Congrats to our Volunteer and Educator Award Recipients for 2018-2019

Congratulations to our outstanding volunteer and educator award recipients! Here are some of the reasons why Sacajawea is such a wonderful community.

Our Golden Acorn Awards recognize volunteers who go above and beyond.

Rowell Llanillo (Jordan’s Dad)
Rowell has been the mastermind behind the design of the Sac t-shirts for the last several years. (As well as the Ultimate Team and Safety Patrol shirts!) His creative skills are constantly called upon to design posters and other special effects for so many events at our school. Rowell also dedicates his Friday mornings to helping with Packs for Kids prep and distribution.

Jennifer Sunami (Cora’s Mom)
Jennifer is co-chair of the parent equity team. She is a dedicated volunteer that steps in where needed. Jennifer is also a member of the grants committee, helps with Packs for Kids on Friday mornings, and created and led the Makers Market at Arts Fest. We wouldn’t have a school handbook without Jennifer! All this PLUS she volunteers in her daughter’s classroom weekly to help with Book Bridges.

Melissa Walsh & Mike Bindschadler (Elizabeth’s Mom & Dad)
A dynamic duo at Sacajawea for almost a decade – it felt right to recognize them together! They contribute to our school in every way possible. Whether it’s running the drama program, driving kids to school when the bus strike was happening, donating to a bake sale, chaperoning field trips, working events, they are always there. Mike helped to run our Ultimate Frisbee team and is a member of Sac Dads, while Melissa is on the Parent Equity Team and was a Global Reading Challenge coach (sometimes for multiple groups).

Our Outstanding Teacher Award recognizes a member of the staff whose dedication and impact is evident throughout the year.

Anne Singh
Ms. Singh is our amazing reading specialist and has played a significant role in helping so many students at Sacajawea become confident, growing readers. Her professionalism, caring, expertise and innovation make all the difference! Ms. Singh spear-headed last year’s summer reading program and book swap, that stopped most of our early readers from experiencing the “summer slide”. She facilitated the smooth implementation of the new reading curriculum over the past few years and continues to bring literacy resources to our teachers and parents. She is an active member of the staff Equity Team and has worked to acquire diverse books, lessons, and curriculum.

The Roy Norman SHINE Award* is given in honor of Ms. Norman’s late husband. Roy was an amazing man and the type of person who would jump in to help anyone, anywhere.

Sara Taylor
Sara’s care and concern for her students are apparent with the dedication she shows daily. She knows how to respond and react to each child in a way that suits them best. Sara is also highly involved and engaged in several staff committees at Sacajawea. She cares deeply about our school and it shows! In addition, she has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the face some highly challenging situations. Ms. Sara supported two distinct classrooms while Ms. Kelly was on maternity leave and even had 3 new students added during this time. She has handled this in stride and has been doing an amazing job supporting the students and staff in both classrooms!

*This is the second annual presentation of the SHINE award, with last year's given to our Field Day Diva, Ann Schlossman!

Our school is a better place because of all your efforts, Thank You Rowell, Jennifer, Melissa, Mike, Anne and Sara!