- May 20, 2016
- Posted by: KBCF Media
- Category: Community Blog
The Key Biscayne Community Foundation partnered with the Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce to present its annual Giving Tree and Good Neighbor awards. The event honors outstanding teachers and students in the Key Biscayne community who go the extra mile every day. The awards were presented April 26, 2016, at The Links on Key Biscayne.
Additionally, local educators were honored by the Key Biscayne Community Foundation during the annual Principals’ Coalition Teacher Appreciation event in March. The awards in April and the honoring of the teachers in March are both designed to showcase the value of teachers and students, as well as their importance to the Key Biscayne community.
The 2016 Good Neighbor Award
The Good Neighbor Award is given out every year to students who have gone above and beyond to help out fellow students, teachers, family or the community. Three students are chosen from each school to receive this award. Winners this year were:
Key Biscayne Community Church Day School: Carla Roman, Miguel Cebolla, Michelle Frech
Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church School: Maria Gatica, Pablo Munoz, Nicolas Sugden
St. Agnes Academy: Ciro Garat, Maximo Armando, Sofia Velasco
Key Biscayne K-8 Center: Sara Obadia, Luciana Hornstein, Victoria Cairrao
St. Christopher’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church & Montessori School: Larissa Steinhorst, McKenzie Connell, Victor Perez
The 2016 Giving Tree Award
The Giving Tree Award is provided to a teacher who has shown himself or herself to be outstanding in the community. This award is based on nominations from other teachers and individuals throughout the community to honor one teacher who stands out above others, and whose dedication to the art and science of teaching shines through everything they do. This year’s recipients were:
Key Biscayne Community Church Day School: Yolanda Cebolla
Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church School: Veronica Andrade
St. Agnes Academy: Mrs. Cristina Mendia
Key Biscayne K-8 Center: Ms. Joan Nordhagen
St. Christopher’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church & Montessori School: Connie Restrepo
The Principals’ Coalition Teacher Appreciation Event
To help honor and respect all teachers, not just those who are given an award, the Key Biscayne Community Foundation held its Principal’s Coalition Teacher Appreciation event in March. Teachers from the area were invited to come and enjoy food and drink. They received gifts and there were speeches made about the value of what teaching brings to the community. The Principal of the Year award was presented at this event, with Leslie Lasserville, of St. Christopher’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church & Montessori School, recognized with the award.
Teachers are very important, and the Key Biscayne Community Foundation wants all of them to know how much they are appreciated!
Other Awards and Projects
Some of the ways Key Biscayne Community Foundation gives back is through programs such as The Eileen McCaughan Memorial Scholarship, Key Biscayne Citizen Scientist Project, and ArtCares for Kids. Eileen McCaughan was a student in Key Biscayne and was just 15 when a drunk driver tragically cut her young life short. Students who have academic talent but need financial help to pursue higher education may apply for the scholarship, which has been offered for more than 20 years.
Citizen Scientists work to learn about and preserve the natural habitat and beauty of the area, and the ArtCares for Kids project helps children who have been traumatized in some way express their fears, concerns, and joys through different types of artistic expression. These are examples of just some of the ways the foundation invests in the Key Biscayne community.
The Goal of the Key Biscayne Community Foundation
The Key Biscayne Community Foundation strives to recognize compassionate and dedicated members of the community, most notably in education. For more information about the awards given out, the recipients, or other work of the Foundation, please contact the Key Biscayne Community Foundation today.