Columbia Hero! Introducing Mrs. Thacher

 

Mrs. Thacher is a teacher at Columbia Upper Elementary.  Her positive and energetic personality invigorates her students.  She says, “I love the energy that my students bring to the classroom. We always manage to make a lesson become engaging and adaptable to other concepts.”  Mrs. Thacher is a Columbia Hero!  She was nominated by a parent of one of her students.  The parents commented, “I would like to recognize Jackie Thacher. She is one of the most amazing teachers I have ever met. She strives for positive relationships with her class.”

Throughout this critical year, Mrs. Thacher has worked alongside her peers to innovate and create educational opportunities for her students.  When talking about teaching during this time, she said, “I enjoy having the opportunity to work with students of all backgrounds and find ways to continually update my teacher "tool bag" with new ideas.”  Although it has been challenging to have her students online due to the virus at times this year, she mentioned, “I enjoy finding new ways to celebrate overcoming challenges, such as taking the class sledding after missing our Christmas party due to virtual learning.”

When nominating Mrs. Thacher for recognition as a Columbia Hero, the parent wrote, “I’ve never met someone so dedicated and so authentic. During our time remote, she delivered books and resources to each of her students’ homes. This is a small indicator of how passionate she is for the children in her classroom. She is the kindling that really ignited the fire of learning for our son. She is a true hero in education, and we are so blessed that we have the amazing ability to have her in our life.”

Mrs. Thacher is delighted to have her students in the classroom so they can learn Face to Face!  She is passionate about literacy and wants to have her students develop a love for reading.  She believes reading is not just for elementary students, but that developing a life-long love for reading is important for her pupils.  She commented that, “It is a joy to have students become excited about new books being added to our classroom and providing the opportunity for the students to select books they want in their classroom library from book catalogs.”

The Columbia School District is fortunate to have excellent teachers who have achieved Hero status
during this critical time in our community.  Mrs. Thacher has touched the lives of her students and their families due to her caring demeanor and positive impact.  She said that she loves the fact that “we are truly a classroom family. We work on supporting one another and helping each other accomplish everyday tasks and goals.”  Thank you Mrs. Thacher for your passion for educating Columbia students!  If you are interested in learning more about Columbia School District, please email me at Pamela.Campbell@myeagles.org or call 5175926641.

Columbia Hero: Mr. Clanton!

When we download apps they ask all about us.  The app developers want to know all of our personal information: Our location, our address, and various other bits of information.  In Columbia, unlike app developers, our teachers know all about our students.  Our teachers pay special attention to their pupils and focus the educational activities to help promote successful academic development.

Our teachers have given extra attention to their students over the past year.  They have developed special digitized interactive websites to help their students feel comfortable in the new learning platform.  In addition, Columbia School District teachers returned to school last fall to make sure that their student had every opportunity to learn in the most positive environment possible.

Columbia Elementary teachers Mr. Clanton was nominated as a Columbia Hero by Dalana Trumble and her son Dalton.  They said that Mr. Clanton, who teaches second grade, used inventive and creative activities to help motivate his students.  One activity he used was a class auction.  Mr. Clanton would give students “Clanton Dollars.”  The students earned the Clanton dollars for each page in the books that they read. 

Ms. Trumble, went on to say, “That Mr. Clanton is a great communicator to students and parents, and
conveys a passion for truly connecting with his students.”  She commented that, “He made Dalton feel like an All Star.”  When Mr. Clanton was notified that he had been nominated as a Columbia Hero, he said that “CES is my home away from home.  I love building relationships with my students.  Teaching them that life has so much to offer.  I love our classroom environment where we truly are a family, helping them to realize their potential.” 

Ms. Trumble noted that it was easy to tell that Mr. Clanton cared for his students.  She commented, “By far, Mr. Clanton has been Dalton’s favorite teacher. And even though the school year was cut short last year from COVID, the Trumble family appreciates the time that Mr. Clanton was Dalton’s teacher.”  When talking about his students actively learning in his classroom, Mr. Clanton said, “I love to see their faces light up with amazement as they learn something new or they have finally ‘gotten it’ after persevering for days, weeks, or even months on something.   I love being able to teach them what it takes to be their best day in and day out and to truly be an ‘all-star.’”  If you are interested in learning more about our Columbia Heroes and the great programs at Columbia, email me at Pamela.Campbell@myeagles.org or call 5175926641.

Mrs. Howland: A Columbia School District Hero!

During this past year Columbia School District teachers and their students have learned to work together in a new way.  Working side by side, sometimes across Zoom, our teachers have developed new activities to increase the academic skills of their students.  Last spring as they worked from home, our teachers made sure that their students had paper packets and all of the material they needed to succeed.  This fall Columbia teachers and staff bravely came back to their classrooms because they believed that being in person would benefit their students. 

Columbia School District teachers have continued making a difference in the lives of our students throughout the year and have become heroes to our community of learners.  Mrs. Howland was nominated by Kari Vinson as a Columbia Hero!  Jennifer Howland has exhibited creativity and ingenuity.  Her intensive exhibition of teaching excellence has allowed her kindergarten students to continue to learn and grow.  When talking about how much she likes teaching, Jen said, “I get to see so many smiling faces each day, get a million hugs, and watch the children grow year after year.”   She continued by commenting, “I love getting to know each child and finding their spark for learning and helping it to grow and flourish.”

When nominating Jennifer as a Columbia Hero, Ms. Vinson said that Mrs. Howland “has gone above and beyond in this very difficult year.”  When learning more about Mrs. Howland’s classroom, it is easy to see the results of her dedication to her students.  In her nomination, Kari Vinson said, “My daughter absolutely adores her and enjoys coming to school.”  When hearing about the nomination, Mrs. Howland explained that her joy in teaching is enhanced when her students are making academic gains.  She exclaimed, “I love being able to see the moment when the children master a new concept.”

This year, one of the responsibilities of our fabulous teachers was to adjust the curriculum to take their students from learning in the classroom, to learning virtually.  When creatively thinking about making the adjustments in programming for her kindergartners, Mrs. Howland continually focused on activities that would make an impact.  Mrs. Vinson explained how pleased she was with her daughter’s experience.  She wrote that, “While we were on virtual, Jen's Google classroom was AMAZING, she put so much into it for us parents and for her students.”

Mrs. Howland represents Columbia teachers with her positive attitude and love of her students.  She mentioned that she “loves being able to wake up each day and come to a job I love at a place I love.”  She explained, “I love new beginnings and being part of something magical… teaching our young learners.”  Thank you to Mrs. Howland a Columbia Hero, for being an amazing teacher and making a difference in her students’ lives each and every day!