At the April 5th Board of Education meeting we honored our district retirees and the school recipients of the 2017-2018 Governor’s Educator of the Year and the Educational Services Professional of the Year.
Before Ms. Gensel introduced the honorees, the BCMS 7 o’Clock Harmony did a wonderful job performing a song “Teacher of the Year Dedication Song.”
Watch their performance.
Ms. Gensel introduced the retirees:
Mrs. Gayle Fredericks - World Language teacher at BCMS.
Mrs. Fredericks started her career many years ago and we are lucky enough to have her finish, with us here in Branchburg. She has shared her love of language and French culture with us and with her students. There are people who teach language because it’s a job, for Gayle teaching language and teaching about France and the culture of France is something that comes from her heart and she conveys that love of the language to all of her students. We thank you incredibly much for your commitment to our students and we are very thankful for what you have done for us over the years.
Mrs. Joanne Sydlowski – Third grade teacher at Whiton.
Mrs. Sydlowski came to us in Branchburg as a teacher about 20 years ago. She was one of the first teachers in the district who embraced the idea of co-teaching. She worked with her partner in crime, Joann Everson for many years making sure that every student in their class together got exactly what they needed in order to learn and move forward. Joanne has never shied away from taking risks. There are times when she has had a class full of challenging students that have pushed her in many, many ways. Joanne took it on and made sure that they succeeded. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for the dedication to the students of Branchburg Township and wish you well.
Mr. Barbosa introduced Mrs. Shannon Heaney – 6th grade Science teacher at BCMS – Governor’s Educator of the Year.
Mrs. Heaney is an extremely enthusiastic teacher whose teaching style sets high standards for her students. She is caring, well-liked, and earns respect from all of her students. Mrs. Heaney has excellent classroom management and her students are actively engaged while in her classroom. Her students are highly motivated to learn and be successful. Mrs. Heaney is able to reach all learners by differentiating instruction. She consistently strives to incorporate new and innovative techniques and strategies into her classroom instruction and procedures.
Mrs. Heaney is a true professional who demonstrates knowledge in her content area. She strives to keep current by attending workshops both in and out of district. She incorporates the Next Generation Science Standards in her lessons with an emphasis on problem-based learning.
In addition, Mrs. Heaney always takes that extra step, she knows that there is more to life than science. She helps teach children about service to others. She wants our students to not only be knowledgeable and successful in science, but good citizens and contribute to our society. It is my great pleasure to introduce and congratulate Mrs. Heaney!
Ms. Hauser introduced Ms. Erin Rimmler – 5th grade teacher at Stony Brook School - Governor’s Educator of the Year.
Ms. Rimmler has had the privilege of being an educator for 12 years . She has been teaching Language Arts in the Branchburg School District for 8 of those years. She is highly respected by the Branchburg Township community as an outstanding teacher and educator. She is intelligent, dedicated, caring and motivational. Her lessons are creative, engaging and dynamic. Her positive attitude and love of teaching and children are reflected in the outstanding quality of the program that she has maintained at Stony Brook School. She demonstrates the highest level of professionalism. As a colleague she works collaboratively with staff and she is a team player. Ms. Rimmler is truly a role model for not only her students but for all of us. Congratulations for this well-deserved honor!
Ms. Hauser introduced Mrs. Linda Dolan – Library and Media Assistant at Stony Brook School – Governor’s Educational Services Professional of the Year.
Mrs. Dolan has 16 year of experience in the Branchburg Township School District. Mrs. Dolan carries out her responsibilities in the most professional manner. She performs her assignments with efficiency and she is highly effective and this is only part of her value to Stony Brook School. In addition to her ability to perform her responsibilities in a highly efficient manner, she is an outstanding human being. She treats everyone with respect and kindness and does this all of the time. She is respected by the students, parents, staff and administration. Mrs. Dolan is a positive influence to everyone that she interacts with on a daily basis. We are very fortunate to have her at Stony Brook School. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor!
Mrs. Shober introduced Mrs. Fitzgibbon – 1st grade teacher at Whiton Elementary School - Governor’s Educator of the Year.
Mrs. Fitzgibbon excels in teaching students to their individual learning needs. She’s always looking for ways to better her practice and this school year was a demonstration classroom for her peers.
She is truly a dedicated professional who works to give her students what they truly deserve. She was chosen as our teacher of the year because she works with students to not only build their skills but to build their confidence at the same time. One of the parents who nominated her wrote: “She is structured enough to make her students focus, nurturing enough to help them achieve to the best of their abilities and caring enough to see that her students succeed.”
She is a role model to her peers because she is not only knowledgeable in all content areas but she is well organized and detail oriented. She helps to support her peers and also differentiates her instruction to match their needs to be the most impactful on their instruction. She has a quiet but effective leadership style. She consistently goes above and beyond to support anyone in our community. We are so lucky to have her as part of our Whiton community and so proud that she is our Teacher of the Year!
Mrs. Kries introduced Ms. O’Neill – Instructional Support at Whiton Elementary School – Governor’s Educational Services Professional of the Year.
Ms. O’Neill really is a teacher who teaches the entire child. She works by building self confidence in her students so that with hard work and dedication they are able to reach benchmarks. She is caring, kind and truly wants what is best for each student.
She creates positive bonds with her students which allow her to determine where her students need support and then provides it for them. She is patient with her instruction, always providing students with wait time and scaffolding to ensure that they get where they need to be while encouraging them to use the resources they have available to become independent learners.
Ms. O’Neill runs the school’s Helping Hands program which provides third grade students with the opportunity to perform community service to support their home town. She also provides Whiton staff with monthly community service opportunities so they too can go out to support their community. She is always working to ensure a positive school climate for both students and staff. Congratulations and thank you!