LAKE COUNTY — Math teacher Joyce Paiva of Mountain Vista Middle School was honored as the 2008-09 Lake County Teacher of the Year during a Saturday night ceremony held at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa.
The annual event honors one teacher of the year from each of the county”s six school districts, and the Lake County Office of Education selects one of the six as Teacher of the Year. Paiva served 37 years in the Kelseyville Unified School District, where she is the district”s independent study coordinator. In her acceptance speech, Paiva credited all teachers for doing a difficult but rewarding job.
“This last September I watched as over 10,000 brilliant scientists gathered in Switzerland to watch the debut of the Hedron atom smasher. And I wondered, who taught them to read? And then it occurred to me, it certainly was educators and parents – just like you and I – who helped them memorize their times tables, write that five-paragraph essay, and solve that quadratic equation,” Paiva said.
She continued, “Take a moment tonight to be proud of what you do. We make things happen because we teach.”
Lake County Superintendent Dave Geck served as the master of ceremonies, and introduced the six principals to tell attendees about the teacher of the year selected to represent each district. During his opening remarks, Geck thanked all teachers for their hard work and dedication.
“Each year we ask teachers to do more with less resources,” Geck said.
While introducing Robann Hill, the teacher of year for Konocti Unified School District, Pomo Elementary School Principal April Leiferman called Hill an angel and praised her for her work with special needs students.
Lakeport Elementary School first-grade teacher Cindy Beasley was ribbed gently for her impeccable attire both on and off campus, and praised for her ability to make learning fun for her students. Kindergarten and first-grade teacher Kathy Hughes received accolades from her principal and from a loud group of supporters at her table for her service at Lucerne Elementary School.
Middletown Middle School eighth-grade teacher Bob Norris was unable to attend, but principal Chris Heller read his prepared statement. Norris wrote in his remarks that he and his wife are both retired and have a combined 60 years of teaching experience.
“The fact is that I am only the second-best teacher in our family,” Norris wrote.
Upper Lake Union Elementary School Principal Kurt Herndon introduced fourth-grade teacher Janice Klier as the district”s teacher of the year. Herndon told a story about how Klier had saved the life of a student who had swallowed a marble by performing the Heimlich maneuver.
Upper Lake Union High School Principal Patrick Iaccino praised the district”s teacher of the year, Christina Moore, for her work with the school”s Academic Decathlon team and for taking groups of students on overseas field trips to places such as Paris, China and Egypt.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
