Stilson Elementary School’s Hendrix is Bulloch Teacher of the Year, Advances to Georgia Teacher of the Year Competition

Bulloch County Colleges directors with the school district’s new instructor of the yr (L-R): Alli Baxter, Main Human Means Officer Charles Wilson, Superintendent of Faculties Jenny Hendrix, Teacher of the Yr Teresa Phillips, Assistant Superintendent of School Advancement Troy Brown, Assistant Superintendent of Small business Products and services and Elizabeth Stewart, Principal of Stilson Elementary School.

Bulloch County Educational institutions directors astonished a Stilson Elementary University trainer in her classroom on Monday, to announce that she is Bulloch County’s Teacher of the Yr.

Jenny Hendrix, the Science Engineering Engineering and Math (STEM) teacher for Stilson’s pre-kindergarten by way of fifth grade pupils, will now represent the faculty district in the Georgia Trainer of the Yr competition in May well 2023, and quite possibly progress to the 2024 Nationwide Instructor of the Year competitiveness in January 2024. Hendrix’s partner, Jeremy, and her tenth-quality son, Bryson, ended up secretly invited to the presentation and her youngest son, Eli, a third grader, just transpired to be in Mom’s class at the time.

“Thank you so substantially,” Hendrix claimed. “I’m shaking. I recognize this so much. I am grateful for my faculty and for all that the university district does.”

Superintendent Charles Wilson and other district administrators offered Hendrix with a bouquet of flowers and balloons. Hendrix will also obtain $2,000 from the Bulloch County Basis for General public Instruction and the Parker’s Fueling the Local community plan, which fund the district’s trainer of the year program.

Hendrix has been an educator for 16 many years,10 of people yrs with Stilson Elementary and Bulloch County Universities. At Stilson she has taught second and fifth grades and grew to become the STEM Lab instructor in 2018. She also formerly taught preschool in Bryan County from 2006 to 2012.

As a STEM trainer, Hendrix definitely thinks she’s located her niche. She makes use of real-world ordeals to educate her college students how to generate, believe, engineer, dilemma remedy and more.

“I am generally looking for new methods to mature our STEM system, give college students unforgettable experiences, and have interaction our community,” Hendrix mentioned in her profitable software for the local stage of the level of competition which was open up to 15 university-amount teacher of the year finalists, one particular from just about every of the district’s educational institutions. “I realize the change I can make in the lives of young children. I produce engaging lessons that meet the demands of all learners. I understand how certainly vital it is to take a look at different instructing methods.”

In the past 5 a long time she’s prepared and obtained various grants from the Faculty Soccer Playoff Foundation, the Wal-Mart Foundation, the Bulloch County Foundation for Public Instruction, and the American Farm Bureau – White-Reinhardt Fund for Instruction Scholarship, and she’s partnered with Ga Southern College, regional garden golf equipment, and her school’s fine arts instructors to deliver her inventive classes to lifestyle.

For instance, in her very first yr as a STEM trainer she established a device that would help not only train pupils about technologies but clearly show them how it can be used to reward other people and the community. Her college students partnered with Georgia Southern University’s Higher education of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences to obtain and movie oral histories about Stilson and the 85-yr-aged log cabin that sits on the back again corner of the elementary university assets. The film they manufactured not only preserves heritage by means of documentary filmmaking, but is being applied as a catalyst to probably restore the composition.

“We will need much more arms-on education and learning, and I am happy that I can give my pupils these types of chances at Stilson,” Hendrix mentioned.

Upcoming, she partnered with Stilson’s art and songs instructors, Erin Henry and Rachel Thompson, to add a wonderful arts concentrate to STEM. Inspired by Hendrix’s journey to a gourd farm in North Carolina, the trio established a multi-12 months finding out encounter in which college students finish a diverse phase from 3rd via fifth quality. Recognized as the gourd challenge, each individual 12 months third-grade college students prepare the school’s two gourd tunnel trellises, planting seeds, monitoring the climate and the gourds’ advancement cycle, and learning about the really hard-skinned fruit’s distinctive versions and their past and present takes advantage of. They expand Swan, Loofah, African Canteen, African Bushel, Snake, Apple, Birdhouse, Very long-neck Dipper and Martin gourds. When pupils advance to fourth quality they choose their harvested gourds and manner them into will work of art, birdhouses and musical instruments in their art and audio classes. In fifth quality the pupils host a college farmer’s marketplace to offer their creations. The proceeds go back into serving to maintain the job.

“Community connections are so amazing!” Hendrix said. “There is only one of me, and it is so tricky to do enriching activities with learners if you don’t have assistance. With no neighborhood volunteers, our projects would not have been probable.”

This calendar year Hendrix and her 2nd-quality learners partnered with the Brooklet Back garden Club and the Ogeechee River Daylily Club to make the Stilson Elementary School Perfectly Best Pollinator Backyard. The small children and volunteers planted 20 pots of indigenous Ga pollinator vegetation encompassing the school’s current Gourd Back garden in order to support bring in bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

“My a few small children have been blessed to have Jenny as their STEM instructor about the yrs,” explained Michael Hood, a mum or dad of three Stilson college students, two present-day and just one preceding. “If you question my youngsters what their most loved point at faculty is, they say, ‘Mrs. Jenny’s course!’ That indicates so much to me as a parent.”

Hendrix’s principal, Elizabeth Stewart, also presented significant praise. “It is an honor to perform alongside these types of a very well-rounded and gifted trainer chief,” Stewart mentioned. “Our staff, college students, and stakeholders significantly worth her skilled information, thoughts and management.”

In September, Hendrix was a single of 21 lecturers picked for the college district’s Aspiring Leaders program. Released in 2016, the system presents teachers an prospect to advance their leadership opportunity to possibly be promoted to school or district administration positions in the potential. She has also served on her school’s management workforce and as a grade amount chairperson for five several years.

Hendrix is also a mentor to other instructors. In only her second yr as a STEM teacher she commenced presenting her productive tutorial procedures to her peers at the Georgia STEM Forum. She now sees herself as an advocate for STEM training. She has even made a social media account focused to STEM schooling to additional share thoughts with educators.

“I want all lecturers to see how effortless it is to develop partaking lessons without tons of money and without worksheets,” Hendrix stated. “I hope to go on to advocate for fingers-on learning and STEM instruction. I am stepping outside of my box and extending my advocacy nationwide. I have used to existing at the Countrywide Ag in the Classroom Conference in Orlando this summer season.”

Hendrix acquired her bachelors’ diploma in Baby and Spouse and children Development from Georgia Southern College and her Masters of Artwork in Training from Armstrong Atlantic Point out University.

“I feel I am planting seeds for a upcoming harvest,” Hendrix reported in her application. “I may well see that harvest if I have the opportunity to see a former scholar, or I might never see it, but I know I planted the seeds.”

All of Bulloch County Schools’ college-amount instructors of the year will be honored on January 24, at a banquet sponsored by the Statesboro Herald. The college district’s Teacher of the Yr program is also sponsored by the Bulloch County Foundation for Community Training and Parker’s Fueling the Community method. These are the 2022-2023 faculty-stage teachers of the year who had been qualified to use for the university district title:

- Marci Cochran, Brooklet Elementary University
- Tonya Offer, Julia P. Bryant Elementary School
- Valerie McLaughlin, Langston Chapel Elementary Faculty
- Tonya Gilchrist, Langston Chapel Middle School
- Summertime Bishop, Mattie Lively Elementary School
- Dr. Jontia Grace, Mill Creek Elementary Faculty
- Jenna Ellis, Nevils Elementary University
- Teresa Flemming, Portal Elementary College
- Clinton Thornburg, Portal Middle Superior Faculty
- Chris Clark, Sallie Zetterower Elementary College
- Karla Anderson, Southeast Bulloch Substantial University
- Stephanie Burke, Southeast Bulloch Middle College
- Tiffany Ward, Statesboro Significant Faculty
- Jenny Hendrix, Stilson Elementary School
- Erin Cabral, William James Center College