Lynn Fiala of Home State Bank and Taylor Gignac present Ms. Katie Crowley of Hannah Martin Elementary School, Lake in the Hills with the Home State Bank & Star 105.5  April "Teacher of the Month" award.


Pictured with Ms. Crowley (center right) are Lynn Fiala of Home State Bank (left), Taylor Gignac (center left) and Assistant Principal of Hannah Martin Elementary School, Claudia Boswell.

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to nominate a first year teacher that has a class that has tested her patience and abilities to the limit. Ms. Crowley is a fourth grade teacher at Hannah Martin in Lake in the Hills. Ms. Crowley has trully been a blessing to me, my husband and daughter. My daughter had so many issues with her confidence, her patience and school work. My daughter did not want to get up and go to school. Then she met Ms. Crowley, Ms Crowley has turned my daughters life into a positive outlook. Her self confidence came out, she made friends, her grades went way up and most of all she loves to get up and go to school! I can only begin to tell you how much she deserves this award because there are not enough works to tell you how blessed we are to have her in our lives. We had been at a place in our lives that we did not know where to go from here then she came along and changed our world. I am so thankful to her and even if she does not win this award I just want her to know that she has been acknowledged. So as I am sure there are many teachers who deserve it because they all touch a childs life in some way that will carry with them forever and I am blessed that she touched my daughters life. I hope that she gets this months Teacher of the Month award. Thank you to Ms. Crowley and all teachers.
 

Lynn Fiala of the Woodstock Home State Bank presents Mr.Wade Scharlau of Harry D. Jacobs High School in Algonquin with the Home State Bank & Star 105.5, March "Teacher of the Month" award.


Pictured left to right are: Lynn Fiala of Home State Bank, Mr Scharlau, Sarah Zielinski and Michael Bergy Principal of Harry D. Jacobs High School.

My name is Sarah Zielinski and I am a senior at Harry D. Jacobs High School in Algonquin. As a senior I try to do everything I can to prepare myself for my upcoming college years. Part of that preparation for me was signing up for Advanced Placement Chemistry. Already having had Mr. Wade Scharlau as my Honors Physics teacher, I knew that I would be going through one of the hardest but best class thus far in my life.
Mr. Scharlau understands what incredible demand this class requires of the student. He also understands that in order for the student to succeed, he must demand a great deal from himself. Bottom line, he expects the best from us and from himself. To help us through the hard times he stays after school with us almost everyday or any day we need him. One time during finals preparation, Mr. Scharlau even came to a students house for a class study group on the weekend. He's always available to students during the off hours via email and usually responds within an hour or so.
Mr. Scharlau is by far the most committed, dedicated and caring teacher I have ever had and I do not know where I would be without him. He has helped me and countless others through stressful and confusing times. With college choices approaching and our lives in the real world about to begin, Mr. Scharlau has prepared me well for my college years. That is why I am nominating Mr. Scharlau for Teacher of the Month. If you ask anyone in his classes they would tell you the same thing, that Mr. Scharlau is the biggest science nerd but the greatest teacher.

Sarah Zielinski.

Lynn Fiala of Woodstock Home State Bank presents Wendy Hagy of the McCAP - McHenry County Adult Program with the February "Teacher of the Month"award.


Wendy Hagy's class was there to congratulate her as the February "Teacher of the Month" award

I would like to nominate Wendy Hagy teacher of the month. she is the teacher for a non-profit group called McCAP of which the students are past students of SEDOM. This is a small class that meets Mondays and Wednesdays at the Home State Bank in Woodstock.
It is not an easy task to work with multi disabled young adults and she has generously come to the program and has made such an impact on the students there. Her genuine concern for our young adults is amazing. While she has two assistants with her as well, she is the decision maker and the one that makes this program to continue to be alive. She has hooked up with NISRA and is able to take our students on different kinds of field trips, because unless the parents drive there is no other transportation.
What really made me think of nominating Wendy is that last year she made a calendar of all of the students for all of the parents with a different picture of an activity with the students each month. I thought that was so neat, because of their lifestyles they are not easy to photography or go somewhere with someonewho would have the patience to photograph them. So this was definitely a keepsake that will be cherished forever. Then this year she really out did herself. I found myself crying with happy emotion fo the time spent. She had made a music CD/DVD (again with activities of what the students had done over the last year). I was marveled at what this was all about and it was again phenomenal of our young adults.

For this alone, is the reason to nominate Wendy Hagy for teacher of the month. again it is very time consuming and takes a lot of patience to work with disabled young adults with multiple needs. Pushing wheelchairs, feeding, etc. especially when going on field trips.
I as you to strongly consider this fine teacher for your teacher of the month. I realize that this is a teacher for a small group but none the less she is a teacher. and works just as hard as a regulat education teacher.

Submitted by Pat Phillips.

Hello, My name is Alex,
I would like to nominate my Literature teacher as teacher of the month, Mrs. Curry.
Mrs. Curry ia a wonderful teacher and she knows my whole family. I had her as a gym teacher when she was pregnant with her second child, Megan. Mrs. Curry loves to talk about her children and we enjoy hearing about them. I haven't seen Mrs. Curry up until this year when I found out she was one of my teachers on my team, 7B at Westfield Community School. I remember one day my close friend, Hayleigh, wasn't feeling well and the nurse wouldn't send her home since she had no fever. Well Hayleigh, was slumped over on her desk with her head down while we all were working and Mrs. Curry, out of the kindness in her heart, offered Hayleigh a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. Then, the class was begging for one, so we all got a sandwich.

Mrs. Curry is also a really forgiving person, she knows that we are all human and we make mistakes as 7th graders.  There was one day I was having trouble with some kids and they were picking on me and being mean in general. So I told Mrs. Curry and she helped me threw it. She called all of us out in the hallway and talked to us about it.

Mrs. Curry isn't just a wife, mother, and teacher, she is also like my second mother. At the age of thirty seven, she is still doing what she does best at the one place where she belongs. You would be missing out on a lot if you don't pick my teacher, Mrs. curry as teacher of the month.

 Katherine Nimmer (right) of Home State Bank, presents Mr. Mike Lodico of Westfield Middle School with the November "Teacher of the Month" award.

   Lynn Fiala (right) from the Woodstock Home State Bank presents Becky Aldridge of Woodstock High School the October "Teacher of the Month" award.