Castle Hills Elementary

Teacher of the Year 2009-2010
Did you know that Tammy Lea is Castle Hills' 2009-2010 Teacher of the Year? Mrs. Lea has been working in the educational profession for eleven years. She has taught in the Lewisville ISD and Castle Hills for two years.

Her Greatest Accomplishments: My greatest accomplishments are 1) Raising two beautiful, intelligent, successful children.  2) Teaching dyslexic children to read and spell and restoring their love for learning.
Her Favorite Quote: My favorite quote is "A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank...but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child."
Her Advice to Upcoming, Aspiring Educators: "Keep an open heart and an open mind and never lose your sense of humor!"

Teacher of the Year 2008-2009
Did you know that Mona Effler is Castle Hills' 2008-2009 Teacher of the Year? Mrs. Effler has been working in the educational profession for six years. She has taught in the Lewisville ISD and Castle Hills all six years.

Her Greatest Accomplishments: My greatest accomplishments are my faith, my family, and my love of teaching.
Her Favorite Quote: My favorite quote changes as I experience life. Right now my top quote is one by Albert Einstein, “You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.”
I like explaining this to my students when they are hitting the wall on a problem. I tell them that even Einstein knew you had to be flexible in your thinking and not just keep digging the same hole over and over again.
Her Advice to Upcoming, Aspiring Educators: "First, teaching is one of the most rewarding careers you could ever have. Second, it is one of the most misunderstood careers you could ever have. I get up nearly every morning ready and raring (at least after coffee) to come to school and see my students. Being here is a great joy. But some people seem to believe the old adage that those who can do, are those who can’t teach. That is the farthest thing from the truth. I can guarantee you that I DO every day. I have worked in other fields and have other talents. I TEACH. I teach because I choose to teach. It isn’t the money, it isn’t the respect, and it isn’t the power. If you are planning to be a teacher and need any of these things, you are going into the wrong field. We get paid with smiles; have the respect of those who learn to respect themselves; and the power of knowledge behind us. And that’s enough for me."

Technology Model Teacher 2008-2009
Did you know that Lori Moorehead is one of Castle Hills' 2008-2009 Technology Model Teachers? Mrs. Moorehead has been working in the educational profession for 19 years. She has taught in the Lewisville ISD for 19 years and at Castle Hills since its establishment.

How has Technology changed your way of teaching: "Technology, such as the interactive board, has made everything from classroom management run smoothly to increasing overall student involvement in my class. Through my website, my parents can connect to what's happening in my classroom. CPS units allow my students to demonstrate their knowledge of lessons that I've just taught. There's absolutely nothing greater than seeing my 2nd graders present their individual written work to the class using our document camera and using the LCD projector to project it on the big screen. Digital cameras and software applications like PhotoStory, MovieMaker and Powerpoint allow my students to independently create slideshows with photos that they've taken. TECHNOLOGY...TECHNOLOGY. .TECHNOLOGY has enhanced my teaching, engaged my students, and I can't imagine teaching without it."

Technology Model Teacher 2008-2009
Did you know that Patti Swan, one of our fifth grade teachers, is also one of our Technology Model Teachers? Mrs. Swan has been teaching for nine years. She has taught at Castle Hills since its establishment.

How has Technology changed your way of teaching: "Technology helps to actively involve my students in learning. When using technology, I can differentiate my lessons for the needs of my students. When using a response system with the students, I can make data driven decisions about where I need to go next--back up and re-teach or use an enrichment to continue the lesson and stretch the students to another level."