The Boerne Bulletin
A Boerne Middle School South Publication
Teacher Spotlight Winners
"The Teacher Spotlight contest is a new event PTO is introducing to our campus. During lunch time every month, a poll will be held to decide the new highlighted educator. Victors of this competition receive a plaque, a trophy for the month, and an extravagantly decorated door," Drew James writer.
Teacher Spotlight: Villagran
6th and 7th grade Science teacher, John Villigran, won our schools teacher spotlight last April. He described the experience as a real surprise. He hadn’t even taken into consideration the thought of winning the contest in which students place the votes for this award. When news reached him that he had gotten this esteemed honor, Mr. Villigran was thrilled.
Mr. Villigran has been teaching for 3 years now and says that he thoroughly enjoys it. He taught at Pearsall (about 45 min south of San Antonio) for 1 year and a half before moving to Boerne Middle School South. He attributes his this newfound award to an interesting teaching style. By telling the students that they are amazing, and giving them loads of positive motivation, he believes that they will put in more work willingly. Students grades in the class are on average high, likely due to the constant positive reinforcement the get in the class. This engagement is difficult to demand from a class, but Mr. Villigran does it well.
Villigran thinks himself a hard teacher, yet still good at mixing in fun into the class. This can be difficult to get a solid combination of both of these components. He draws strength in the hope that one day he will be as fantastic as Mr. Kinnear. He serves as a great inspiration to Mr. Villigran despite the frequent protests of Kinnear himself. In summary, this science teacher has seemed to nail right on the head how to be a successful teacher within his first few years of teaching. His technique is unique and popular with the students he uses it on. Take a moment next time you spot Mr. Villigran in the hallway to congratulate him in his magnificent achievement.
The Second Teacher Spotlight Winner Is Revealed!!!
By: Drew James
4/8/16
The Teacher Spotlight is an event that is now completely underway and something that you can expect to see every month. Although it was slightly delayed due to the chaos STAAR testing brings, the turbulent water has cleared and it looks like it’ll be smooth sailing for the spotlight from now on. Alanna Blomquist was the first champion of this contest, but new votes are in and the new winner is…Laura McCammon!
Ms. McCammon, a sixth grade world-geography and seventh grade Texas history teacher, has been teaching at BMSS for four years. Last year, she taught seventh grade English despite her passion to educate students on the many stories of our world. Fortunately for her, this year she was able to switch back to the history department, where she has the ability to fulfill her aspiration.
Similar to the last Teacher Spotlight, I, along with the principal, a few PTO members, and a photographer, went to witness the event in person. However, this time we were not accompanied by Mr. Hudson; he sent one of his percussionists to join us in his stead. We rushed over to McCammon’s room in silence, as we didn’t want to alert anyone to our presence. Stealthily, we tiptoed up to the door, the drum role started playing, one of the PTO members grabbed the doorknob, and…
It didn’t budge.
Luckily, our minor hiccup didn’t spoil the surprise. The door was opened from the inside, and we charged forward, brandishing the Teacher Spotlight banner. Her class remained fairly calm, but their excitement was evident on their faces (and in their applause) as we awarded Ms. McCammon with her trophy. Then they all rose up and stood with their teacher so they could all share in her triumph. The photographer proceeded to snap a group photo, and Ms. McCammon received an extravagantly decorated door. When I asked her how it felt to win, she said, “It feels amazing!” Make sure to congratulate her if you get the chance!
You may not have got the turnout that you had hoped for, but make sure to stay alert! Teacher Spotlight is a monthly event, so if you want a certain teacher to attain victory, make sure to make your opinion heard and vote! Who knows, maybe your favorite will be the next Teacher Spotlight!
The First Teacher Spotlight Winner Is...
By: Drew James
February 26, 2016
The Teacher Spotlight contest is a new event PTO is introducing to our campus. During lunch time every month, a poll will be held to decide the new highlighted educator. Victors of this competition receive a plaque, a trophy for the month, and an extravagantly decorated door. As of now, all of these things can be seen in Alanna Blomquist’s classroom because she is the first Teacher Spotlight winner!
Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to accompany the principal, three PTO members, and Mr. Hudson, to Mrs. Blomquist’s room. It was an extremely delightful moment as we threw open the door and entered the room with Mr. Hudson’s excellent drum roll in the background and a huge banner reading, “Teacher Spotlight Winner!” It took a second, maybe less, for it to sink in. Then, the class erupted into cheers and applause. The surprise was evident on Mrs. Blomquist’s face. She got up from her seat to accept her award, and, holding her trophy, her class crowded in for a group photo, taken by a cameraman from Mrs. McLaughlin’s photography class.
We then proceeded to outside of her room, where a few more individual shots were taken. It was obvious that she was still very shocked, but her initial astonishment had lessened, to be replaced by happiness. She and her students were very excited that she had come out on top.
Now that the first Teacher Spotlight is over, what’s next? Well, there will be others of course, so make sure to look out for it. I noticed that some people weren’t even aware of the existence of this contest, so try to alert your friends to this fresh event to attempt to get your favorite teacher recognized. Will the next spotlight feature your favorite teacher?
