PBIS has announced its Student of the Month and Staff Member of the Month recipients for the month of December. 

Science teacher Nicholas Gillies nominated fellow science teacher Christie Leanza because she has created a group of students to help with the Science Olympiad.

“She’s done a really good job with Science Olympiad [and] getting students involved,” Gillies said. “[She has put in] a lot of time after school [and] on the weekends, but also putting responsibility on the students.” 

Other staff members nominated include assistant principals Elise Heaton and Andrea Freeman, history teacher Taylor Sweeney, band director Scott King, English teachers Bonnie Stanford and Terence Fitzgerald, Spanish teacher Laura Alldredge, media center paraprofessional IIona Canada, athletic director secretary Sarah Harmond, science teacher Samantha Krage, learning specialist Katherine Sevy, paraprofessional Marcie Comeau, and guidance department secretary Stacy Nichols. 

English teacher Whitney Shoemaker nominated senior Henry McFaddin because he helped decorate the hallways for the teachers’ hallway and door decorating contests during the Reindeer Games. 

“He stopped and helped us because he’s tall,” Shoemaker said. “[He helped us] cover up the lights.”

Math teacher Nicholas Castagna nominated sophomore Skip Smith because he studied and prepared a lot for the final exam.

“The reason I nominated him for the month of December was because of the work he was putting into class. From the moment we came back from Thanksgiving break, Skip was locked in and super-focused in math class,” Castagna said. “He sat in the front and away from distractions and put in the work in math class.”

Childcare teacher Hope Via nominated freshman Leigh Davis because she did her work in advance because she was going to be absent. 

“I nominated Leigh because before exams she came to me and let me know that she would be absent the first few days of second semester and asked if there was any work she could take with her to complete over the break,” Via said. “It was very responsible of Leigh to plan ahead and ask for work to do over a break.” 

Once a month Elise Heaton, the assistant principal in charge of PBIS, sends out a link for staff members to nominate students and teachers on their good behavior. The PBIS committee, composed of Heaton, a PBIS coach, and other faculty and staff, voted on the PBIS staff and students of the month. 

“The PBIS program at Starr’s Mill helps us focus on the three core values that we want all of our students and staff to exhibit on a daily basis: respect, accountability, and responsibility,” assistant principal Elise Heaton. “So with PBIS and focusing on these three things we can celebrate the positive things going on in our building instead of the negative things, which will hopefully encourage others to show those positive values as well.”