Quyana to Celeste Long at Muldoon Elementary! Last year when my son Elijah was in Ms. Long's fourth grade class, Celeste encouraged her class to show their creativity through poetry. At the time I had no idea that my son was so creative, her curriculum showed me another side to my son - all of a sudden he loved school and was animated when talking about his day and what his class worked on. Elijah has struggled in school and it had given him a dislike of even getting up and going, but last year Celeste reached him on a level that was both educational and creative. I wanted to thank her for helping him to enjoy school again and also for treating her students as if each and everyone of them were her own children. Thanks Celeste Long you are a wonderful educator! -Tashaw Pointer, parent
Quyana to Carol Jerue at Willow Crest Elementary! Ms. Jerue is doing a fantastic job with my daughter, Halona. It makes me really happy that she cares so much about my daughter to try to make her motivated and comfortable at school. -Rachel Flynn, parent
Quyana to Doug Tryck at Bayshore Elementary! My son has a non-specific learning disorder and struggles with anxiety, frustration, and stress. He is having a wonderful year because he is in Mr. Tryck's classroom. My son comes home happy and willing to share how his school day went. I am greatly impressed that not only does Mr Tryck display the utmost professional capability as an educator, but he also includes and incorporates each students special needs in to his daily plans. Mr Tryck's years of experience are quite evident as he makes these very difficult tasks look so easy, which creates a truly positive learning experience for my son. Quyana Quyana Quyana to Mr. Tryck! -Barry Caraway, parent
Quyana to Zach Eastlick at Dimond High School! Zach volunteered much of his weekend to bring the Dimond lynx mascot to Trick or Treat Town, an annual fundraising event for The Imaginarium. The critters are a huge hit with the kids who attend this event. Zach really brought the Lynx to life and his enthusiasm was obvious--he was incredible! Thank you Zach, Kevin Theonnes, and Cheryl Guyett at Dimond for your help and support of The Imaginarium. -Allison Wieland, coordinator
Quyana to Jane Lister at Homestead Elementary! Quyana to Jane Lister our fantastic Reading Specialist! She is an excellent resource and goes above and beyond what is required. She is responsible for several schools, but here at Homestead we feel like she is all ours! She is supportive to all teachers and is a positive role model. She is always making us feel like we are doing a wonderful job as teachers with sincere compliments. She has great ideas to make our lessons and teaching better. Jane is always willing to go the extra mile, stopping by to test a child before she hurries to another school. She is there to listen to our frustrations, and our successes. Thank you Jane! -Diane Thayer, teacher
Quyana to Gayle Heywood at West High School! I would like to say "quyana" to Ms. Heywood for keeping parents informed! She frequently e-mails information on grades and tardies - helping us keep a dialog with our daughter. The private school she attended last year did this for all classes (it was a program called ed-line) and we found it extremely helpful in keeping up to date on what was happening in class. A big thank you to Ms. Heywood for going above and beyond in helping keep communication open and active between parent, teacher and student. -Karla Overturf, parent
Quyana to Maria Skala at South High School! Maria Skala is a wonderful teacher. She cares for her students and does a lot of extraordinary activities to make learning fun for her them. She is an exceptional educator who has contributed so much of her own to help the ESL students here at South. She is very open-minded with them and seeks to understand their potential and works hard to encourage them that they can do anything they put their minds into doing…they are a group of intelligent young people! Maria provides food for them every day (and others who wander in her classroom during lunch). She multi-levels her class when teaching, she's resourceful, and she has very high expectations for all her students. She has had a pretty rough start this year as her mother was very ill and just recently passed away, yet she comes to school and puts her mind into what she does best…TEACH! Maria KNOWS what she teaches and that's what makes her stand out! She knows WHAT she teaches and WHO she is teaching. Keep up the good work, Maria. Your ESL kids at South love you and I know that because they miss you when you're gone. -Maple Saena, parent
Quyana to Anna Bondarenko at Eagle River Elementary! My son attends the preschool at Eagle River Elementary with Anna Bondarenko as his teacher. I want to thank Anna for doing such a fabulous job with those little kiddos. She works very hard to ensure the success of each and every one of her students. My son continually improves in the speech area and also the communications area. Mrs. Anna’s classroom is warm and inviting and enables the children to be comfortable and excited about school and learning. Thank you so much Mrs. Anna for all you do and for every time you go above and beyond your actual job so that every child has the opportunity to be the best that they can be and have fun while doing it. Thanks!!! -Tracy Jones, parent
Quyana to Anne Whitley, Counselor Extraordinaire, at Benny Benson High School! Our son had a very hard time academically in "regular" high school. School had no interest for him other than a place to socialize with his friends and alienate many of his teachers. After being firmly persuaded to try Benny Benson, he half-heartedly decided to give school one last shot. Anne Whitley, his counselor at Benny Benson, was a HUGE motivator and drill sergeant (in the nicest possible sense of the term). Anne has seen and dealt with all kinds of kids and knows the value in all of them. She recognized Zak's potential, and through regular talks and encouragement, made him see it too. Zak completed the requirements to graduate from high school yesterday, will receive a high school diploma and Anne Whitley has made all the difference. She realizes that we don't all fit in the same shoe box, she appreciates that we don't all fit in the same shoe box and does her utmost to ensure that a "different" fit doesn't mean the shoe is no good. There aren't enough words to say how much our family appreciates Anne Whitley, Counselor Extraordinaire. Quyana, Anne! -Carol & Kelly Hepler, parents
Quyana to Troy and Gene at Fire Lake Elementary! I am so proud to be able to work with such wonderful people as Gene and Troy. Both Mr. Gene and Mr. Troy volunteer their time to make our school beautiful, clean and welcoming. They work together as a team to be sure our school is safe. Mr. Troy comes in at night, weekends or early in the morning to be sure our parking lot is plowed. Mr. Gene and Mr. Troy both come in together to help the PTA make our evening events successful. There is never a complaint, harsh word or hesitation to help us out. Mr. Troy and Mr. Gene love our school and it shows. Thank you to them for all of their hard work and dedication. We are so fortunate and grateful to this fabulous Firebird team! -Lindsay Henry, principal
Quyana to Carol Jerue at Willow Crest Elementary! When my granddaughter Halona had some problems at school and on the bus she wanted to change schools. I e-mailed her teacher Ms. Jerue with the problems and she replied immediately with helpful suggestions. There aren't enough words to praise Ms. Jerue, she was Halona's teacher in 2nd grade as well. Her care and compassion for her students goes above the call of duty. We are so lucky to have her for a teacher! -Theresa Hartman, grandparent
Quyana to Brett Bissell at Northern Lights ABC! I would like to say thank you to my son’s math teacher, Mr. Brett Bissell, at Northern Lights ABC. He has reached out to my son and the kids in his class, and teaches them in such a way that really has these kids connected. My son has made amazing progress within the first quarter of school. He has also shown my son and I, that the skies are the limit. Thank you so much Mr. Bissell!! -Laura Carmichael, parent
Quyana to Barbara (Bobbi Joe) Erb at Mirror Lake Middle School! Ms. Erb is a fantastic 8th grade teacher. She does her job great and she loves it. She teaches math at Mirror Lake Middle School - a task in itself to get preteens motivated. In addition to doing a great job with the children during the day teaching them about snap shot sequence, distance, rates and times, she adds so much information on her web page that can help parents. From checking out CDs, to her podcast and just always keeping us informed. As parent I enjoy that not only she loves her job but she puts in extra effort to make sure things are getting done outside the classroom. She is a great teacher. -Stacey Dougherty, parent
Quyana to Renee Henry at Homestead Elementary! I would like to say a big THANK YOU to Mrs. Henry. When my son started this year we had high hopes with a new 5th grade teacher, only to find out after the second week of school that she was pregnant and the doctor unfortunately ordered bed rest. My son, as well as most kids, needs consistency, so I was very worried at the time it would take to find a new teacher and the amount of subs that would be in and out. Luckily we were able to have Mrs. Henry the majority of time until they were able to find a new full time teacher, Mr. Pustina, willing to take on a class a quarter of the way into the year. Thank You Mrs. Henry for giving them a great start! -Monica, parent
Quyana to Doug Tryck at Bayshore Elementary! I am so happy my grandson has the chance to have Mr. Tryck as a 5th grade teacher. The actual proof of his ability can be easily seen on my grandson's face every day as he leaves for school. He is so happy in school this year and I think we have Mr. Tryck to thank for this.
My son, Seth, was in Mr. Tryck's class his first year of teaching at Bayshore, and I know Seth as a former student has taken the time to go back and visit him and he too, was happy to know that little Barry would get him too.
Mr. Tryck was the teacher my daughter student-taught under, and he certainly was a great influence on her.
I have two more grandchildren that will be going to Bayshore Elementary and I certainly hope they all get the chance to have such a fine teacher. He has been an asset to our community and certainly to the Bayshore Elementary community. -Linda Bryant, parent/grandparent/taxpayer
Quyana to Audrey Charvat Drew at Polaris K-12! She created an excellent library program, turning a period that was one of my child's least favorite times to one of the best.
She created a warm, inviting environment where kids felt they were welcome to drop in, grab a book, build a pillow nest, work on computers, and take a break from the busy hallways and classrooms of the school.
She organized a computer area and taught kids how to use them as a resource and research tool. She went above and beyond to try and give all the kids an opportunity to learn library research skills. -Mindy Willis, parent
Quyana to Sean Murphy at Begich Middle School! Thanks to Sean Murphy for his leadership in organizing the first annual Winter Fall Carnival at Begich Middle School. As you can imagine, putting together an activity with food, activity booths, and dance can be overwhelming by itself. Not to mention working with a newly appointed PTSA board, large administrative staff, and 10 different middle school teams. It requires a leader with a clear vision, is detailed oriented and knows how to coordinate with community business owners. You certainly did that for our school. Thank you for establishing what we hope will be an annual family tradition here at Begich Middle School. -Ron Brown, assistant principal
Quyana to Whitney Owens at Begich Middle School! Ms. Owens is one of my first teachers at Begich Middle school and so far she has been a great teacher; she has been there to talk to you about anything. She can also solve a situation in a snap, kind of like superwoman. She is always there for her students and nice about homework (Thank God!). Well, I just want to say thanks to her and I want her to stay teaching for a long time! -Rebecca Tracy, student
Quyana to Northern Lights ABC staff, students, parents; Student Nutrition at Northern Lights ABC and the Student Nutrition Department! The Northern Lights ABC staff is fortunate to have so many involved, committed parents that make a positive difference in their children’s lives and education.
Our school has just finished the annual celebrated tradition of a Thanksgiving Feast. This event was a huge success!!! NLABC'S population of 600 plus had the help of Student Nutrition which played an instrumental role in making this event happen. Parents, staff, middle school students undertook many and varied challenges providing a fantastic outcome that was to remember. Thanks to all.
-Jalynn Ireland,
NLABC staff and parent
