Teacher Appreciation Night Honors Local Educators

Seniors from local high schools recognized the efforts of eighteen teachers at a Teacher Appreciation Night held on March 4th. The event was sponsored by and held at the Westminster Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The Teacher Appreciation Night is an annual event where high school seniors are encouraged to nominate a teacher who has had a significant impact in their life. The teacher can be from any area of education such as school, sports or the arts.

Although the grade levels and specialties of the teachers varied from kindergarten to High School and from music to math, there was a common thread woven between them: the teachers were nominated for caring about individual students and demonstrating that concern by helping them not only in the class subject but in their personal life.

The event began with a welcome from Westminster Stake President Larry Hickman, the presentation of the flag by Boy Scout Troop 425 and the national anthem sung by Brandon Andrews; a senior from Northglenn High School. After an invocation by Camille Flanders, a senior from Broomfield High School, Broomfield City Council Member Linda Reynolds introduced Broomfield City Mayor Patrick Quinn.

Mayor Quinn spoke to the audience about the important responsibility of teaching the next generation to be productive leaders and contributors. He related stories about three influential teachers in his life: a debate teacher who taught him how to construct positive arguments, an accounting teacher who skillfully instructed him regarding assets and liabilities, and an auditor who taught him about taking a positive approach with others. He also emphasize that we can learn something from anyone, that we never know who our next teacher will be and the value of life-long learning. He acknowledged the contributions of the teachers being recognized that night.

After the Mayor’s remarks, each student had an opportunity to introduce their teacher and tell how they were influenced by them, as described in the following paragraphs.

Brandon Andrews, who attends Northglenn High School, nominated Alison Roman who teaches choir at that school because she cared about students, had a friendly relationship with them, taught about life, fulfilling obligations and serving others.

Sam Bordas from Legacy High School nominated John Czernicki who taught his History class at Westlake Middle School. Sam recognized him as someone who shared his interest in military and general history but more importantly, helped him through a particularly difficult time in his life, becoming a good friend in the process.

Kim Bradfield recognized her voice teacher, Christina Lynn Craig from Broomfield High School. She encouraged Kim to extend her talents into operatic performance. Kim said that Ms. Craig was an influential teacher who offered positive, comforting support and provided opportunities to perform, as well as being a good friend. The results were obvious as Kim offered a beautiful rendition of “Je Veux Vivre” from Romeo and Juliet, accompanied by Ms. Craig.

Michael Bridenstine selected Eric Lindblad who directs the drama team at Legacy High School. He recognized Mr. Lindblad’s ability to make the play practices fun while teaching the students the value of hard work which leads to the joy of success. He also taught the value of teamwork in order to achieve their goals. Through Mr. Lindblad’s efforts, drama become an important part of the students’ lives.

Nelson Curtis, who is in the International Baccalaureate program at Thornton High School, chose Laura Robertson who teaches chemistry. Nelson said the she had a major influence on him coming into his senior year. Although her strict rules initially scared the class, he came to see her as a caring teacher who taught him about life and dedicated her time to helping the students.

Janelle Dieters submitted Lisa Rebik, a jazz dance instructor at the Arvada Center. Lisa took Janelle “under her wing” and encouraged her to push herself out of her comfort zone. Lisa always offered positive encouragement, even in difficult times and especially helped her during a particularly challenging situation in her life.

Camille Flanders selected Kay Davidson who was her tennis coach and chemistry teacher at Broomfield High School. Kay was always encouraging and challenged Camille to do better. She also had a talent to make every activity enjoyable and inspired Camille to improve in tennis and learn more in chemistry. She described Ms. Davidson as a “wonderful friend and teacher.”

Jonathan Grover nominated Iris Heidberg, a German teacher at Legacy High School. She was a “great teacher” who not only intensively taught German but had a unique ability to unite the class members.

Kelvin Jensen chose Mary Jensen (no relation) who taught his 10th grade Advanced Placement (AP) Social Studies class at Boulder High School. Kelvin paid an emotional tribute to her for her skilled instruction, enthusiasm for teaching, motivational ability, dedication to preparing the students for the AP test, but most importantly, her genuine concern for each student and sharing in their achievements.

Marla Hasler selected George Frassa who has been her art teacher at Pomona High School for the past four years. Two friends from the class joined with Marla in a creative acknowledgement of his friendship. “corny jokes,” ability to listen and offer solutions, support of their decisions and his unconditional caring for his students.

Aaron Loertscher submitted Karen Stacks, a choir director at Legacy High School. Aaron thanked her for teaching him how to work hard as she set high standards for the class and continued to raise the standards as they were reached. He also appreciated that she had helped him learn to appreciate classical music.

Jared Loertscher nominated Randall Peterson, a history and politics instructor at Legacy High School. Jared appreciated his unique teaching style, how he taught the students to think and analyze situations, and the way he took an individual interest in each student. On the lighter side, Jared mentioned the “unique” sweaters that Mr. Peterson wore as well as his fondness for John Denver music.

Kyle Lontine selected his football coach and chemistry teacher Brian Espinoza from Legacy High School. Kyle mentioned his “cool, calm, and collected” demeanor even during intense situations in football games. When Kyle broke his hand during the football season and had to wear a cast, his coach encouraged him and gave him the confidence to continue playing. As a chemistry teacher, Mr. Espinoza taught a difficult subject in the same calm manner using entertaining and catchy terms to help the students learn. Kyle also appreciated his skill and passion for teaching.

Danny Mitchell chose his kindergarten and first grade teacher, Maureen Bradshaw from Mountain View Elementary. She helped Danny gain a desire to learn, which he maintains to this day. She also made the class fun. He provided a humorous example of how she taught “street smarts” when he became angry and threatened to run away from school but told her where he planned to go! They still communicate after these many years.

Alyssa Morgan nominated Valerie Baylie who taught her cooking classes at Standley Lake High School for the past three years. Alyssa appreciated how she went beyond the class subject to teach life lessons and common sense and always encouraged the students to do more. Her example has influenced Alyssa’s choice for her college major.

Sarai Peterson recognized Brian Bowick from the Denver School of Arts for his “happy, bright, and loud” personality that made attending class fun. He provided opportunities for her to teach as one of his assistants and wrote a letter of recommendation for her that had a great impact in her life.

Alex Russell nominated two teachers who affected him at Legacy High School. Eric Lindblad taught his Speech class and helped Alex to become a better speaker and to command attention when he speaks. Michael Osborn teaches Multicultural Literature and helped with Alex’s Capstone project. Alex became discouraged with his project but Mr. Osborn encouraged him and helped him. Alex also appreciated how Mr. Osborn understood students and gave them a second chance.

Emme Toth selected Sara Marx who taught her AP Physics class at Legacy High School. Although Emme did not feel that science was one of her strengths, Ms. Marx helped her feel comfortable and relaxed by using humor. Ms. Marx also taught in a way that she could learn the subject and provided help outside of the class time.

In addition to the students, teachers and parents, Ginger Ramsey, principal of Broomfield High School, and Todd Engles, principal of Standley Lake High School showed their support for their students and teachers by attending the event.