The moon is new.
And it's January!
That can only mean one thing: it's teacher award season. The biggest awards available to nominated teachers in our area have to be the Golden Apple Awards, hosted by the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce. Our school has had eight recipients of this award in the past, including Yours Truly, the first Cecil Floydian to earn the recognition (way back in 2004). Another three Golden Apple recipients have also taught at Cecil Floyd, either before or after they earned the award. Nominations are open now for the Golden Apple Awards in Joplin. To nominate a deserving educator, a form must be completed, and two letters must be written - one from a student (past or present) and another from that student's parent. As a past recipient, I will never be eligible for future nomination.
Undoubtedly, other awards are out there for teachers if you know where to look for them. If you can think of any eligible educators you believe go above and beyond to connect the dots for his/her students, do that teacher a favor and nominate them. They may not be Hollywood stars, and they may not be Grammy-worthy, but some of them might be worthy of a little bit of glitter for their creative, personal methods and for the connections they make with and for their students.
If so, send them to me so I can review them and possibly post them on this site for others.