Starting Monday, January 30th through February 13th we will be collecting nominations for all the resource teachers including PE, Guidance Counselors, Art, Media Specialists, Music, Computer and Spanish. Our top-ranked St. Johns County school system has some of the best resource teachers in the state of Florida and we want to make sure they get the recognition they deserve. All you need to do is email Peyton at PDavidson@DavidsonRealtyInc.Com or give her a call at (904) 940-5000 and let her know who you would like to nominate. Tell us why you think your favorite Wards Creek Elementary or Mill Creek Elementary resource teacher deserves to be recognized. Voting will kick off on the Davidson Realty Facebook Page on February 15th and go until March 15th. Your winner will be announced on March 20th right before Spring Break!

Our third round of Davidson Appreciates Teachers ended last week with 5th and 4th grades at Mill Creek Elementary and Wards Creek Elementary schools. Voting was off-the-charts this year! We logged more than 300 votes during this Davidson Appreciates Teachers contest. Clearly there’s a lot of love and admiration for many of the wonderful teachers at both of these schools but Mrs. Dewitt, 5th grade teacher at Mill Creek Elementary and Mrs. Lawless, 4th grade teacher at Wards Creek Elementary came out on top.

On Thursday, December 1st we awarded Mrs. Dewitt on the morning news show at Mill Creek Elementary School and we surprised Mrs. Lawless in her classroom at Wards Creek Elementary School. They each received a gift basket filled with chocolates, bath salts, wine glasses, a $25 Fandango gift certificate, a $50 gift certificate to the new Villagio Restaurant at the Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village and a $50 gift certificate to Q Nails at The Shoppes at Murabella. Thank you to our gift sponsors who clearly appreciate teachers as much as we do! Watch the video here.

Mrs. Davis and Lucas – Our Back to School Coloring Contest Winners

Beginning the school year is not always an easy task. Getting the supplies, the clothes, physicals and the paperwork done can be quite a challenge, but there is something to be said for the regimen that a new school year offers a family. For one, it is a new beginning, an opportunity for the whole family to grow and become wiser. Maybe wiser to how much growth your child has made over the summer. I look at my daughters and am in awe of not just their physical growth, but their intellectual strides as well. Not only do our kiddos need new clothes, but new books too! That’s why Davidson Realty came up with a contest to help Mill Creek Elementary and Wards Creek Elementary students have an opportunity to win $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble for a student and their teacher. The winning student was Lucas Kleiber in Mrs. Davis’s first grade class at Wards Creek Elementary. Congrats Lucas!!! What a sweetie he is.

Giving Lucas and Mrs. Davis their gift certificates was a fun adventure. Lucas and I got to be guests on the afternoon news show. I shared with the students that starting today, October 3rd, I would begin taking nominations for 4th and 5th grade teachers at Mill Creek and Wards Creek for the 3rd Quarter of the Davidson Appreciates Teachers Contest. One student couldn’t wait though - Meenal Deshmukh from Mill Creek nominated Mrs. Jackson because “she is a wonderful teacher who makes the classroom learning exciting and fun.  She motivates the students to go above and beyond to perform their level best!” WOW! That is AWESOME! Here is what I am asking the parents and students at the elementary schools to do – call me (Kristen) at (904) 940-5000 or email me at KCalhoun@DavidsonRealtyInc.Com and tell me why your teacher is the best!

I am taking nominations through October 28th. The top 3 teachers from each school will be posted on Davidson Realty’s Facebook page. Voting starts on November 7th through November 30th. Start by “liking” Davidson Realty’s Facebook page and vote for your favorite teacher by “liking” or posting a comment underneath your favorite’s photo telling us why you chose them! Help Davidson Realty appreciate our teachers by nominating and voting for your favorite! Get your friends involved and help us make 3rd quarter the best ever!

We are inviting Mill Creek Elementary and Wards Creek Elementary students to participate in this contest and the best part is it couldn’t be simpler! Visit http://www.davidsonrealtyinc.com/teachers-contest, download the coloring sheet, have your child color away, and drop it off at Davidson Realty’s office building by September 15th. We will do a random drawing to pick the winner of two $50 gift certificates for Barnes & Noble! Your child keeps one gift certificate and the other is given to his or her teacher to buy books for the classroom. The winner will be announced on the Davidson Realty Facebook Page on September 16th!

We are revving up to start the 3rd Quarter of the Davidson Appreciates Teachers Contest in October. We will be accepting nominations for your 4th and 5th grade teachers from October 3rd to October 28th. When you are ready to nominate just email Kristen Calhoun at KCalhoun@DavidsonRealtyInc.Com or give her a call at (904)940-5000. Start thinking about who you are going to vote for and get coloring!

As the school year is ending, so is the 2nd Quarter of Davidson Appreciates Teachers. What a huge success this contest has been. This quarter we recognized 2nd and 3rd grade teachers from Mill Creek Elementary and Wards Creek Elementary. Words cannot describe the overwhelming sense of joy I felt from reading the nominations from the adults and even the students.  I received emails from parents at other schools in our St. Johns County School district just because they wanted us to know how great their teachers are, too. How amazing is that!!!  Who knew a simple idea to show appreciation could turn into such an outpour of support from our community. I received over 70 nominations. Thank you to all of you for helping Davidson Realty appreciate our teachers! It means so much to us and I know it touches the teacher’s hearts deeply.

I received a very special nomination for Mr. Farnum all the way from Japan from a parent of a 3rd grader at Wards Creek. The mother was deployed to Japan after the earthquake and tsunami hit in March. She was so worried about leaving her daughter, especially right before FCATS. Mr. Farnum assured the mother that everything would be fine. He even allowed the student to communicate with her mother via email. Mr. Farnum gave the mother and the student what they needed. He was a pillar of strength for both of them during this difficult time. He gave the student moral support and a connection with her mother to help the daughter succeed. F.Y.I., she rocked her FCAT!

Mr. Farnum is described as “the best teacher and one of the most caring of the children and their feelings. He is someone my daughter respects and looks up to.” I am so proud to announce that Mr. Farnum is the winner of Wards Creek 2nd Quarter of Davidson Appreciates Teachers! Congratulations to Mr. Farnum!!!

I received my first nomination for, Mrs. Kowieski, a 2nd grade teacher from Mill Creek in January. The nominations didn’t start until March. And, that wasn’t the only one! Her students and parents LOVE her!!! One special nomination I received stated that Mrs. Kowieski is the definition of respect from the character counts program. She teaches her students to respect themselves and each other by sharing real life examples of earning and showing respect. What a contribution Mrs. Kowieski is making to help teach a generation of young people to lead productive lives and become good citizens.

Another nomination I received for Mrs. Kowieski is that she helps children realize their potential with her incredible “can do” attitude. In the words of a previous student of hers, “Mrs. Kowieski was my second grade teacher last year at Mill Creek Elementary School. She is smart, kind, fair, and very fun. I was able to learn a lot. She always made learning fun.”

I could go on and on about all the wonderful things that the students and parents love about Mrs. Kowieski, but a blog isn’t supposed to be any longer! I am proud to announce that Mrs. Kowieski is the Mill Creek winner of 2nd Quarter of Davidson Appreciates Teachers! Congratulations to Mrs. Kowieski!!!

Check out the video blog and see Mr. Farnum and Mrs. Kowieski win their gifts. Thank you to Kings Head British Pub, Balance Massage & Meditation & Davidson Realty for the gifts for the winning teachers! We’ll be kicking of Fall 2011 school year showing appreciation for 4th and 5th grade teachers.