Quyana to Mr. Snelson at Mt. Illiamna! Mr. Snelson is a PE teacher at Mt. Illiamna. He truly cares about the children and is such a positive influence continually. His light shines bright and he really is making a difference. Shine on! - Elizabeth Patrick, substitute teacher
Quyana to Elena Sheltra at Newcomers' Center! Elena's positive attitude shines through each day while she is working with students, parents, and her colleagues. Elena is an amazing co-worker. She has great compassion for all of the students. She has often shown me different Web sites for new teaching ideas and has shared information about her own teaching experiences in Panama. Because of her dedication to teaching, her enthusiasm, and her desire to help the students succeed, Elena helps to make each day a little brighter. Gracias, Elena! I truly appreciate all that you do! - Bonnie Palach, ELLP Teacher
Quyana to Kristi Grandi at Benny Benson SEARCH Program! Ms. Grande organized a Math Night for the students to demonstrate their projects for their parents and family members. More than 40 percent of the students with their parents were in attendance. A slide show was presented depicting the students as they were involved in class activities as well as planned school social activities. The students as well as parents and friends were proud of their accomplishments. Thank you for the effort given to make this evening event a great success. - Sam Spinella, supervisor
Quyana to Larry Wilson at East High School! Larry did a wonderful job at initiating, organizing, and executing the Poetry Out Loud Recitation Contest at East High School. He introduced teachers to the idea of including Poetry Out Loud at East High. From there, he was in constant contact with the English teachers involved in this excellent program that teaches the art of performing poetry. Larry also organized an entire school-wide contest for the students at East High that was a great success. Due to his effort and hard work, East High is now sending two students to the Anchorage-wide Poetry Out Loud competition. They could not have done this without Larry! Great work! - Lisa Bunag, teacher
Quyana to Mears Special Education Staff at Mears Middle School! I would like to thank the entire Mears Middle School special education staff. Every day this extraordinary group of teachers and aides works with our energetic Mears students to improve their academic skills, social skills, and to teach them how to contribute to our school community. Our staff works as a positive team and they not only support our regular education teachers in an effective manner, they support all Mears families with a professional and caring touch. I have never worked with a finer team and I feel fortunate that they all work at Mears. Thank you team! - Michael Perkins, Principal
Quyana to Cindy Arnold at Polaris K-12! Cindy Arnold is the most amazingly positive person I know. She brings a joy and enthusiasm with her wherever she goes, and the kids at Polaris just love her. She uses her huge family of puppets to help kids understand complex social issues, and she helps new kids transition into a big, new, scary place like school -- even finding ways to build bridges and positively impact very troubled children. If there's something happening, Cindy's in the middle of it volunteering and smiling and making things go smoothly. She never draws attention to herself, but you can find her handprints of love and caring in the lives of hundreds of very blessed children in this amazing place we call Polaris K-12. - Bob Arnold, husband
Quyana to Tim Godfrey and Elizabeth Hancock at Alaska Native Cultural Charter School! We have noticed such a big improvement in our children since enrolling them in this wonderful school. They come home happy every day and are ready to learn the next. There are so many fun and exciting things that they do there, such as skating nights, potlatches, dances, ice fishing.... the list could go on. It's so nice to see the teachers "want” to be there too and all are ready to help you if you ask for it.
We like how when you need to speak to the principal, he is ALWAYS available to meet your needs. I see him talking and sitting with students whenever I am there, when they need him for any matter or just to see how their day is going.
Elizabeth is more than just a front desk person, I see her tending to the needs of the kids just as much as the teachers and principal. You can tell that she loves kids and that the kids truly love her too.
This is more than just a school, it's a family. Thank you also to my kids' teachers, Danielle Riha, Angela Blue, Dan Greenwood and Clara Amidon as well, keep up the good work in this great school, full of family and cultural learning. - Gina and John Graves, parents
Quyana to Monique Baca and Susan Heyroth at Willow Crest Elementary! Thank you so very much for all of your professional guidance and incredible team skills. As a substitute teacher for one of your team members, it is such an honor to work with such caring, dedicated and professional teachers. - Lynda Hadley, substitute teacher
Quyana to Jennie Mixson at Chinook Elementary! Jennie is always so cheerful, positive, and friendly. She is a warm, caring person who shows genuine kindness every day at work. She is also very flexible and willing to help out in any way she can. It is such a pleasure to work with someone like Jennie. She never fails to brighten my day with her cheery, daily greeting, and her spirit of cooperation and teamwork. - Mariann Trent, teacher
Quyana to Brenda Wimett and Barbara Brovelli-Moon at Willow Crest Elementary! Barbara and Brenda jumped into helping us get together an entirely new classroom in February! They set up the room, gathered materials, and generally took charge and got the room up and running for the new teacher in three days. Thank you for offering and contributing all of your time and energy, including weekend time!! This room wouldn't have made it up and successful so quick without you! - Julie Bryant, peer
Quyana to Melissa Abbott at Northwood ABC Elementary! Melissa Abbott is a rare gem. How fortunate for the students, parents, and staff of the Northwood ABC community that she works as our Family School Services Coordinator. Mrs. Abbott has a wide range of abilities and gifts which she generously shares with all whom she comes in contact. Perhaps her greatest asset lies in her ability to discern areas of need and how to meet those needs. Melissa Abbott possesses the acumen and adeptness to figure out solutions to just about any problem in a short period of time.
In fulfilling her role as Northwood’s family advocate, Mrs. Abbott makes home visits to families in need, helps with truancy issues, and basically helps coordinate any event or activity that involves parents and community. This is in addition to being a part of parent committees such as the PTA, the Title I Site Team, and C-PAC. Mrs. Abbott deftly handles the responsibilities within these committees with a smile. - Greg Balcao, supervisor
Quyana to Vicky Otte at Gruening Middle School! I would like to thank Vicky Otte from Gruening for hosting the Project Citizen competition. It was a well coordinated event that was fun and exciting for all the kids who attended. - Adam Johnson, Romig Teacher
Quyana to Carleen Ulbrich, Jennifer Rizer, Kristina Slater at Trailside Elementary! Carleen, Jennifer, and Kristina are wonderful, contributing staff members of Trailside Elementary. It is awesome to go to work each day and collaborate with such incredible teachers. They do for the kids and work hard to make each day a fulfilling experience. Thank you for making my teaching experience that much better! - Valerie Johnson, teacher
Quyana to Sherry Ellers at Hanshew Middle School! Ms. Ellers has done a phenomenal job at keeping Hanshew safe, and setting a good example for the entire Anchorage School District. We recently practiced our shelter in place drill, running through multiple scenarios. We moved 800 plus students into a secure location in our building, silently and then practiced with the student release team. Ms. Ellers had things organized so that the student release team could effectively and efficiently release students to their authorized guardians. This entire drill took place in less thank 40 minutes. We want to thank her all of her hard work and dedication in keeping Hanshew Middle School a safe place to be. - Capella Team, Hanshew staff members
Quyana to Ross Johnson at Tech. Support! Ross Johnson has been a tremendous help to me in my endeavors to become more tech savvy. His support with countless ideas for integrating technology in all academic areas has been phenomenal. His demonstrations for both teachers and students have created a much larger venue for using technology. Additionally, his patience with tech troubleshooting has been much appreciated. His willingness to remain after school to show a group of teachers how to use technology has been very helpful. Thank you Ross! You are much appreciated! Debi Litton, 6th grade teacher at Homestead Elementary. - Debi Litton, teacher
Quyana to Dennis Camalig at BPO! I would like to thank Mr. Dennis for the wonderful job he did as Chester Valley's substitute BPO. Not only did he clean everything, but he was an excellent role model for ALL of our children. We will miss him! - Jan Davis, parent, Chester Valley PTA President
Quyana to Margaret Gadsden at East High School! Ms. Gadsden has gone above and beyond in supporting my daughter's applications for college. We could not have done it without her and both of us really appreciate her help! - Kelly Scott, parent
Quyana to Argon Team - Rick Bivins, Traci Stanley, Chris Kleckner, Patty Gallego at Central Middle School! I am so appreciative of the time and effort the teachers on this team put into making our children's education top notch! My student has blossomed under their guidance. They have created a safe and nurturing environment that has allowed my son to grow and explore new opportunities. Bivins, Stanley, Gallego and Kleckner are truly educating all our students for success in life. I feel extremely lucky that my son has had the opportunity to learn from these incredible professionals. - Carrie Shelley, parent
Quyana to Brenda Lannen and Donna Romerdahl at East High School curriculum office! Even though they have millions of things to do they are never too busy to lend a helping hand to a student or a fellow co-worker in need! I am grateful to be working with two wonderful people. I want to commend them both for all the hard work they to make the school run smoothly. I don't know what I would do without you guys. Thank you so much for all your help and guidance! You both rock! Keep up the GREAT work! - Janet Emmsley, co-worker
Quyana to Lori Dudley at Begich Middle school front office! I would just like to thank Lori for bringing such joy to the office at Begich Middle School. As a mother of twins in 6th grade and now a foster mom to another 6th-grader, I was very nervous going to middle school for the first time. Whenever you call and are concerned or just don't know what to do, Loris’ shining personality always comes through over the phone or in person. She always finds who you need to talk to or helps you with your problem. She makes you feel like she's known you and you are the most important thing at that moment. I think all schools need more people like Lori in their front office to ease the nervousness that parents often have. All the kids that I have been around as well, just love her! A great big thanks to Lori! - Becky Lewis, parent
