BCSD announces three 2016 Teacher of the Year Honor Roll finalists
March 15, 2016
MONCKS CORNER, SC – Berkeley County School District (BCSD) announced its top three Honor Roll Teacher of the Year finalists at its annual Teacher Forum Induction on Friday, March 11 at Crowfield Baptist Church. The Forum and district also congratulated and recognized the 42 school-wide winners.
The top three Honor Roll educators, who will advance to compete for the 2016 district-level Teacher of the Year honor, included the following descriptions in their applications:
Sedgefield Intermediate – Sharon Blackwood: She knows she must acknowledge where the children are when she begins working with them, yet she never stops believing that they can attain a high reaching goal. Through encouragement, building trusting relationships, creating nurturing environments, and constant effort, she feels educators help children learn how to become productive, contributing citizens. She remembers when she began teaching, the computer lab was a custodial closet filled with RadioShack computers. Today, she makes lesson plans for students to demonstrate their understanding of the plot, theme, and characterization from a book by creating an iMovie trailer on an iPad. She believes education is the chance for all children to become the individuals they dare to imagine.
Cane Bay Elementary – Gina Sawicki: She says her classroom is a safe place where it is okay to ask for help, take risks, and even “fail” sometimes. School should be a safe place where the passion for learning is ignited, curiosity is celebrated, and communication is strengthened. Every moment matters. She has found that, especially when working with students in the Gifted and Talented Program, many students are reluctant to ask for help or admit they don’t understand concepts. She believes school should be a place where children want to come, are excited while they are there, and feel challenged yet supported.
Goose Creek High – Geoffrey Sklar: Teachers must strive to ignite in their students a love of learning. This inspiration is the key for a student to find his or her passion to follow their dream to success. He feels teaching is by far the hardest job he has encountered. It requires patience, knowledge, communication skills and passion. He says during any given day I am not the best teacher in my room as the students manage and solve detailed projects in ways that allow them to “think outside the box”. Guiding their learning and watching them work together within the theoretical constraints to solve a problem and create a project inspires me as a lifelong learner even after all these years in a classroom.
The district’s Teacher of the Year will be announced on Friday, April 15, at an annual breakfast with the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, Santee Cooper and Trident Technical College.
The other top semifinalists for the district-level Teacher of the Year award are:
- Cane Bay Middle – Jessica Donaldson
- Cross Elementary – Christal Stevens
- Devon Forest Elementary – Nicole LaPoint
- Marrington Elementary – Shelbee Cupp
- Timberland High – Emily Sieting
The other school-level award recipients are:
- Berkeley County Middle College High- Corinne Page
- Berkeley Elementary- Karen Marsch
- Berkeley High- Corinne M. Brittle
- Berkeley Intermediate- Heather E. Hennessy
- Berkeley Middle- Melissa Hicks
- Boulder Bluff Elementary- E. Lauren Kinard
- Cainhoy Elementary/Middle- Michael Huff
- Cane Bay High- Nicole Goldammer
- College Park Elementary- Diana Woloshin
- College Park Middle- Gina Maxie
- Cross High- Robert E. Scarlett
- Daniel Island School- Gwendolyn Smith
- Goose Creek Primary- Katie Rodgers
- H.E. Bonner Elementary- Michael Silvestri
- Hanahan Elementary- Cindy Manning
- Hanahan High- Accalia Bailey
- Hanahan Middle- Emile’ A. Garcia Dugan
- Howe Hall AIMS- Sandra Reeves
- J.K. Gourdin Elementary- Lori Terrill
- Macedonia Middle- Paige Deegan
- Marrington Middle School of the Arts- Melissa Reinheimer
- Nexton Elementary- Stephanie Dillard
- Sangaree Elementary- Theresa Denholm
- Sangaree Intermediate- Jill Patrick
- Sangaree Middle- Jessica Sanders
- Sedgefield Middle- Samantha Viti
- St. Stephen Elementary- Jennifer Tran
- St. Stephen Middle- Cindy C. Gaskins
- Stratford High- Stella McCombs
- Westview Elementary- Leander McGuigan
- Westview Middle- Jonathan Atkins
- Westview Primary- Amy Jolley
- Whitesville Elementary- Erika Caulder
