Sandra Fary

My name is Katherine and I'm nominating Ms. Sandra Fary for the Teacher of the Year Award. I'm glad to say, she's also my English Language Arts teacher, otherwise I'd have no idea how to adequately tell you my story. I'm a student who has moved a lot. In total, my family has uprooted itself three times, eventually winding up in Richmond, VT. It would be two years before I was able to meet my all time favorite teacher, not to put down my other teachers, as they all rocked too! Moving into the 7th grade, I was placed on Team Sequoia and this is where I first met Ms. Fary. I can only describe it as an experience that I shall never forget. I could tell right away that Ms. Fary was different. I couldn't quite tell 'if it was good or bad different' in the beginning. She'd come to school every day absolutely bedecked in these huge earrings that ranged anywhere from being made of a caddisfly larvae case (She had to explain that to us!) to wire ones shaped like a double helix. (She proudly wore those during our DNA unit!). The relationship she had with her co-teacher, and our other homeroom teacher, Ms. Shusterman, was consummately professional but in a quirky, fun way! The whole class came to be obsessed with the way the two would jokingly chew each other out when their class was being too loud and how they'd occasionally match outfits for Spirit Week. They were clearly good friends outside of school, but Ms. Fary's manner of speaking and acting wasn't the only thing about her that would grab a student's attention. She had a trait I find very rare in teachers. She actually made you "want" to listen. I asked her once what her favorite teaching unit was. Without a moment's hesitation she responded, "chemistry" and I have to admit that even though we've only just started our chemistry unit, she's absolutely amazing at leading experiments. Without her, I doubt I'd ever know what a meniscus is. (Spoiler: It's super important!!). But, that's not the Ms. Fary unit that influenced me the most. I doubt anything can top the experience I had learning about biology with her. We started the 7th grade curriculum learning about trees. Sounds boring, right? Well yeah, I'm sure it would be if anyone else had been teaching it. The idea that tiny, microscopic chloroplasts could be like a power outlet for all the natural beauty of green leaves in the summertime just totally amazed me! I saw rewards when expressed how fascinated I was with all of it, because she wanted nothing more but engagement. LOVE OF LEARNING!! I actually wanted to go outside, and if you know me, you'd know that was not something I would often do. This feeling lasted all throughout my 7th grade year, and when we moved onto the 8th grade with our astronomy unit, I became obsessed with the stars because somehow she found the perfect way to engage us, and make it all matter using David Bowie's music that would become our constant learning companion. Would you believe it if I told you that there's a type of mushroom that can walk? Well, don't because it's not true. But if Ms. Fary told me that, I'd believe her on the spot because she has that energy; the new teacher kind energy whose love of kids hasn't died out yet because they haven't been exposed to a teenage boy's body odor; Yeah, no. She's all too familiar with that, seeing as not only does she have two teenage sons of her own, but she's been teaching for 27 consecutive years!! I never thought there was so much to fawn over in the world until Ms. Fary taught us how to identify a fawn's hoofprint. The list of things she has given and taught her students goes on and on. But overall, Ms. Fary gave me something no other teacher could. She gave me my first love; A love of the my planet, Earth. That's the biggest thing about her. Love. She loves her students the way a mother loves their child and unlike a lot of teachers I've had in the past, she cares deeply for them. Not in a, "No Josh, don't touch those scissors way", but in a "Hey Lily, how was your lacrosse game today?" way. When her students talk, she really listens and she actually respects them. I'll never forget the time she'd mistaken my best friend and I for a couple and when we told her "NOPE", her first thought was that we'd broken up. It was just so funny at the time, and it showed something important about her. She cares! She spent time thinking about the complex relationships that students experience and showed real concern when she thought those relationships were lost! When real losses occurred, she wouldn't simply pat us on the back with a, "sorry for your loss". She'd be there understanding our needs for an emotional break, knowing how fragile we were in those moments. Ms. Fary is a firm believer in equity over equality, making sure each and every student gets what they need to succeed at our school. Even though that's not even scratching the surface of what she's done for all of us, I still haven't talked about her impact on me personally. Going into the 7th grade, I was this wannabe rocker chick who was lost in her own thoughts and thought I'd be the next My Chemical Romance or something. In only a few short months with Ms. Fary, I was almost the total opposite. Now, I have pride in my roots because she taught me not to be ashamed of who I am. I cut my hair because she taught me to take chances and I'm growing it out now again because she taught me that things change. I take real interests in nature and I incorporate it into my fashion sense. I collect rainwater because "it's just so cool!!". I now want to have a career in Science because she taught me how fun it is to actually be smart and how much of the natural world I've yet to explore. She taught me to have high expectations for myself and for others. She taught me to love my family deeply despite our differences in beliefs. She made me a better student and a better human being and nominating her is the best thing that I can think of to say, "Thank you Ms. Fary. Thank you so much for being my teacher these last two years." -Katherine Hashem

Katherine Hashem