LDSB outstanding service awards

Apr 15, 2015

Prior to their regular board meeting on April 8 at the Limestone District School Board offices in Kingston, school trustees handed out their annual Outstanding Service Awards.

Among the recipients were three local residents who were honored for their dedicated service. The first is Cheryl Allen of Sharbot Lake, who has served on the school councils at the former Sharbot Lake public, intermediate and high schools, and at the new Granite Ridge Education Centre in various roles, including many years as council chair.

Allen began her service on school council in 1994 when her eldest daughter became a student at Sharbot Lake Public School. Since that time she has served on various councils and spearheaded the purchase of a number of requests presented to the council, which have included the school's score clocks, playground equipment, and more. The citation honoring Allen stated that over the years she has continually “set a mood on council supportive of providing a safe and caring environment for all students”.

As a active participant in the PARC (Program and Accommodation Review Committee) she was a tireless supporter of the new Granite Ridge school, recognizing the benefits that a new school could provide for future students in the area.

In the past Allen has successfully nominated several other people for LDSB awards and when I interviewed her by phone earlier this week she said that she was shocked and honored to be on the receiving end this time around.

Asked what made her get and stay involved in her local school councils over the years, she said, “I, as a parent, felt it was important to get involved and to offer my help wherever it was needed.”

Allen, who is currently the school council's vice chair, said that with the upcoming graduation this June of her youngest daughter, she will be taking a break from council and will be looking at other possible ways to continue to offer her services as a volunteer in the community.

Andrea Woogh, a grade 2/3 teacher at Loughborough Public School in Sydenham, was also honored with an award. In her citation Woogh was recognized as a “distinguished leader amongst her peers and someone who promotes each student's uniqueness while ensuring she has the training and skill sets needed to offer her students a nurturing, learning environment.“

Woogh, who has undertaken training in Aboriginal education, dispute resolution, literacy and technology, has introduced students to a number of innovative learning experiences, which have included the Yellowknife pen-pal program, and through a partnership with local high schools, woodworking and computer programming opportunities. She has helped co-create the LPS Green Team in an effort to certify LPS as an “eco-school. As an active athlete herself, Woogh recognizes that students' “growth and development can also occur outside the classroom”. She has coached soccer, track and field, volleyball and basketball at LPS as well as hockey and soccer in her local community.

Sharon Isbell, a long-time teacher at Loughborough Public School, was also honored with an Outstanding Service Award. Isbell was cited by Kim Deline, who wrote that she is “an effective educator, leader and communicator" whose positive teaching style and compassionate interactions with students demonstrate her love of teaching on a daily basis.

In her dedication to being the best teacher she can be, Isbell pursues her own personal professional development and was cited as “inspiring her students and fellow colleagues by offering extra programming through various school clubs while also acting as a liaison for the school's drama and arts programming.”

Isbell is also involved in championing the school's Green Team in their effort to gain eco-school status and is an active member of the school's 100th anniversary committee.

I spoke with Sharon Isbell by phone earlier this week and she said, on behalf of herself and Ms Woogh, that they were extremely honored to have received the award. "We both feel so humbled. There are so many teachers who go above and beyond their daily requirements and we are just grateful and feel privileged to be able to work in this school community with so many committed staff members, parents, students and administrators.”

Helen Peterson, principal at LPS, was thrilled that two of her staff members received awards and said “Sharon Isbell and Andrea Woogh represent the epitome of excellence in teaching. They focus on quality education for all students. They are both examples of the reality that it is just as much about who you are as what you teach. They lead students and other staff by example. Sharon and Andrea are part of the outstanding staff at Loughborough that put the needs of our students, our future, first!"

Heather Highet, principal at Granite Ridge, was equally pleased with Cheryl Allen's award and said she was “thrilled that the LDSB has recognized Cheryl for her unwavering support and decades-long contributions to our school councils."