Last May at the end of school year appreciation breakfast, Lennox Elementary 4th grade teacher Machel McVey was named Lennox School District Teacher of the Year. As the district teacher of the year, she was able to attend the Systems Change Conference in Chamberlain on October 15th and 16th. On that Thursday night she received recognition at the South Dakota Teacher of the Year Banquet.
“I really enjoyed the opportunity of meeting many distinguished teachers, and lear“Ever since I was little I had always wanted to teach. I remember playing school quite often with my sisters,” McVey continued. “I have a lot of family members who are teachers, so I have always been around the profession. My grandma was a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse, and I enjoyed hearing stories about how she taught many different grades at the same time. I love listening to children and being around their joy for life and learning. It is fun learning along side my students, and seeing how the little things mean the most to them.”
McVey has really enjoyed forming relationships with students, staff, and parents, and seeing students become curious and passionate about life long learning.
“I strongly believe in making a learning environment a comfortable place where students feel safe to take risks, share their thoughts and ideas, to try new things, and to realize that learning often comes with making mistakes,” she said.
She admitted that teaching has it challenges, stating that the hardest part was trying to find the time to get everything done.
“Creating a balance of getting everything taught, and focusing on every student in a way that you want to can be difficult,” said McVey. “With teaching, there is always more things we can do, different strategies we can try, or other ways we can better our teaching; however trying to meet that challenge, I think, is one of the best parts about teaching!
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