacher, or what our relationship would be like. When I met Mr. Z, I knew he was going to be one of my favorite teachers. Every day in class we learn something new, whether it’s about scales, techniques, or sight reading.

Every week we have a practice log. It’s to keep us practicing out of class. He isn’t a very strict teacher, but he doesn’t let you slack off. He’s always nice and enjoys teaching. He wants students to be the best they can be.

Whenever students see Mr. Z, he always cheers students up even if they’re in the worst mood.

Mr. Z rocks for choosing newer songs for us to play. He chooses songs like “All Star,” “I’m a Believer,” and “Georgia on My Mind.”

Mr. Z is a cool teacher. He plans to stay in the school system for a long time. Mr. Z plans for Richmond to be famous again for their orchestra, since we were the first high school orchestra in the nation. Not only is Mr. Z an excellent teacher, he’s the best teacher. He rocks!

Winter Resetar, Grade 8 – Dalice Myers, Randolph Southern Jr./Sr. High School If you’re reading this in hopes of being enlightened with a light-hearted, yet pointless story of a perfect teacher, in a perfect town, with perfect students, you might as well move one. If instead you want to hear about an understanding teacher, in a small town, with teenage students who, let’s be honest, don’t always feel like doing their homework, keep reading.

My Englih teacher, Mrs. Dalice Myers, is hands down the most professionally understanding individual at Randolph Southern Jr./Sr. High School. Without her I wouldn’t have the ability to compose this essay or any other grammatically correct article. Some might say that she’s just a teacher in a small school in a small town, and they’re right. She is a teacher in a small school. She goes home at night knowing that that’s all she is ever going to be, and she couldn’t be more in love with that idea. This was and still is her dream, and that’s what makes her so unique. I have never had a teacher that comes anywhere close to being as amazing as she is.

Mrs. Myers has helped me realize and begin to strive toward my aspiration of becoming an established author. It all started with an assignment for a short story that, for me ended up being not so short. I’m still working on that story, called “Forbidden,” to this day.

To you she might be just another teacher. Well I’m just another student, and I think she rocks!

Craig Lair, Grade 7 – Cheryl Toschlog, Centerville Junior High School Mrs. Toschlog, English educator at Centerville Junior High School, is a great teacher and an excellent role model. We read interesting books together from different settings in history. She gives us questions that we answer to better understand the books. There are many fun projects that I have done in her class. She introduced my class to doing speeches. It was nice to see my classmates sharing their talents with the class.

Mrs. Toschlog is a very experienced teacher. She understands how to help junior high students reach their potentials. I think it is really cool that Mrs. Toschlog taught my father in junior high and now is my teacher, too!

I admire Mrs. Toschlog because she treats me and my fellow students with kindness and respect. She challenges us to do our very best every day.

Justin Campbell, Grade 8 – Kevin Van Note, Test Middle School He drives every day back and forth from Muncie so he can teach at our school. He has an awesome way of making you try our hardest for him. He treats us like we are equal to him. He makes us laugh and be happy while learning and we have a awesome drum ensemble.

Kyle Andrew Stocksdale – Kevin Van Note, Test Middle School During eighth grade at Julia E. Test Middle School, I was lucky enough to take general music class with Mr. Kevin Van Note. I was a mid-year transfer student and still “learning the ropes” when Mr. Van Note

www.pal-item.com reached out and made a personal connection with me. The first day in class, our group activity was learning and discovering rhythm. He noticed my enthusiasm for what we were doing and gave me a rock with “You Rock!” written on it. He explained that he could give candy as rewards, but it would be eaten and the feeling of accomplishment would be gone in mere seconds. He hoped the rock would be something that we stumble upon again and be a reminder that he believed in us. This, along with other thoughtful deeds, made quite a difference in my comfort level at a new school.

I had always enjoyed music. When Mr. Van Note introduced us to the guitar, I discovered the joy of creating my own music. My rocks are still on the shelf in my room and, because of his encouragement, I have continued taking guitar lessons and plan on making music my career.

Braden Whited, Grade 7 – Robert Erbse, Test Middle School Dear Mr. Erbse, Did you know that you’re the coolest teacher ever at Test Middle School? You’re on the top of the list! I like you as a teacher because you help us when we don’t understand the problem. So when a test comes we will be ready.

You let us use our notes on the test so that we won’t fail it. People say if they fail your class then they are doing nothing. I’ve even heard people say you have to do less than nothing to fail. People always say good things about you and your classes.

Three different classes is a bunch. You can do it though. That is tough to do. One of those classes is a robotics aspire science class. So you deal with experiments and robots. That is awesome!

You try to be nice as much as you can. Even if you are very angry with a person, you don’t yell or make them feel bad. You try to take care of it yourself and if it gets to out of hand you will send them to the office.

If we get done early for the rest of the period you will let us play board games or talk. As long as we don’t get out of control. If we do get out of control or too loud you will make us spend the rest of the period sitting there in silence. That is how you rock!

Alex Crist, Grade 12 – Nathan Rigsby, Richmond High School

When I first heard of this contest, I knew that Nathan Rigsby, associate band director of Richmond Community Schools, would be the perfect candidate. What sets Mr. Rigsby apart is the immense compassion he shows to all of his students, grades 6 through 12. Mr. Rigsby inspires by his evident love of music and his equal love of teaching. As band captain, I can speak for all band members by saying Mr. Rigsby’s passion for music inspires his students to be passionate about something they love, whether that is music or not. Becoming a better musician under the direction of Mr. Rigsby is both fun and rewarding. A mixture of humorous stories and life lessons keep students attentive and eager to learn. In addition, he makes sure all of his students are learning and improving their musicianship skills without leaving anyone behind. But possibly the most rewarding aspect of being one of Mr. Rigsby’s students is the relationships he creates with each and every student. He wants to see his students succeed and is a prominent role in achieving that. Mr. Rigsby has the unique quality to be able to be not only a respected teacher but also a trusted friend in a student’s life.

It has been a joy to be one of his students for the past two years, for he has taught me far beyond just music.

Mr. Rigsby is a perfect example of an exceptional teacher and is incredibly deserving of this award.

Sarah E.L. Holt, Grade 7 – Kevin Van Note, Test Middle School My teacher rocks! Not only figuratively, but physically too. With his long hair, stage presence, and love of music, he is the perfect rock star.

Mr. Van Note has been my choir director for a year. When I heard about this contest, I thought of him without hesitation. I knew I wanted to write this essay about him because he is every student’s dream of a teacher.

One thing I really like about him is his openness. I can come to him with anything; he’s that approachable. But it’s not just that, it’s also his open mind. He has never doubted me or my crazy dream of being a singer. He embraces all my ideas, however, it’s not just me. He treats everyone that way. He is easy to relate to in the sense that he is funny, laid-back and outgoing.

I also love the fact that he’s willing to let anyone shine if they want to. He believes that everyone should have a time in the spotlight, and offers up descants and solos. He’s also really nice and patient even when we don’t do so well.

In the end, he is the best because he loves his students, he loves his job, he loves music, and it shows daily. So you see? My teacher really does rock, in more ways than one.

Evan Schroeder, Grade 12 – Tim Love, Seton Catholic High School Thinking back on my educational experience and the exceptional teachers I have had the privilege to study under, there is one teacher that stands out among them all. Mr. Tim Love, my junior high and high school band instructor has had the greatest impact on my high school career. Mr. Tim Love rocks!

Mr. Love, or Senor Amor as I have light-heartedly called him the past six years, rocks in an assortment of ways. Being among the top performers on trumpet in the area, he truly rocks out with his musical ability.

It’s not his love of music that Mr. Love is famous for locally. Rather, it is his love of the students that he teaches that really stands out.

I have had the pleasure of studying under Mr. Love for six years, but these past two years he has made the greatest impact. It’s not the knowledge of music that I have gained these past two years though. It’s much more than that.

Mr. Love has been fighting cancer the past two years. However, he has never lost his fervor for his

Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011 ■ 39 uden ud ents ts oorr for for th students the music he has helped to create. He broke records returning to work only two weeks after last st rround ound ou nd ooff chemotherapy. When I asked him why or how he returned to teaching so quickly, he simply hiss la pointed to students student sitting in our band room. His love for teaching and for his students is matchless. Mr. Tim Love rocks!

Sophie Ottoni-Wilhelm, Grade 12 – Francis Klinge, Logos Lab School Mrs. Klinge absolutely rocks because she not only gave me gifts of knowledge, she taught me to dream.

She encouraged me throughout my years spent in her classroom to always expect the best work of myself and to never settle for walking in the footsteps of others. When I thought of an entirely different way of doing an activity, Mrs. Klinge’s face would literally light up with enthusiasm. She watched for the sparks of interest in my mind and in the minds of my peers, understanding that the key to knowledge lies in the diversity of people and their ideas, not merely in the existence of facts. She taught me the importance of making your own opportunities, through hard work and creativity.

Learning to embrace my dreams and to never stop chasing them is an extraordinary lesson. It has led me to some of my most valuable life experiences. I intern in the Mayor’s Office, I have fully coordinated a community-wide parade, become fluent in French, attended a summer school to learn the art of fine chocolate making, represented my city to help earn the All America title in 2009, and served on the board of a non-profit organization that funds the education of women in third-world countries. Mrs. Klinge has laid a strong educational foundation on which I will continue to dream and imagine a brighter future for myself and for the world.

Allison Mopps, Grade 12 – Keith Ziolkowski, Richmond High School As the newest director of Richmond orchestra, Mr. Ziolkowski literally “rocks” with his selection of music for us to perform. Everything from the classical “Pomp and Circumstance” to a modern “Pirates of the Caribbean 3” compilation creates our diverse repertoire. Mr. Ziolkowski’s music choice broadens the horizons of orchestra students who never hear anything besides pop songs on the radio. Mr. Z’s work goes far beyond in class rehearsal. He has stayed after school on numerous occasions for practices combining the band and orchestra as we prepared for concerts and for the school musical, “The Sound of Music.” Mr. Z has worked hard at promoting the orchestra program to perspective elementary students by giving brochures and concert invites, setting up a booth at the Test Middle School Open House, and touring elementary schools with the entire high school orchestra to show the kids the option they have of joining orchestra in middle and high school. He is also reinstating the summer orchestra program to give the beginners a good start. Whenever I’m leaving school, I’m never surprised to see Mr. Z in his office, working hard on something. The extra hours he puts in has caused great advancements in the orchestra and the major improvement in our sound.

Mr. Z may be a new teacher, but he is by far the best of the five orchestra teachers I’ve had in my school career. I expect to return after college to find the orchestra program flourishing under Mr. Keith Ziolkowski’s direction.

Thomas Brown, Grade 12 – Nancy Kramer, Richmond High School My name is Thomas Brown, I am a senior graduating from Richmond High School. I have been a part of Seton Catholic, Test Middle School, and now finishing up at Richmond High. Out of the many educators I’ve had, Mrs. Kramer has impacted my education the most. Going into my U.S. History class I didn’t know what to expect. Not only does she make the classroom a terrific place to be, she opens her students eyes to previous chapters in America. Mrs. Kramer teaches students through interactive and enjoyable activities.

Such as a paper wad fight in the high school hallway to give her class a real look on past war time behavior and interaction. What teacher could teach her students while launching paper wads at one another? I’ll tell you who, Mrs. Kramer. Now as a senior looking at secondary education as a career choice, Mrs. Kramer has inspired me to try new things and explore new ideas. Not only does she follow the rules of an educator, she does her absolute best to make sure her students do as well. Whether it’s a dress code violation or a cell phone out, you cant count on Mrs. Kramer to do her job. Educators like Mrs. Kramer are very rare. As I further my education into college, I hope I can make such an important impact on my students when I’m a teacher as Mrs. Kramer had on mine. Thank you so much for everything Mrs. Kramer and God bless.

Cailin Reedy, Grade 10 – Lindsey Edwards, Randolph Southern Jr./Sr. High School Mrs. Edwards is, frankly, a teacher who truly and deeply cares about her students. Not only does she frequently purchase art supplies out of her own pocket, she also spends time with students after school to instruct them on their artwork and help them achieve a higher understanding of the techniques used in creating such art. Mrs. Edwards is also the sponsor of the school’s art club and the primary coach for the fine arts academic team, choosing to spend much of her time at school in order to further students’ knowledge. She constantly seeks out ways to improve the school by urging students to create more and think outside the proverbial box, always suggesting ways in which one might give back to the school. Mrs. Edwards is not only a great teacher, but a great friend to students as well. She frequently gives counsel to students, and her kind nature creates a calm and friendly learning environment, making her room easily one of the most frequented by students. Overall, Mrs. Edwards is a kind, intelligent person with a lovely sense of humor and a desire to help everyone. She shows great strength of character through her actions each day, and acts as a mentor and friend to all who ask. Mrs. Edwards has made a great difference in my life through her kindness and willingness to teach, and I thank her for the privilege of being her student.

40 ■ Palladium-Item ■ Sunday, May 29, 2011

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