Recipient:  Reta Beall          

School: Silverheights Public School

Number of Years Teaching: 30 years

Grade: 5 and 6

Reta Beall loves that her job constantly changes and that it is exciting and new every day.   Every year she welcomes 20 new kids and together they experience the school year almost like a family.  Together they learn and grow.  Reta says, “my students teach me and I teach them!”

Because the world is always changing Reta knows that she must listen to what her students say and teach what is important to them.  She says that her students’ needs, likes, interests, strengths and weaknesses drive her program.  She loves watching as her students begin to contribute, get excited about the material, ask questions, and take risks.  That they smile at her, come back to say good bye, and share with her about their lives makes, for Reta “every day a good day because every day something touches my heart.”

Reta seeks to be a safe person for her students.  She smiled when she said that she knows she has become a safe person when her students, by accident, call her “mom”.  It shows that they trust her like they would a parent.

Parents Paul and Karen wrote this about Reta:

Reta Beall is the teacher that you do whatever you have to do to have your child placed in her grade 6 class.  She is a teacher who believes in empowering her students.  She does that by teaching them what they need to know to succeed in school, at home, and in life.  One way she does this is by having regular “Class Meetings”.  These class meetings encourage discussion, compromise, empathy and understanding.  Students learn how their choices impact others and how to resolve issues in a respectful way.  Students learn that problems frequently take time to solve, just like in the adult world.

All three of our children have had Reta as their grade 6 teacher.  Each child came home daily with a smile because Mrs. Beall had complimented, encouraged or inspired him/her.  Each of our children felt that they could do anything, cope with anything, be anything because of Reta Beall.

One of the best things Reta does for her students happens on the last day of school.  Each student is taken aside for a personal, private goodbye.  She talks to the student about their successes, goals and how the student has made a positive impact in the class and on Mrs. Beall.  This is how she is able to reach each student; to motivate them to learn and do their best; and to inspire them to be the best people they can be.