Mrs. Jenni Braun
5th/6th Grade & Science, Menoken
What Makes Your Teacher Awesome?: I would like to nominate my teacher Mrs. Braun, because she is awesome. A lot of years our class either gets ducks, chicks, or quail eggs and we incubate them and then we raise them for a couple of months. This year we got the first privilege to incubate quail eggs and the names of them are so cute and funny. It is also fun when we do spelling. Mrs. Braun has fun ways of getting us involved such as: if you made your bed this morning or if you have a dog- you get to read the spelling words. She is also our science teacher for the whole school. She does such fun projects and experiments. Right now, we are growing a hydroponic garden in our classroom. We also do a writing club so we can become better writers. Mrs. Braun makes it super fun by having fun prompts such as describing your ideal pet.
Don Fry
Marketing, Mandan
What Makes Your Teacher Awesome?: Donneil Kenneth Fry is by far the best teacher I had in high school. At every step of the road, the thing he cared most about was engaging students into Marketing. He did this not only through his card-game (where he used decks of cards to simulate the stock market, allowing us to trade and learn real-world business skills— a lesson from Freshman year I still think of fondly as a college Freshman) and TV show lessons which made learning fun and interactive, but also through encouraging students to participate in and engage with DECA— the Career and Technical Student Organization he advises. In DECA, Mr.Fry always put students first, helping all students to develop interpersonal and critical thinking skills; network with career professionals and other students; and approach problem solving in innovative new ways. Through DECA and his in-classroom activities, Mr.Fry made learning about Marketing, Management, Entrepreneurship, and Finances truly fun, engaging, and rewarding in a way that still sticks with me even outside of college. Fry always pushed us to excel as much as possible, leading to me placing as a Grand Finalist at our international competition, working with him to establish state-wide events for DECA, and giving multiple speeches and an example Roleplay to crowds of hundreds. With Mr.Fry’s guidance, me and all of my friends and fellow students were able to thrive and develop vital skills we use daily. Those skills helped one of my friends get into a lucrative career path immediately after high school, another to push himself through higher education in the fields that Mr.Fry taught us to excel in, and even led to me being accepted into an Ivy-League university. And that is just a few stories of the lives Fry has touched as a teacher, and does not even mention his Forest Conservation efforts or his deep admiration of science and climate which he mixes with his lessons to form truly memorable lessons. In the end there is no way to fully describe what makes Fry awesome, however he fully deserves this award as a thanks for the pure dedication he gives to his students everyday and for the success he has helped us former students to achieve!
Lana Held
9th Grade Business and Entrepreneurship, Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock
What Makes Your Teacher Awesome?: I transferred to Hazelton from a bigger school and Mrs. Held helped me fit in. She took time to talk to me, get to know me, and include me in her classes. I sometimes have trouble concentrating and remembering details. She give me reminders and she reaches out to my parents so they know what to do to help me too. Nobody did that at my other school and I was failing all my classes. Mrs. Held makes class fun because we actually get to do stuff. We had market days where we had to bring items to school to sell, and the whole town was invited. When we sold our items we were able to figure out how much we earned when we subtracted the what we spent. She also makes it fun because she arranges field trips to learn how different types of businesses work. Right now she is trying to get us to visit pizza ranch! Mrs. held has been great because she lets everyone share in class and I have gotten to know many more people. I even got to go to prom this year by helping me tell my parents what they needed to do to help me go. She even gave me a pair of shoes her own son had outgrown so she could help me even more. Mrs. Held's classes are my favorite and she helps me like school. She makes me want to be a better person and do good in school.
Jeremy Lauer
5th and 6th Grade Reading/ELA, Washburn
What Makes Your Teacher Awesome?: Mr. Lauer is an amazing teacher! He has patience of a saint. Mr. Lauer is a ray of sunshine walking the halls and in the classroom with his students. He is always there to lend a helping hand. Mr. Lauer supports his students inside and outside the classroom. He visits their plays, basketball games, volleyball games, and music festivals. Mr. Lauer plays the drums and sings in band. While at school, he will join in with students to sing, dance, play chess, or help them with their instruments. Making learning is fun and easy for Mr. Lauer. We have fun while learning! There’s no other teacher are special as our Mr. Lauer. We are blessed to have him at Washburn.
Kyler Olson
4th Grade, Lincoln
What Makes Your Teacher Awesome?: Kyler makes the students believe in themselves and make them want to be better. He lets my daughter know how much of a rockstar she is, as well as the whole class. He is very patient, respectful, kind, and understanding. Constant updates about what they’re working on and how they can improve. My daughter looks forward to going to school because he is such an amazing teacher. He’s someone you can depend on as far as going above and beyond for his students!