PBIS has announced January’s Staff Member of the Month and Students of the Month.
Learning specialist Laura Harbin nominated fellow learning specialist Jason Flowers. He was chosen for his calm and respectful attitude when working with students.
Other staff members nominated were Jennifer Moc, assistant principal Brandi Meeks, and guidance counselor Pam Lewis.
Math teacher Heather Mcnally nominated senior Sophie Thomsen for her compassion, and her driven attitude in the classroom.
“Sophie is an incredibly responsible precalculus student. She works diligently to achieve high grades, asking questions in class, completing assignments, and doing extremely well on assessments,” McNally said. “She is very compassionate and she is always willing to help her classmates. I have enjoyed teaching her the past two years.”
Childcare teacher Hope Via nominated sophomore Roxy Morin for her accountability, always being prepared and working ahead on academics.
Other nominees included sophomores Caroline Drez and Maggie Mendes, freshman Eliza Berkolli, and juniors Kaylie Bolmon and Byrson Keeny.
PBIS has also announced February’s Staff Member of the Month and Students of the Month.
Assistant principal Dr. Elise Heaton, student information systems operator Kirsten Brooks, and 10th literature and newspaper teacher Justin Spencer all nominated assistant band director Bert Groover. He was chosen because of his willingness to go out of his way in order to help others and make connections.
“We’ve got the ginormous gulf called the rotunda between the fine arts and the rest of the school,” Spencer said. “For a guy like Groover to be willing to bridge that gap and cross over that threshold to greet those of us on the other side of that threshold is definitely something worth recognizing and serves as a great example, not only for us teachers, but for students as well that sometimes that little effort that we take to bridge those gaps and connect with others can really make all the difference.”
Other staff members nominated were assistant principals Dr. Elise Heaton and Ms. Brandi Meeks, math teachers Heather McNally, Tony Kluemper, and Derek Abrams, science teachers Samantha Krage and Amy Hinote, English teacher Whitney Shoemaker, coaches Chase Penland and Chad Walker, special education department chair Amy Evert, learning specialist Mary Lehman, ESOL teacher Courtney Day, media specialist Rick Wright, sports marketing teacher Jennifer Beaubouef, nutrition and wellness teacher Adriah Williams, and early childhood teacher Hope Via.
Nutrition and wellness teacher Adriah Williams nominated junior Bailey Tourre as upperclassman of the month. She was nominated due to her exceptional ability to take on leadership roles and come up with ideas to help those around her.
“When she learned that we were having budget issues due to the increase in the number of students in the pathway and rising grocery costs, she sat there and said ‘I can make a website and we can sell fudge, we can sell chocolate covered strawberries, we could sell this, we could sell that’,” Williams said. “She is just full of ideas and full of helpfulness and always willing to go above and beyond.”
Other upperclassmen nominated were seniors Isabella Matey and Chloe Fitzsimmons, and juniors Carina Jimenez, Madison Hand, and Grace Crocket.
French teacher Jill Snelgrove nominated sophomore Oheema Boakye as underclassman of the month. She was nominated due to her willingness to take on a huge commitment in order to help others.
“When I needed someone to help with our French exchange, she volunteered to host a student for me and she did an amazing job,” Snelgrove said. “I was just very impressed by her generosity and kindness toward someone she didn’t know.”
Other underclassmen nominated were sophomores Layne Johnston and Alexandra Bowe, and freshman Paxton Hardin and JT Vocca.
Once a month Heaton, the assistant principal in charge of PBIS, sends out a link to the staff so that they can nominate teachers and students on their good mannerism. The PBIS committee, composed of Heaton, a PBIS coach, and other staff, voted on the PBIS staff and students of the month.
“The PBIS program at Starr’s Mill helps us focus on the three core values that we want all of our students and staff to exhibit on a daily basis: respect, accountability, and responsibility,” Heaton. “So with PBIS and focusing on these three things we can celebrate the positive things going on in our building instead of the negative things, which will hopefully encourage others to show those positive values as well.”