December 2023 Winner - Madison Mayatt:(Northeast Lauderdale Middle School)

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Meridian Star Article

The December Golden Apple teacher of the month is Madison mayat she's a fifth grade science teacher at Northeast Middle School. "I've always loved working with children and while I was in college, I originally went for something completely different and I worked part-time of a daycare. I realized then, I wanted to make an impact on children. Mrs Mat's teaching philosophy revolves around making her students better I truly believe that if my students feel cared for and they feel loved. In return they're going to love and they're going to care for me and they're going to do good for me and they're going to be excited to come in my room. Even if it's not just to learn science they're just going to come to feel loved and feel like they belong somewhere every year."

"I have at least one or two children that I can tell off the bat like okay they're walls up it's my goal you know by the end of the year to break that wall down and that's what surprises me. When I finally see that Wall come down and I get to bond with that student and I can tell from then on that they want to try for me." She says her favorite thing is when a struggling student finally understands the material, "You know I'll try one skill and half the class will get it, and I always have one or two students that are still like, okay wait what, and then when I pull them or we try something else. I can see it click on I can hear them go oh now I get it and that's that's my favorite part of working. Every day a great day for me is seeing former students or even students that I didn't get the privilege of teaching but they were still know me. I got to know them, they will come down the hallway or they enter through the double doors of their a car rider just to give me a hug and tell me good morning. And to me that's it right there. That's a great day getting to recognize and understand a child's heart and getting to know them as their own individual person and seeing their true personality and their true colors. I love that.