CCE Teacher of the Year Michelle Larrimore

This post has been swimming around in my head and heart for some time. Each year I like to write about Cypress Creek Elementary's Teacher of the Year.  Our faculty gets together to nominate and chose a teacher to represent our school at the county Teacher of the Year banquet.  Well this year I have the pleasure of writing about a fellow teammate, Michelle Larrimore.

Their smiles tell it all, the kids love Mrs. Larrimore.  Michelle has dedicated the last 17 years to Volusia County Schools and all in 1st grade.  She has a talent I tell you.  Eight years we opened the school together and I had the pleasure of being her son's 1st grade teacher.  Michelle has been our team leader for the past few years and works hard to keep us informed on on top of things, did I mention how very organized she is? Thank goodness because I know you have seen my room.  She is very humble and does not like to draw attention to herself, especially pictures.  Well for her day she was such trooper and smiled in every one.  We celebrated her all day and grade levels made basket presentations to her with some of her favorite things.  She loves chocolate, McDonald's sweet tea, being a dance mom, watching her son race, taking pictures, and going to the beach for family time.  The baskets got bigger and bigger and delivered during each grade level's special area time.  What a day to celebrate our Teacher of the Year.  She enjoyed the day off for the banquet as a day for herself. Our team is the best thanks to Michelle Larrimore!  Congratulations on Teacher of the Year, an honor indeed.

Here our team sits with Cypress Creek Elementary's Teacher of the Year Mrs. Michelle Larrimore!

THANK YOU :) Florida Education Association-Retired We are a Grant Winner!

How happy do these children look? They are absolutely loving the new Lakeshore headphones we were able to purchase thanks to Florida Education Association-Retired through a grant we were awarded.

This year my mission was to really integrate technology into our daily routine.  I researched, talked to important people, attended conferences, collaborated with teachers, and used TWITTER like no other year before and it has changed my teaching.

Our district invested in Reading a to z and anyone that has used it knows the power it can be for a young reader.  You can listen to, read, record, and answer comprehension questions.  What do you do when you don't have enough headphones and you can hear others in the background?

Well Florida Education Association-Retired offered a grant for needed classroom materials and I made sure to advocate for my friends.  Who would have know they would have picked our grant out of all the entries.  We were so excited to get the news and order those headphones.  

My friends and I agree they make a world of difference in the classroom.  We are able to listen to information on the internet, record ourselves in apps, and practice our prosody as we get to be better readers.  I can't thank Florida Education Association-Retired (and Charles Moskowitz, District Director)for their efforts and making us a grant winner! #grateful