Ms. Bodzinski (Ms. B.)

Grade: Kindergarten

School: Cold Spring School (Belchertown)

Reason for Entry: Ms. B. is beyond deserving of your Teacher of the Month award!  She is not only loved by her students, but by parents too!  She is the best role model you could ask for your child to have as a Kindergarten teacher.  Her passion and dedication to each and every student in her class is unmatched!  My child entered her class this fall as a very sensitive child, with easily hurt feelings. 

Ms. B. has given her the confidence support and tools she needed in her first year of school to begin overcome her sensitivity and increase her self confidence.  Recognizing great Teachers with awards such as this is an amazing way to give back, so thank you for considering helping to give back to Ms. B. with this award recognition, for all that she has done this year for my child, and for many years of doing the same for so many other children that have had the good fortune of having her as their Kindergarten Teacher at Cold Spring School.

Teacher Name: Noreen Williams

Grade: Kindgarden

School: Samuel Bowles Elementary

My daughter, Jayme attending her first year of "Big Girl School" this past September. Jayme was a little nervous at first but Ms. Williams made her feel really comfortable. She will take the extra time not only with Jayme but with all her students that I can see to help them. She is definitely making learning fun for the kids. She encourages the students with stars, stickers, and words of encouragement on their papers.

Ms. Williams also made me feel at ease. It all started the day of our Parent Orientation, which also ended up being the day of the September Tornadoes. I had arrived early and instead of making me wait or pushing me through the process, Ms. Williams took the time to explain everything to me. She was very kind and answered all of my 100's of questions. She made me feel at ease, which was very much appreciated since I was a first time mom & first/only child attending kindergarten.

Ms. Williams still, to this day, will take the time to talk to me or email me if I have any concerns with Jayme. She will explain things to me several times if I need it. She has taken extra time with me to give me tools to work with my daughter at home so that she can excel at school.

Ms. Williams has made this experience an amazing experience for myself and most of all for my daughter Jayme. If there were more teachers like Ms. William our children would be so much better off.

It takes a lot to be a teacher, especially a kindergarten teacher. I appreciate everything that Ms. Williams does and glad to have her teaching my daughter.

This is why I think Ms. Noreen Williams should be the teacher of the month.

Teacher Name: Mrs. Linda Merlino

Grade: 6

School: Pioneer Valley Christian School, Springfield MA

Reason for Entry: Hello,

Up until this year, my children have been homeschooled and this is the first year they've attended a structured school environment.  My youngest son, Matthew, had a bit of a difficult time adjusting to this new way of schooling.  Mrs. Merlino has simply been THE BEST teacher I have ever know.  She has taken such care of Matthew and gone to the ends of the earth to not only make him comfortable, but is helping him succeed and thrive in school. 

Before beginning the school year, Matthew was evaluated for his placement at school and it was suggested that we have additional performed to see if he has any learning difficulties.  We had LOTS of tests completed and the testing personnel set up a meeting with us to go over the results.  Mrs. Merlino found a substitute for her morning classes and took her own time off to come to the meeting with us so she could hear all of the results.  The results of the tests showed that Matthew did have some learning issues but they (the student support services for the public school system) didn't feel that the issues warranted any additional support and could not issue a form for requesting those services and accommodations.

Upon leaving that meeting, Mrs. Merlino told us that she had already spoken to the PVCS principal and, although she couldn't "officially" request additional support services for Matthew, has already lobbied for and received approval from the school to make whatever accommodations Matthew needs to be successful.  The school has supported Mrs. Merlino's request and she has already started helping him by creating and implementing some electronic forms and study guides and prepared for alternative testing methods for Matthew.  Mrs. Merlino did not have to do anything to change the way she treats any of her students and she's not bound legally to do so.  But, because she CARES so very much for my son, she has chosen to do this and help in any way she possibly can. 

Matthew is currently the only student that is being provided with this extra assistance and Mrs. Merlino is doing it out of the kindness of her heart and the desire to see her student succeed.  Mrs. Merlino has taken so much more of her personal time and devoted it to helping Matthew, I am truly amazed at the care and attention she has given to him.  I cannot think of very many, if any, teachers that would go to such lengths for the sake of one student.  But she has, and for that I am so very thankful.  She's made a tremendous difference in the life of my son, and I cannot thank her enough.  Please help me thank her by making her a teacher of the month.