Teacher Appreciation Nominations Blog O – P
Through our Teacher Appreciation nominations, we were able to see exactly how our teachers our impacting our kids and community. We want to recognize each nomination that has come in. With over 1700+ unique nominations, we are sharing the answers to our question posed: “Why does this teacher make you smile?”. The blogs are organized by last name of the teacher.
Teacher: Rebecca O’Meara, Fariss Middle School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Ms. O’Meara is a teacher I will never forget. Although I am a junior in high school, she will always remain my favorite teacher that has impacted me in so many ways. Back in eighth grade, I was a very insecure person. I had no idea who I was, and it was my first year attending Faiss, so I was the new and shy kid. Ms. O’Meara’s welcoming personality made me feel a sense of safety. She opened my eyes to my potential and never let me forget how smart I really am. She pushed me to every limit in the best way possible. She had so much confidence in me that it proved to me how I need to believe in myself and my abilities. Not a day would go by that she wouldn’t tell me she’s proud of me. She was a cheerleader in my life and was so understanding with not only school things but personal matters as well. She is an amazing teacher that really deserves so much. Yes, she taught me 8th grade English but something she taught me that not a lot of teachers do is how to believe and love myself. She was like my school mom, she pushed me to do better and never let me get disappointed with myself. Overall, I could never thank her enough for how much she’s truly done for me. Without her I would have no path in this life, but she guided me along the right one and every day I continue to try and make her proud. She is a beautiful soul and needs to be recognized more.
Teacher: Ejay Ogene, Lomie G. Hear Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Mrs. Ogene is very intelligent and always demonstrates her knowledge to solve problems and to organize tasks. She has great attitude towards challenges and the best part is that she is a great teacher to my son. My son loves her and cares a lot about her. Mrs. Ogene inspires my son to do better.
Teacher: Stephen Oranchak, Northwest Career Technical Academy
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? I’ve had this teacher for 3 years out of my high school experience and I’ve enjoyed having him every year. He tries to make all of the classes as accessible and fun as possible for everyone. He also encourages creative freedom in every single project that he gives us. This makes it so that no two people’s work is ever the same. I also appreciate that he always asks if there’s anything we need, but still encourages all of his students to try and figure things out on their own. He’s witty, concise, and always keeps students engaged. All of these qualities about Mr. Oranchak and are what makes me happy to have him as my teacher.
Teacher: Stacie Oswald, Robert L. Forbuss Elementary
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Ms. Oswald is the greatest teacher in the world, my daughter enjoys attending school every single day. We just moved to the USA and with the help and support of Ms. Oswald she got used very quick. Our teacher is very friendly, supportive and skillful and she makes everyone feel confident and safe!!!
Teacher: Clarissa O’Connor, Dondero Elementary
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She always goes the extra mile for her students! Truly dedicated to educating our children.
Teacher: Rebecca O’meara, Wilbur & Theresa Faiss Middle School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? I can’t even begin this because of how awesome Ms. O’meara was to me and I’m sure is to all her students. Today I went back and read the last email she sent me, she stated how she was so proud of me and how I had helped her through the school year. It made me tear up reading it again, almost a year later. If I’m being honest for the longest time, I put off reading that email because I wasn’t ready to let go of her, she really was the one that made my eight-grade year special. She was the reason for why I feel in love with the English subject. I would describe her as one of the best, if not the best teacher I’ve ever had. She is caring, considerate, passionate, bright, and loving. Every day I miss having her, bringing a smile to my face like she always did, and her many encouraging and supporting words of advice. If you are reading this Ms. O’meara thank you, thank you thank you for all. Know that you are deeply appreciated by your students, that you’ve left a special mark on them. Also, yes Sofi and I are still best friends (thought that was important to add).
Emily Merlo Manzanarez.
Teacher: Lynn Oliver, Thurman White Academy of The Performing Arts
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She is always pushing you to do your best, she makes you see thing in a different way which makes stay active and or work outs funny to do. Not only a teacher is she but cares about your outside life to, she is always opened to listen and is a lot of people go to person. She understands you more than any teacher.
She is always pushing you to do your best, she makes you see thing in a different way which makes stay active and or work outs funny to do. Not only a teacher is she but cares about ur outside life to, she is always open to listen and is a lot of people go to person. She understands you more than any teacher.
Teacher: Stephanie Ortega, Bonanza High School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She makes every day worth it and her class is always one i look forward to. she’s one of the very few teachers that actually talks to us and I always leave that class feeling better.
She is great makes sure that class is great makes sures that students are caught up on the work.
Whenever I need someone to talk to, she’s always there. She has positive energy that makes her class fun.
Teacher: Matthew Ostlie, Eldorado High School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? He’s an amazing teacher who makes me enjoy school; he’s given me an amazing three years at Eldorado high school. Although he’s leaving next year, I’m so proud of him because he deserves this. He genuinely cares about our well-being and i hope he wins this, and it can be a thank you from me to him. At a whopping height of 6’8 he’s truly a gentle giant who deserves this award and so much more, please consider him.
Teacher: Christian Pabon, Ulom Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? He is an incredible professional who is coming from a long line of dedicated teachers that
Provides his students with the necessary strategies to master first grade curriculum objectives
and providing all the love and care they need to become better citizens in a near future.
My best regards to him always.
His passion for serving others. As a child I knew He would serve his community at some capacity. Giving and sharing comes naturally to Cristian. I am proud of my son, and I love to see him grow and enjoy what He does for the family, his students and his community.
Cristian is Currently a first-year teacher. He is an amazing teacher who really cares for his students. He is always trying his best to make sure his student treats each other with kindness and respect. He keeps his students engaged while learning and makes it a fun and comforting environment for his students. This teacher makes me smile because me makes his students smile.
Cristian has always demonstrated an ability to teach, guide and help others. His passion for helping children grow to their full potential is demonstrated at home with his family and friends. Now he takes these skills to the classroom. I’m proud of my Son. I love to see Him happy. Thank you in advance.
Teacher: Kristian Palacious, D,Vorre and Hal Ober Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She makes everyday fun! My child is thriving and LOVING school thanks to Ms. Palacios! Can’t thank her enough for all she’s done, taught, and instilled.
Ms. Palacios is so kind and patient with her students. We love all of the little wins she shares with us.
Teacher: Jacqueline Palmer
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She is best in kids and made my son happy every day.
Teacher: Cassandra Panchavinin, Rose Warren Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Ms. Panchavinin deserves this award as she makes teaching at Rose Warren professional, fun and meaningful. She is in charge of training teachers with new district initiatives and programs that enhance our teaching. She supports all teachers in any way she can. She is also in charge of student of the month, teacher of the month and support staff of the month. We never had this kind of recognition before. She’s also in charge of all the fundraisers and spirit activities that make school fun. Because of all these extracurricular activities she helps connect teachers with our student’s families and itmakes a stranger school community. Ms. Panchavinin is truly the heart of our school and deserves any recognition.
Teacher: Jessica Pantle, Don and Dee Snyder Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Mrs. Pantle makes me smile because she makes my son smile. He absolutely adores her because she has made his kindergarten year of school something truly special. She does many fun activities and projects with her class, and my son is constantly talking about things he enjoyed doing at school. Mrs. Pantle makes learning fun, she makes my son want to learn more and do his best. She’s also a very effective teacher and my son is learning so much with her. She’s everything you could hope for in a teacher.
Teacher: Laura Penrod, Southwest Career and Technical Academy
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? This teacher makes me smile because she always makes sure to be inclusive of everyone in our class. She always tells me she likes my hair and makes me as a person of color feel like I belong in the school. She always asks us in the beginning of every class if we have anything positive to share and makes sure that we feel comfortable with sharing. She does not treat any student different based on grades or work ethic, she treats us all like we are people. She did ACT prep almost every class up until we did them to make sure we were confident enough to get a good score. She is always reasonable with her assignments and makes sure that we have a full understanding of what we are doing and why. She talks about issues going on around us and why they matter and how they affect us. She makes us comfortable enough to share personal problems going on outside of school. She helps us to understand that we are all people and deserve to be treated as such. She tells personal stories in class with us making all of our relationships with her stronger. Overall, she is an amazing teacher and I think anybody in her class would agree.
With my limited high school involvement, I must confess that I am envious of people who were able to enjoy and be exposed to what it’s like to have a normal high school experience. I have never failed in my academics until we were suddenly moved to online school. I remember feeling disconnected from school, from my teachers, from my friends, and from myself. I felt like a passenger of my own life. When I stepped into Mrs. Penrod’s classroom for the first time, it felt like a breath of fresh air. Her classroom and overall environment is like a home away from home. She has made each and every one of her students feel safe and heard, and I think after what we’ve been going through for the past couple of years, she is what we all need. I love that she shares personal experiences with us and lets herself be vulnerable to us. It is truly something great to be able to be a part of such a loving environment. Being in her class has helped me remember how much I used to enjoy school and I commiserate with the students who haven’t experienced such love from a teacher.
Mrs. Penrod is one of the most amazing teachers. She constantly inspires me and does her best to connect to the class by talking to us as equals rather than children. The amount of respect she shows us is inspiring, and the thought alone brings a smile to my face.
Teacher: Justin Perreault, Western High School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Mr. Perreault is the best teacher! He cares deeply about his students and works hard to make lessons interesting. He purchases supplies out of his own pocket, so that students have opportunities for fun labs. He’s also the baseball coach and a wonderful role-model.
Teacher: Simone Phillips, Western High School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She is so nice and kind one my fav teacher is so nice and sweet.
Teacher: Ms. Zondiors Politimi, Sister Robert Joseph Bailey Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? because she is one of my favorite teachers this whole school year also she teaches me a lot and she make me laugh and smile she also lets us do lots of fun things
Teacher: Amelisa Polk, Vanderburg Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She makes me smile because she is always the person who sets everything aside, be flexible with her schedule, step-up whenever needed, and help manage fundraisers for projects that belong to others! Ms. Polk is very kind, witty, creative, and teaches from the heart. She works selflessly, and she puts students first! For many more reasons, Ms. Polk makes everyone smile, the students, the staff, and families. She is loved and quite appreciated for all that she offers and does for everyone.
Teacher: Bertrand Potts, Southwest Career & Technical Academy
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? This teacher makes me smile because he is always putting the class in a good mood even though our class is his least favorite because of all the disruptions. He also has the best sense of humor and always tries to make me feel better if I am not feeling up to par.
Mr. Potts takes care of his students like they are his own kids. He also takes extra time to teach you concepts that you may not understand as well as others. He puts so much effort into his students and I believe that he deserves to be shown appreciation for all that he does.
This teacher comes to class every single day, in a positive manner and upholds his authority as a teacher righteously with pride.
He is just really nice, and he is completely trusting with most of his students.
Mr. Potts always makes me smile because he cares about us a lot and has a good sense of humor so is able to match our energy, especially mine. I really appreciate everything he does for us and I hope that everything goes well for him.
Teacher: MeganPrater, Lomie G. Heard Elementary
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She’s always so positive and dresses in wild and crazy outfits, which make everyone smile. She also helps out the community in many different ways. I wish we could keep her every year!
Teacher: Elena Presilla, Schofield Middle School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She makes sure that we get our work down and help whenever we need it. She also lets us talk a lot as long as we get our work done as well as free time.
Teacher: Eric Preston, Robert L. Forbuss
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Mr. Preston is the reason my daughter is excited to go to school. He encourages her to be herself and as a parent I appreciate that.
Always great with the kids and has lots of patience and kindness.
Mr. Preston makes me smile with his never ending energetic mood that he exudes with all his students, parents and even none students of him, he always tries to interact with eveyone, he always have a funny or nice things to say with the kids around him and most especially, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks to him, I really deeply appreciate him for letting my son knows he was not “dumb” in fact..
As a new student in the school, he was walking back to class from their public washroom, some kids who did not really know my son told him “He is dumb.” which gladly too, I am glad my son approached his teacher telling about his encounter. I appreciate how Mr. Preston addressed my son’s encounter/experience with the kids, and I am also glad that my son just ignored them. reassuringly and positively Mr. Preston addressed well my son’s question and my son’s feelings. Together with the whole class Mr. Preston was able to address the situation excellently.
Mr. Preston engages his class, is communicative and helps ground my son and help him keep learning in such a way that he is able to manage his ADHD. When we have covid, he brought materials to our house so that we could keep working. His love of teaching is evident in everything he does.
Teacher: Lisa Price, Bunker Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She reminds me that teaching is an important job. The reward only come to those who are patient enough to endure.
Teacher: Monique Pacheco, Legacy Traditional School Southwest
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Ms. Pacheco cares about her students beyond just excelling in the classroom. She takes great pride in their abilities, and their overall well-being.
Teacher: Camille Parker, Red Rock Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She’s goes above and beyond for all her students. If my son misses a day, she truly cares about it and will call to make sure everything is okay. He’s learned so much from her personally. I’ll definitely be sad to leave her class. She Amazing and so kindhearted!
Teacher: Erik Peluso, McMillian Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? He is kind and makes class fun.
Teacher: Vania Pham, E W Griffith Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She always takes care of our children. Help them understand and meditate about the class and make them want to improve their skills. My daughter enjoys go to school with miss Pham. She makes a excellent environment to learn. She is selfless with her students and rewards us for our achievements.
Teacher: Traci Pollard, Kenneth Divich Elementary
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She makes me smile by keeping my baby boy safe at school, teaching him new wonderful things at school, responding to my concerns in a very timely manner. Just for being a teacher which is one of the hardest jobs. For waking up coming to teach my child and all of his classmates. For allowing them to celebrate holidays and have fun and enjoy school. All of these wonderful things make me smile. And my child loves his teacher which is a huge plus.
Teacher: Megan Prater, Lomie G. Heard Elementary
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Ms. Prater puts her heart and soul into education and teaching. She is always on her toes, making changes, and getting learners engaged. She is a ray of sunshine that spreads throughout the school community. She had a true love and is amazing at teaching. She works very hard to go above and beyond in her work.
Teacher: Melissa Prieur, Raul P. Elizondo Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Because she always brightens up my mornings with her kindness.
Teachers play a significant role in our lives, and we are thankful for them and all they do for our community every single day. We understand how important their job is in student development and learning and know they work tirelessly to educate children and add value to their lives! Thank you, you are our heroes!
