Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/792936
www.ParentingOC.com 56 Parenting OC Magazine | March 2017 2017 Fam' Favorites Compiled by Sascha Zuger Each year, in addition to the Administrator-nominated Top Teacher of OC program, we welcome parents, stu- dents and past students to nominate the educators who made a difference in their lives to our Family Favorite Top Teacher list. This year, we had 214 essays submitted about OC educators. Enjoy excerpts about our top five nomi- nees below, and head to www.parentingoc.com to enjoy the entire collection of unedited essays. "Mrs. Ware has overcome thousands of challenges that come with a brand new school." — Silvia Herson, Parent "Mrs. Ware has made the transition of a new school with STEAM an exciting and easy transition for my daughter." — Carrie Danko, Parent "She is one of the reasons that my son wants to go to school every day." — Acalya Heeren, Parent "Mrs. Ware helps inspire the children through yoga, knitting, exercise, class pets, and projects." — David Robinson, Parent "She looks at each child individually and assesses their personal strengths and weaknesses to best guide them." — Jami Gulini, Parent "She is always thinking of innovative ways to educate." — Jaime Johnson, Parent "My school would not be the same without him. He is instru- mental in every recital and talent show and has let an after-school drama class for the middle grade children for years. Every year, the kids are clamoring to join. He is a rigorous teacher and gentle soul." — Kate Watkins, Fellow Teacher "Mr. Lewis stands out as an inspiring teacher. He has a talent for teaching a serious subject in a fun way while giving a lot of good information. He takes a lot of pride in his teaching and that is really appreciated." — Ben Mesko, Student "He's the first teacher at school every morning. I have never seen him tired or bored, always engaging with the students. The students love him." — Mark Adviento, Parent "This teacher is amazing. My daughter says he uses acting while teaching. He's very animated, but he's tough too. He expects good grammar and spelling. I can now have detailed conversations with my daughter on the subject of history. We truly love this guy!" — Kris Vitale, Parent "Mr. Lewis has given my step daughters a deep knowledge of history, guided them to masterfully handle his intensely challenging essay-only tests, and entertained them immensely along the way in dressing and acting the part of historical characters. They adored him and have retained a great deal of the knowledge he imparted, the les- sons of hard work he demanded, and memories of how fun his class was that will last a lifetime. It's hard for me to think of a greater gift one could give to the lives of student." — Chad Morris, Parent Dana Ware Orange County Academy of Science and Arts, Laguna Niguel 12 Nominations Andrew Lewis VanDamme Academy, Aliso Viejo 11 Nominations