Congratulations to Teacher of the Year Katie Hayes and Harriet Furton, this year's Hal and Joann Tehan Award recipient.
The prestigious awards were presented at Ursuline's annual end-of-year luncheon.
The Teacher of the Year is a peer-nominated award for someone who serves as a role model for students and models 21st century learning skills and teaching tools.
Hayes has been a Math teacher at Ursuline for three years. She always has a smile on her face, cares deeply for her students, and "embodies excellence in teaching" through professional development and self-reflection.
"All of my students have different learning styles," Hayes said. "They demonstrate specific strengths and opportunities for growth in the classroom. It is my job to assess their prior knowledge and build their confidence in mathematics, while helping them develop skills to engage, tackle, and overcome challenging problems. I want to help them become the best that they can be while having an enjoyable learning experience."
Hayes' students create their own MADI project using geometric transformations, including translations, reflections, rotations, and dilations. They create the artwork on Geometer SketchPad.
"There is nothing better than having supportive colleagues who share your passion for teaching mathematics," Hayes said. "We collaborate and share different methods of teaching. I love teaching using whiteboards, fill-in-the-note sheets, foldables, tracing paper, Geometer Sketchpad, and the Ti-Nspire. I am excited to continue exploring and finding new ways to implement new teaching strategies and thought-provoking activities in my classroom."
The Tehan Award was established by Hal Tehan to honor a teacher whose life and work demonstrates strong integration of the Ursuline mission.
Furton, who just completed her fourth year at Ursuline, teaches Anatomy, Biology, Environmental Science, and AP Biology. Furton, who is from Hungary, spends the summer in Europe with her family. She is also a Eucharistic Minister at All Saints Catholic Church.
"She loves having three different preparations because she loves to be busy," Department Chair Maureen Sullivan said. "She's also looking for a personal challenge, and she's always challenging her students as well."
Furton's classes often learn outside the classroom. She has round-table discussions in Haggar, performs experiments outside, and takes students to the Trinity River Audubon Center in Dallas.
"They're always doing something hands-on no matter which class it is," Sullivan said. "She's gentle and calm, but she's always very excited in the classroom."
Ursuline also recognized employees who reached milestones at the school. Sybil Tucker celebrated 35 years, and Susan Bauer celebrated 40 years.
Below are the Service Awards presented:
5 Years
Corby Baxter
Rachel Clark
Juan Cortez
Kellie Fitzpatrick
Amy Gilchrist
James Gregory
Allison Hibbitt
Eve Juarez
Gretchen Kane
Rick Lancaster
Debbie McGowen
Veronica Moreno
Danny Poellot
Kathy Ross
Jill Tilden
Rebecca Wunderlick
10 Years
Kayla Brown
Kelley Hopkins
Erin Keller
Li Liu
Suzy Murray
Kimberly Terry
Scarlette Vargas
15 Years
Juanita Fernandez
Ilona O'Brien
20 Years
Fred Schneider
Maureen Sullivan
Bill Thompson
35 Years
Sybil Tucker
40 Years
Susan Bauer
Retiring
Debbie Becker
Christy Frazer
Sybil Tucker