Students give favorite teachers A’s

Published 9:00 pm Monday, June 14, 2004

School is out in most districts. Many teachers received farewell gifts including favorite teacher Christmas ornaments, fruit baskets or soap.

Other teachers received precious gifts from their students via a contest sponsored by Ivar’s restaurants in which students wrote about why their favorite teacher should be honored. Kim E. Kimmy, Ivar’s spokeswoman, said Ivar’s wanted to recognize teachers during Teacher Appreciation Month.

They were asked to explain in 1,000 words or less why their teacher was deserving. There were more than 200 entries and winners were selected by a panel of judges selected by Ivar’s.

Here’s what some local students wrote about their teachers:

* From Randi Klinck, kindergartener at Edmonds Elementary School: “Mrs. (Sarah) Bode is nice. She has lots of fun art for us to do. She makes school a good place to be. She is fun to have for a teacher. She writes beautifully! She is sometimes funny. She’s cool. She is pretty!”

* From Alison Monroe, pre-kindergartener at Edmonds Montessori, regarding Christi Kreft and Esma Polovina: “I like my teachers because they like to teach! We learn Japanese on Wednesdays. We have 22 kids in our class and would love the (Ivar’s) dancing clam to come visit.”

* From Mikayla Monroe, kindergartener at Sherwood Elementary School, Edmonds School District, regarding Erica Wenmeyer and Karen Schofield: “I like my teacher because she likes me! I get to be her helper! My teacher is my friend! She is my best teacher! We want Ivar’s dancing clam in our classroom! How fun!”

* From Amber Smith, Lowell Elementary School, Everett School District second-grader: “Mrs. (Laura) Young takes my class on a ton of field trips, about eight so far in the year. She makes us do hard things but she’s a great teacher. We did a Power Point which is fourth-grade work. She is very patient and she makes learning fun. Our class is the best class in the school. I have learned I can do hard things.”

* From Valerie Stahl, Evergreen Middle School, Everett School District seventh-grader: Mr. (Mike) Taggard should be Ivar’s Teacher of the Year because he is one of the best explainers in math and is always there for help. It is not easy teaching an obnoxious group of seventh-graders, but Mr. Taggard always makes math exciting and interesting. Not only is he also a math teacher, but on the basketball court he shows off his excellent coaching skills with kids.”

* From Victoria Berg, Sherwood Elementary School, Edmonds School District fifth-grader: Mrs. (Kathy) Mindt should be Ivar’s Teacher of the Year because she’s nice and very caring. She also makes learning fun. Some of the most fun subjects she teaches are scrapbooking and math. Also, she uses her room every Monday and Wednesday to hold a knitting club. I think Mrs. Mindt really deserves this award because she does nice things for people and I think she should be rewarded for being a nice person and teacher. Please make Mrs. Mindt Ivar’s Teacher of the Year, she really deserves it.”

* From Bobby L. Cooper, Granite Falls Middle School eighth-grader: “Mr. (John) Winkler should be Ivar’s Teacher of the Year because he is one of the few teachers that I’ve had that can make learning fun. He teaches Earth science even with such a boring topic he can make a joke on anything. Then during astronomy at the end of the year we get rockets to test. This year we don’t have enough funds so we might not get the rockets. This is why I think Mr. Winkler deserves to win this award.”

* From Julie Korzan, for her daughter, Christina, Skyline Elementary School, Lake Stevens fifth grader: “Mrs. Jenny Ludenia is most deserving of this award because of the love and compassion she brings to this special-needs classroom. She teaches with kindness and patience to every child, pressing in to reach each student’s potential. Some students cannot speak. Some of the children exhibit very challenging behaviors, because of autism and other disabilities. But, she is always ready to open her arms to each child, accepting of their differences and able to reach some, where others have failed. She is truly an amazing teacher, one in a million.”

The above teachers all received $25 second places. Bob Donegan, president of Ivar’s, gave a $250 check for school supplies to the grand prize winner of Ivar’s Teacher of the Year contest, Patti Vicari, a third- and fourth-grade teacher at Sherwood Elementary School in Edmonds.

Fourth-grader Katrina Heine submitted the winning entry about Vicari and was awarded a certificate and a clam chowder party for her class with an appearance by Ivar’s tap-dancing clam.

Katrina wrote: “Mrs. Vicari makes learning fun and easier. Like when we studied weight and measurement, we made different foods where we had to put in a certain amount of ingredients. When we learned about the water cycle, we made up a song, ‘Evaporation Precipitation.’ Or when we learned how to address letters we made our own mail boxes and sent letters to each other. Mrs. Vicari is very caring and kind too.”

It sounds like our schools are lucky to have wonderful teachers, and students who took the time to sing their praises.

Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.