Thanks for the Nice Day

Yesterday was a very nice day, a day when I felt contentment and satisfication with myself. Those days seem to be very few and far between lately, so I really needed yesterday to boost me up to meet the next days.

I spent the day with my wonderful husband, two of my daughters, and one of my sisters, along with many other people who were there experiencing the same thrill with their loved ones. We were in Richfield for the presentation of the Arch Coal Teacher Awards.

Arch Coal owns and operates coal mines in 5 states. There are four counties in Utah with ties to Arch Coal. There are five awards given out in Utah each year. These counties are included in the Arch Coal Teacher awards. Each year citizens of the counties are asked to nominate teachers for this award. The person nominated is sent a very lengthly application to fill out. Instructions must be followed to the "T" with specification of exactly how many lines per page, how many pages for each section, etc. I have received the application for the previous two years and have been awards a runner-up status each year. When the application came this year, I nearly tossed it in the garbage. Then I thought better. Someone appreciated my work and they deserved the honor of knowing I cared about them. I wish I knew who had nominated me, but it really doesn't matter. So, I went ahead and sent in the application forms again. (It really wasn't hard because I just tweeked what I already had on the computer.) You are asked to submit three letters of recommendation that have been written sometime during the past three years, so I picked three from the past two years nominations and used them.

According to the Arch Coal people, the application forms go through quite a lengthy process of grading by many teachers outside our area. The top five scorers are given the award.

I was really impressed with the Arch Coal Foundation. They had everything organized and in detail. The second-in-command official from West Virginia was there, as well as many officials of the company. The vice-president of UEA was there, representatives from our state government, and many other dignitaries. It was nice to see our superintendent Kirk Sitterud and our Elementary Supervisor Jed Jensen there as well. There were several people from different media outlets, including our own ETV and Emery County Progress. I wasn't too happy about talking on-camera with Josie Luke for ETV-10. I love talking with Josie, but not that camera. And you all know me, I cry too easily, so you know what you got!

We were given the awards at an assembly at the K-2 elementary in Richfield. There was a very nice trophy and a plaque, along with a check for $3,500. What a nice appreciation gift! I met with Patsy Stoddard and Josie Luke who both wanted to do an interview, then with another person from another radio station. It was kind of out of my league to be an impromptu speaker. Haven't done that since high school with Mr. Jo.


After the awards were given, we went to a local restuarant for dinner. There we listened to representatives from Congressman Chaffetz, Congressman Matheson, and Senator Hatch. We received personal letters and a flag that was flown over the US Capital Building. (I know, for a total of 5 seconds! But it is the thought that counts.) I have also received letters in the mail from the same congressional leaders. I thought it was kind of funny when the lady from Chaffetz office started to talk. She said "All but one of the award winners is from our district, but we will give her a flag anyway." Wonder who that was? ME! I am a Matheson fan, through and through.

In all it was a very nice day. But the humbling part is knowing that there are so many great teachers who deserve the same award. I look in other classrooms and see so much going on and just hope I am able to do the same fun things with my students.

The other day in my classroom one girl asked for help with an answer. One boy sitting next to her said, "Mrs. Labrum doesn't give you the answers. She asks you questions, then you answer the question, she asks another question, you answer. Pretty soon you have figured it out all by yourself!" I guess that is what teachers do, ask the questions and help the students figure it all out themselves. I hope they can do some of that by the time they leave my classroom.

I'm waiting to see if my daughter took some good pictures for me. The ones from my camera aren't too great. They show my terribly disfigured legs due to the long ride over and water retention. If I get something that I like better I will post it here. But don't hold your breath!