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School District announces Employees of the Month
for November |
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December 11, 2014 |
Boundary County School District November 2014
Certified Employee of the Month is Karen Lemley
from Naples Elementary School.
Karen Lemley has been an educator for 25 years,
and has been at Naples School for 21 of those
years. During this time, she has taught
combination classes and almost every primary
grade. She currently teaches 1st grade.
 Mrs.
Lemley is known as a teacher who is organized,
creative, peaceful, and loving. She is soft
spoken, and children respond to her gentle and
charitable ways. Her success can partly be
attributed to her continuing desire to improve
and be her best.
One of her many strengths is art. She has taught
children how to draw portraits, birds, dogs,
straw-blown trees with beautiful tissue leaves,
and amazing paintings. Signs of learning cover
her walls, doors, and hallway. She has also
taught countless crafts such as knitting,
quilting, and cooking. For several years Mrs.
Lemley participated in a traveling art show. Art
would come in from schools across the United
States, including Naples Elementary, to be
displayed nationally.
Mrs. Lemley is also known for her Science
expertise. This year she brought a praying
mantis in the classroom. Students caught bugs
from the playground to feed her. One Monday
students came back to class to find she had
formed an egg. Her classroom was electric!
Mrs. Lemley also has a traveling science
suitcase that goes home with students. They take
turns being the "Scientist" of the week as
parents come in and assist them in conducting
and explaining their experiments. It is a class
highlight! She now teaches a "Mad Scientist"
class in our Magnet classes with students
ranging from Kindergarten to 5th grade.
Mrs. Lemley is planning on retiring in 2015. She
is an insightful mentor at our school, and will
be greatly missed. She is more than deserving of
this award, and we feel lucky to have her a
little longer.
The School District's Classified Employee of the
month for November 2014 is Darla Evans.
Mrs. Darla Evans is a member of the 1989
graduating class of Bonners Ferry High School.
Since this time she has invested in the children
of Boundary County. Darla came to Valley View
Elementary School nine years ago, after running
a day care center in Moyie Springs.
Her first job at Valley View was an AmeriCorp
position; this challenging position provides
reading support
for the at-risk student population. The skills
she showed in this temporary position landed her
a full-time career in the Life Skills Department
at Valley View, where she has been for the last
seven years.
Life Skills, in our public school, is for
students with disabilities who need additional
support in their social, behavioral and/or
academic development. This is not work for the
weary! It is a very hard job.
Darla is a distinguished employee; she enjoys
the students and they clearly respond to her
attention! The students make tremendous gains
under her guidance with the support of Matt
Dinning, the certified member of the team. Darla
enjoys the challenge. It is said best in her own
words, “I am continually inspired and humbled by
my students! They persist to make improvement,
in spite of their challenges.” Darla is truly a
beautiful person, inside and out.
Darla is an avid outdoorswoman. Hunting,
camping, kayaking, and cross-country skiing are
among her activities. She has been married to
her husband Doug, for 23 years. They have been
blessed with two wonderful boys: Brenden is 19
years old and serving in the U.S. Army, and Mat,
22 years, is headed to Graduate School at the
University of Great Falls. |
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