Officials from Lake County Schools and the Educational Foundation of Lake County helped spread some love on Valentine’s Day as they made special visits to three classrooms to honor three teachers chosen as finalists for the Rookie Teacher of Year award.
With a bouquet of roses for each finalist, School Board Chair Rosanne Brandeburg, School Superintendent Dr. Susan Moxley, Educational Foundation Board member Peggy Fuller and other staff congratulated Gabriel Girdner from Gray Middle, Anthony Mack from Oak Park Middle and Christine Palmer from Grassy Lake Elementary.
The finalists were selected based upon a panel of judges’ review of their application. To be eligible for the award, teachers must have three years of experience or less. The final selection will be announced at the Educational Foundation’s “Rookie Teachers of the Year Celebration” on March 27 at Lake-Sumter Community College’s Everett A. Kelly Convocation Center in Leesburg after another panel of judges’ conducts on-site interviews and observes the three finalists in the classroom. More information about the three finalists includes:
Gabriel Girdner — In his second year as a math teacher at Gray Middle, Girdner writes in his application that he has two truths he teaches to his students each year. “The first is my professional mission statement. I’m not here to teach you what you need to pass seventh grade. I’m here to help you learn life skills that get you through college and beyond. He continues, “The second truth I teach is my approach to the mathematics we study. Math is not numbers. Math is thinking carefully to reach an accurate conclusion. This means that the focus of learning is logic, reasoning, and understanding why and how to what we know in real-life situations.”
“He is a wonderful teacher that is truly all-around,” said Dr. Janice Boyd, Principal of Gray Middle School. “He’s not just instructional, but he has empathy for his students. He takes students from the textbook to the real world.”
Anthony Mack — During his first year as social studies teacher for seventh and eighth graders at Oak Park Middle, Mack writes in his application, “Each day, I try to find ways to show my students that I am not only concerned about their academics, but I am concerned about their social well-being.” He continues, “An outstanding teacher is on who possess the ability to do the aforementioned — meeting students where they are, academically and socially. Not only will this foster a productive learning environment, but a relationship with students that makes them want to perform well in your classroom.”
“He goes above and beyond and, as a teacher, has a thirst to learn more. He always training and learning; working weekends and weeknights,” said Letizia Haugabrook, Principal of Oak Park Middle School. “He’s been a role model for our students on campus.”
Christine Palmer — In her first year as a third grade teacher at Grassy Lake Elementary Palmer has instituted a unique class activity to help ignite her students’ motivation to learn more. She writes in her application, “One instructional method I use with my students is the use of a ‘wonderbox.’ Each student has a box with his or her name on it. Throughout the nine-week grading period, students are encouraged to write questions on an index card about anything they wonder about. Then they put these cards in their ‘wonderbox’ and research the answers during an allotted time.” She concludes that the exercise has made a drastic change in her student’s critical and complex thinking.
“Words cannot explain how great she is,” said Doreathe Cole, Principal at Grassy Lake Elementary School. “She is every principal’s dream. She can hold her own with veteran teachers every day. She has instantly become a part of our family.”
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